Budgetneil Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) Hi guys, I'm looking for a combo (assuming head/cab are out of reach) in the region of £250 (could stretch a bit more if it would get me a lot more amp). Main use in the short term would be home practice but with aspirations towards weekend-warriordom in the not too distant. Headphones definitely (wife/kids to keep happy), mp3 in would be nice. EBS Session 60 looks good but lower power than some for the money, I've seen a Hiwatt B100 on the money advertised locally - any experiences? Style-wise: pop/rock(not metal)/jazz Thanks in anticipation! Neil Edited February 7, 2012 by Budgetneil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 secondhand (old) trace elliot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I've not tried an EBS, but I was distinctly unimpressed with the b300 that was provided at a gig. I very much preferred the MAG 300 1x15 combo the venue usually supplied - and I'm not even that much of a fan of Ashdown! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudpup Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 pm'ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Tipping Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 What about a nice little ampeg Ba115? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Would go for an Ampeg, I have the baby practice one for home use, BA 110, which is a great bit of kit, you can get the for a good price off the web, it has a tilt back facility which makes it like a monitor, not exactly stable but nice feature. The BA115 would be a good point to start at, has all the necessary out puts to make it good for gigging with, have a deal with Dave Tipping you won'tbe disappointed. Trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I`ve got the Ampeg BA 108, and second that opinion - great sounding amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgetneil Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 I hadn't even considered the Ampegs - based on this I'll be giving them a spin. They also have the benefit of being relatively easy to track down to try unlike the EBS. Spec wise they look comparable to the Ashdown Five Fifteen combo and mini stack but Ashdown seem keen to market them purely as pokey practice amps - is this just marketing fluff or are they genuinely less able than, say, the Ampeg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgetneil Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 Mudpup - pm'd back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 What about this? No connection whatsoever with me - I just saw your thread & had posted about this. [url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-combos/pid23176/cid687/ashdown-220-touring-1x12-220w-bass-amp.asp"]http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-combos/pid23176/cid687/ashdown-220-touring-1x12-220w-bass-amp.asp[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgetneil Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Blimey - propper price crash. The new NAMM range must be on the way... Perfect Weekend Warrior stuff but why do Ashdown not put headphones on anything but their bargain practice range? Are real bass players not supposed to want to practice quietly? Or is it a scam to make you buy 2 amps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 2nd hand Hartke amp and cab. Great sound, valve preamp, loads of power and should get change for a set of strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 i'd suggest something else for the practice with headphones, you might struggle to find something powerful enough to gig with that has a headphone output, i'd go for something designed for headphones like the korg pandora, much easier to use than headphones into a combo. they crop up in the classifieds here fairly frequently. then i'd suggest a nice secondhand amp for gigging, trace elliot are the obvious choice (for me anyway, ymmv) you might even be able to get a head and cab setup within your budget even allowing for the purchase of the pandora. if you've got some space to store it and a strong back there's plenty of cheap kit out there. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgetneil Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) Thanks guys. Loads of great ideas, point taken re. separate headphone amp Matt, in fact thinking about it now I've got a little Zoom PS-4 buried somewhere which would probably do the job. Bring on pay-day then I'll be hitting the classifieds I think! Neil Edited February 12, 2012 by Budgetneil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbass67 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Hi Budgetneil Here's something that ticks all your boxes and at a super bargain price! It is a Harley Benton BA500. From www.Thomann.de. 500 watt class D amplifier, compact and lightweight , headphone out and aux in, lots of tone shaping capabilities. And amazingly, it actually sounds really good. I've had alot of different (expensive) amps over the years, but this thing has been great. Used as my main gigging amp for the past year with no problems at all. Before I bought it I did some research and it seems to be modelled on the Ibanez Promethean range. Anyway the best news is that it costs a measly £160 brand new. There is also a 1x10 combo for about £235. The good bit about this is the head is removeable so you can use it with any cab. Don't know about the speaker in the combo but as you can tell I'm a huge fan of the amp and think it represents the best value out there at the moment. Check it out. Hope this helps Cheers Paul http://www.thomann.de/gb/mobile_prod.html?AR=238698 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbass67 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Now that I've hyped this up, it all comes crashing down. . . Out of stock ! . . .till april Sorry mate, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgetneil Posted February 23, 2012 Author Share Posted February 23, 2012 D'oh! Cheers for the tip though Paul. I'd seen these but was wary based on the bargain price. Glad to hear it's a good bit of kit though - certainly the most bang vs buck for a new amp in the price range. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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