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In the market for a new amp


BASainty
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Im currently looking at buying a new amp as my current one just isnt strong enough to hold up against our (very loud) drummer without distorting.

I dont have any idea on amps, weather I should go for a combo or a head and cab so I need some advice. Power wise I should be fine with 200watts (current amp is 120watt), makes and that I haven't really got much of an idea.

My budget is flexible to an extent (I cant afford silly prices) but I can go up to around the £300 mark at a push but would rather be lower than that if I can help it.

So yea any and all advice will be greatly appreciated!

Edit:

I've been looking around and noticed the Behringer BXL3000A and the Behringer BXL3000 they are about £200 with 300 watts, links are here: [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Behringer-BXL3000A-Ultrabass-Bass-Amp/7EP"]http://www.gear4musi...ss-Bass-Amp/7EP[/url] and [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Behringer-BXL3000-Ultrabass-Bass-Amp/4VX"]http://www.gear4musi...ss-Bass-Amp/4VX[/url]

The only difference is one has an aluminium cone the other one has a hard impact cone, what difference does this make? and which would you advise if either?

Edited by 4StringFortress
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A 200W amp really isn't that much noticeably louder than a 120W one. Perceived loudness is not directly propertional to wattage. You need 10 x the wattage to double the perceived volume.
But it's not quite as simple as that, because the same wattage with a larger speaker cone area (more speakers, or larger speakers) will increase volume also.
Are you open to buying used ? Is weight an issue ?
A used 4x10 should be possible to pick up used for not much more than £100. THere's a range of 300-500W (ish) amps you could buy used for £200-£300. That would provide a fairly hefty volume increase over your current rig. However, can you transport a 4x10 ?

THings that might suit in the classifieds at the moment are ...

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/191209-fsft-ashdown-abm-evo-ii-500-combo-w-flight-case-l350/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/191209-fsft-ashdown-abm-evo-ii-500-combo-w-flight-case-l350/[/url]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/191126-ashdown-550-touring-115-combo-fsft-l350-ono/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/191126-ashdown-550-touring-115-combo-fsft-l350-ono/[/url]

Edited by hamfist
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You may aswell buy a big rig second hand and not have to worry about upgrading in a few months.

Peavey cabs are very highly regarded. Great tone and great value for money; but with it comes great weight and bulk. If size and weigh isn't a problem, then go for it! You can pick one up for £75-£125 easy peasey!

Amps however are a slightly different kettle of fish. Again, you can't go wrong with Peavey. I've seen Peavey Firebass 700's go for £100 and they are awesome amps! Hartke is also a good brand to look out for. The LH350 and LH500 can be got for less that £200. Have a look around, and if you see something you're not sure of, start a thread here and we'll give you an honest opinion.

There are a few combos worth getting. Ashdown make decent 2x10 combos that go for around £250 second hand and they'll have enough grunt for a rock band. Gallien Krueger used to make an RB400iv combo. If you can score one of those, you're laughing!

Truckstop

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If you can find the other £50, this would be worth every single penny >> http://www.gak.co.uk/en/peavey-tour-tko-bass-combo/26236
Easy enough to move around by yourself, it'll fit in a corsa and it will be VERY loud when compared to the competition, Peavey Watts tend to be a lot louder than regular ones...

Eude

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[quote name='4StringFortress' timestamp='1352292133' post='1861112']
I only have a corsa so probably not about to transport a 4x10 weight isn't an issue either so peavey seem a good option how much would I have to pay for a cab and head? I'm happy to buy used as well by the way. I can't really go over 300,if I'm honest.
[/quote]

I can't imagine getting a 4x10 into a corsa will be much of a problem with the back seats down. You'd be amazed at how much extra grunt you will get with extra speaker area. I would also advise getting 10's instead a 15" speaker. Cheaper 15's do tend to "flub" out earlier, despite their rated wattage. A 4x10 usually can take a lot more wattage too, due to the ability to spread any power between all 4 speakers.

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[quote name='eude' timestamp='1352293472' post='1861137']
If you can find the other £50, this would be worth every single penny >> [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/peavey-tour-tko-bass-combo/26236"]http://www.gak.co.uk...ass-combo/26236[/url]
Easy enough to move around by yourself, it'll fit in a corsa and it will be VERY loud when compared to the competition, Peavey Watts tend to be a lot louder than regular ones...

Eude
[/quote]

This does look pretty nice.. and I guess if i can fork out the extra i wont need to upgrade from this for a long time?

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There are so many out there that it's difficult to recommend just one. I do recommend buying secondhand and sticking to reliable brands like Hartke, ashdown, peavy, trace elliot etc. Also make sure there is an output for another speaker on the back for those gigs where you may need the added volume another speaker can give you.

