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Recent Lightweight Head/Cab combos within a reasonable budget...


Musicman20
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Hey all,

A friend has just informed me that his old amp head cannot be repaired.

I'm not hot on new products or what is classed as good value for money really, (when it comes to bass amps).

I know the usual brands like MB, Genzler, TC, etc, but not sure what people are using or buying over the past few years.

He wants:

- Lightweight,
- 500 watts approx.,
- Decent cab,
- Able to rehearse and gig with both and handle a C tuning without struggling.

He isn't look for huge enveloping lows.

Mainly rock/alternative music, with a few pedals.

What would you suggest?

I'd say upto £1000-1200 maximum for head and cab. Cheaper if possible.

Thanks

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Aguilar TH500

or

Gallien Krueger MB500

or

Genz Benz etc. etc. etc.




There are SO many really good Class D heads out these now, and ultimately it comes down to taste.

I have a stopwatch running to see how long it takes for someone to ask me why I haven't listed a Markbass ...

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I'd recommend your friend takes an informed guess based on a bit of research/advice and spends say two-thirds of his budget to buy one of the excellent used head/cab offerings FS on this forum. Not much lost if he's not totally happy with it and he'll have some cash left to change something. Best bargain heads seem to be the stuff that's not necessarily flavour of the month but known to be good (e.g. a TC Elec head that's not an RH).

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In the best Basschat tradition I'm going to suggest the amp that I own. :).

EBS Reidmar 750. These seem to be very overlooked but they are versatile, very LOUD, and have a great set of features including a compressor and "drive" knob. They can be had new for under £600 so something of a bargain too.

Any of the quality cabs that come up for sale here will do the job. In the upper range of cabs, there aren't really any bad ones.

Frank.

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I think all of the amps mentioned so far are pretty much htting the requirements, though I`ll add in the Ashdown Rootmasters - the 500 is very powerful, so the 800 must be, er, more so. Pretty decently priced new, so plenty left over for cabbage.

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adding to the above:

GK MB500 / MB800 / MB500 Fusion / MB800 Fusion
TC Electronic BH800
TC Electronic RH750
MarkBass 800
Aguilar AG700 is great but very new so probably out of budget
EBS 750 is a lovely amp
RootMaster 800 is also a lovely amp

My favourite (adding to the above tradition) but likely to be out of budget is the Bergantino B|Amp

Going slightly heavy, but just an absolute beast for no money would be Hartke's LH1000 with a nice upgraded valve in.

Cabinets within budget, well I suppose any of the offerings from the above!

I really like TC Electronic's K-Cabs. I can't decide which I prefer most, but the 2x12 is capable and the 4x10 and 1x15 combination is very satisfying.
EBS' Classic 4x10 takes a hell of a bashing without breaking in to a sweat, so makes a good combo with Reidmar 750
Really not a fan of MarkBass cabinets.
I think the Aguilar GS2x12 is a brilliant cabinet, I've never had the opportunity to try the DB myself.
and of course, I'll mention Bergantino cabinets. the HD range and the HDN range are absolutely superb. With the budget mentioned, you'd be able to grab something suitable with just enough cash left over for a head.
Secondhand prices, Barefaced BB2 or even at squeeze, the Big Twin II is a killer one cab solution. Gutted I had to sell mine in a plan that went wrong. Oh well!

The only reason why I haven't mentioned the Darkglass M900 is because I am still waiting to get my hands on one to review. When I do, I'll be able to tell how brilliant it is. I mean, the Darkglass Vintage Ultra is just a stunning pedal - and if Aguilar's mating of the Tonehammer preamp to a power amp is anything to go by, then the M900 is going to be very good similarly. (Of course with the extra functionality.)

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[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1501594381' post='3345743']
Thanks all. He is very keen on a compact well engineered 2x10 and wants to try a Barefaced Retro 2x10.

Amp wise, we are still looking, but I think 400-500W at 4 ohms minimum.
[/quote]

I briefly owned the Darkglass M900 and used it with my Barefaced 2x10. Very nice little rig...

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Used an Ashdown Retroglide 800 with a (borrowed) Barefaced Super Twin to very good effect so now I'm awaiting my own Two10 which should arrive shortly. The Two10 combination can be got for about £869 if you shop around for the amp so well within his budget and Made in Great Britain to boot.

Edited by naxos10
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