Good options to power a Bergantino AE410?

[was3funk]

After going through many different cabinets combination's and brands I've finally settled on a Bergantino AE410 (which I had known about these years ago!) as my main cabinet. (I'm also using an AE112 for smaller gigs/situations)

I'm now looking for a head to power the AE410 with - ideally lightweight and portable that I can use for both cabinets. I currently own a Markbass F1 and was looking at adding either a TC Electronics RH450 or Tec-Amp Puma 500 to the mix. When I recently spoke with a Tec-Amp dealer who also carries Bergantino (anonymous), I was told that the Puma 500 is not enough power for the AE410. Is that true? If that's the case, then all the heads (MB F1, TC RH450 & PUMA 500) wouldn't have enough power - aren't most running 500 watts into 4ohms? Is the AE 410 power hungry, and if so what would be some good options to power one with?

Thanks!

[R Baer]

There's no such thing as under powering a cabinet. It all comes down to how much volume you can expect from your amp/cab combo. I've used a AE410 with a Mesa Walkabout and it gets plenty loud and sounds great.

[babebambi]

500W into 4 ohm is plenty to work with, and should be ideal for the AE410.

On top of that, I would look for a 2 ohm capable head in the rare case that 610 (AE210 + AE410) is required



Edit: Sorry, I misread that you have a AE210 too. So forget about 2 ohm.

[Hollow Man]

Originally Posted by was3funk

I'm now looking for a head to power the AE410 with - ideally lightweight and portable that I can use for both cabinets. I currently own a Markbass F1 and was looking at adding either a TC Electronics RH450 or Tec-Amp Puma 500 to the mix. When I recently spoke with a Tec-Amp dealer who also carries Bergantino (anonymous), I was told that the Puma 500 is not enough power for the AE410. Is that true? If that's the case, then all the heads (MB F1, TC RH450 & PUMA 500) wouldn't have enough power - aren't most running 500 watts into 4ohms? Is the AE 410 power hungry, and if so what would be some good options to power one with?

The part about 500W not being enough for the AE410 is garbage. I routinely gig my Berg AE410 with less than 500W being pumped into it. Right now I'm using my Thunderfunk 750 with the Gain on 4 and the Master on 3, and I'm asked to turn down more often than turn up. Granted, the TF750 has more power, but I'm not even coming close to tapping into all of it.

More to the point, before I settled on my TF750, I was gigging with a Puma1000, which as you may know only puts out 500W into 4 ohms, which is the impedance of the AE410. I had plenty of power, and I wouldn't hesitate to take the AE410 with 500W into a very loud situation.

[tombowlus]

+1 The TecAmp Puma 500 would be plenty of amp to drive the AE410, and it would likely make for a very good combo.

One of my favorite heads with the AE410 is the Mesa/Boogie M6. At 24 lbs, it's not a flyweight, but it is not a difficult weight to manage. The GK Fusion 550 is another nice pairing. As you have heard, the RH450 is a great combo with the AE410, but it doesn't really to the "sparkle and shine" thing, if that is something that you are after.

Tom.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by was3funk

After going through many different cabinets combination's and brands I've finally settled on a Bergantino AE410 (which I had known about these years ago!) as my main cabinet. (I'm also using an AE112 for smaller gigs/situations)

I'm now looking for a head to power the AE410 with - ideally lightweight and portable that I can use for both cabinets. I currently own a Markbass F1 and was looking at adding either a TC Electronics RH450 or Tec-Amp Puma 500 to the mix. When I recently spoke with a Tec-Amp dealer who also carries Bergantino (anonymous), I was told that the Puma 500 is not enough power for the AE410. Is that true? If that's the case, then all the heads (MB F1, TC RH450 & PUMA 500) wouldn't have enough power - aren't most running 500 watts into 4ohms? Is the AE 410 power hungry, and if so what would be some good options to power one with?

Thanks!

Absolutely not true in any way. The AE410 is 4ohms and high SPL. Any 500 watt amp or so will drive the living bejeebers out of it.

Sounds like another retailer with an 'agenda'

Edit: It is hard to find a head that does not sound good with the AE410, as long as you dig the tone of the AE410, which is quite voiced, and 'sounds like it does'. The Puma will widen and smooth it, which is a bit against the nature of the AE410, but sounds good. The RH450 will 'old school' it a touch, which sounds good to me (smoothing the very aggressive upper mids). The F1/F500 will bring out all the glorious aggressive upper mid grind of that cab, which sounds really good to me. I like the Genz Shuttle heads quite a bit through this cab also.... bright like the F1/F500, but a little more gritty/grindy, which is again kind of the nature of this cab.

[dee rob]

I'm considering joining a heavy rock band that is considerably louder than my normal funk/r&b projects. When I played with them a few days ago, it seemed like the NL210/CXL112 was really straining to keep up.....has anyone tried the AE410 with the Iamp800? Thanks.

dee

[jokerjkny]

i remember LOVING the gb shuttle 6.0 w/ the ae410. can imagine the gb shuttle 9.0 being awesome'er....

terrific top end, shiny and glossy. and the eq does mind meld nicely to the cab's natural voicing.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by dee rob

I'm considering joining a heavy rock band that is considerably louder than my normal funk/r&b projects. When I played with them a few days ago, it seemed like the NL210/CXL112 was really straining to keep up.....has anyone tried the AE410 with the Iamp800? Thanks.

dee

That's actually a pretty nice match. I'm not a fan of the huge, bloomy low end of that head myself, but similar to the NL210, the AE410 is voiced to stay tight no matter what. The tone of the iAmp800 with the AE410 is a bit similar to the Puma500/AE410 clip I have up on my youtube channel... deep, wide, pure, sizzly. I prefer a head with a bit more mid grunt with the AE410, but that is pure personal preference.

