Thunderfunk TFB550 Head

My amps was brought in Jan 2007, I play mainly in a hard rock band and this amp is great for that and really every style. The notes are punchy with a piano tone, the definition is the best Ive heard out of a Soild state amp. Ive played lots of high end amps and this smokes them all. The 550w @ 4 ohms really kicks and it sounds great thru my Accugroove El whappo Jr cab. The best feature for me is the timbre knob, you can dial in the best sound from your cab with this knob. I set mostly everything else at 12'o clock. That the sight of a great amp period!

Im playing thru a Vintage tokai Jazz bass and a Rim Custom fretless, both sound great. The amp is super Quite even at high volumes, the Tube simulation switch give the amp a little more of a gritty sound.

This amp is bombproof and will stand up against all amps, also you get a 2 year warranty on all parts and Labour from Dave @ Thunderfunk Amps.

Two year warranty with full support, Dave got back to me via email within hours when ordering my amp. Great service!

If it was Stolen I would order another straight away, I love the amp. To me it just has a great sound and a simple layout, also its nice and Light at 17 Lbs. I love the amps so much that Im now the Sole UK Dealer, so if your in the UK reading this and you fancy some more info on my basses or The Thunderfunk TF550B, please get in touch at rimcustombasses.co.uk

This amp was built to order, he builds them by hand.

# Now with 550-watts RMS into 4 Ohms
# "The Switch" with indicator LEDs
# New Mute Switch with indicator LED
# Limiter (Compressor)
# Aural Enhancer
# 4-Band Parametric Equalizer
# Timbre Control
# Headphone Jack
# Line In
# Tuner out
# New Pre-EQ Balanced DI Output
# Post-EQ Balanced Output w/Level Control
# Ground Lift Switch for both XLR's Out
# 40,800uF Supply Filter for Deep Response and Increased Mids Clarity
# AC Signal Coupled to Reduce Input Pops
# Pre-EQ Effects Loop
# Post-EQ Effects Loop
# Jacks by Switchcraft and ADC (of Minnesota)
# 2-1/4" speaker outputs
# 2-Speakon speaker outputs +1/-1
# Aluminum Chassis
# Weighs only 16 pounds!!!
# Time Delayed Turn On
# Quiet AC Power Switching
# 100/120/220/240v operation
# Quiet and reliable
# Runs with or without the Fan!
# Removeble Rack Ears Standard
# 2-year warranty Parts & Labor
# Free UPS Ground Shipping to the 48-States

I play blues, rock, a little funk, and whatever else. it does everything well. It is entirely solid state, to my utter disbelief. Power to spare, then some. This thing is awesome....

I use a 2004 usa p-bass w/ Dimarzio split p pups, a fender Sting Bass w/ Rio Grande muy grande for single coil bass pup, a Cort acoustic electric bass, an Ibanez AFR0-104, and a Godin Freeway 4. They all sound GREAT thru this amp. Great punchy tones, and the tube/SS switch allows a very realistic, grindy, tube tone. Squared away and good to go....

No tubes, hence one less thing to possibly go wrong. I have had it a couple months, I really don't see any problems down the road with this amp. Mr. Funk seems to really know his stuff, so I got faith. I have used it with no backup, and felt comfortable with the decision.

I think Thunderfunk has the best support in the business. All questions asked were promptly answered. They are OUTSTANDING.

Been playing around 20 years. I have had Boogie, Hartke, Peavey, Eden, SWR, Sunn, and this thing blows them all out of the water, hands down. A way superior product. And I like that this is not a mass produced product. They are built one at a time here in the usa as they are ordered by customers, so there is a higher standard of build quality I believe.

Purchased new in 2006

# Now with 550-watts RMS into 4 Ohms
# "The Switch" with indicator LEDs
# New Mute Switch with indicator LED
# Limiter (Compressor)
# Aural Enhancer
# 4-Band Parametric Equalizer
# Timbre Control
# Headphone Jack
# Line In
# Tuner out
# New Pre-EQ Balanced DI Output
# Post-EQ Balanced Output w/Level Control
# Ground Lift Switch for both XLR's Out
# 40,800uF Supply Filter for Deep Response and Increased Mids Clarity
# AC Signal Coupled to Reduce Input Pops
# Pre-EQ Effects Loop
# Post-EQ Effects Loop
# Jacks by Switchcraft and ADC (of Minnesota)
# 2-1/4" speaker outputs
# 2-Speakon speaker outputs +1/-1
# Aluminum Chassis
# Weighs only 16 pounds!!!
# Time Delayed Turn On
# Quiet AC Power Switching
# 100/120/220/240v operation
# Quiet and reliable
# Runs with or without the Fan!
# Removeble Rack Ears Standard
# 2-year warranty Parts & Labor
# Free UPS Ground Shipping to the 48-States

