Another "help I Need Amp Advice!" Thread

[Jam]

So as the title states, I need some amp advice and this seems to be the place.

I'm gigging in a heavy metal band (www.myspace.com/hellshrine) and the I've always just used combos at home. Recently we've had gigs where I've needed to use a head, and as I hate borrowing other peoples' equipment (and I'd hate to break it), I need advice on getting a head!

My budget is quite low as I'll only really be using it for gigs a couple of times a month, probably £200 ish.

I spotted a nice Orange head/cab set on gumtree the other day but I can't really afford £600 right now.


Truth be told, I have no idea where to start. I've had a look on the for sale pages, and it seems I've missed some good ones, but then again I don't know what's good and what's bad!

Any advice?

[GUI101]

i guess it would depend on what sort of volume/versitility your after.
i would think that 300-500w would be more than adequate power wise, but depending on tone etc you cant really go far wrong with trace elliot or ashdown for your budget.
i have played through a trace ah500-7 for years and found it more than comfortable for all kinds of size gigs and styles.
what cabs have you?

[Mog]

I'd also go with Trace Elliot. They go for very little secondhand. A 300 watt Gp 7sm should cost you around £150ish. The Peavey Tour 450 head is also going for about £250ish lately but they're a little bland IMO.

[Jam]

[quote name='Mog' post='1094194' date='Jan 18 2011, 06:42 PM']I'd also go with Trace Elliot. They go for very little secondhand. A 300 watt Gp 7sm should cost you around £150ish. The Peavey Tour 450 head is also going for about £250ish lately but they're a little bland IMO.[/quote]

So you recommend Trace Elliot? Cheers man.


I don't have a cab yet, again I don't know where to start, but at recent gigs we've sorted kitshare, all shared a cab and brought our own heads. I suppose I should look into a cab too!

[lollington]

There's a lovely Yamaha head [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=118498"]here[/url] within your budget!

Don't be put off by the title of the thread, the amp can sound heavy if you want it to, it's just easy to carry. I'm also getting rid of an old Peavy 4x10 so could prolly do a deal if you're looking for the startings of a rig.

[GUI101]

There are some good Trace Elliot Cabs for sale on the forum too, i have a 1x18 and a 2x10 for sale, but you should go with what suits your sound.
18's will give great low end especially if you downtune and the 2x10 will really punch those mids and tops through......
check out my profile if you want to as there are some pics on there.

[Jam]

Thanks for the offers guys, I have my eye on something but if that falls through I'll let you know

[Mog]

[quote name='Jam' post='1094531' date='Jan 18 2011, 10:03 PM']I don't have a cab yet, again I don't know where to start, but at recent gigs we've sorted kitshare, all shared a cab and brought our own heads. I suppose I should look into a cab too![/quote]

In my experience, the majority of bands in the metal scene are more than happy to share gear. Once you have a head sorted most of your troubles are sorted.
The Ashdown Mag 410T is a good cab in my book. Lots of lowend and really cheap secondhand. I've seen them go for €100 over here.

[Jam]

[quote name='Mog' post='1096379' date='Jan 20 2011, 02:23 PM']In my experience, the majority of bands in the metal scene are more than happy to share gear. Once you have a head sorted most of your troubles are sorted.
The Ashdown Mag 410T is a good cab in my book. Lots of lowend and really cheap secondhand. I've seen them go for €100 over here.[/quote]

Yeah I've never had any problems with sharing with anyone, but you never know, one day someone might say no and I'd be scuppered!

I've heard good things about Ashdowns, will keep my eye open! Cheers dude. Also, nice tshirt, Down are such an underrated band.

[LITTLEWING]

[quote name='Jam' post='1097161' date='Jan 21 2011, 10:00 AM']Yeah I've never had any problems with sharing with anyone, but you never know, one day someone might say no and I'd be scuppered!

I've heard good things about Ashdowns, will keep my eye open! Cheers dude. Also, nice tshirt, Down are such an underrated band.[/quote]


Personally, I can't rate Ashdown high enough. I have a MAG300 EVO II (307 watts) into a 2 x 15" Hartke cab and with a versatile amp and superb cab you won't look back. You'd be lucky to blow up a Hartke, ther're just about bullet-proof and the sound is awesome for the money. Also don't forget a decent amp to cab cable. There's a guy on here called OBBM. Great prices and even greater cable.

[4-string-thing]

[quote name='LITTLEWING' post='1099448' date='Jan 23 2011, 11:18 AM']Personally, I can't rate Ashdown high enough. I have a MAG300 EVO II (307 watts) into a 2 x 15" Hartke cab and with a versatile amp and superb cab you won't look back. You'd be lucky to blow up a Hartke, ther're just about bullet-proof and the sound is awesome for the money. Also don't forget a decent amp to cab cable. There's a guy on here called OBBM. Great prices and even greater cable. [/quote]

I've recently retired my old Acoustic head and replaced it with an Ashdown MAG600 which I've been using into my Acoustic 2x15 cab (upgraded drivers) and I have to say it sounds fantastic. We're not a metal band, but we do have a very loud drummer and two guitarists with 200w Blackstar stacks, the Mag 600 keeps up ok, but I struggled a bit with the 300. We don't use PA for the instruments though, only vocals.

For the money, the Mag heads are great, don't let anyone tell you they sound muddy!

[Lfalex v1.1]

At the risk of being a bit anti-establishment, I can't see why people buy heads any more unless it does something very specific that you just must have or you really like the sound. There is another way, and once you've tried it, you might not go back...

I've gone this way in the last 18 years>

No amp for 2 years
S/H 1x12" 80w combo (loud at home, inaudible against a drummer!)
S/H Trace Elliot 1110 4x10 combo (just loud enough in a band, but SO heavy)
Trace Elliot 122HSMX 2x10 combo + 1048h cabinet.
Added a Trace 1153 1x15 (s/h £100!)

Then

Cut the Trace 2x10 combo into a head and separate cabinet so it'd fit into the poxy boot in my Fiat Punto...

Still wanted MORE power and headroom to spare.

I already had a cheapo mixer I'd bought for something else entirely, and discovered it had enough gain to directly amplify even a quiet passive bass cleanly to a level sufficient to drive a power amp well.
Tracked down a second-hand QSC PLX1202 power amp (from a nightclub refit!) and built a small "box" for it and the mixer from some off-cuts of MDF from the garage.

End result and (more importantly, cost)?

The cheapest set up I have is the mixer, power amp and a 1x15 cabinet. Can hold off a drummer and guitarist/s comfortably.
It delivers 700w into 8 ohms. (Chuck in another 8 ohm cabinet, and its 1200w into 4 ohms..)

Cost:
Mixer £80
Power amp £180
Cabinet £100

£360. For 700w into a 1x15?! Smallish, not too heavy, and as flexible as you want. Last week, I set it up at a gig, and all the bassists used it. We set up and EQ'd a channel each on the mixer for on-stage, and D.I.'d into the desk for FOH. Different basses, different FX, EQ, the lot. No worries. They even used my lead, and just swapped channels between bands. Soundman loved it!