Bass Heads - Advice?

[AKJ]

Hey folks, I'm looking at some new gear. I'm way overdue for a new bass head (and probably a new cab as well, but that can wait...) and I wanted to get some advice from the pros (you guys)

So, right now I'm playing a Fender Vintage Series '62 Jazz Reissue, through a Trace Elliot GP12 SMX head. Those of you familiar with Trace Elliot will know that this head is 3 years older than Jesus, and it's time for retirement. My cab is a Yorkville 410, but as I said I'll be upgrading that as well based on whatever head I go with, but probably just to a 610

Good tone is definitely the priority over crazy power, because my friends and I are more into small jams and recording sessions than live shows, that being said I definitely want something that will hold it's own when we play a club from time to time. In terms of playing style, I'm an indie/prog rock kinda guy. (think Interpol, Mars Volta, Minus the Bear etc)

I've been reading some threads here and on other forums to try and narrow down my options, and there are a few that I'm kinda thinking about:

Ampeg SVT 3 Pro (see influences)
Aguilar AG 500
Eden WT800
Carvin BX1500 or B2000 (mostly because, damn, they're so cheap for the specs!)

I'm also totally open to any other suggestions based on the above info.

I know the first thing people are gonna say is "Just go try them out and see which fits you" which is totally fair enough, except that I live in a small town in Canada and I'd have to drive a day or so to get to any place carrying even one of these...

So, lemme know your thoughts, and go easy on me, I'm by no means a professional and recognize I have much to learn gear-wise! Thanks guys!

[RickenBoogie]

Well, I think the head you have is a fine amp, and if it were me, I'd replace the speaker cab first, then see how the amp sounds. Speakers are infinitely more important in the big scheme of things.

[BassmanPaul]

I agree. Cab first then amp. If the Trace is running without problems that would be my choice.

[AKJ]

Actually the cab is pretty new, problem free and sounds fine. The Trace has some issues, and belongs to one of my band mates, who shares it me (and another bassists) because my old Peavy bit the dust. The issue there is that every time I plug in the settings have changed since I last used it, and with a 12 band eq and various other bells and whistles, it's sometimes a challenge to get it back to something complimentary to my playing. Basically I want something of my own that nobody else can mess with, and that I can take home with me after a session. The Yorkville will then be my home cab and I'll upgrade to something better for the jam space.

[ToneFreak11]

Either the SVT or the Aguilar. Those will work great. I'd also recommend some GK. The RBs are great heads.

[GOV]

Originally Posted by ToneFreak11

Either the SVT or the Aguilar. Those will work great. I'd also recommend some GK. The RBs are great heads.

Yes, the GK heads are fantastic, especially for the music you play. Take a look at the RB series. The 700RB will be my next purchase myself.

[jeff7bass]

Carvin B2000. Possibly the best head under 1000 bucks on the face of the planet. Better than many more than 1000 bucks.

[maevinj]

What arout the Traynor DB 300h or DB 400h, since you live in Canada and all..

[Marktime]

I have to say I am not really impressed with either G K or
the new Ampegs. I am sure they both work but are fairly generic in sound and flexabilty. I have been doing my routine ( IE bass
player) over 35 years and from anything from jazz, to you name it and personally would go for the Eden hands down. The G K while
many don't remember their older amps have had issues and personally feel they lack the tone controls of a pro rig. As for the Ampeg even though while having a graphic as I remember is pretty limited as well. The Eden a brand I fell upon is one that has a hard
to beat sound in my book. I would place the Eden and maybe the Aguilar or say even look toward the Epifani . These three I consider pro rigs in the day in day out never fail great sound with a tuned tone system. By this I mean they have been researched for the preferred ranges most bassists use. I turned to Eden and
to be honest could not be happier. Great amp. As for the Carvin check out the repair history of their older gear. I am
a tech and know from first hand experience they do not support
their older gear after it has made them money...

my 2 cents...

[Bassmanb3]

I woudn't spend any money without checking out a Behringer. Most bang for the buck. The BX4500H looks like a good deal. 450 Watts. I have the 300 watt predecessor. It fills My needs in a wonderful way. Other bassists are always asking what I am using to get that great sound.

[PSPookie]

GK 700RB-II

Sounds great. Good power*. Reliable. Inexpensive.


*But not too much so you can still push it a bit and get some "grunt" at reasonable volumes.

[srxplayer]

As you can see by the replys on this thread you get lots of opinions but the only one that matters is your opinion.

I can offer these opinions on what my experience with some of them are:

I think the Ampeg head is over priced and underperforms. I just don't think they are worth the money. I think they sound pretty good. I like the Ampeg tone (ss or hybrid) but unless you get a good deal on a used one I would pass.

The Eden head seems to get a lot of love as well as hate in here. I have never been happy with what I hear coming out of them paired with their 4X10 cabs. I think they sound kind of Meh...I think they are too expensive for what you get and if you read past threads Eden customer service and reliability gets a lot of negative comments. However the WT800 we had never gave us a problem. I owned one as a backline rental for a while. I bought it because we got a lot requests for Eden gear. After playing through it myself I couldn't figure out what was so special about them.