Using a Lakland Skyline Joe Osborn 5 string with a J Retro pre amp and Lindy Fralin pickups and a Lakland Skyline 55-02 with Bartolini pickups. This amp will suit all musical styles. It has a virtually unlimited palatte of tone, though I find that I usually play with it set flat and just adjust the timbre control and the enhancer control. The timbre control seems to be a combination bass and treble cut and boost, in other words, when you turn it to the left, it seems to cut the treble and boost the bass and a turn to the right seems to cut bass and boost treble. The enhancer is very much like the SWR Aural Enhancer. Those controls, along with the four band parametric eq allows for any tone you would ever want out of a bass amp. I had an opportunity to compare the Thunderfunk head, side by side with a Mesa Boogie M Pulse 600 and, with the same bass guitar and the same 4 x 10 Avatar cabinet, they were both able to achieve about 126 db at 8' from the cab. The big difference was that the Thunderfunk was as clean as can be with no distortion, whatsoever and the Mesa Boogie was well into clipping distortion.

The tone of the Thunderfunk is voiced perfectly for any bass guitar you plug into it. It is warm, articulate, clean and it sits well in a live mix with a loud band! I played an entire gig with the master volume set at 4, plugged into an Avatar B 410 Kappa Pro and I was plenty loud!

The Thunderfunk is built like a tank and I would routinely gig without a backup. It is too new to assess long term reliability, however I do not expect to have any problems.

David Funk responds promptly to e-mail questions and I strongly suspect that he would promptly repair anything that he produced. Again, I really do not anticipate any service problems.

I have been playing guitar for 42 years and bass guitar for the last six years. I have owned SWR, Trace Elliot, a BBE B Max T pre amp with a QSC PLX 1202 power amp and Avatar cabinets. I was having a difficult time getting a tone that would sit well in the mix of a loud band with the BBE B Max T and QSC power amp, though, in general, they sounded great. The Thunderfunk solved that problem for me and lightened my load considerably. The tone of this amp makes me want to play constantly. I have a lot of trouble putting the bass down to get other stuff done! If it was lost or stolen, I would replace it with the same amp! Before buying this amp, I put a bid in on e bay for a Mesa Boogie Bass 400+ and lost the bidding and I'm not sorry, because I stumbled upon Thunderfunk and ended up with one! I strongly recommend trying one of these! David Funk offers a seven day, no risk trial, and as others have said, it is unlikely that anyone has ever returned one! David Funk considers his competition to be Walter Woods, Aguilar, Euphonic Audio, etc. all of which cost much more than Thunderfunk and his product is at least as good. You may have noticed that I tend to use stuff that is sold manufacturer direct, like Avatar. This way, there is only one markup; manufacturer to end user, rather than two or three markups as with most other products and the result is a lot more for your money! Check out the reviews for Avatar, too! I have three of their cabs!

Made in 2005

500-watts RMS into 4 Ohms
Limiter (Compressor)
Aural Enhancer
4-Band Parametric Equalizer
Timbre Control
Headphone Jack
Speakon Connector
DI Balanced Recording Out w/Level
DI Recording Out Pre-EQ
Ground Lift Switch for XLR Out
Pre-EQ Effects Loop
Post-EQ Effects Loop
Line In
Tuner out
Aluminum Chassis
Hi-Fi "Switch"

This amp ends my "quest for tone and punch" which I thought ended with my G-K 2001RB. I still love the sound and articulation of all my G-K amps but I'm at the 35+ years-of-experience threshold also, and I needed to get something lighter than the 2001RB.

I added the "switch" option but haven't found much use for it.

The only downside worth even mentioning is the lack of different inputs to accommodate passive vs. active basses.

