Friskydingo Posted July 19, 2019 Posted July 19, 2019 So I'm getting a squier jazz and I'm looking round at amps, preferably heads, to see what is around. I gig in a rock covers band with two guitars and like the sound of 90's punk and grunge. There's some great gear on sell on this forum but I don't know where to start. £350 would hopefully buy a good used head and I can borrow my mates hartke 4x10 for now. Suggestions? Quote
T-Bay Posted July 19, 2019 Posted July 19, 2019 My orange terror has the perfect tone for me, we play a lot of grunge/ punk and it fits in very well. Mine is the 1000w variant but your budget would get you the 500w version which is more than enough for almost anywhere you would play. Quote
Friskydingo Posted July 19, 2019 Author Posted July 19, 2019 I have seen an orange 500 for £3-400. Its simplistic which I don't mind as too many options make me constantly want to change the tone. I've also seen an older trace Elliot on here Quote
ped Posted July 19, 2019 Posted July 19, 2019 If you’re borrowing a Hartke can then I’d recommend the Hartke 3500 head, it’s a classic and sounds great with those aluminium speakers. Quote
Friskydingo Posted July 19, 2019 Author Posted July 19, 2019 15 minutes ago, ped said: If you’re borrowing a Hartke can then I’d recommend the Hartke 3500 head, it’s a classic and sounds great with those aluminium speakers. Is that ha3500? I'm just borrowing the 4x10 but it does sound good, so may try to convince him to part with it Quote
ped Posted July 19, 2019 Posted July 19, 2019 Just now, Friskydingo said: Is that ha3500? I'm just borrowing the 4x10 but it does sound good, so may try to convince him to part with it Yep that’s the one. I used one with a 410 and 210 for years and I’m not convinced my subsequent amps sounded much better on stage than that Hartke did 👍🏼 Quote
Friskydingo Posted July 19, 2019 Author Posted July 19, 2019 Just now, ped said: Yep that’s the one. I used one with a 410 and 210 for years and I’m not convinced my subsequent amps sounded much better on stage than that Hartke did 👍🏼 You're not convinced but you kept in buying new gear? If that's not GAS in action I don't know what is 😂 I'm more knowledgeable of guitar brands so is hartke a respected/reliable brand? I've heard of it before but don't know it's standing in the bass community 1 Quote
JohnA Posted July 19, 2019 Posted July 19, 2019 Ampeg pf500 used for about £250 or if the 410 is 4 ohm then a pf350 could well do the job. Great rock bass head loads of other options there’s an orange terror 500 in the classifieds fir 300 louder than a very loud thing and sound great too Quote
Friskydingo Posted July 19, 2019 Author Posted July 19, 2019 That Ampeg is a good bit of gear. I'll check 4 or 8 ohms Quote
JohnA Posted July 19, 2019 Posted July 19, 2019 (edited) 26 minutes ago, Friskydingo said: That Ampeg is a good bit of gear. I'll check 4 or 8 ohms It is. I’ve got the PF350 and love it. If you’re patient there are bargains out there, paid £150 for mine https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ampeg-PF-500-Portaflex-500W-Bass-Head/264403381613?epid=2164357119&hash=item3d8fab6d6d:g:8fUAAOSwlmxdMcST Edited July 19, 2019 by JohnA Quote
Friskydingo Posted July 19, 2019 Author Posted July 19, 2019 8 minutes ago, JohnA said: It is. I’ve got the PF350 and love it. If you’re patient there are bargains out there, paid £150 for mine https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ampeg-PF-500-Portaflex-500W-Bass-Head/264403381613?epid=2164357119&hash=item3d8fab6d6d:g:8fUAAOSwlmxdMcST I'm patient. My band has only just set up so still learning songs at the moment, another couple of months yet Quote
Lozz196 Posted July 20, 2019 Posted July 20, 2019 You can get an Ashdown RM-500 within that budget, worth checking out. I have one as my practice & backup amp and it’s a very good, powerful amp, with a great sound and very flexible eq. Probably the fullest sounding small Class D amp that I’ve used, and I’ve had many (Aguilar, Markbass, Ampeg, GK, TC Electronic). They were all good but the RM just had a depth to the sound that I found the others didn’t. 2 Quote
Linus27 Posted July 20, 2019 Posted July 20, 2019 4 hours ago, ped said: Yep that’s the one. I used one with a 410 and 210 for years and I’m not convinced my subsequent amps sounded much better on stage than that Hartke did 👍🏼 I've actually just gone back to the Hartke HA5500 head. I used to have one back when they first came out in the late 90's and it was a fabulous head. One came up last year on Ebay and I got it for £150. Sold my MarkBass LM3 and dont regret it, it's just a bit bigger and heavier but sounds fabulous. Quote
