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Lightweight amp head recommendations


winterfire666
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Greetings to all!, im looking into a bass head upgrade and ive not had much experience with lightweight bass heads so im after some recommendations
im currently using a SWR workingpro 700 head with a Rane DC24 compressor and Korg DTR 2000 tuner in a weighty 4u rack
the sound is great but if i could achieve similar sounds with less weight that would be ideal

i like to play fast finger stlye kinda stuff (steve harris style) for my metal band
and i have just ordered a Barefaced super 12 on Alex's advice so i would like lots of power to get the most from it.
is anyone using the Genz Shuttle max 9.2, it looks very nice.
so any opinions/advice would be a great help

many thanks!

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Higher powered and highly rated lightweight amps come from Genz, TC, Markbass and GK are bringing out their 800 watt amp soon.

As you know how to get a sound you like from your amp and are just about to change the cab; I'd wait until you're comfortable with the new cab before changing the amp. After that I’d suggest you listen to the TC RH750.

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i might hang on as suggested by chris_b to get used to the cab first, but im very interested in the TC, genz benz, and it would be nice to see the new GK mb800.
im not sure about mark bass, i have tried a couple of combos in shops and they just dont seem to do it for me, i cant seem to get anywhere near a sound i might normally use, but that might have somthing to do with the combo speakers and i have not tried a head yet.
its a bit fustrating as no one seems to stock any of these heads in my area (northwest)

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[size=4]I have just purchased a lightweight Fender Rumble 350 head and I'm absolutely delighted with it. It's very competitively priced , loud and Superb tone. I also own a little Mark bass head which I'm now selling. The Fender was for a back up , but its so good I'm now using it as my main amp. Just check it out.[/size]

Edited by larrybassman
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[quote name='Paul S' post='1372206' date='Sep 13 2011, 05:53 PM']I use a TC Electronic Classic 450 (with a BF Compact) and am liking it very much - I preferred the slight warmth of this over the Genz Benz I tried. The on-board compressor and tubetone are extremely useable.[/quote]
i like the idea of having an onboard compressor, there dont seem to be many heads with this option. just the tc heads really, i think?

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I had a TC Classic 450, and have to agree with Paul S, it`s a very good amp, and the tubetone and spectracomp are great features.

I sold it though, once the Ampeg PF-500 hit the UK. It too has on-board compression, and has that wonderful Ampeg tone, which goes great with the Fender Precision for rock & punk. Though as you`re looking for a lot of power, it may not have enough (though 500 watts should be).

So if Ampeg is a sound you like, possibly the SVT 7-PRO? Bags of power there, 1000 watts at 4 ohms, 600 watts at 8 ohms, pre-amp tube, on-board compressor, and 15 lbs in weight.

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The Ampeg PF-500 is a great head, if not quite as small and portable as a MarkBass or TC. Gobs of Ampeg tone that will shut up the people who say you can't get the Ampeg sound without valves. And 500W is plenty unless you're using a very power-hungry cab. The Barefaced Super 12 should be a good fit - I gather it's quite power-hungry but nothing like the Big One or some of Alex's other early designs.

If you do go for it though, make sure you try it out first - there was an early batch of them made that had a fault which made them cut out at high input volumes and there's still some of them out there.

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Guest bassman7755

Really I think you dont need to worry too much about amp power with a super 12, its a very effecient cab.

I have a benz genz shuttle 6 and an RH450 and both of these are massively loud with my compact+midget combo and a super 12 would be even louder (about 2.5 db louder according to the specs - that almost twice the percieved volume !!).

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[quote name='bassman7755' post='1372977' date='Sep 14 2011, 10:45 AM']Really I think you dont need to worry too much about amp power with a super 12, its a very effecient cab.

I have a benz genz shuttle 6 and an RH450 and both of these are massively loud with my compact+midget combo and a super 12 would be even louder (about 2.5 db louder according to the specs - that almost twice the percieved volume !!).[/quote]


bearing that in mind, i have too much choice!!
im gonna have to try some out.

many thanks

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I have a terror bass and currently have a Genz Benz Streamliner 600 on loan. On comparing them back and forward they are similar flavours, with the Orange being a bit more aggressive and the Genz being a bit more flexible (and a much nicer form factor than the Terror Bass if you ask me). You couldn't possibly need any more than a terror bass in the volume stakes or you'd be killing people in the front row with an efficient cab like the Barefaced! If I was buying again I might be tempted to go for the Streamliner, but since I already have the Terror Bass and it does all I want I'll not be changing it.

I play hard rock/metal in the vein of Paradise Lost/Anathema/HIM/Katatonia with a P-bass straight in to the Terror Bass and mostly use my Tech Soundsystems cab. Killer rig!

Edited by Bigwan
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I'd stick with the WorkingPro initially - then when you're used to how that performs with the S12 it's much easier to advise on which way to go. If it's too big/heavy take it out of the rackcase - it's only a 25lb 2U head!

The Super Twelve is as efficient as a cab of that size can be, unless you deliberately engineer (or more commonly accidentally happen to have) a mid-bass hump, which gives greater loudness in the upper bass region at the expense of lower bass sensitivity and overall transient response (resonant humps cause overhanging boom). So it isn't power-hungry. It'll accept a lot of power if you want to get really really loud - even a ~1200W amp pushed to the edge isn't too much - by which point your guitarists will have left to go and buy some more piles of cabs and your drummer will be using tree-trunks to hit the skins... :)

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Just my 10penneth, but try as many as you can first.
My first liughtweight amp was a MarkBass LMII. I tried TC, Genz, EA, etc.etc, (never sold the LMII), and am back with MarkBass again. Now have an SA450 and the LMII.
You will have your own idea of what if right for you. Maybe a trip to Bass Direct or The Bass Merchant would be an idea even though it is a bit of a schlep.

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