Around 1k????

[Boochooz]

Hi all.
First post and I know it's been asked similarly but I'm gonna ask anyway.
Got the need for a relatively future proof lightweight rig. My preference would be separates. I think.
Got around £1k to spend maybe a tad more at a push.
Been looking at aguilar TH500, GK mb800/500fusion, and markbass but not sure which of the markbass stuff to look at apart from the LMIII. Would probably pair with a neo 2 12 or similar of whichever brand.
My last rig was a trace 350 paired with a Warwick 1x15. Not ideal but did the job for many years. But after an accident and breaking 6 vertebrae I desperately need a new light setup.
Mainly clubs playing a variety rock/alt. Almost wedding bandesque and some festivals.
Really need advice as there are a lot of great amps and cabs out there. I have played as many as I can but struggle as they're not many stockists for QUALITY bass gear near me in bury.
Any help or recommendations much appreciated.
Cheers.

[GrammeFriday]

Treat yourself to a day trip down to Bass Direct and talk to Mark.

[Kev]

Really try and look at what you want from the amp before you consider cost. Just because you have £1k doesn't mean you should automatically disregard anything costing half that

[Boochooz]

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1408312486' post='2528979']
Really try and look at what you want from the amp before you consider cost. Just because you have £1k doesn't mean you should automatically disregard anything costing half that
[/quote]

Thanks for your replies.
I appriciate that you can get Quality gear for less than £1k. My meaning was i have around £1k that i CAN spend on a decent amp.
I have been playing for 20 years and just got by with whatever i could essentiaslly afford. but now after trying to save over the last couple of years i want something that i feel good about playing and if that takes me to my budget then so be it.
if you can offer some suggestions of gear that wouldnt take me to the top of my budget then please do.
I have been to a fair few shops and tried out loads of gear. I was relatively impressed by the TC Electronic RH450 and the 750 and ended up buying the staccato with the RS210, but after one week i couldnt cope with it. impressed with the functionality of it but not the performance. dont get me wrong, im not saying they arent good i just dont think it was what i was after. a big factor of this was a lack of power to cut through the sound of the drummer or guitarist. both of whom play loud. I am aware i could have tried a different cab or opted for more power with the head but as i said i just felt it wasnt for me.
apart from that i have gigged with a lot of long term hire kit or friends amps. i have played lots of ashdowns but not taken with them, ampeg but had a lot of reliabilty issues with 2 different heads which is like a stigma now and would prefer to stay clear. and other makes as well but my own amp that has lasted the longest and been a work horse has been my trace. originally paired with a trace cab but thanks to a friend years ago blowing the cab i ended up with a warwick115 as a replacement. - it did the job for the money.
anyway im looking for opinions of head and cab combinations that people can suggest.
in my pursuit for a new rig i have up to now tried:
ashdown, orange tb500, tc electronic, ebs reidmar, hartke, warwick, and others including a friends gk mbfusion500 which i liked but didnt get lots of time to really play with it.
i fully intend on going to try the TH500, gk mb fusion and one of the markbass amps out if i can get to somewhere not too far away. not currently having transport other than public makes it a tad difficult. in the mean time if people would like to share their opinions or offer suggestions of amps i may be overlooking then please do.

[Doddy]

Have a look at the Ashdown MiBass stuff. I've used them exclusively since they first came-mostly the MiBass 550 with
either one or two mi12 cabs.I've been using the PiBass a lot lately with just one cab.I use a lot of effects at times, as well
as Upright and Synth, and it's handled everything I've thrown at it. They have a slightly different sound to the ABM/MAG
range.-I like a full range, hifi sound and I can get it with this set up, but also got a lot of range on the EQ. Have a look at the new Rootmaster amps too.

[Boochooz]

Thanks Doddy.
Played plenty of mags before but not tried the Mibass gear. isnt the rootmaster essentially just a replacement for the mag series?
ill have a look though. just not really been wowed by ashdown in the past, but as i said that isnt me dismissing them, just have to be something special to change my mind. thanks for the input.

