Looking for a lightweight head

dave2 · #1 08-28-2012, 10:51 PM

I am looking for opinions / ideas on what options are available if I wanted to buy a very lightweight, portable, durable amp head with say 600 watts or more. An amp that has been designed and on the market for two or three years - modern but not the 'flavor of the month' so to speak.

What would you buy to take on the road with you? I'm playing a blues / rock gig btw.

Thanks all!

Dave

JimmyM · #2 08-28-2012, 11:49 PM

SVT 7 Pro or a Streamliner. As far as I'm concerned, they represent the pinnacle of micro technology for bass amps. OK, so the 7 Pro isn't exactly a "micro," but it's still pretty small and light. I favor the 7 Pro because it sounds like an Ampeg should, but the Streamliner's cool, too.

dave2 · #3 08-29-2012, 02:36 AM

Thanks Jimmy! I am not familiar with either amp you gave so I will look them up.

Anyone else with a suggestion?

arai · #4 08-29-2012, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave2

I am looking for opinions / ideas on what options are available if I wanted to buy a very lightweight, portable, durable amp head with say 600 watts or more. An amp that has been designed and on the market for two or three years - modern but not the 'flavor of the month' so to speak.

What would you buy to take on the road with you? I'm playing a blues / rock gig btw.

Thanks all!

Dave

Can't go wrong with Genz Benz. Tc electronic rh750 isn't 600 watts but is as loud as you would expect from that range.
Read up on the pro 7. A lot of people are having reliability issues with them, so it could be a bit of a gamble for the road.

73jbass · #5 08-29-2012, 03:02 AM

Thunderfunk. Been playing mine since 2006 and never looked at anything else.

mikericky · #6 08-29-2012, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave2

I am looking for opinions / ideas on what options are available if I wanted to buy a very lightweight, portable, durable amp head with say 600 watts or more. An amp that has been designed and on the market for two or three years - modern but not the 'flavor of the month' so to speak.

What would you buy to take on the road with you? I'm playing a blues / rock gig btw.

Thanks all!

Dave

+1 to a Genz Benz, shuttle 9.0 (or 9.2 latest) the 9.0 has been around for a while and still available new, these are small and sound great with 900 watts at 4 ohms or 500 watts at 8 ohms, seem to have great reputation for reliability and awesome customer service from GB with plenty of tech feedback from them here on TB.

Mike.

GRAHAM SG1 · #7 08-29-2012, 07:12 AM

I am loving my Streamliner 900, for the weight (or rather, lack off) and money its an amazing head

rtslinger · #8 08-29-2012, 07:17 AM

I agree any of the shuttle series powerful and light weight
my second pick would be EBS makes some power light weight heads as well

dave2 · #9 08-29-2012, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GRAHAM SG1

I am loving my Streamliner 900, for the weight (or rather, lack off) and money its an amazing head

I am not familiar with the Streamliner heads.... Who makes them? I will do a search and see what the word is on those. Thanks for the suggestion.

Dave

dave2 · #10 08-29-2012, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73jbass

Thunderfunk. Been playing mine since 2006 and never looked at anything else.

Can you suggest a model to me?

dave2 · #11 08-29-2012, 08:12 AM

Several like the Genz Benz. I know they have a great reputation but I have not had the opportunity to play their amps. I will look them up on the net.

I will see if anything pops up for sale here or locally.

Dave

gjbassist · #12 08-29-2012, 08:12 AM

Well it hasn't been on the market for two or three years but I would check out the GK MB800. It's basically an 800 watt version of the MB500 which has been on the market for a while.

**johndough247** · #13 08-29-2012, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave2

I am not familiar with the Streamliner heads.... Who makes them? I will do a search and see what the word is on those. Thanks for the suggestion.

Dave

The Streamliner is also a Genz Benz. Great thick tone from that amp, but if you want a more versatile amp then check out the Genz Benz shuttle max. There's a 600W, 900W and 1200W version of it, I have the 12.2 (it's 2 x 600W ) and it's nothing short of amazing.

dave2 · #14 08-29-2012, 11:11 AM

I like the looks of the Streamliner 900. It looks less complicated than a ShuttleMax for my brain :-) , tube preamp, and only 6 1/2 pounds. 900 watts at 4 ohms - awesome!

Are they road worthy?

Dave

TC.65 · #15 08-29-2012, 11:55 AM

I don't think you could go wrong with the Streamliner it's an awesome amp IMO. It does have a simple and straight forward design yet there are a number of different tones to be found in this amp. I have the 600 watt version of this amp and absolutely love it.

GRAHAM SG1 · #16 08-29-2012, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Are they road worthy?

Absolutely

especially when you push the gain button and get the yellow light

mam1862 · #17 08-29-2012, 04:10 PM

Streamliner 900 is as solid of an amp as there is today. Plenty of power and easy to dial in the sound your looking for. Check it out.

dave2 · #18 08-29-2012, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GRAHAM SG1

Absolutely

especially when you push the gain button and get the yellow light

That yellow light means what? Its clipping?

**JxBass** · #19 08-29-2012, 04:38 PM

I'll throw Acoustic Image and Euphonic Audio into the mix.

Munjibunga · #20 08-29-2012, 11:39 PM

Without question, the GK MB800. I have that plus a Shuttle 9.0 (my second favorite), TCE RH750, Aguilar TH500, Eden WTX-500 and a couple others. The MB800 has a great modern sound, but has a B channel and sufficient EQ to draw out pretty much anything I need.