Any ideas for a good all-rounder bass amp combo?

[Gilbert]

Hello.

I am looking for a kick-ass amp to compliment my new active Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass which I will be receiving in January.

I want a good all-rounder as I play folk to rock to punk. I would prefer a combo, but if any one disagrees, then sell it to me.

I currently play through a Peavey TKO 80 Scorpion (which I think is 80w) bass amp, which is a decent workhorse and I paid only £30 for it on ebay. It's just a bit of a lump to carry about and I hate having to mess around with the graphic eq every gig.

I want something a bit bigger on wattage that will easily fill mid sized venues with a bit of room to spare.
Smaller on weight, easily portable and easy to just plug in and play without having to mess around with graphic equalizers.

Speaker size is giving me a headache. I've looked at 2x10". My current amp has a 15". I know the 2x10 would give me a tighter sound, maybe I should get a 2x10 for now and a 15 cab if I feel I need it later.

I've had a look at a few amps, but it would be interesting to hear what ideas you seasoned pro's have.
Oh and my budget is running dry, so under £500 if possible.

[rodl2005]

All rounder & U like 15's...... try a Mark Bass 1x12" combo????

[Muzz]

Given that your budget is a little short of the bigger MB combos like the 210, and I think the 112 MB is a little underpowered (on its own) for 'room to spare', I'd give some serious consideration to a Roland D-Bass 115 or 210 combo. Not very very light, but certainly moveable (castors! yeah...), and their relative unfashionableness* means they're a bargain second hand buy - I've seen them go for £200-250 on t'Ebay. Great range of tones, terrific build quality and plenty loud. If you get the urge for a monster stack, you can also add the 115X for 660w of doom**...

Just my 2p

* Not a word, I know, but you know what I mean...
** That's doom with a small D - I'm aware there a folk around these parts stacking 2x8x10s, and they're Doom...

[Gilbert]

Thanks guys. Not much about in my price bracket with the suggestions you gave me.

Any thoughts on this ?? :
[url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/gallien-krueger-mb-210-bass-guitar-amp-combo--70248"]GK amp[/url]

[rOB]

[quote name='Gilbert' post='1026184' date='Nov 16 2010, 06:28 PM']Thanks guys. Not much about in my price bracket with the suggestions you gave me.

Any thoughts on this ?? :
[url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/gallien-krueger-mb-210-bass-guitar-amp-combo--70248"]GK amp[/url][/quote]

Some info on this range here
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=107751"]Link[/url]

[Gilbert]

[quote name='rOB' post='1026236' date='Nov 16 2010, 07:14 PM']Some info on this range here
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=107751"]Link[/url][/quote]


Thanks Rob

There is just so much to consider. I'm driving myself crazy!!!!

[Gilbert]

[quote name='Gilbert' post='1025349' date='Nov 15 2010, 11:37 PM']Hello.

I am looking for a kick-ass amp to compliment my new active Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass which I will be receiving in January.

I want a good all-rounder as I play folk to rock to punk. I would prefer a combo, but if any one disagrees, then sell it to me.

I currently play through a Peavey TKO 80 Scorpion (which I think is 80w) bass amp, which is a decent workhorse and I paid only £30 for it on ebay. It's just a bit of a lump to carry about and I hate having to mess around with the graphic eq every gig.

I want something a bit bigger on wattage that will easily fill mid sized venues with a bit of room to spare.
Smaller on weight, easily portable and easy to just plug in and play without having to mess around with graphic equalizers.

Speaker size is giving me a headache. I've looked at 2x10". My current amp has a 15". I know the 2x10 would give me a tighter sound, maybe I should get a 2x10 for now and a 15 cab if I feel I need it later.

I've had a look at a few amps, but it would be interesting to hear what ideas you seasoned pro's have.
Oh and my budget is running dry, so under £500 if possible.[/quote]

Thanks for the info,

I have looked at the Roland D and it seems there are only the 210 combo's about. The Mark Bass is well over budget. I have played a Mark Bass before and
hated it, don't know why, just couldn't get on with it.

I like the idea of having a big stack behind me, but I will probably never play a venue large enough to warrant it, and if I did, then I guess I would be being paid to play and would be able to afford the big boys stuff.

