huwgarms Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 as the title suggests, im looking for a lightweight roughly 500 power rated head, i have so far considered the two above amps, i have gigged using the ampeg and was really impressed i have not had a chance to try the mark bass nor will i in time before my next gig, questions to you guys are, a) out of those two any preferances and why - price wise i have found them at around the £300 mark , £249 on the ampeg from the states but i cant wait for the postage time ;-( is there any others out there that are as good/powerfull tonal small for around the same money i should be considering? money is tight as i wasnt looking to replace this side of crimbo and will be broke till january lol thanks in advance matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 That £249 from the States is likely to increase considerably with import duty and Vat, plus you'll need to check it's got a UK-friendly power supply. They're different beasts tone-wise - a LM III for £300 is a lot of amp for the money, but I found to get anywhere near an Ampeg tone it needed a Sansamp in front of it. You can do this cheap with a Behringer BDI21 instead. If money's tight, a LH500 might do the job, although they're bigger. The other hybrid small tubey-contenders like the Streamliner or RH450 or LM Tube you'll be very lucky to find for the money you've got. Worth a look, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 hi appreciate the straight approach and honesty , the lm is a 2? how are the lh500 for power and tone? im not very experienced with amps etc having only used ashdown stuff, thanks again, ps the three mentioned are they kinda the best kit for that kinda money? thanks and apologies for the ignorance matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlungerModerno Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 AFAIK the PF500 has a switch on the back for US and EU voltages . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Both are great amps. For me, I was always firmly in the Ampeg camp until I bought a Markbass Little Mark Tube. From then on, it`s been Markbass for me - though sadly the LMT has gone, but been replaced with a CMD121 combo, which is the Little Mark II head in a combo. So it`s a question of sound really. The Ampeg can do the typical Ampeg sound, and the Little Mark II is cleaner than that, though it is still warm sounding, but in the mix it is fantastic. In terms of power, I think the Markbass is louder, but then that could just be down to how the volume control is set. I`ve certainly never used either on full - I`d have no hearing left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 lozz much appreciated, covered nearly all the issues i had in my head, dam still cant decide now lol, i guess price/postage and getting one before crimbo could be the deal breaker ;-) much thanks from all the posters for taking the time, much appreciated matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 One of each is needed I feel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 ^^^ haha top welsh wisdom, was only looking to buy a pedal or maybe a combo this side of crimbo, looking like im a new convert to a lightweight smaller size amp, perhaps with a good few gigs in the next few months i may add the second one ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarjong Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I've not owned either of those amps, but I have got a PF 350 and I've played the LM II plenty of times. To me, the PF 350 sounds vintage but a more modern tone can be coaxed out of it. The LM sounds cleaner (as has already been said) and is a great bit of kit. At £300 it is a steal. A quick Google and I can't see it at that price, or were you talking used? Not sure if this is important to you, but if my Ampeg is anything to go by, the PF 500 will be a very sturdy bit of kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monckyman Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Having owned both the LM2 and PF500,I would say the LM2 is a great neutral platform for solid power and clean tone that you can use with all sorts of frontend pre amps or pedals to customise your sound. The PF sounds like an Ampeg out of the box, though there`s no reason you can`t change that with pedals etc. I still have and use on every gig, my PF500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguyhomer Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I've owned both (5 MB heads) - I love the sound of the Ampeg and probably prefer it in that sense to the LMII but I'm anal about reliability, so my recommendation having done 300+ gigs with MB heads would be to go with the LMII every time. I will say that my Ampeg never failed on me in the short time I had it but for some reason that I can't justify I never had the same trust in it. You can always dirty up the LMII with a pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankai Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 What about the Aguilar Tonehammer? Similiar price point. Any opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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