Help Me Get A Good Head, Please!

[Zakulus]

What I'm looking for most is tone and portability--price and all that stuff is second to those priorities. Here's my situation:

Last night I was about two seconds from pulling the trigger on a GB Streamliner 900 and an Uber 410 cab, but since I've only read about how amazing they are, it occurred to me that the head might not fit my tonal personality. I love versatility, being that I play classic rock, thrash metal, aggressive funk, and blues, and I play with a lot of warm growl a lot of the time, but I also play trebly lead chords and slap solos that don't necessarily have to be scooped, but can't over-distort. I thought that the SL900 would be the perfect thing, given all the hype, but now I'm thinking it might force some distortion on the high-note chords, which I'm not really down with. I play with a hot active G&L L2000 with roundwounds.

So, here's what I've narrowed it down to:
- Streamliner 900
- Shuttle 9.0 or Shuttlemax 9.2
- Markbass LMIII
- Markbass F500
- TC Electronic RH450
- I'm iffy on a Thunderfunk 550b or 750a (if I can find a good deal on one)

I'll be picking out corresponding cabs after I decide the head. What do you guys think?

[VanillaThundah]

I would go with the LMIII out of the ones you listed if you want something with versatility but some hair on the chest when you need it

[calypsocoral302]

Originally Posted by Zakulus

So, here's what I've narrowed it down to:
- Streamliner 900
- Shuttle 9.0 or Shuttlemax 9.2
- Markbass LMIII
- Markbass F500
- TC Electronic RH450
- I'm iffy on a Thunderfunk 550b or 750a (if I can find a good deal on one)

I'll be picking out corresponding cabs after I decide the head. What do you guys think?

You may also want to add the Mark Bass "Little Mark Rocker", which is supposed to get a little more tube grind than the standard LMIII-- I don't own one, however, so I can't vouch for it directly.

A Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion may also be worth checking out.

[Munjibunga]

Dunno. I couldn't be happier with my Shuttle 9.0.

[rodl2005]

Shuttle 9 or 6(if U don't NEED the extra headroom) are real good FLAT sounding amps with great EQ's, & U can crank up the gain & U can get a fair bit of grind too.
Less 'built in EQ' of the STL600 /900

[IronLung1986]

well this is just my opinion, but you'd probably be better off leaving the overdrive/distortion capabilities of the amps out of your selection process. i feel like solid state amps don't do it very well on their own; even the TC RH450, which was designed with overdrive in mind, doesn't really deliver. you can delegate that part of the sound to a VT bass pedal or something and get better results.

regarding your choices, i happen to own an RH450 and a Markbass Little Mark 800, which is pretty similar to a LMIII. while the RH450 is full of amazingly useful features, the LM800 is BY FAR the better sounding amp. it has an exciting mid frequency voicing that gives it a Pavarotti-esque clarity and warmth. and it's a versatile amp because it mainly just makes your bass loud, as opposed to adding any coloration of its own. so i can switch around from fender to warwick to rickenbacker and get authentic tones for punk, folk, classic rock, and whatever else. it plays to the strengths of whatever bass you're using.

the RH450 isn't bad sounding, actually it's quite good in its own way. it's just much darker sounding, and as KJung once pointed out, it has a sort of "chewy" feel when you dig into the notes. i've also noticed that the RH450 doesn't handle active basses very well; regardless of any EQ settings, it sounds noticeably better with passive instruments.

[Hawaii Islander]

The new TC Electronic RH750 is the same price as the GB Streamliner 900
Buy TC Electronic RH750 750W Bass Amp Head | Solid State Amp Heads | Musician's Friend

[boriology101]

MB F500 seems to be an answer for you or RH750 is.
F500 is smaller and lighter but RH750 has way more features while it's bigger and heavier. If I were you, I would go for RH750 but I actually ended up having both of them

[Alex1984]

I'd check out G-K for those genres and the tone that you described. Also, although the L-2000 has hot pickups, you don't have to have them on full, right?

[BassmanPaul]

I would merely advise that the OP should go back and try the amps again and purchase the one he likes best. After any large purchase we all get "buyers remorse" and second guess ourselves. The bottom line is that ALL the amps are good and any one of them will do the job of any other. As long as you put in the time to get to know that amp and learn how to operate it properly

[Zakulus]

Yeah, the biggest problem is that I've only tried out one of all of these: the LMIII. I absolutely loved it though. I appreciate all the suggestions and I'm going to try and find places/people who have them so that I can really figure out what sounds best in my head. Reading about tones is so different from actually hearing them. Even if people consistently use words like "warm" and "punchy" to describe what they're hearing, it's still all subjective to their ears.

That said, I'm now really looking into the Shuttle 9.0 and the Markbass stuff. Gotta keep whittling away at it! Thanks guys!

[Zakulus]

Originally Posted by Alex1984

I'd check out G-K for those genres and the tone that you described. Also, although the L-2000 has hot pickups, you don't have to have them on full, right?

Hmm, I never really checked out GK before. I should probably do that! And yeah, with the 100W SWR LA15 I'm using now I do keep the bass's levels on full active with no bass/treble boost. It gets an amazing tone!