I'm getting together funds for a half-fretless NS/Stick, and am trying to figure out how to properly amp it. Most of our gigs will be small to medium-ish size venues, so I don't need earth-shattering power. I play with a jazz trio (drums and amplified keyboard) and a worship group at church.
I don't really want the complexity of a stereo setup, so I'm thinking about running a modeling pedal on the high side, combining the bass and the pedal output with a passive or active preamp, then using the head with a pair of cabinets I already own. Some of our rep. I'll be playing the instrument more as a full-range bass, and some of it I'll be comping simple guitar chords over bass lines, so I do feel the need to distinguish the tones on either side of the instrument for at least part of what we do.
Styles are mostly jazz/fusion/gospel/folk, with what you'd expect for bass tones on the low side. I'm looking at anything from clear & unprocessed to more retro/blues guitar to Pat Metheny/Lee Ritenour-ish tones on the high side.
I've been looking at the Hartke LH500 and HA2500. I'm really enamoured of the idea of the true-tube preamp on the LH500, but wonder if it may be a bit excessive for my purposes. Also, once I get the tone right on the low side, I'm not sure how that would affect the sound of a modeling pedal--maybe it would be simpler for me to use simpler pedal setup on the high side and not worry about amp-modeling, if I get a head that has some killer tone by itself?
My budget is up to $350 (cost of an LH500). I have to have funds left to get drivers for my cabinets.
Of course, if there's other options I'd be happy to hear them. Even a slightly more expensive combo option (say, $500).
