Best head for around £500-£600'ish

[Jaykingfunk]

Morning all, sorry if this has already been done to death but after some advice...

I've got a Mark Bass CMD102P that I've owned for about 9 years. I run it with a GK 115RBH underneath for bigger gigs. I recently got a Fender Jazz Deluxe MIM and when I play it through the MB on its own, I find it lacks something, possibly in the low mid range but hard to put my finger on it.

Anyhow, I've been thinking of selling the MB, not just because of the jazz sound but partly because I fancy a change, so was thinking of getting a head and running it with the GK can as it's sounds much better than the MB speakers but that might be due to it being a 15" with a tweeter.

So, having read all about class D amps and all the rest of it, what have other folk got around 500/600 price range?

Thanks in advance, J.

[JapanAxe]

What bass were you playing before the Jazz?

[BassManGraham]

I always thought my Music Man Sterlings were a particularly great match for my CMD102P.

Have you considered trying a John East J Retro deluxe preamp in your Jazz (so easy to fit ). it will breath new life into it for far less than cost of a new amp/rig. I always fit them to my Jazzes (sound like a jazz on steroids) as IMHO they are far superior to the Fender deluxe preamp circuits.

If you want an amp change, try the Gallien Kruger MB500 (or MB800) head which was the best I found for a reasonably priced lightweight punchy bass amp.

That said, the Fender Rumble 500 III (2x10 Combo) takes a lot of beating for the price too.

Good luck

[fretmeister]

Eich T500 (same as Tecamp Puma 500)

Awesome amps. Well made. Versatile.

[casapete]

Gallien Krueger 1001RB - slightly outside your budget by £25 at GAK, but worth every penny.
S/h ones usually around the £350 mark too, and will match up with your cab nicely. Assuming it's
an 8 ohm cab you'll still get around 460 watts of low end loveliness, along with 50w to power the horn should
you want to go the bi-amp route. Great amps.

[IanA]

Second hand puma 500 with gig bag at Bass Direct £450... Very nice amp

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 22, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[IanA]

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1474903230' post='3141395']


Probably behind the Hilton on Park Lane!
[/quote]
Naughty 😁

[machinehead]

It's hard to go wrong these days as there's a lot of good amps out there.

When I was in your position I decided on an EBS Reidmar 750 at around £500 which seemed very good value compared to the competition.

I like it very much and it has loads of headroom and good features like compression (although I don't use it myself) and the "drive" knob adds a bit of warmth.

But you'd be best to be sure you like the basic sound of an amp before buying, although if you buy online you can always return if it doesn't suit.

EDIT Here's some reviews. [url="http://ebssweden.com/server/and-the-verdict-on-the-ebs-reidmar-750-is/"]http://ebssweden.com...reidmar-750-is/[/url]

Frank.

Edited September 28, 2016 by machinehead

[Jazzjames]

Go with a GK amp if you're going to use GK speakers. The other heads, whilst I'm sure good, could disagree with the cab you have.

[Jaykingfunk]

Thanks for the replies people.

Tried an Orange Terror Combo today and wasn't a fan of it but it eliminates one brand at least! Even thought about selling the cab too and going for a combo?

Will have a look st the Puma's, not seen one before...

[Dan Dare]

A pal has just bought a Mesa Subway 800 and it's excellent. Dear in this country (£800+), which is a bit of a rip-off as it's $700 in the States. Goes down to 2 ohms, too, which makes it versatile. Uses same the Bang & Olufsen ICE class D power module as does the Aguilar TH500. I tried a TH500 this week and liked it a lot, but it only goes to 4 ohms and I use three 8 ohm cabs. If you can stretch to the Mesa (or get a pal to bring you one from the US), it would do the job very well.

[Muzz]

The Genzler Magellan is about £650, goes down to 2.67 ohms (that'd be three 8 ohms cabs, or a 4 and an 8), and the channels and filters are fantastic for versatility. Uses one of the newer Class D power modules (AFAIK not the older one in the TH500), if that is something you're concerned about, rather than what it actually sounds like, but I can highly recommend it. It's a very very responsive amp, with a 'feel' to the notes. I've a longer review of it on here somewhere.

[IanA]

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1475057655' post='3142632']
The Genzler Magellan is about £650, goes down to 2.67 ohms (that'd be three 8 ohms cabs, or a 4 and an 8), and the channels and filters are fantastic for versatility. Uses one of the newer Class D power modules (AFAIK not the older one in the TH500), if that is something you're concerned about, rather than what it actually sounds like, but I can highly recommend it. It's a very very responsive amp, with a 'feel' to the notes. I've a longer review of it on here somewhere.
[/quote]
+1 very impressive amp