In my never ending search I came across a GK mb115 for £316 on soundsliveshop.com. It's 200w and something like 15kg?
Keep in mind that my current Peavey amp is 80w and I have not had any problems filling out sound and rarely had the volume over 1 o'clock. When I do play larger venues, the sound guy DI's the bass anyway.

I kind of think this could be the thing I'm looking for.
The only thing I can imagine with a 15kg amp and 200watts is stopping it dancing across the stage!!

[ThomBassmonkey]

There's so many factors that affect the volume of the amp, it's far more than just the wattage of the head (there's more info on that around these forums).

The MB115 should do you, but it's worth noting that you can't add an extension cab to it.

If you go for the mb210, you get 350w without the extension cab, but you can add another speaker and get 500w out of it. They're still bargains too, though I am bias towards GK amps.

Any of the GK gear would suit your need perfectly, as another thread on here showed, most people that use them run them flat, or close to flat. The 4 band EQ is pretty easy to use if you do want to use it. If you go for the lightweight MB series heads (or combos) then they have fairly simple controls (even the bi-amped stuff is fine once you get used to it just a little complex at first). The MB heads are extremely light (under 4lbs) and at 500w are very powerful for their size and weight. GK also do a range of neo cabs that weigh very little. I'm tempted to get a micro rig of a mb500 and 2 1x12 cabs myself, it should be enough for most venues and would weigh in at under 64lbs for a powerful and very light rig.

The biggest advantage you'd see from using a head and cabs is at gigs where a bass cab is provided, you could just take along a micro head in your gig bag and not have to worry about cabs. It'd mean you could take one gig bag with your bass, leads and head in it and still be using an amp that sounds like you and you know how to use. it also allows for upgrades more easily, like I said, the mb115 can't have exntension cabs, the mb210 you can add another cab to, but you're still stuck with that 210 "cab" that's part of the combo, if you ever wanted to upgrade to a 4ohm cab, like a 8x10, 4x12 or you wanted to use 2 4x10s, 2x12s or something similar, you'd be stuck.

I think you could do far worse than to get an mb500 head and a cheap 210 (GK have a budget range called BLX, which are very reasonably priced, never used them myself though) to begin with with a mind to upgrade the cab later if your budget won't stretch at the moment. It might seem like a lot to pay out when a mb210 is probably a slightly better amp (the speakers will be better), but when it comes time to upgrade, it would make a big difference since you'll only be replacing £120ish worth of speakers instead of £350ish worth of amp.

[Gilbert]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1026568' date='Nov 17 2010, 01:41 AM']There's so many factors that affect the volume of the amp, it's far more than just the wattage of the head (there's more info on that around these forums).

The MB115 should do you, but it's worth noting that you can't add an extension cab to it.

If you go for the mb210, you get 350w without the extension cab, but you can add another speaker and get 500w out of it. They're still bargains too, though I am bias towards GK amps.

Any of the GK gear would suit your need perfectly, as another thread on here showed, most people that use them run them flat, or close to flat. The 4 band EQ is pretty easy to use if you do want to use it. If you go for the lightweight MB series heads (or combos) then they have fairly simple controls (even the bi-amped stuff is fine once you get used to it just a little complex at first). The MB heads are extremely light (under 4lbs) and at 500w are very powerful for their size and weight. GK also do a range of neo cabs that weigh very little. I'm tempted to get a micro rig of a mb500 and 2 1x12 cabs myself, it should be enough for most venues and would weigh in at under 64lbs for a powerful and very light rig.

The biggest advantage you'd see from using a head and cabs is at gigs where a bass cab is provided, you could just take along a micro head in your gig bag and not have to worry about cabs. It'd mean you could take one gig bag with your bass, leads and head in it and still be using an amp that sounds like you and you know how to use. it also allows for upgrades more easily, like I said, the mb115 can't have exntension cabs, the mb210 you can add another cab to, but you're still stuck with that 210 "cab" that's part of the combo, if you ever wanted to upgrade to a 4ohm cab, like a 8x10, 4x12 or you wanted to use 2 4x10s, 2x12s or something similar, you'd be stuck.

I think you could do far worse than to get an mb500 head and a cheap 210 (GK have a budget range called BLX, which are very reasonably priced, never used them myself though) to begin with with a mind to upgrade the cab later if your budget won't stretch at the moment. It might seem like a lot to pay out when a mb210 is probably a slightly better amp (the speakers will be better), but when it comes time to upgrade, it would make a big difference since you'll only be replacing £120ish worth of speakers instead of £350ish worth of amp.[/quote]


Wow, thanks for taking the time to write back with so much info.

