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Affordable head for rehearsals. 200w or + at 8 ohms

P

pepito666

Jul 3, 2019
149
135
#1
Hi. I'm in the market for a head only for rehearsal. I don't need high quality because I already own an Aguilar TH for gigging. We play quite loudly, and I use there a 4x10 cabinet at 8 ohms.
I'm considering secondhand options, like the EBS HD350, but I can't find the power at 8 ohms. The manual only says 300W at 4 ohms, and I think that might be a bit low in power for my needs at 8 ohms.
Anyway, I don't know if a big, heavy and expensive head makes sense in 2025 with so many options on the market. Other possibilities I'm considering are the TC Electronic BQ500, Warwick Gnome 300, Ampeg PF350, Markbass... I'd like to get at least 200W at 8 ohms, but REAL watts. I had a TC BAM 200, and I don't think it really delivers the 200W it's supposed to. It wasn't enough for rehearsals. Some amps don't seem to deliver the volume they claim to. Since it's only a rehearsal amp, I don't want to spend too much. Any other options or suggestions? Thank you very much.
 
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#2
pepito666 said:
Hi. I'm in the market for a head only for rehearsal. I don't need high quality because I already own an Aguilar TH for gigging. We play quite loudly, and I use there a 4x10 cabinet at 8 ohms.
I'm considering secondhand options, like the EBS HD350, but I can't find the power at 8 ohms. The manual only says 300W at 4 ohms, and I think that might be a bit low in power for my needs at 8 ohms.
Anyway, I don't know if a big, heavy and expensive head makes sense in 2025 with so many options on the market. Other possibilities I'm considering are the TC Electronic BQ500, Warwick Gnome 300, Ampeg PF350, Markbass... I'd like to get at least 200W at 8 ohms, but REAL watts. I had a TC BAM 200, and I don't think it really delivers the 200W it's supposed to. It wasn't enough for rehearsals. Some amps don't seem to deliver the volume they claim to. Since it's only a rehearsal amp, I don't want to spend too much. Any other options or suggestions? Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
TC BQ500 is incredibly affordable these days, or the Warwick Gnome i Pro V2
 
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#3
The rule of thumb for solid state amps is that doubling the impedance halves the power, and vice versa. So an amp rated for 300 Watt at 4 Ohm would be 150 Watt at 8 Ohm.

The other thing you need to pay attention to is how the power is rated. For example the EBS HD350 manual says its power is rated at "300 / 350 W RMS @ 4 ohms Impedance". The TC BAM 200 manual says its power is rated at "Max output power 200 W", without specifying impedance -- we can assume 4 Ohm but we don't really know because they don't say.

These two manuals are publishing are very different values! You can read more about the difference here, but the essential thing to remember is that the EBS manual is publishing its mean power rating (specifically, RMS: Root Mean Square), which is the power it can continuously put out without any problems. The TC manual is publishing its peak power rating, which is the power it can momentarily put out without damage, a much higher number than its RMS rating would be.

If we estimate the possible peak power rating as being twice its RMS rating, the TC BAM200 would have rating of 100 Watts RMS (vs the HD350 300 Watts RMS), and the EBS HD350 would have a rating of 600 Watts peak (vs the BAM 200 rating of 200 Watts peak). (All values at 4 Ohm impedance.)

You can't only compare numbers, you have to compare what the numbers mean.
 
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#4
What's your budget?
There are many used amp heads on the BST here that would be loud enough for you. What are you looking to spend?
Based on your stated needs, I'd be looking at something rated at least 500w at 4 ohms which would be about 250w into the 8 ohm cabinet you said you have. That power level should be able to cut pretty easily through a band rehearsal. For reference, my rehearsal rig is an Aguilar AG500SC. 500w @ 4ohm, 250w @ 8ohm. I play through a GK Neo 212, 8 ohms. I've never had an issue with volume with the full band. I have also used it on several small to mid size gigs. No issues. Sounded great too.
I've got a Mark Bass Vintage up on the BST now with these same ratings. Great little amp. So I know there are options there for you.

Good luck

kgb
 
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#5
ardgedee said:
The rule of thumb for solid state amps is that doubling the impedance halves the power, and vice versa. So an amp rated for 300 Watt at 4 Ohm would be 150 Watt at 8 Ohm.
Click to expand...
That's the ideal case, many class D amps do deliver exactly half the wattage at 8 ohms as they do at 4 ohms. But not all solid state amps do. A surprising number of brands don't even specify wattage at 8 ohms. For those you can safely assume that at 8 ohms, the wattage will be at least half of the wattage at 4 ohms, but it could be more.

