I STILL have little clue as to the world of the bass amp head and cabs

[tommorichards]

Im after a larger rig than my current trace elliott 150 watter combo.

What would be a decent amp head and cab with around 250w power, and preferably a 4x10 cab around the £500 mark all in. Im probably going to get used anyway, so i dont mind 2nd handers, or peeps pimping their for sale gear. But im not too sure what to look for, and sounds.

The ashdown evo series seems alright (though i have heard some bad stories of them)

Id appreciate any information you guys' collective knowledge may be able to bestow upon to me

Edited April 29, 2013 by tommorichards

[Delberthot]

I think what I'm selling might fit the bill.

I'm selling my Hartke LH500 and have an Ashdown 4x10" that I can add to the deal for well within your budget.

At the weekend I depped with a band that only had a vocal PA in a huge marquee and there was loads of volume to spare. I have 2 4x10"s but the reason I'm selling one is because I'm never going to need it.

[Truckstop]

Well.

4x10's are awesome value for money right now because they're so unfashionable. You can get just as much volume and bass with a well designed 2x10, 1x15 or 2x12 cab which are almost always lighter and smaller. If you don't mind lugging stuff around, second hand Peavey cabs are (IMO) faultless. Great build quality, easily repairable and great tone all the time. Plusses are that they've very very cheap. You can get a great quality one for less than £100.

This leaves you lots of money to get a great head (which in my opinion is where most of your noise comes from). £400 will get you something small, light, ultra flexible (pre/post EQ DI, headphone sockets, aux in etc). Honestly, it's best to look around! Personally I'd be looking at Markbass, EA amps or Gallien Krueger.

The other side of things is valves and lots of them. Old PA heads like Selmer turn up on eBay all the time but weigh a tonne. Lovely rich valve tone though. Ashdown Little Bastard and Orange Terrorbass 500 are also within budget.

Really, just get out there and try everything. With £500 I wouldn't much about the cab, I'd concentrate on buying a head that will stay with me for a long time.

Hope this helps!

Alex

[tommorichards]

Hi guys. Im in a band now, so im after something that will work with mid sized venues. Ive spent about two hours looking around the amps and cabs section and now im frazzled with the massive variety. Ive been looking at the little giant heads by ashdown, but they seem to be short lived. Looked at hartke, but they seem to sell as soon as they go up.

What head out there gives a nice clean solid sound? Or is that like asking what kind of pickups are best for.......

Everyone here is so very helpful. I am awful appreciative.

Edited April 29, 2013 by tommorichards

[Lozz196]

Clean solid sound - Markbass, Gallien Krueger (with the gain turned down) or Hartke.

My personal preference is Markbass, they have a great sound that sits very nicely in the mix, are lightweight, and plenty powerful.

[Graham]

I'd go Hartke - lot of bang for your buck and give a clear, solid sound. If you can pair one with an Ampeg 4x10 it'll sound great

[Damonjames]

Orange terror bass 500, would be a good bet. I have the 1000 watt version and love it. It's ultra light, but has a valve pre which can go from warm valve to full on growl. These units are LOUD for the size, but if you want ultra clean sound AND volume you might struggle, if you want it loud you have to use gain. You should be able to pick one up for about £350 which will leave you enough for you cab.

[Damonjames]

Just checked the classifieds, if you are quick there is a orange terror bass for, and either a peavy or trace elliott 410 that would bring you in on or under budget.

[lurksalot]

I have got a spare Warwick profet 3.2 with a 410 pro that you can have a bash on if you want , the only way to suss what gear you want is to try the stuff , the profet has a dusty gain pot , but you will know if it gives the sound/volume you want . borrow it for a week or two , bring it back or make an offer , I am only a spit and kick away






ps I have paid my £20 , not that I actually intend selling any stuff

[discreet]

Another vote for Markbass if you want a clean, solid sound. That's what they do best. Very reliable and well-built, too.

[Telebass]

And another for Markbass, albeit this time paired with a Barefaced Super 15!

[Bolo]

There are so many brands that give you clean and Solid, most of them with their own flavor or 'signature' mixed in. SWR is a good one, and you may find what you seek in a Peavey, markbass (though more expensive), Kustom, Gallien Krueger, Hartke, Ashdown.
They are all fine, the key is to try before you buy. Compare as many as you can!
Also, have fun searching, the search alone taught me a lot.

[chris_b]

You're right, there is a lot of choice these days, but it won't be the end of the world if you buy something you decide you don't like 4 weeks down the line.

Just sell it and buy something else.

If you like your TE and want to keep the sound there is (or was recently) a 300 watt Trace head with a 410 cab in the FS section.

There's an Ampeg SVT3 and a 410 which would be great if you want an Ampeg sound.

Hartke is very good.

I'd buy a 410 if your mates will help you carry it. I'd start with a 300 to 500 watt amp.

After that just try as much stuff as you can.

Have you seen a local band that sounds like you want to sound? What were they using?

[JTUK]

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1349134720' post='1822378']
Well.