Linus27 Posted July 20, 2019 Posted July 20, 2019 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Lozz196 said: You can get an Ashdown RM-500 within that budget, worth checking out. I have one as my practice & backup amp and it’s a very good, powerful amp, with a great sound and very flexible eq. Probably the fullest sounding small Class D amp that I’ve used, and I’ve had many (Aguilar, Markbass, Ampeg, GK, TC Electronic). They were all good but the RM just had a depth to the sound that I found the others didn’t. I've actually got an Ashdown MiBass 500 head as my back up and I must say, its probably the best sounding Class D amp I've used. I've had a a LM3, Shuttle 6, Shuttle 9, Reidmar and a few others and they've all left me wanting and a little disappointed. The Ashdown has been great so far and I've not been disappointed at all. I wonder if the MiBass shares any similarities with the Rootmaster heads. Edited July 20, 2019 by Linus27 Quote
machinehead Posted July 20, 2019 Posted July 20, 2019 I bought a Peavey MiniMax 500 as a backup amp a few months ago when my GK MB200 fried. It's so good that I gig it regularly now. It cost £282 delivered brand new. it's LOUD, flexible and lightweight and comes with a gig bag. I'll be using it tonight at a festival gig with my Quilter BB800 as backup. I've owned quite a few expensive amps but this cheap amp has really impressed me. Frank. Quote
Friskydingo Posted July 20, 2019 Author Posted July 20, 2019 I'm pleasantly surprised the amount of people rocking a cheap amp and happy with it Quote
Skybone Posted July 20, 2019 Posted July 20, 2019 (edited) What about a combo? Not the lightest, but ideal for a Rock band. The Ashdown Musik Produktiv C210-300: https://www.musik-produktiv.com/gb/ashdown-amp-c210-300.html The amp is a ABM Evo III, in a Rootmaster 2x10 cabinet, solid, reliable and most of all, reasonably priced. You don't have to keep borrowing your friends cab, but if it's an 8 Ohm cab, then you can use it to get the full 300w. Edited July 20, 2019 by Skybone Quote
Friskydingo Posted July 21, 2019 Author Posted July 21, 2019 Just found out my mates amp head is a Laney G150. Only 150 Watts and old but his 4x10 made it sound huge. So maybe 300 watts is more than I need Quote
Dan Dare Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 At the sort of money you're looking to spend, I would think about going old school, provided you don't mind the weight. You'll get far more bang for your buck that way. The afore-mentioned Hartke, or something like an Ashdown ABM or similar will serve you well. Quote
Friskydingo Posted July 22, 2019 Author Posted July 22, 2019 I'm compiling a list of amps and may adjust budgets later down the line and ask for opinions then I have looked at some older trace Elliot heads which are plentiful on the web. Quote
gjones Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 On 20/07/2019 at 01:25, Linus27 said: I've actually got an Ashdown MiBass 500 head as my back up and I must say, its probably the best sounding Class D amp I've used. I've had a a LM3, Shuttle 6, Shuttle 9, Reidmar and a few others and they've all left me wanting and a little disappointed. The Ashdown has been great so far and I've not been disappointed at all. I wonder if the MiBass shares any similarities with the Rootmaster heads. I bought mine to replace an ABM 500. I think it has a very classic Ashdowny sound. Discontinued a long time ago now, as the EQ was too complicated for us simple minded bassists. Quote
Jamescullum Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 One of the best value and sounding heads I have owned was a Hartke LH500 it’s insanely simple but the tone was amazing. I actually sold a Mesa Boogie M6 carbine and moved to the hartke and was in a happier place. If I were to go back to amplifiers I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up another one. Quote
Linus27 Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 1 hour ago, gjones said: I bought mine to replace an ABM 500. I think it has a very classic Ashdowny sound. Discontinued a long time ago now, as the EQ was too complicated for us simple minded bassists. I still have no idea how to get the dials on the EQ to work. The sliders work great but the silver dials in the middle either side do absolutely nothing hahaha 1 Quote
Woodinblack Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 1 hour ago, gjones said: I bought mine to replace an ABM 500. I think it has a very classic Ashdowny sound. Discontinued a long time ago now, as the EQ was too complicated for us simple minded bassists. I have an MiBass 220 - I guess it is different than the 500 then as it doesn't sound great. In fact as it has sat in my room in a corner for a few years, I probably should sell it! Quote
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