Best amp for driving a 410 cab that dosent cost a fortune?

[deputyjk]

Guys.

I am looking an amp to drive a SWR Golight 4 ohm 410. Using a MM Stingray bass guitar doing everything from AC/DC to Thin Lizzy to Jamuraquai to U2. My budget is limited to aprox €700 or $1000.

I have put up some options in the poll that are easily available in Europe.

Thanks for the help in advance.

[deputyjk]

Forgot to mention I am currently using the workingpro 400 amp at the moment. My main complaint is the lack of headroom at higher volumes.

[deputyjk]

bump

[JimmyM]

all will work just fine. buying by committee never works. get what appeals to you.

[marchone]

See if a Hartke LH1000 is available to you. They're under US$500 here. Just another thought.

[MFox]

+1 for the Hartke, those are great bang for the buck.

[nato101010]

Markbass for me...

[babebambi]

MY current champ of bang for the buck is Carvin the B or BX big guns.

[Mo'Phat]

Why isn't Carvin in the poll?

edit: Is Carvin not easily obtainable in Europe?

[deputyjk]

Yeh never came across Carvin in Europe. Must only be available in USA.

Also the Hartke LH1000 is aprox €800 over here. Could not edit Poll to include it. Might be an option alright. Afraid my local store does not have any decent amps such as these listed in the poll to try out. Therefore I will prob end up buying an amp from an online music store based on advice alone. Worked ok in the past.

Therefore thanks for all the advice guys. Keep them votes coming! ;-)

[deputyjk]

Looks like the LITTLE MARK III is leading the way. My concern is that it may not be loud enough at 500Watts. (My swr workingpro 400 is not loud enough) If I was going to go to markbass i would prob lean towards the MARKBASS LITTLE MARK TUBE 800. Presume it would sound as good but higher volume?

[Whitbass]

To me, the Markbass LM II has impressed me the most bang for buck. Haven't tried the LM III, but should be a touch better in some regards. I replaced a GK 1001 with an LM II. I A/B'd the LH1000 and LMII though AE210 and HX410 cabs. In these experiences and others, with some quite extensive shootouts I have been very impressed with the LMII, and have bought a second one as well. Is it the baddest on the market? No. Does it have the broadest feature set of all? No. Is it one heck of an amp for the buck that sounds really great and gets quite loud and very dependable? Absolutely so!!

The LM II or LM III will push a decent 4 ohm 4x10 quite well if the cab is at all efficient.
I use Bergantino cabs. Who knows what tomorrow brings with my rig of choice, but the Markbass heads are for real IME/IMHO. Especially for the money.

Listen to everything you can with as few variables as possible. Use same bass, same strings, same cab, etc....and listen to projected sound, not just what you hear right in front of a given cab. This is important with respect to most any gear, especially amp and cabs..
Good luck!!

[tdub0199]

Ashdown?

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by deputyjk

Forgot to mention I am currently using the workingpro 400 amp at the moment. My main complaint is the lack of headroom at higher volumes.

"Best" in what sense? Just headroom?

If so, then your choice is clear: Just get the most powerful head that you can afford. Done.

Otherwise, the answer depends very much on the particular cab and particular head you have in mind. It might be helpful if you would define all your purchase criteria...

MM

[deputyjk]

Ok thanks for all the responces guys.

Pretty much made up my mind that I am going to buy the GK 1001rb II head & SWR golight 410 cab.

Should be an upgrade from the workingpro 400 amp and cabs.

[Blues Bass 2]

The GK 1001RBII is a great head as long as you like the GK tone . I went from a 1001RBII to a Markbass LMII to get the more tube like tone from the Markbass . The GK tone has more bite in the upper mids and worked great for my rock band but I wanted a tamer tone for other styles . I do wish the GK would have worked for me because it it kicks the LMIIs butt power wise , is built very well and for its power is still lightweight . It should kill with that golight 410 cab . I don't think you will have any more headroom problems . Good choice .

[deputyjk]

Blues Bass
Is that the GK is not versatile enough? i.e. it is only suited to Flea / Duff McKagan mid / trebble sounds? I dont particularly like their tone.

I prefer a full round bass tone to shake the room without being harsh. Can you dial this tone into the GK? Unfortunatly I wont get to try one out before I buy.

[srj]

Originally Posted by Mo'Phat

Why isn't Carvin in the poll?

edit: Is Carvin not easily obtainable in Europe?

i believe carvin is available in Europe .

http://www.carvinworld.com/

[Nedmundo]

I voted G-K, because for years I ran 700RB and 700RB-II heads through a Goliath III cab, and got excellent results. The SWR cabs are efficient and the G-K heads have lots of juice for their rated output, so you might be fine with the 700RB-II, but the extra headroom of the 1001 probably won't hurt.

[b_carville]

Would a seperate power amp/preamp work for you instead of a head?

There seems to be a lot of cheap bridgeable power amps out now.You could get a lot more power that way.You would still need a preamp.Maybe a Sansamp bass driver or VT pedal to drive the power amp. I've actually used an MXR micro amp patched into a Boss bass EQ pedal to drive a power amp. It worked fine.

You can get a lot of wattage this way & stay under your budget.