Best COMPACT amp for Tone and Volume....

[cire113]

Best compact amp for tone and volume spending limit 1,500...

Im looking at the mesa walkabout scout any other suggestions?

Thanks for the help guys appreciate it

[Chrisk-K]

TC RH450?

[Rick Auricchio]

Your question is far too vague. There will be 100 responses from people who think their tone is the best.

It's like asking "Best breakfast?" You'll get fifty different kinds of egg dishes, waffles, pancakes, or just coffee and a bagel.

Everyone's idea of tone is different. My idea of best tone may be something you hate.

I'm also an RH450 user...

[SactoBass]

I was in GC a couple of weeks ago (yeah, I know, but I was bored), and I plugged into a Markbass Jeff Berlin combo amp. Wow! I was blown away at how good it sounded. 300 watts from the Markbass Little Mark II amp into the internal 8-ohm 15" speaker. The combo weighs 46.7 pounds. If you ever needed more oomph, you could add a matching 1x15 cab stacked under it, and you would then have a 500 watt, 2x15 stack that is portable and loud.

I believe the MB Berlin combo amp sells new for $1100 on the GC and Musicians Friend websites.

[Pilgrim]

The Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.0 docked on the 12T speaker is a wonderful sounding combo. Weighs only about 32 pounds, has a tube preamp and puts out 375W into a well engineered 12" speaker with adjustable horn. Add another speaker to drop it to 4 ohms output and you have 600W. Great combination!

[faulknersj]

Dooood, play a Genz Benz Shuttlemax 12.0 or 6.0, or Shuttle 9.0 before you buy anything!!!!!!!!

[cire113]

also should i get a combo or head/ cab? does it matter?

[rhopper]

Originally Posted by cire113

Best compact amp for tone and volume spending limit 1,500...

Im looking at the mesa walkabout scout any other suggestions?

Thanks for the help guys appreciate it

What type of music are you playing?

[cire113]

Funk, Rock, Blues, jamband...

[Infidelity]

If compact I think the RH450 wins! Compressor, tuner and a head in 2 rack space but I'm not a fan of the tone of that head..

I love my F1! Lightweight, really small, punchy, tight, and plug and play type of head!

[rhopper]

The Mesa Scout is a great head and you really can't go wrong with it.

But...

If you have the chance, I would at least try out an Orange Terror Bass with a decent NEO cab if you want to keep it light weight. I was considering the Mesa, but I went with the Orange TB as the tone was more to my liking and this amp has all the juice I will ever need.

[vin*tone]

Are you talking about combos or heads?
What size/weight do you describe as compact?

[KJung]

I've owned the Scout... very nice if you want a bit of that tube warmth. Not particularly impressed with the Shuttle6/112T rig... nice and small, but it sounds nice and small to me (i.e., brite without a lot of true low end).

The RH450/RS210 rig is nice if you want it very smooth and warm and fat... but it isn't very lightweight. Nice though.

My current 'all time favorite' assuming you want a relatively even, full, deep but clean tone (which could be off the mark) is the Markbass LMIII and the new Audiokinesis Thunderchild 112. Cab is 34 pounds, 4ohms, and the 'freak of nature' driver used can actually use (and really kind of requires) the 500 watts of the LMIII. The price would be well under your $1,500 limit. The closest I've ever achieved to hitting all three of the magic equation: low, small, loud.

Here is a video clip of that rig (so you can see what it looks like also). Quite amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/Kjungbass#p/a/u/2/0WOhxSFoiB4

[JimmyM]

svt/810.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

svt/810.

And... you could always add another 810 for larger gigs