GR Bass miniONE

[thebassist]

Does anyone here have first hand experience of a GR Bass miniONE? I've done a Google search and there isn't a huge amount of information around. I'd really love to hear some thoughts on it - it reads pretty great.

https://www.grbass.com/amps/mini-one/

POWER 350W RMS 4 ohm, 170W RMS 8 ohm

DIMENSIONS 19 x 16 x 4.3cm

WEIGHT 1.3kg

FRONT PANEL

• Input
• Aux In
• Low
• Mid
• High
• Gain
• Headphone
• Master
• Pre/Post
• Deep
• mid Freq 400/800hz
• Bright
• Mute

REAR PANEL

• Input 230-115v (auto selectable)
• DI Output
• Speakon

[Rollin Thunder]

Looks a decent unit, but it does look like a TC Elf copy don't know what price they are going for

[Ricky 4000]

Looks nice and retro. £350 for the 'mini' here: https://www.musik-produktiv.com/gb/gr-bass-mini-one.html

[thebassist]

There are more options on the GR Bass miniONE compared with the Trace Elliott Elf. I would probably say the miniONE is closer in comparison with an Aguilar TH350 from a specification perspective?

https://www.aguilaramp.com/bass-amps/tone-hammer-350/

POWER 350W RMS 4 ohm, 175W RMS 8 ohm

DIMENSIONS 20.9 x 19.1 x 7cm

WEIGHT 1.4kg

FRONT PANEL

• Input
• -10dB input pad
• Gain
• Drive
• Mid level
• Mid freq.
• Bass
• Treble
• Master
• Pre/Post
• Lift/Gnd
• Operate/Mute

REAR PANEL

• Balanced out
• Tuner out
• 1x Speaker Twist speaker output

Edited May 7, 2020 by thebassist

[Rollin Thunder]

27 minutes ago, thebassist said:

There are more options on the GR Bass miniONE compared with the Trace Elliott Elf. I would probably say the miniONE is closer in comparison with an Aguilar TH350 from a specification perspective?

https://www.aguilaramp.com/bass-amps/tone-hammer-350/

POWER 350W RMS 4 ohm, 175W RMS 8 ohm

DIMENSIONS 20.9 x 19.1 x 7cm

WEIGHT 1.4kg

FRONT PANEL

• Input
• -10dB input pad
• Gain
• Drive
• Mid level
• Mid freq.
• Bass
• Treble
• Master
• Pre/Post
• Lift/Gnd
• Operate/Mute

REAR PANEL

• Balanced out
• Tuner out
• 1x Speaker Twist speaker output

The Galien Kruger mini amp (name escapes me) is a similar comparison.

for that price though arguably better name brands on the market, but sometimes that does not mean better. Still think it's more like the Elf 

Edited May 7, 2020 by Rollin Thunder

[BassBunny]

Looks remarkably like a Peavey MiniMax.

[Rollin Thunder]

22 minutes ago, BassBunny said:

Looks remarkably like a Peavey MiniMax.

Ive got a mini max, awesome amp

[Rollin Thunder]

Best thing is To try one out at one of the uk dealers. If it sounds good to you and has featured you want, thats all that matters. 

[eude]

14 hours ago, BassBunny said:

Looks remarkably like a Peavey MiniMax.

We all know the Peavey will be 10 times more powerful too.

Eude

[BassBunny]

2 hours ago, eude said:

We all know the Peavey will be 10 times more powerful too.

Eude

It's certainly incredibly loud. I couldn't believe it the first time I tried mine.

[thebassist]

I found this for anyone else who might be interested in the miniONE.

http://www.karlclews.com/blog/gear-part-10-gr-bass-mini-one

In summary "...the Mini One performed admirably on the gigs. As a class D head, it’s fine to run it without a cab, so as planned, I simply plugged it directly into the PA. Since then, I’ve used it on a number of local gigs, driving my Epifani UL 410, and the 350 watts it puts out are plenty for most gigs - anything where you need more than 350 watts, you would tend to be putting the bass through the PA in any case. The sound of the Mini One is beautifully transparent - it doesn’t appear to colour the inherent tone of my basses at all, which is exactly how I like my amps to work! In comparison with the Genz Benz Shuttles, the bottom end of the Mini One feels more focused, and the mids are very punchy, so slap and more percussive fingerstyle cut through the mix very well. And the top end is nice and airy, and you really have to dial it way up before it starts to get harsh and brittle. All in all, it’s a fantastic little amp, and the tight, focused bottom end and distinctively punchy mids make it sound much, much bigger than its tiny size and 350 watts..."