[JTUK]

A decent head for £500 leaves you with the same for a cab...and a 212 or 2x112 should be the minimum.
If you struggle getting thru a loud drummer and gtr... you may have to mix them as much as you mix yourself..
Not a fan of too much process in the sound myself, as I think this weakens the bass and you need a degree of this
to make the band sound work. I'd say stay away from class D and NEO myself, but if you need to consider weight
then that may not be possible. But...along those lines, consider how much you can or would be prepared to carry.
40lbs per unit..?? that brings a lot of kit into the equation.
TKS make a range of cabs that are light AND ceramic..search here for S112's

My compromised thinking would be for something like a TH500 as the top, and TKS S112's with a horn.
Not sure if that would all come in under £1k tho, so if it were me, I'd be prepared to spend a bit more for the right rig.

[Jenty]

Class D all the way.
I slipped a disk about 6 years ago and the switch to lightweight gear has saved my ability to gig so can only imagine that your backs even worse.
6 vertebre - ouch!

My vote for the GK but question the need to go for the 800 Fusion. The 500 is still uber loud and cuts through the mix amazingly and could potentially save you some pennies. Maybe someone here can persuade you otherwise but try the 500 first as I think it would be ample.

I currently use the 500 Fusion with the Neo212.
Great setup and very lightweight and by far the best matched rig I have owned.
Not as clinical as some of the other GK gear due to dialling in the tubes but will give you that GK sound and with tweaking can perform and sound like almost anything else too.

I play with other band members who like it loud too and the rig really does hold it's own with headroom to spare.
I Don't think you can go wrong with GK.

I think a little look at the new Markbass stuff is warrented too.

I had an LM3 with 2 NY121's. It was nice being able to seperate the cabs depending on venue/rehearsal.

I'm hearing only good things about the BigBang amp but haven't got round to trying it as of yet.

I have never played an Aggy so couldn't comment.

Other than that I would say try a GB Streamliner or even the Shuttlemax as I know there's often some being sold on on here.

And a little nod to the TKS lightweight speakers although if your like me and a stickler for wanting matched rigs then I can't praise the GK stuff enough.

Hope you find what your looking for.

[Lozz196]

I`ve the Markbass CMD121P combo and NY121 ext cab. I play in a loud punk band, and have a knackered back. My set-up (along with a Tech21 VT DI for the specific sound I want) suits both volume and portability.

I`ve had a GK MB Fusion and it was a great amp, pairing that with two lightweight 112s I`m sure would yield good results.

Only tried an Aguilar set-up once, at the London Bass Guitar Show. Loved it, my thoughts were a slightly more modern sounding Ampeg. But their cabs aren`t as light as the others.

Of course sound required is important, but you can get pedals to add in on your rig if the amp itself can`t do what you`re after - that`s what I do. My set-up without the VT DI is near, with it it`s exactly what I want, and I can lift it, which is a real bonus. If lightweight is the real factor, Markbass is definately worth checking out.

[pslh]

I recently tried a few amp heads with my Barefaced Super Midget and ended up buying an Euphonic Audio iAmp Micro. I should say however that I was looking for a very 'transparent' amp that would faithfully reproduce the sound of my fretless six-string Manne Acustibass for jazz gigs.
I think you'll be hard pushed to beat this combination for size and weight: together amp and cab weigh less than 11kg, and I am very happy with the tone but it may or may not meet your needs.

I was really very, very impressed by the Aguilar Tone Hammer 500; very usable tone (although not exactly transparent) and ground-shakingly loud. I highly recommend trying one of these.

I also tried a Taurus BL 450 which had a rather pronounced voice of its own; not at all what I was looking for but I can imagine this going down rather well in a rock-oriented context. I would also mention Carvin; I did not get on with tone of the B1000 I tried but it is obviously a very well made piece of kit. The Carvin BX700 might also be worth a try.

Regarding cabs, I am very happy with my Barefaced Super Midget and would suggest you look at the rest of their product range but if (as JTUK suggests) you need a 2x12 or two 1x12s then this would stretch your budget considerably. I quite liked the sound of the Aguilar GS 112 I tried (a while ago) but they are not what I call light. The other "name brand" lightweight 1x12 cabs I was able to try all left me really rather disappointed.

