Best mini bass amps?

[ToLo]

Hi BassChat gear nerds!

I'm looking at creating a lightweight gigging rig. I've got my eyes set on a barefaced two 10s and want to pair it with something small and light. I only play small gigs (pubs mostly) without PA support so don't think I need anything with particularly high wattage, and I'd expect that something 200-500W through a barefaced cab would be PLENTY loud enough. Most of my sound comes through my pedal board so I really only need an amp with basic functions and a reasonable EQ to help adjust to different rooms if necessary. I thought about going for the power amp setup as I run a pre amp DI pedal at the end of my board, but I've read lots of stuff about this and it seems like it'd be a more expensive way of doing and potentially more faff if the line signal from my preamp isn't enough for the power amp, so I think a simple, small amp would do the job (worst case I can just plug into the effects loop return and use the mini head as a power amp only). 

I probably want to keep the budget for this head to <£400.  I've looked at lots of heads online and vwondered if anyone had any good/bad experiences with any of the following:
Orange little bass thing (I wonder if this could potentially could colour the sound a lot, and lots of people say the notched volume knobs are a pain)
Peavey minimax Mk2 - can't find a lot about this but the Mk one had lots of complaints about a really noisy fan
Ampeg PF 500/350 - historically I feel like you hear that these broke a lot...have ampeg resolved these issues now?
Warwick gnome/Trace elliot elf/Ashdown Ant - I'd have thought these would meet the basic requirements but I wonder if would I be better off spending more on something slightly bigger/more Wattage/more controls, outputs, effects loops etc

Anything else I should check out...let me know!

 

EDIT: I have now purchased a second hand barefaced two10 and Genzler Megallen 350. It’s sounding awesome at home and I’ve got two gigs coming up over the next two weekends so I’m gonna give the new rig a proper test run soon! Thanks for all the comments/suggestions folks 🤘😁🤘

Edited March 5, 2024 by ToLo

[Chienmortbb]

Ampeg took about 8 iterations of the PF500 before the problems were resolved. The PF350 and PF800 did not seem to suffer in the same way.

[Linus27]

I have a Barefaced Two10 and run a Little Mark IV through it or a Warwick Gnome I Pro 280. Both are super loud, especially the Warwick with the Little Mark being cleaner and uncoloured and the Warwick being warmer, deeper out of the box. The Warwick is tiny in comparison.

 

 

[MichaelDean]

I had an early PF500 and it never let me down. Didn't feel particularly light to me though. Might be because I had it mounted to the fliptop 210 cabinet though. 

 

Having played through a bunch of amps at the South West Bass Bash into one of @stevie's LFSys cabs, I found the Gnome was quite bright, the TC BAM was more neutral and the Elf was a bit darker and more scooped. I think of those, I'd have gone for the BAM. I could quite easily get an approximation of the other two from the TC. I'd like to try the BQ and BH ranges as well to see what they're like. 

 

I've heard the MiniMax MK2 has the fan noise sorted... This seems like a good deal.

 

Do you need an effects loop? Have you ever used one on an amp you've had? I know I'm guilty of having coveted that option, but I've still never tried the 4 cable method with my bass. Only my skinny stringer. 

[ToLo]

7 minutes ago, MichaelDean said:

I had an early PF500 and it never let me down. Didn't feel particularly light to me though. Might be because I had it mounted to the fliptop 210 cabinet though. 

 

Having played through a bunch of amps at the South West Bass Bash into one of @stevie's LFSys cabs, I found the Gnome was quite bright, the TC BAM was more neutral and the Elf was a bit darker and more scooped. I think of those, I'd have gone for the BAM. I could quite easily get an approximation of the other two from the TC. I'd like to try the BQ and BH ranges as well to see what they're like. 

 

I've heard the MiniMax MK2 has the fan noise sorted... This seems like a good deal.

 

Do you need an effects loop? Have you ever used one on an amp you've had? I know I'm guilty of having coveted that option, but I've still never tried the 4 cable method with my bass. Only my skinny stringer. 

I probably don't need an effects loop - not for effects at least. An effects loop could be a 'nice to have' so that the amp could be used as a power amp only by plugging directly into the return of the loop rather than the input on the amp. If the amp sounds fine and relatively transparent so that my pedal board tones come through, then I don't need an effects loop. 

The ashdown ant has me very intrigued....

[eude]

What about the Warwick Gnome iPro 600?

By all accounts it's fairly flat response, 600w and can be found for about £350.

I don't think it's any bigger than a MarkBass LittleMark too, likely a bit smaller.

[obbm]

I'll throw in a couple of amps that I use with my BF One10(s).

 

Markbass Nano 300

 

Genzler Magellan 350

 

Not quite as small or light as the Elf but worth a look.

[SamIAm]

I've investigated a similar setup, tho for me f/x return is key which excluded units like the Elf and the Bam200 (Tho the BAM 200 seemed a strong contender)

I read the MiniMax (Both V1 and V2) has a very loud fan ; there is a Bugera Veyron listed here on BC that tempted me, but I fear the master volume crackle would drive me mad!

 

I've ended up going for a HB 800-B, it is not so good from a preamp perspective, but I intend to use the F/X return from my modelling unit (Dwarf) and I can mod as described on the german bassic site to tame the preamp; it has a poweramp unit that is as good as most class D systems.

 

S'manth x

[ToLo]

41 minutes ago, eude said:

What about the Warwick Gnome iPro 600?

By all accounts it's fairly flat response, 600w and can be found for about £350.

I don't think it's any bigger than a MarkBass LittleMark too, likely a bit smaller.