Edited May 8, 2020 by thebassist

[Rollin Thunder]

1 hour ago, thebassist said:

I found this for anyone else who might be interested in the miniONE.

http://www.karlclews.com/blog/gear-part-10-gr-bass-mini-one

In summary "...the Mini One performed admirably on the gigs. As a class D head, it’s fine to run it without a cab, so as planned, I simply plugged it directly into the PA. Since then, I’ve used it on a number of local gigs, driving my Epifani UL 410, and the 350 watts it puts out are plenty for most gigs - anything where you need more than 350 watts, you would tend to be putting the bass through the PA in any case. The sound of the Mini One is beautifully transparent - it doesn’t appear to colour the inherent tone of my basses at all, which is exactly how I like my amps to work! In comparison with the Genz Benz Shuttles, the bottom end of the Mini One feels more focused, and the mids are very punchy, so slap and more percussive fingerstyle cut through the mix very well. And the top end is nice and airy, and you really have to dial it way up before it starts to get harsh and brittle. All in all, it’s a fantastic little amp, and the tight, focused bottom end and distinctively punchy mids make it sound much, much bigger than its tiny size and 350 watts..."

Its looks like a boutique amp from a small independent amp maker, rather than a cheap far east knock off, some well  renowned Companies start off this way, take a punt and give it a review on here.

[MartinB]

On 08/05/2020 at 14:03, thebassist said:

"The sound of the Mini One is beautifully transparent - it doesn’t appear to colour the inherent tone of my basses at all, which is exactly how I like my amps to work! In comparison with the Genz Benz Shuttles, the bottom end of the Mini One feels more focused, and the mids are very punchy, so slap and more percussive fingerstyle cut through the mix very well. And the top end is nice and airy, and you really have to dial it way up before it starts to get harsh and brittle"

That's interesting... I also have a Shuttle 9.2, and with the controls at 12:00 it's completely transparent/neutral/flat.

[CookPassBabtridge]

Sorry for the thread resurrection, thought this would be the best place for this question!

 

Does anyone know if the GR Bass MiniONE can run at 2.67ohms? Am interested as thinking it could make a nice modular rig with a couple of carbon cabs at 4ohms and 8ohms (I.e. getting the full wattage with a 4ohm cab alone and both together). 

[CookPassBabtridge]

To answer my own question 😂 I contacted GR Bass directly and they got back to me like greased lightning - yes, it can run at 2.67ohms, as can their other amps. In case anyone is interested. 

[Merton]

8 hours ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

To answer my own question 😂 I contacted GR Bass directly and they got back to me like greased lightning - yes, it can run at 2.67ohms, as can their other amps. In case anyone is interested. 

Good to know. That puts their PureAmp800 firmly in my sights…

[CookPassBabtridge]

3 hours ago, Merton said:

Good to know. That puts their PureAmp800 firmly in my sights…

That’s cool, I was tempted by a PureAmp myself but am playing through headphones and with backing tracks a lot at the moment so could do with those extra inputs. All of the GR Bass amps look great though, as do those Carbon cabs. 

[jrixn1]

21 hours ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

Does anyone know if the GR Bass MiniONE can run at 2.67ohms? Am interested as thinking it could make a nice modular rig with a couple of carbon cabs at 4ohms and 8ohms (I.e. getting the full wattage with a 4ohm cab alone and both together). 

 

I wonder if 350W into two cabs isn't the best match, as the 8ohm cab is only going to be ticking over (117W).  The 800W head and a single 4ohm cab might end up being a more versatile combination.  Or to put it another way (supposing your cabs are a 1x12 and a 2x12), 350W into 3x12" is going to be more to carry, more expensive, and less loud than 800W into 2x12".

[CookPassBabtridge]

2 hours ago, jrixn1 said:

 

I wonder if 350W into two cabs isn't the best match, as the 8ohm cab is only going to be ticking over (117W).  The 800W head and a single 4ohm cab might end up being a more versatile combination.  Or to put it another way (supposing your cabs are a 1x12 and a 2x12), 350W into 3x12" is going to be more to carry, more expensive, and less loud than 800W into 2x12".

