Cliffs notes:
Looking for a head to match the 2x12 cab detailed below. Considering (mostly used): MARKBASS (SD800, F1/500, LMII), GENZ (ShuttleMax 12 & 6, Shuttle 9.0), GK (MB500), CARVIN (BX500), Acoustic Image and iAmp800 heads (2 ohms!). Maybe used Thunderfunk/AMP heads. Mesa? Open to other suggestions. Points for portability.
EDIT: A possibility I'd not considered before: a separate, lightweight power amp and pre -- but I'm pretty at sea there.
Full text:
I just received the 2x12” Dr. Bass cab I bought
here from TBer Jeff Scott, and am looking for a nice, preferably easily portable head to go with it. I'd appreciate your help.
The cab is 4 ohms, 1000W RMS, with neodymium Faital Pro drivers and a 6” instead of a tweeter (no tweeter!).
I play a Fender P/J bass with active EMG pickups and like to slap, though I'm tonally more sympatico w/ Flea than Marcus Miller. I'm looking for something that will work well live and for recording, and let me move from slap solos in a band on one end to supporting acoustic guitar and voice, maybe strings, on the other.
I’ve got a Markbass SD800 and a LMII*, recently bought used, coming next week to try with the cab.
Impressions:
In the last month, I've tried an old GK 2000RB, a Little Mark III, and a Genz 9.0, all through an Ampeg 410 HE cab (8 ohms). (I tried everything I could get my hands on, but these are the standouts.)
The beat-up GK was my favorite overall. I liked the tones of other amps, but this was the only one that made me
want to play. Not as fat as the Genz 9.0, or the most even across the strings (watch that popped G!), but more complex, more interesting to listen to. Harmonics and bridge-pickup chords were surprisingly clean and pleasant, and the slap sound was easily the most authoritative. (The only other amp that gave me a similar sense of cut -- and even more heft, albeit with a different tonal signature -- was a Genz GBE 750 through a 4 ohm, 410 HLF – thunderous, but an unfair comparison). 2000RB knocks: big and unwieldy, had life-threatening mechanical issues… I tried a new 1001RBII in the store to see if I could get the same tone and was disappointed.
The Genz was smoother and fatter, particularly up high on the G-string, than either the GK or the Mark, and had a nice, articulate slap sound at moderate volume, but as I pushed it and the yellow, “soft clip” light came on, I lost the articulation of slapped notes on the E-string. Bugged me and made me feel I had to work harder. Didn’t have as much time with this head… if I could find a way around this w/different settings, it’d be much more appealing, as I liked the tone otherwise.
The Markbass was really loud, but a love/hate thing with the tone – there was a sizzle and a synthetic quality that was always present to varying degrees (less so through the Ampeg than the Markbass 210 combo speakers). On the other hand, the more I played with it, the more appealing/useable sounds I was able to get. Little Brother 1 liked the way it "filled the spaces" w/electric guitar (combo). Little Brother 2 liked its slap sound the best. Noisier D.I. than the Genz – noticed it in a recording, not sure if I would live.
Other heads I’m considering, in something approaching the order in which I’m considering them:
Genz Benz – Max 12, Max 6, 9.0 (FET channel, more flexible EQ of Max series intrigue me – couldn’t use more than half the Max 12’s non-bridgeable juice without a second cab, though).
Markbass – F1/F500 (if I like the tone of the SD800 but decide 500W is plenty).
GK MB500, Carvin BX500. Used Acoustic Image. Used iAmp 800s, and Thunderfunk/AMP/related heads (on the bigger side). TC Staccato (flashing lights! presets!). Used Mesa M6 or M9 (solely because another player said, “Man, you should definitely look into those.” They're bigger and a tonal unknown to me).
I am open to other ideas, and especially to the insights of those more experienced than I am – I think I’m a decent (and improving) player, but I’ve neither heard nor played the majority of these heads in person and most of my live performance experience (since high-school, anyway) is playing orchestral and chamber music.
I’d like to keep comments to people who have some experience with the head they’re discussing, and some basis for an idea of how it’d work with a cabinet like mine – my head is already swimming with conjecture, and I’ve got to be careful of how much more I put into it!
Many thanks in advance.
-Mark
* actually a mini-CMD121P combo I’m considering modding so the head can be easily removed, ala Genz Shuttle combos. If it works, it’d give me a main rig and a grab-n-go “lunchbox.” 
). I will post detailed impressions of everything I try, though... later. For now, I'll step away from the computer -- I'm young enough yet I should be doing something else on a Saturday night!