To be honest, my budget has taken a bit of a blow since yesterday, due to car trouble. I will have a look at the amp head and cab prices and weigh up my options.
I play original music of a folk-rock genre, and also a bit of funk and heavy rock. Although I would love to have ample wattage and multiple cabs, I think the ease of use of a single uniit would suit my needs for the foreseable future.

Thanks for the advice and I will report back once I have made up my mind.

[Gilbert]

[quote name='Gilbert' post='1026686' date='Nov 17 2010, 10:41 AM']Wow, thanks for taking the time to write back with so much info.

To be honest, my budget has taken a bit of a blow since yesterday, due to car trouble. I will have a look at the amp head and cab prices and weigh up my options.
I play original music of a folk-rock genre, and also a bit of funk and heavy rock. Although I would love to have ample wattage and multiple cabs, I think the ease of use of a single uniit would suit my needs for the foreseable future.

Thanks for the advice and I will report back once I have made up my mind.[/quote]


[size=5][size=4]Any thoughts on the Ashdown MAGc115 300w????[/size][/size]
They are more readily available than the GK I was looking at and they are extendable. Good reviews too!

Thanks, Mark

[ThomBassmonkey]

[quote name='Gilbert' post='1026686' date='Nov 17 2010, 10:41 AM']Wow, thanks for taking the time to write back with so much info.

To be honest, my budget has taken a bit of a blow since yesterday, due to car trouble. I will have a look at the amp head and cab prices and weigh up my options.
I play original music of a folk-rock genre, and also a bit of funk and heavy rock. Although I would love to have ample wattage and multiple cabs, I think the ease of use of a single uniit would suit my needs for the foreseable future.

Thanks for the advice and I will report back once I have made up my mind.[/quote]

No worries, sorry to hear about your car, hopefully it doesn't hold you back too much. There's nothing wrong with combos, they're just not as flexible with different cabs and if you're thinking about the long term, you'll probably end up spending more money if you go that route (combos would be cheaper for the short term, defo).

I personally really dislike Ashdowns, I've used them a lot and I can't seem to find a sweet spot in the EQ, they either sound fat and muddy or they lose all the beefy low end once you've dialled out enough bass/in enough treble to gain clarity. Plus the DI on them is often noisy and they have been known to be unreliable (though I think that's not such an issue recently if you're buying new).

I'm a GK endorsee though, I play them because I love them, so I'm obviously gonna be very biased hehe.

[Lozz196]

With the funds available, may be worth looking at Hartke. Good sounding amps, able to cover virtually all styles/genres.

[charic]

[url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~TC-Electronic-BG500/115~ID~13437.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~T...15~ID~13437.asp[/url] ?

I'm obsessed with TC at the moment mind!

[JTUK]

make these guys an offer..??

[url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-guitar-amps/pid17089/cid561/second-hand-swr-red-head-series-2x10-bass-combo.asp"]http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-guitar-amp...-bass-combo.asp[/url]

[Moos3h]

Not sure what Andertons are smoking with the price of that though - it won't sell at £700. Not that it's not a fantastic amp, but second hand at that price is bonkers when you consider the prices they fetch elsewhere (I appreciate they have a warranty to give, VAT to pay too I guess - but still!)

[lowhand_mike]

[quote name='Gilbert' post='1027003' date='Nov 17 2010, 03:59 PM'][size=5][size=4]Any thoughts on the Ashdown MAGc115 300w????[/size][/size]
They are more readily available than the GK I was looking at and they are extendable. Good reviews too!

Thanks, Mark[/quote]
i love the mag range, had the 210 combo and now have the evo3 head and a 4x10.
i have also tried the 115 combo, very loud adn pretty small too but its not the lightest thing out there, but i beleive you do have the option to add an extension cab if you wish. you can get a nice variety of sounds out of it too.
i certainly prefered it to the GK stuff that i tried, well except their more expensive items, the combos just seemed a bit harsh.

[Nodd]

I would echo Muzz's rec for a Roland,
They are not fashionable but they are very good, reliable and loud, although heavy.
I had a Roland DB750, two programmable channels (plus manual setting), two compressors, chorus, 1 x 15"
you can pick 'em up for a couple of hundred.
The D-Bass is the more recent version