Time For A New Bass Rig!!

[Jake Morris]

Hey guys. I've been in the market for a new amp rig and I think I've narrowed things down. As far as heads go I like the Aguilar stuff as well as Mesa Boogie. I tried the genz benz stuff, but I didn't get the kind of low end I wanted. As for cabs, Bergantino's 212 was killer. But when I tried the Aguilar DB751, it was through an Aguilar cab. And it sounded killer. But the thing is I can't A-B the Mesa and Aguilar at the same time. Just wanted some opinions on some of this stuff.

(I'll be posting pics of whatever I end of up getting)
p.s.... price is not a factor. weight is t and extend... like no svt recommendations plz hahaha. keep in mind I'm 15 yrs old, have a good back (and will for a while) but plan on going to a music school, so transportation is factor. thanks!

[Hollywars]

Tried Genz Benz yet?

[Jake Morris]

yeah... i said that. Nice, but i wasn't feeling the bottom end. i will say i tried it through a 212 bergantino AE i believe.

[GrowlerBox]

From a post in another thread, it looks like you tried the Genz Shuttle 9 -- were there others? There are some great video reviews of the new Streamliner (Ed Friedland and KJung) which sound pretty nice, but admittedly, it probably gets its character from the mids and sizzly highs. I'm a bit of a micro man myself (that didn't sound so good, did it? No going back on it now though), and really like the low end from my new RH450, at least as compared with my Markbass F1 (which also does its best work in the mids). As a travelling amp, it's hard to beat, with built in tuner, a very good and musical compressor, and "Tubetone" which, to my ears at least, is one of the better emulations out there. The 450W rating is very conservative, too, by the way. At least as loud as my F1 into 8 Ohms (fairly rated at 300/500W), and it's much more forgiving when it clips.

[Jake Morris]

I did not care for TC Electronic and I have to try Markbass again to get a true feel for it. For some reason I can't get the sound of that Aguilar DB751 out of my head. But it weighs like 42 lbs. Worth it compared to the Mesa Boogie Carbine M9 at around 20-30 lbs?

[BassBob1]

i never played the aguilar DB751. But anything i have heard that used it sounds pretty nice. very fat sounding i guess. I have played M3 and M6 carbines and they are very nice as well and sounded very different compared to any aguilar i have ever heard. They are very clean sounding amps and i am assuming they couldnt get as dirty as the DB751 could. If you cant decide factor in what features you would like about each. The M9 for instance would give you more eq options. You seem really into the sound of the DB though. With you intending on going to music school do you think you will need/use anything that big or powerful.

[GrowlerBox]

Originally Posted by bassmasta1209

I did not care for TC Electronic and I have to try Markbass again to get a true feel for it. For some reason I can't get the sound of that Aguilar DB751 out of my head. But it weighs like 42 lbs. Worth it compared to the Mesa Boogie Carbine M9 at around 20-30 lbs?

If you're looking into Markbass, you'd probably like the Little Marks (i.e. LMIII) more than the F1/F500. But it might also be worth checking out something like the R500 or the new Rocker 500. Sounds to me like you probably won't dig anything as much as the Aguilar, though.

[Jake Morris]

The thing about music school is that my bass teacher said I will be gigging and playing when I'm not in class, and having the lighter micro stuff is great. But I still have 3 1/2 more yrs high school. I mean I could always get the Aguilar or Mesa now and if I decide music school is where I want to go, I can get something like the genz, markbass, etc. Plus everytime I try heavy amps @ stores they all say do it now while your still young hahaha.

[KsPiNeSh]

Originally Posted by bassmasta1209

I did not care for TC Electronic and I have to try Markbass again to get a true feel for it. For some reason I can't get the sound of that Aguilar DB751 out of my head. But it weighs like 42 lbs. Worth it compared to the Mesa Boogie Carbine M9 at around 20-30 lbs?

The Aguilar does it's thing VERY well, but IMO and IME it's a fairly limited amp that doesn't have a large tonal range. The M9 Carbine has most of the punch of the 751, but TONS more range and is significantly lighter. I would (and did ) go with the M9 Carbine.

[Jake Morris]

So the mesa weight wise is between the genz and the aguilar. I did find the 9? band eq on the m9 extremely useful and the overall amp was very versatile. And the aguilar has its tone. I did find the tone controls on the aggie didn't do much. But man its tone was killer! As a friend once told me, its better to have one great, amazing tone then a bunch of 1/2 decent ones. But the mesa was beyond decent. And I think imma get a bergantino cab regardless the head. I just have to chose between a 212 and a 410.

[KsPiNeSh]

I think the Mesa is right around 30 pounds, but it doesn't feel heavy to me at all; my GBE 1200 is around the same weight as the Aggie and the M9 is a lot lighter. I agree that the Mesa is at least "beyond decent", but it really is just a different platform than the 751. If you're interested, I can shoot you my band's website and you can hear the M9 recorded in a rock mix.

[Jake Morris]

Yeah that would be cool because the amp always sounds different in a band setting

[prd004]

The heavy stuff sounds better! I am not a fan of the new class D stuff, which probably means it's here to stay, LOL!

You can't go wrong with Mesa or Aguilar

[Jake Morris]

Originally Posted by prd004

The heavy stuff sounds better! I am not a fan of the new class D stuff, which probably means it's here to stay, LOL!

You can't go wrong with Mesa or Aguilar

I know for a fact there's no way I can take the Aggie to college, but the Mesa? Idk about that. Now if you think the Mesa is something I could take to college, I'll end up getting that. But if I need something more lightweight like Genz Benz or Markbass, I'll get the Aggie now and something like Genz Benz right before college, that's if I persue a music career vs a standard 4 yr college. I like that idea because that's more gear for me! Hahaha

[BassBob1]

I go to a stander 4 yr college. I used to have a markbass lmII and a 102p traveler cab. It was easy to carry around and i loved that but it wasnt the sound in my head and was only good for smaller stuff. You can have a bigger rig at college provided you dont mind lugging it around. My band started playing bigger gigs and a good amount of outdoor stuff so i dumped the markbass and got an ampeg svt 7 pro and 410hlf. the head isnt heavy but the cab sure is. Im a pretty big and stong dude so i dont mind carrying it around. The only thing is this semester i am bandless and find myself doing small jam sessions again so i need something small again. (Hopefully in the near future i will be getting a mesa walkabout scout combo)

I guess what i'm saying is get the set up that you like the sound of now. If you have the room bring it to college (if you still have it then, you may change your mind about what sound you like). and when its time get something small. I feel like the best thing to have IME is to have an rig for bigger gigs and something for smaller stuff thats easier to get around.

[KsPiNeSh]

Originally Posted by bassmasta1209

Yeah that would be cool because the amp always sounds different in a band setting

No prob - I'll shoot you a PM a little bit later with some signal chain info.

Originally Posted by prd004

The heavy stuff sounds better! I am not a fan of the new class D stuff, which probably means it's here to stay, LOL!

You can't go wrong with Mesa or Aguilar

I kinda felt the same until I got my Genz Benz Streamliner amp - it's not a 750/751 (what is?), but it's definitely worth checking out.

[Jake Morris]

Cool!