4x10's are awesome value for money right now because they're so unfashionable. [b]You can get just as much volume and bass with a well designed 2x10, 1x15 or 2x12 cab ..........[/b]
[/quote]

I'd put this done to urban myth or perpetuated by people who would want you to believe it for their own ends, but there you go.. and it just hasn't been my experience.
I'd agree that 410's being replaced by those types of cabs but the PRIME reason is
tha 410's are heavy. IMV.

Downgrading, as it were, is all about where you accept your compromise... and weight and carry is valid, of course.

All that aside.... SWR Goliaths are great cabs for the money...TE410's and PV less so but should all come in for under £250.
I would look for an old amp for the same sort of price... rather than the likes of Hartke, myself.
Not a fan of GK myself..but they would come up decent value for money,

At this price point it is old tried and tested...and maybe past their best depending on how hard a life they have had, against cheap new pacific rim product.

For me, I'd be looking at old U.S Eden and SWR for quality...but that assumes you like the sound.

Not sure of the price, but I recently liked a PF500 (PF 350) and Portaflex set-up. Not sure if you can source them SH but I thought it a nice rock set-up
for the type of gigs you are targetting..??
The semantics of this argumement isn't likely to affect your budget

[tommorichards]

Okay, so if i have a 500w into 4ohm head, what sort of ohmage/wattage cab am i after?

[JapanAxe]

The answer is in the question! Most cabs are 8 ohm. A head that will deliver 500W into 4 ohm will give more like 300W into 8 ohm, so that would be your minimum power for a single 8 ohm cab. Get a second one if you want to extract full power and a 'bigger' sound.

[chris_b]

[quote name='tommorichards' timestamp='1367446435' post='2065926']
....so if i have a 500w into 4ohm head, what sort of ohmage/wattage cab am i after?....
[/quote]

How loud are you going to play?

I usually play through 2 8 ohm 112 cabs, rated at 300 watts each. The 600 watt amp is only at a quarter volume so I'm putting approx 150 watts into cabs rated at 600 watts. With sensitive speakers, that's loud enough for a pretty loud band, not Metal or Heavy Rock volume, but we are still asked to turn down on occasion.

My rule of thumb would be, for a 500 watt amp you'll need 2 300-400 watt 8 ohm cabs or 1 500-700 watt 4 ohm cab.

[thepurpleblob]

Ashdown 4x10s are changing hands for next to nothing at the moment and are very good. The problem is that they are damn heavy. Buy the most powerful amp you can afford. As long as it's a reasonable quality manufacturer it doesn't make a huge difference IMO.

[thisnameistaken]

Hartke stuff ids really good vlowalue, their LH500 head is particularly cheap for what it is, and would be loud enough for any gig you'll ever do.

Cabs are a compromise between low price, volume and portability. You can have two of those characteristics but not all three.

[xgsjx]

You'll struggle to hear the difference between putting 500 w into a 4 ohm cab vs 350 w into an 8 ohm cab unless the cabs are significantly different (eg. 6x10 vs 2x10).

You can use any amp & cab without having to check the watts, just use your ears.

BTW, there's many lightweight 4x10s out there.

Edited May 2, 2013 by xgsjx

[spacey]

Keep away from the hartke vx10 cab, my firebass head ate on in less than a minute on stage , yet it has run a peavey 4x10 for years, nasty cheap Chinese drivers in those cabs.

[lefrash]

A Hartke lh500 can be had for £220 s/h. As others have said, a 2nd hand 4x10's go for next to nothing these days. So if you're happy with a big cab, then you could get a decent and super loud rig for £320!

An LH500 is my top choice, but I would honestly rethink the 4x10 idea, as £280 could get you quite a decent 2x10 or 2x12 which will be alot lighter, more practical, and just as loud! bn

[tredders]

Just do what we all do - go out and buy some kit. Be really pleased with it for a month. Read Basschat, and discover some other make / model that you absolutely must have. Sell the stuff you just bought at a loss. Buy new stuff. Realise it's pretty much the same as the last stuff. Repeat ad nauseum.

Seriously though, try some different stuff out if you can. The offer (earlier in the thread) of having a rig for a week to see if it suits you was a good (and generous) idea. It's like everything, if you ask 20 bassists what amp & cabs to get, you'll get 25 different answers

[Lozz196]

Good advice there Tredders. The only thing I would add is go and see some local bands playing, and when you hear a bass set-up you like, take note. When I was looking for a new lightweight set-up, I went through many different brands of amps/cabs etc, that were all good, but none of which really "hit the spot". I then remembered that every single time I`d seen bassists using Markbass gear I`d loved the sound, so that was it for me.

So if you always like someone else using a specific brand, then that brand has to be worth checking out.

[Stan_da_man]

[quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1367274040' post='2063673']
Orange terror bass 500, would be a good bet. I have the 1000 watt version and love it. It's ultra light, but has a valve pre which can go from warm valve to full on growl. These units are LOUD for the size, but if you want ultra clean sound AND volume you might struggle, if you want it loud you have to use gain. You should be able to pick one up for about £350 which will leave you enough for you cab.
[/quote]
He said clean sound?

GK, Mark Bass or Genz Benz would be your best bet.