I've been through more amps than I can chronicle here, mostly to find a rig that would do justice to my 5 string 9 volt active Alembic Epic that I bought used a few years ago. (Yeah, I know it's just an Epic but, by God, it's still a real Alembic and there is no better bass when you hook up with the right amplification.) I also play a '72 P-Bass that I bought new in '72 and a 5 string CBE-59NT Copley that, although a Korean bass, sports dual MM pickups and a very hot 18 volt Aguilar preamp and would compete with basses costing 3 - 4 times more.

The great thing about the TB550 is even with that diversity of basses, all sound very good with all the controls set to flat on the amp. I don't know of any other amp that I've played that sounds that great with all controls set to flat with any bass. That said, you can carve out about any sound imaginable with the varied and versatile limiter, aural enhancer, 4-Band Parametric Equalizer and timbre control chain. If you find you have ?over-tweaked? the sound, just go back to flat and start over again.

So far, so good, although I'm only in my forth month with it. From my dealings with the manufacturer so far, I'm confident that if I do experience a problem, a resolution is only a call away. The amp is very well constructed considering how light weight it is.

If the amp proves to be unreliable, I will post an update.

Dealt with David Funk himself. How can a bass player go wrong with a guy whose last name is Funk? Nuff said. I got the impression of a real no B.S. businessman who knows his stuff because he is very aware of what strengths and weaknesses exist in the "major brand" amps (old and new) that are out there.

Once again, if this turns out not to be true, I'll post an update.

In terms of overall satisfaction, I'd have to give this amp my highest rating. At 500 watts, it will compete in terms of overall useful power with my 550 watt-per-side Gallien Krueger 2001RB and will definitely outgun one of Ampeg's biggest - the SVT 4PRO.

Simply put, this amp will knock your booty in the dirt and, if you have the speakers to take it, sound primo doing it. I discovered this amp while researching the "botique brand" that rhymes with "alter goods". You know, the one that costs $3,000 and takes a year to get? Although the high dollar amp at 7 lbs weighs half what the TFB550 does at 14 lbs, that 7 lb weight savings isn't worth the $1,900 difference.

What I'd like to know is where were these guys when I hauled that 1969 89 lb tube SVT around the country for 12 years? Or those bi-amped rigs, or that tri-amped rig, or ......... but I digress.

All in all, you really can't go wrong here. Buy one and Dave will give you a week or so to try it out. I doubt anyone has sent one back yet.

Made in 2005
500-watts RMS into 4 Ohms
Limiter (Compressor)
Aural Enhancer
4-Band Parametric Equalizer
Timbre Control
Headphone Jack
Speakon Connector
DI Balanced Recording Out w/Level
DI Recording Out Pre-EQ
Ground Lift Switch for XLR Out
Pre-EQ Effects Loop
Post-EQ Effects Loop
Line In
Tuner out
Aluminum Chassis

The amp is extremely flexible. Very warm all solid state - warmer than the tube and hybrid amps I've owned/used. There is a $75 option of installing "the switch" which alters the tone slightly - more like a hi-fi amp (like SWR) for slapping/popping - more modern style tone. The effect is supposed to be quite subtle and only noticeable when using a higher fidelity instrument and very good technique. I did not opt for the switch since I don't slap/pop.

I use the amp for recording and live performance. While it's rated at 500w RMS, I find it to be very conservatively rated and seems much louder than other 500w amps.

And it only weighs 15 lbs!!!

I use a combination of Fender, Rickenbacker, Schecter, Gibson, Epiphone, Yamaha, and Mosrite basses. Both sigle coils and humbuckers. My style is mostly "old school", low loud and clear re: McCartney.

The TF is designed specifically NOT to distort. Very clean, very low and very loud. Extremely flexible semi-parametric eq section along with timbre and enhance circuits which actually change the sound when you turn a knob - even a little bit.

Hand assembled by David Funk himself, using only carefully selected premium components. The result is a highly dependable amp that delivers sound that other amps just don't approach.

David Funk is available and responsive to all inquiries. Extremely knowledgeable and can make mods as requested. He knows this circuit and how to make it dance maybe better than anyone else on the planet.

Haven't had any problems with the TF, but I have no doubts Dave would respond quickly and professionally to any request.

2 years parts and labor warranty.

Playing 35+ years. After receiving the Thunderfunk I quickly came to the realization that I had previously never played through a truly great amplifier before. The sound actually inspires me to play. It's the best bass amp I have ever owned. If there's anything better out there, I'm not sure I want to hear it.

I would replace the TFB550 in a heartbeat if it were lost or stolen.