I’ve seen that one and thought it looked like it might fit the bill! Have you tried one?

[stingray_stinger72]

I have the base gnome and it’s great - loud and small (and cheap!) but I do sort of miss extra features like the 4 band E.Q. on the 600w and an fx loop too

[asingardenof]

I have nothing but good things to say about my TE Elf, it sounds amazing and I've never even come close to pushing it hard - in fact I usually get asked to turn down! 

[Chienmortbb]

3 hours ago, Smanth said:

I've investigated a similar setup, tho for me f/x return is key which excluded units like the Elf and the Bam200 (Tho the BAM 200 seemed a strong contender)

I read the MiniMax (Both V1 and V2) has a very loud fan ; there is a Bugera Veyron listed here on BC that tempted me, but I fear the master volume crackle would drive me mad!

 

I've ended up going for a HB 800-B, it is not so good from a preamp perspective, but I intend to use the F/X return from my modelling unit (Dwarf) and I can mod as described on the german bassic site to tame the preamp; it has a poweramp unit that is as good as most class D systems.

 

S'manth x

The power amp is the ICEPower 700AS1, as used by MESA,ASHDOWN, and others that quote an 800W class D amp.

 

The noise issue on the Veyron is a bit overblown. I have had mine several years and yes I have heard it but occasionally, and it is not deafening. I also have not heard it for some time. However, I have decided to investigate this. Watch out for a new thread eventually.

Edited December 5, 2023 by Chienmortbb

[BassAdder60]

Another vote for the TE ELF definitely loud enough for small pub gigs but you will need a rubber mat on your cab as the ELF is in danger of sliding or bouncing off !!

 

The EQ on the ELF is definitely not scooped and I find it a very useable EQ for fingerstyle rock / pop with a PBass 

 

Mine sits in my bag as a back up amp to my Ampeg V4B but it sounds bloody amazing 

[asingardenof]

46 minutes ago, BassAdder60 said:

Mine sits in my bag as a back up amp to my Ampeg V4B but it sounds bloody amazing 

Yeah, I bought mine as a backup but I have a crisis of indecision every gig as to whether to use it instead of my ABM, so much so the Ashdown has more or less been gathering dust since the spring.

[gjones]

In my experience there's no such thing as 'too much power'. 

 

You can buy small and light but these days small and light amps can be powerful too.

 

I would recommend going for as much power as you can afford, while still keeping the amp small and light.

 

I've played at too many gigs, over the years, when my amp has run out of stream trying to keep up with a over excited drummer.

[Linus27]

5 hours ago, obbm said:

I'll throw in a couple of amps that I use with my BF One10(s).

 

Markbass Nano 300

 

Genzler Magellan 350

 

Not quite as small or light as the Elf but worth a look.

 

@obbm I'm actually thinking of getting a Markbass Nano 300 as I like the clean Markbass tone. How do you find the Nano 300? Is it clean like most Markbass heads and is it fairly loud and punchy? Are you happy with it?

[Pea Turgh]

I have a Barefaced Two10 (flawless) with an Ampeg PF350 (minor issues).  Nothing that stops a performance, but there is some weird super-low level self noise, and the pots have gotten scratchy recently.  Been gigged lightly for a few years.  Will likely carry on for another few years too!

 

The Ampeg does have the baked-in Ampeg sound though, so not really neutral.

 

I’ll go with something else when pushed to do so by amp failure.  Though if I could go back in time I’d have just picked a Rumble 500 combo.

[eude]

8 hours ago, ToLo said:

I’ve seen that one and thought it looked like it might fit the bill! Have you tried one?

I haven't I'm afraid, but I have tried a few pre Gnome Warwick amps and always felt they offered more than they were ever given credit for. Honest solid bits of kit.

[Downunderwonder]

22 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

The EQ on the ELF is definitely not scooped

Actually it has been measured to be quite scooped but the mid control is bang in the middle of the scoop so it's very unscoopable. I forget the settings for flat but probably a little bass and treble cut and a little mid boost to level it out.

[neepheid]

Tecamp Puma/Eich?  I have a Tecamp Puma 900 and it's a wee head that sounds amazing (to me anyway) with simple 4 band EQ, more power than I'll ever need, and the Taste knob is genius - was able to dial in the sound I wanted very quickly using it.  And - thank the heavens, a mute button.

 

Bassbros are selling a Tecamp Puma 900 for £499 - in budget, just.

Edited December 6, 2023 by neepheid

[ToLo]

The Warwick gnome I pro 600W and the Ashdown Ant seem to be the front runners for me. Both similar in price and within budget.

 

the ant is slightly smaller and lighter so it could fit on my pedal board (extra portability points), but then for only ~£20 extra the Warwick seems to have more features - 4 band EQ, effects loop (so I could use it just as a light weight 600W power amp by going through the return), two speaker outputs, aux input, higher power rating, I’m not sure I need the usb interface feature but hey!

[Woodinblack]

I just got a Gnome 1x10 that was B Stock for £110 which I am going to put with my Bam200 that I got for £86 refurbed. I got it as a home practice thing, but I will take it to a band practice to see how far up it will go!

[tauzero]

As @neepheid says, Tecamp Puma 900. I've refrained from commenting so far as they tend to go for a little above your budget, but well worth it if you can afford it, and plenty of power on tap if you should change cab.

[ToLo]

I had a Quick Look at those suggestions of tecamp, but as you say, a little over my budget sadly. 

[neepheid]

I just linked to one which was within the stated budget.  OK, only mathematically speaking - but £499 IS less than £500 - the stated "probable" budget of the OP...

 

OP - if by <£500 you mean £300, maybe edit your post?