[Boochooz]

Thanks for the suggestion.
I had been looking at the barefaced bass cabs and also the purple chillis, not to mention the tks gear too to combine with either
The TH500/Fusion500 or 800/ or maybe the LMIII or the Big Bang.
Some people elsewhere are trying to pursuede me to go back down the TC electronic route but I'm a bit sceptical now as the last set up wasn't right.
I'm really struggling to to justify not buying matched gear - head and cab from the same manufacturer. I'm not saying I'm going to because a friend put me on to purple chilli which I think are awesome. And I hear lots of good things about barefaced too.
But I can't decide what to do for the best.
This is only really cos for a long time I have had frankinstiens monster of a rig with bits just from any make that I could effectively afford. And although I'm not knocking it I just had it in my head this time that I would try get a matching setup. I'm sure people can relate to what I'm saying.
My latest creation saw me have a trace head driving a Warwick 15, and also a laney 2x10.
But now I have a little bit of money behind me and I can finally treat myself to some really good gear.
It's an awful thing isn't it having some pretty cool things to choose from.
Please can anyone tell me what the barefaced and purple chilli and tks etc match to quite well amp wise? Or do people think it's a good idea to stick matched? I hear good things about the GKneos too.
And with regards to the budget...it's not set in stone. There is movement for the right rig either up or down a few hundred.
Cheers to the people who have replied up to now too. Very kind.

[JTUK]

Well, some makers make great amps but not cabs..and some cab makers don't even make amps.

The rig isn't for me, but as a rock rig, I'd say GK tops, with a GK 210 and GK 115 was more than decent.
If you insist on matched, you are ruling out TKS, Vanderkly and Bergantino..?

If I was in the market, I'd go TH500 with TKS112x2 with horns and hope to come in under £1200.
That would be my lightweight rig....and if I had more money I'd consider Berg CN112x2 with the same
TH amp.

IF...IF, I were more confident of their amps, I'd also consider for a rock gig, the Ampeg VF500/800 and PF cabs.
This was such a sexy littte shop set-up sound but I would be wary if it could amp up as well...which is my main beef with
Markbass as well, IME.

[Boochooz]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1408465656' post='2530479']
Well, some makers make great amps but not cabs..and some cab makers don't even make amps.

The rig isn't for me, but as a rock rig, I'd say GK tops, with a GK 210 and GK 115 was more than decent.
If you insist on matched, you are ruling out TKS, Vanderkly and Bergantino..?

If I was in the market, I'd go TH500 with TKS112x2 with horns and hope to come in under £1200.
That would be my lightweight rig....and if I had more money I'd consider Berg CN112x2 with the same
TH amp.

IF...IF, I were more confident of their amps, I'd also consider for a rock gig, the Ampeg VF500/800 and PF cabs.
This was such a sexy littte shop set-up sound but I would be wary if it could amp up as well...which is my main beef with
Markbass as well, IME.
[/quote]

thanks this is really interesting.
im hopefully going to get a go on the th500 very soon as my drummer fancies a drive out later this week. so aiming for a shop that has one in.
would like to try the GKs too.
quite like the idea of getting a barefaced supercompact or supermidget on trial and seeing how that holds up one i decide on the amp too. but would also be considering the tks.
seems to be quite a divide over the markbass gear moreso than a lot of the other makes.

[Damonjames]

To be really honest, I don't think you will go wrong with any if the gear you have mentioned.
I have GK neo cabs and they are great, just be VERY carefull with the crossover on the back as the horns are very delicate, and the only GK distributor told me it would be an 8 week wait for a replacement. Other than that, they are loud, clean and amazingly portable (I fit my 212 and 115 side by side in the boot of my
Mondeo hatch without having to adjust the seat, just take the parcel shelf out).
The markbass little mark stuff is fairly transparent so if you want any colour it may not be for you. I have a GKMB200 as my backup to my rb100ii and am amazed how nice it sounds and how loud it can go. The fusion versions will give a little warmth, but all of them still have that classic GK tone. Bang for buck, I don't think you can go past it