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Light Weight Head options.


bubinga5
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Im looking for a light weight head, but my knowledge is limited. My previous amp was an Aguilar AG500 and just loved it, but didn't like the weight. So thats a reference point maybe.

Ive been looking at the Tech 21 VT 500 or the TH350 second hand. My budget is £500 max.

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If you were using the AG very clean you`ll struggle to get that from the TH. I`ve had both and to me the clean-ness of the AG seemed more in the Markbass area than traditional Aguilar old-school sound which the TH does so well, so maybe throw a Little Mark into the option-pool. Of course if you had the AG with the drive and were using that as a main part of your sound then the TH can get pretty near, as old-school warmth/drive it`s where the TH is.

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From the videos you post I suspect that you like it funky. I've heard a few BCers using the Tecamp Puma head with very complimentary tone...and there are a few available here at the moment.

I've tried to find a YT video with a "typical" Tecamp sound (there's no such thing obviously) without success. Hopefully somebody nearby can help. Defintely something that should be on your list of possibilities though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXE6q659ZUA

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[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1507386365' post='3385136']
From the videos you post I suspect that you like it funky. I've heard a few BCers using the Tecamp Puma head with very complimentary tone...and there are a few available here at the moment.

I've tried to find a YT video with a "typical" Tecamp sound (there's no such thing obviously) without success. Hopefully somebody nearby can help. Defintely something that should be on your list of possibilities though.
[/quote]

I was gonna make the same suggestion. I've got a Puma 900 and it's glorious. Truly small and weighs barely anything. Love the EQ on it as well.

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[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1507580193' post='3386560']
If you liked the AG500, why not try an AG700? I bought one after comparing with most of the current favourites. There's one in the marketplace at the moment (not mine - that's going nowhere).
[/quote]

Even At the decent price it's going for though, it's still well over the £500 top end of the budget unfortunately.
(Edit:- and has now sold already anyway)

Cost aside thought the AG700 would make a lot of sense.

Perhaps you could just pay someone a fiver a time to carry an AG500 for you. Your budget would allow you to do 100 gigs that way. :D

Edited by Painy
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The TH350 uses the same amp module as a lot of the 500 watt class D amps (b&o icepower 125asx2). It maybe doesn't have the fancy power management/compression handling of some other 500w heads, but it'll be roughly in that ballpark volume-wise.

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For your budget, you should go secondhand. That way if the amp isn't right you can always sell it on without taking a big hit. You will also get more for your money. I recently bought a Markbass TTE500 for £450. If/when I decide to upgrade, I know I'll probably get most of my money back. Great amp but GAS is a terrible disease :)

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Just to toss another name into the ring, I have a Quilter Bassblock 800 which I prefer over any of the class D amps I have tried (which is a heck of a lot). It is very lightweight, very small, very easy to use and has a fantastic intrinsic tone.

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GK MB Fusion, I've had GB Shuttle 9.2, TC RH450 and 750, and a TH500 previously. I've kept the GK longer than any of the others. It just seems to work for me, 3 x 12AX7's at the front end for a nice tube warmth if you want it, and the fact it's got 2 gain channels is a bonus. You can set one low gain for a really clean, crisp, modern tone and then set the second channel at a much higher gain for a more driven, thick, valve tone. Can be picked up for well under your budget too.

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I second (or third) the GK heads. Ive got a GK MB800 and love it. I also have a MarkBass F1 head, which i thought was small, but the GK is even smaller (a little smaller anyway). I can fit both my F1 and GK MB500 in a laptop bag, along with all the cables/PSUs/FX that i use. Makes life so much easier having these small heads.

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I like what I've heard from Markbass amps but for your budget I'd be looking at used Aguilar amps.

I've played the TH500 for several years (it saw off the GB STL 9.2 and Mesa D800 I bought) and haven't found anything to replace it. That is until now, but we're talking about the new AG700 which is well over budget.

I didn't need to upgrade and the TH500 could easily have been the last amp I bought in terms of tone and volume. I've kept one as my second amp.

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[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1508322569' post='3391318']
The AG500 is a lovely head. I'm can't help thinking part of its charm is that it has a transformer in it. :-)
[/quote]

Over the years I would agree with this but the new SMPS units are catching up. I think you'd notice the difference. They now seem to be delivering the required power at high volume and with more bass-heavy tones.

Mind you, I keeping my Thunderfunk as well as the Reidmar 750 for now.

Frank.

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