Ah I see what you’re saying. My plan was to use a 4ohm cab alone for practice to get the full 350w, and then pair it with an 8ohm for small gigs - giving 2.67ohms, to get the full 350w out of both again. Or does the 8ohm not get the full output in that scenario? I.e. 4ohm gets the 350w, 8ohm gets the 117w?

 

Sorry I’m not an expert on this stuff, I could well be wrong! 

[Merton]

43 minutes ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

Ah I see what you’re saying. My plan was to use a 4ohm cab alone for practice to get the full 350w, and then pair it with an 8ohm for small gigs - giving 2.67ohms, to get the full 350w out of both again. Or does the 8ohm not get the full output in that scenario? I.e. 4ohm gets the 350w, 8ohm gets the 117w?

 

Sorry I’m not an expert on this stuff, I could well be wrong! 

The 350W would be shared 2/3 to the 4 ohm and 1/3 to the 8ohm.

Depends how loud you are, and how sensitive the cabs are, as to whether the 350W is enough or not. Wattage doesn’t tell you anything about volume in and of itself.

[jrixn1]

1 hour ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

My plan was to use a 4ohm cab alone for practice to get the full 350w, and then pair it with an 8ohm for small gigs - giving 2.67ohms, to get the full 350w out of both again.

 

It depends exactly which cabs you're eyeing up; but from what I think you have in mind, it's going to be a trade-off between having the practice rig as absolutely tiny as possible vs how much louder than that you need to be for gigs.

 

The 350W head and a 4ohm 1x10 will make for the physically tiniest/lightest possible rig for practice; but adding an 8ohm 1x10 will augment it only slightly for gigs. (As Merton says, it will be getting only 1/3 of the power.)

 

Whereas the 800W head and (say) a single 4ohm 2x10 will be noticeably louder for gigs, but not be so tiny for practice.

 

I don't think either is more correct than the other; depends on your situation and priorities.

 

[CookPassBabtridge]

Thanks @Merton @jrixn1, I think I’ve got you. Yes, small and light is key for me. Another way option then I guess could be just sticking with a single 4ohm 1x12 @ 350 watts for both practice and small gigs, that may just about cover both situations. Or perhaps two 1x12s at 8ohms each. I’d be getting less power for practice with the single, but there would be a more even split across the two for gigs.

 

Either way those options make my original 2.67ohm question redundant I guess 😂 Still useful to know though. 

[Merton]

The best way to get more volume is to add speaker area. Impedance is often misunderstood as “I have to get full power from the amp” but a single cab in 4ohm vs identical but 8ohms is not going to be adding as much volume as two identical 8 ohm cabs. I’d almost be inclined to get two 8 ohm cabs and then you know, if you need it, a third identical 8ohm cab gets you even louder. That’s my current plan in fact… a third One10 for when two isn’t enough*
 

 

 

*based on recent performance, two is overkill for most of my needs but three just looks bigger and therefore must be better 😄

[Nebadon2000]

8 hours ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

 I.e. 4ohm gets the 350w, 8ohm gets the 117w?

 

Sorry I’m not an expert on this stuff, I could well be wrong! 

 8ohm output is 170 watts on Mini One

 

The GR Bass line both amps and cabs have peaked my interest. Looking at Mini One as backup/rehearsal/song learning amp and One 800 as main

Liked Idea of Pure800 as I am not a EQ fiddler just a touch sometimes;

 

I have a 3 band active bass so that would do BUT with the pure switch on One 800 and added features like Tuner and DI Volume along with Semi parametric EQ which may come in handy in bad room it seems the wiser choice;

 

[both Mini and 800 have aux in and Headphone out nice for practice and learning songs]

[CookPassBabtridge]

2 hours ago, Merton said:

I’d almost be inclined to get two 8 ohm cabs and then you know, if you need it, a third identical 8ohm cab gets you even louder. That’s my current plan in fact… a third One10 for when two isn’t enough

Ooh, three cabs. Now there’s a new scenario - don’t tempt me! 😬

 

49 minutes ago, Nebadon2000 said:

I have a 3 band active bass so that would do BUT with the pure switch on One 800 and added features like Tuner and DI Volume along with Semi parametric EQ which may come in handy in bad room it seems the wiser choice;

I didn’t realise they had a Pure switch, that is actually very cool indeed. Now I’m not sure which amp to get 😂