That stack you have puts out some sound, so not sure how much more volume you would get the the AE410.

[tallboybass]

Originally Posted by jokerjkny

i remember LOVING the gb shuttle 6.0 w/ the ae410. can imagine the gb shuttle 9.0 being awesome'er....

terrific top end, shiny and glossy. and the eq does mind meld nicely to the cab's natural voicing.

6.0+AE410=AWESOME!

I can also recommend your favorite flavor of preamp+PLX1804+AE410. Using the 6.0 as a pre with LOTS more power is a good thing.

[was3funk]

Originally Posted by babebambi

500W into 4 ohm is plenty to work with, and should be ideal for the AE410.

That’s what I was thinking also. I was surprised by the comment from the dealer.

Originally Posted by KJung

Sounds like another retailer with an 'agenda'

In hindsight, I remember him telling me he had a hard time getting the Tec-Amp products. Either way I wish the dealer was ‘straight’ with me, it’s not like I’m walking into the local GC and looking for lower end products.

Originally Posted by jokerjkny

i remember LOVING the gb shuttle 6.0 w/ the ae410. can imagine the gb shuttle 9.0 being awesome'er....

Hmmm, guess if I wanted to have a more than 500w option to the Markbass F1, the Genz-Benz Shuttle 9.0 would fit the bill nicely at 900w - and the price is friendly.
BTW - Thanks for all your insightful responses.

[jokerjkny]

Originally Posted by tallboybass

6.0+AE410=AWESOME!

I can also recommend your favorite flavor of preamp+PLX1804+AE410. Using the 6.0 as a pre with LOTS more power is a good thing.

w/ a demeter hbp-1, i'm imaging awesome'est...

gloriously hifi shiny tubieness w/ meaty power and kick.

would make for a killer, medium, but at any moment ready to go big time w/ another ae410 sized rig.

[McHack]

Originally Posted by KJung

Absolutely not true in any way. The AE410 is 4ohms and high SPL. Any 500 watt amp or so will drive the living bejeebers out of it.

Sounds like another retailer with an 'agenda'

...

+1 for the 500w amp being plenty. I use an LMII w/ mine, & have never had to turn it up louder than straight 9 o'clock. However, I've been getting gas to replace the LMII, lately... only because I've had it for a while, & there's a ring on the top where I put a glass once...

[CElton]

Originally Posted by R Baer

I've used a AE410 with a Mesa Walkabout and it gets plenty loud and sounds great.

This pairing has piqued my interest...If I need to go bigger, I could break out the M6.

[dee rob]

Originally Posted by KJung

That stack you have puts out some sound, so not sure how much more volume you would get the the AE410.

Yep, that's what I was thinking as well....guess I'll have to take my rig over to Bass Emporium and do a side by side!

dee

[tombowlus]

Originally Posted by dee rob

I'm considering joining a heavy rock band that is considerably louder than my normal funk/r&b projects. When I played with them a few days ago, it seemed like the NL210/CXL112 was really straining to keep up.....has anyone tried the AE410 with the Iamp800? Thanks.

dee

It's a strong pairing, for sure. The AE410 will be more upper mid-forward than your NL210, and a good bit louder. That should punch through your mix nicely.

[MG Bass]

+ 1 to any of the Markbass heads and if you want something that will smoke everything else with the AE410 then get yourself a Glockenklang Heart Rock. The best paring IMHO.
Even better when you stack a AE210 on top for a full 1000watts of power.

[galore]

I have an AE410 and I'm also looking for another amp to mix with this cab. I don't have many options, I can get a mesa fathom, m-pulse 600 and swr sm400s, maybe even sm900. I'm using this cab for all styles, so I need an amp that can in combination with AE410 produce different sounds, from classic rock to reggae, pop, r&b, I guess I can say it needs to do clean, hi-fi tone as well as more grindy tone when needed. It also needs to pump low B freqs well, so I'm concerned about sm400s being rated "only" 500W when bridged.

There are several posts about AE410 + M6/fathom being a good match, but what about m-pulse 600? I like its massive EQ, but for sure don't need another "tube" amp as my SVT doesn't really match well with the berg, at least to my ears. Is anyone using this combo, mesa600 + AE410 and how would you describe the tone? Swr would obviously sound very clean, I'm just afraid it won't be loud enough for outdoor gigs.

Thanks.

[CElton]

Originally Posted by galore

I have an AE410 and I'm also looking for another amp to mix with this cab. I don't have many options, I can get a mesa fathom, m-pulse 600 and swr sm400s, maybe even sm900. I'm using this cab for all styles, so I need an amp that can in combination with AE410 produce different sounds, from classic rock to reggae, pop, r&b, I guess I can say it needs to do clean, hi-fi tone as well as more grindy tone when needed. It also needs to pump low B freqs well, so I'm concerned about sm400s being rated "only" 500W when bridged.

There are several posts about AE410 + M6/fathom being a good match, but what about m-pulse 600? I like its massive EQ, but for sure don't need another "tube" amp as my SVT doesn't really match well with the berg, at least to my ears. Is anyone using this combo, mesa600 + AE410 and how would you describe the tone? Swr would obviously sound very clean, I'm just afraid it won't be loud enough for outdoor gigs.

Thanks.

If you want massive eq and want to stay in the Mesa family, but clean, consider the M9.

[babebambi]

I really don't like how the M9 pair with the Berg AE. They both have that up-mid/treble emphasis, that when paired, is too much to my ear.

The Eden voice is a very nice match with the AE IMHO. But then, I seem to like the Eden with everything ... lol.