1st Amp head what should I buy $500 +/-

[Huw Phillips]

The reason I posted was to narrow things down but as you said I seem to have opened a Pandora's box of possible combinations, I have not been to a store yet so should do so as you suggest and hopefully exclude some options and have a few to chose from
Thanks for your help v much appreciated h

 

[keto]

Depends what kind of sound you're after too. The TH are great, my brother is a 30 year pro and uses one, but it's a more soft pillowy vintage type sound. GK will be the punchiest most modern sounding.

 

[Huw Phillips]

I was considering a TH 500 a while back. I ended up getting an Ampeg PF 500 head. The growing pains of this amp were ironed out a while back and it has been totally reliable. It's a bit bigger in size than the TH but that was no big deal for me. Fits in a Targus laptop bag nicely and has a zip pocket for connecting wires and some other stuff. If I recall correctly , the PF was about half the cost of the TH. I gig regularly with this amp.
If you plan on getting into a band situation in the future , a single 10 or 12 will probably not be enough. Save up for a couple of 2 10 cabs or a good 2 12 cab. These will usually get you through most band situations. I'm currently using a 2 12 av cab from Ampeg and it is more than enough to get me through both of the bands I have played with it. Before that , I was using an 8 10 cab. It was also more than enough by a long shot. My current band is fairly loud with a mic'd horn section and mic'd drums. I don't need to go through the PA with the 2 12.
You will probably get a bunch of different ideas from others in here and I am sure they would work well too. I'm just telling you what has worked well for me. Rock on.

Thanks for the info, I have plans for a 1 x 12 aa I have a cabinet and will add another or do a 2x12 as needed or that's the plan so far good to know what speaker sizes I will need cheers h

 

[Huw Phillips]

Thank you everyone who has replied to this post you have all given me valuable information that will help me with my choices and given me an understanding of what to look for and an idea of what I will need going forward.
I am reaching the end of building a bass 34 scale 20 frets that I modeled after my P with a few changes, it's been a very good learning experience to understand how it all works inside and why things are important here a photo of the progress so far, it has also helped me a lot with my rehabilitation, I have Lyme disease and have learning problems from where it has attcked my brain, but doing things with my head and hands has been very rewarding, my Lyme Dr is a jazz saxophonist and clarinet player who has encouraged me all along, the power of music is not to be underestimated
Cheers h

 

[joel406]

I am looking to buy my first amp head and would like some idea of what to buy, I see a vast array of different models and don't know what I should be looking for in watts, are tube amps fragile, etc. I like the specs and prices on the Aguilar TH 350 & 500 is this a good choice, I have the idea to buy something smaller that sounds nice rather than a beast, I plan to run a single cabinet 10/12" I have been playing for a little more than a year and would hope to play out with the head for a while so prefer to buy something that will last.
The above may come off as uneducated please teach me I am keen to learn
Thank you in advance

Gallien Krueger MB-500

This amp is about to disappear into legend. Get em while they are still had to get. Sweetwater has some left. I got one coming today.