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Thanks for the advice guys, I've heard good things about the Ibenez Promethean amps, here is one here at GAK [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/ibanez-p3115-bass-combo-amplifier/56949"]http://www.gak.co.uk/en/ibanez-p3115-bass-combo-amplifier/56949[/url]

Would that do for what I need? Bare in mine im in a heavy rock/metal band with a loud drummer.

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I would seriously look at some used Hartke stuff. They're really great amps and very loud, and usually quite reasonably priced. If you could pick up a second hand Hartke 4.5XL cab with a Hartke HA3500 or LH500 head, that would be a great rig.
www.Thomann.de have a couple of options a good prices at the minute:
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/hartke_2500_bass_head_bundle_3.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/hartke_2500_bass_head_bundle_3.htm[/url]

Or if you can save a little extra:
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/hartke_2500_bass_head_bundle.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/hartke_2500_bass_head_bundle.htm[/url]

Or search Hartke in the for sale section on this forum, something like this could be an option:
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/187524-hartke-lh500-bass-amp-and-yamaha-410-cab-l340/page__p__1858863__hl__hartke__fromsearch__1#entry1858863"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/187524-hartke-lh500-bass-amp-and-yamaha-410-cab-l340/page__p__1858863__hl__hartke__fromsearch__1#entry1858863[/url]

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+1 for the Hartke stuff. I've a HA2500, and it's a great little amp, and really loud for what it is too. Used it almost exclusively for loads of pubs gigs for a couple of years, and it always got the job done. Still got it as my backup amp.
ISTR seeing one for sale here recently...

There's a HA3500 in the For Sale section - stick something like that with an 8Ohm cab (the usual suspects - Peavey, Ashdown, Hartke, Trace etc pop up regularly around the 100-150 quid mark) and you're good to go. If you need even more volume you can add another cab later.

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[quote name='4StringFortress' timestamp='1352296812' post='1861207']
Thanks for the advice guys, I've heard good things about the Ibenez Promethean amps, here is one here at GAK [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/ibanez-p3115-bass-combo-amplifier/56949"]http://www.gak.co.uk...amplifier/56949[/url]

Would that do for what I need? Bare in mine im in a heavy rock/metal band with a loud drummer.
[/quote]

Possibly - Ibanez gets a lot of love on basschat and It does have a speaker output for another cab which is good but I doubt there would be many who have tried this particular model. The hartkes mentioned previously are good loud amps and are cheap secondhand. Remember you do get much more for your money when buying secondhand than brand new.

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I'm about to get a TC Electronics BH250, very good value, sweetened by the offer of a free chorus pedal worth about £100 that TC Electronics have on till the end of the year.
From what others have said who have already bought one it will meet your requirements
Heres a link to the offer
[url="http://www.tcelectronic.com/holiday-rebate-bass.asp"]http://www.tcelectronic.com/holiday-rebate-bass.asp[/url]

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[i]You might want to consider this BG500 combo, easily loud enough [/i]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/189242-two-amps-for-sale-trace-elliot-and-tc-electronic/"][i]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/189242-two-amps-for-sale-trace-elliot-and-tc-electronic/[/i][/url]

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[quote name='rubis' timestamp='1352309353' post='1861460']
[i]You might want to consider this BG500 combo, easily loud enough [/i]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/189242-two-amps-for-sale-trace-elliot-and-tc-electronic/"][i]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/189242-two-amps-for-sale-trace-elliot-and-tc-electronic/[/i][/url]
[/quote]

This TC above is an excellent combo.
Loads of features - tuner, presets, tubedrive, compressor, aux in and headphone out for practicing. Bargain at 250 sniffs.
Had the 15" version for a while but reckon the 210 would sound tighter and punchier. The 15 was a bit wallowy for my taste.

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[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/187524-hartke-lh500-bass-amp-and-yamaha-410-cab-l340/page__p__1858863__hl__hartke__fromsearch__1#entry1858863"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/187524-hartke-lh500-bass-amp-and-yamaha-410-cab-l340/page__p__1858863__hl__hartke__fromsearch__1#entry1858863[/url]

He might consider splitting the rig if a 4x10 is too big for your needs...

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Thanks for all the advice and suggestions guys, I had 7 different suggestions and 5 of those were offers.

In the end I ended up going for a Peavey Tour TKO 115 400 watt combo new from GAK, got it for £325 after speaking to them on the phone.

Specs can be found here: [url="http://www.peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/811/116916/Tour%26nbsp%3BTKO%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B115"]http://www.peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/811/116916/Tour%26nbsp%3BTKO%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B115[/url]

I got to say this thing is a beast! both in size and air pushing ability, very very loud and a superb sound. It has the option to add an extension cab too if I ever need more oomph.

Although I know I could of got something possibly a bit better second hand this is all i will need for a long time and had the advantage of a 1 year warranty from GAK and a 5 year one from Peavey them selves which was also one of the big selling points, another big point was the free next day delivery.

Thanks again for all your help and I hope this thread can be used for anyone else who is looking for a new amp!

Peace out.

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