RB1 Review

The Laney RB1 - the 'baby' of the new Richter line up probably stands out more than the rest simply due to its ability to kick out an enormous amount of sound from such a portable cabinet.

Features:	8
Sound:	9
Reliability:	9.5
Impression:	8.5
Overall rating:	9.2
Reviewer rating:	8.8
Users rating:	9.6
Votes:	14

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: matthewchj, on september 22, 2008

Price paid: $ 60

Features: No idea what year it was made in, but the person I got it from bought it in December last year. 15 watts solid state, 1 input, Compressor with gain knob, 3-band EQ, volume, line in, headphone out. Extremely versatile amp, can get tones ranging from trebly and biting to low and bassy with just a bit of eq-ing, and minimal tone adjustments on the amp. I play anything ranging from '70s classics to modern rock, and it suits it fine. Really loud for such a small amp. // 9

Sound: I'm using it with a completely stock Yamaha bass with p/j pickups, and it sounds sweet through the amp. Really awesome tone versatility, as I said. Not noisy at all, I turned the amp up to full with the volume on the bass about halfway, but no noise. But I must say, the amp is really loud for 15w. I was playing in a hall, and it somehow managed to overpower a mic'ed keyboard when the amp was at full volume and bass at half volume. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This thing is solid. Really, really heavy and hard. I'm really big, and I can sit on it and play without fear of it breaking. It's been with me for about 2 months, and no problems so far. I've gigged it once, and my friend gigged it once as well (he mic'ed it). It's only 15 watts, though, so I probably wouldn't gig with it if I was playing with a guitarist or a drummer. But for small gigs like the one above, I'd definitely not need a backup. // 9

Impression: For a small little 15w amp, it's pretty darn impressive. Really love it's tone. If it was lost or stolen I'd probably cry a little, then I'd either buy a new one, or save up and get a bigger Laney amp. // 10

overall: 8

Reviewed by: Anson93, on august 25, 2008

Price paid: A$ 200

Purchased from: Rajen Music

Features: Well I bought this amp when I started playing bass about 7-8 months ago and I wasn't sure about how long I would be playing bass for so I bought this and a cheap Squier J-Bass so I wouldn't blow much money. I don't know when it was made but it was made in China and designed in the UK. The amp doesn't have a heap of features: 1 input, gain, bass, middle, treble, volume, headphones, CD/line in and of course the good old on/off Switch. It has only one channel and no effects so no footswitch. No effects loop. It says 30W on my amp but 15W on some internet sites so I'll just go by what my amp says. It uses one 8" speaker, solid state and closed back. I think it would be good if it had reverb and maybe some better distortion because the gain dial doesn's sound good for distortion. I would suggest a pedal. Becuase this is my only bass amp I use it for my individual practice and at a studio with my band and it just manages to get the right volume. It works alright for most bass styles but to get good distortion you would need a pedal. Also keyboards and electric guitars work well through the amp. // 7

Sound: I used to use this bass with my Squier J-Bass but that wasn't much good so I got a Schecter Stiletto Extreme 5-String about 2 months ago with Schecter Humbuckers. I play in a metal band and to get a really punchy bass sound that I like to use, I think it really depends on the bass when using this amp. My old Squier which I hardly use anymore had about 2 different settings combined with the amp that sounded alright, but with the Schecter its really easy to get that punchy sound, which is really all I aim for. There isn't much static in this amp even when I turn it to 10 at band practice. As long as your bass is at least 2 metres away from it, you will have almost no static and even if you sit on it you hardly get any. On full volume, there is only the slightest trace of distortion with the gain on 0. The distortion isn't really for my style but I usually put the gain on about 3-4 for a little extra volume. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This amp is very durable from my experiences. I've dropped it 2 or 3 times, not very serious, and knocked it on a lot of walls, but it still works perfectly fine. The only thing that has changed is a very slight rattling when I pick it up and move it, but I think that's the speaker. It has a carpet covering and metal on all the corners. There is a very strong metal grille covering the speaker. I can really depend on this amp not to break and it has never not worked for me. I wouldn't recommend performing with this because of the volume issue but if I did I wouldn't take a backup because it just won't break. // 10

Impression: This amp can suit any style of music really, as long as you have the right bass and/or pedals. But for the punchy sound I like, my bass and amp combination works pretty well. I sometimes put it through a DigiTech RP300A guitar pedal mainly for wah, distortion, reverb and some mod-effects and that works fine as well. If I lost it or it got stolen I think it would be a great excuse to get a better amp. I think the best part is the very low amount of static it gives but the worst part is the lack of features/dials. I just went for the cheapest amp and cheapest bass in the store because I wasn't sure if I was really going to go through with bass guitar so I didn't do any reasearch ar compare any other amps. // 7

Comments

[stevegoetsch]

Laney Amps. kick ass for their size...always have and this amp is no exeption! I use Laney amps for my bass and electric, I bought this amp so I would not have to drag around the big stuff. People who use other brands of amps always are blown, away by the Laney sound, if they didnt have so much money invested already in their equipment they would have Laney's