Some examples:

Fender Rumble 500 350W @8 ohms, 500W @4ohms

GK 1001 RB 300 W RMS @ 8ohms, 400 W RMS @ 4ohms, 600 W RMS @ 2 ohms

Mesa D-800 / 400 Watts @ 8 Ohms / 800 Watts @ 4 or 2 Ohms

Ampeg SVT4 300 watts x 2; 900 watts mono-bridged @ 8 Ohms, 490 watts x 2; 1,200 watts mono-bridged @ 4 Ohms, 600 watts x 2 @ 2 ohms

Trace Eliot ELF 130 Watts RMS @8 ohms, 200 Watts RMS @ 4 ohms
 
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#6
There are plenty of affordable loud heads on the used market. I gigged with a Hartke HA3500 for years until I eventually went the micro route. It is 350 watts at 4 ohms and can be had for under $200.

My main current amp is a GK MB500 - 500 watts at 4 ohms. This model is discontinued and a bit harder to find.

Don't overlook Peavey either. They have had tons of models come and go. Most are plenty loud and bulletproof.
 
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#7
pepito666 said:
Hi. I'm in the market for a head only for rehearsal. I don't need high quality because I already own an Aguilar TH for gigging. We play quite loudly, and I use there a 4x10 cabinet at 8 ohms.
I'm considering secondhand options, like the EBS HD350, but I can't find the power at 8 ohms. The manual only says 300W at 4 ohms, and I think that might be a bit low in power for my needs at 8 ohms.
Anyway, I don't know if a big, heavy and expensive head makes sense in 2025 with so many options on the market. Other possibilities I'm considering are the TC Electronic BQ500, Warwick Gnome 300, Ampeg PF350, Markbass... I'd like to get at least 200W at 8 ohms, but REAL watts. I had a TC BAM 200, and I don't think it really delivers the 200W it's supposed to. It wasn't enough for rehearsals. Some amps don't seem to deliver the volume they claim to. Since it's only a rehearsal amp, I don't want to spend too much. Any other options or suggestions? Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
Or a TC Electronics RH750. This amp isn't a true 750 watts. In fact it was found to be 236w.
 
#8
I'll repeat what's already been said by also suggesting looking at used.

The last three heads I've bought have all been found used, at very reasonable prices, in good to like new condition, in the TalkBass Classifieds.

My main gigging amp/head: GK MB Fusion 800, (800 watts at 4 ohms, 560 watts at 8 ohms), great cond., I paid $450.00.

Backup amp/head: GK MB500, (500 watts at 4 ohms, 350 watts at 8 ohms), came with carry bag and foot switch, mint cond., I paid $300.00.

Bought this just because: GK MB2-500, (500 watts at 4 ohms. 350 watts 8 ohms), came with carry bag, very good condition, I paid $250.00.

(Both SansAmp BDDI's and the HPF pedal in the pic also came from the T.B. Classifieds.)
 

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#9
Get something used that can stand in for your main amp if it should die on you. If it's a heavier amp, it won't matter much since it's a rehearsal amp (assuming you leave your amp at the rehearsal location). If I were against getting something used for whatever reason, I'd probably pick up one of these:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BV1001M--bugera-veyron-m-bv1001m-2000w-bass-head

It's not 2000W. It's been years since I've used one, but decent enough for a rehearsal amp. I think it's under the Behringer umbrella so I'd never recommend one for gigging.
 
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#14
thanks. There are few Hartke in the second hand market for around 150-200 euro (ha7000, ha3500, ha2500...). I'm considering one of these or a new TC BQ500 (233 euro brand new). Are those Hartkes loud enough for rehearsing at 8 0hms? Thanks
 
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#17
pepito666 said:
Hi. I'm in the market for a head only for rehearsal. I don't need high quality because I already own an Aguilar TH for gigging. We play quite loudly, and I use there a 4x10 cabinet at 8 ohms.
I'm considering secondhand options, like the EBS HD350, but I can't find the power at 8 ohms. The manual only says 300W at 4 ohms, and I think that might be a bit low in power for my needs at 8 ohms.
Anyway, I don't know if a big, heavy and expensive head makes sense in 2025 with so many options on the market. Other possibilities I'm considering are the TC Electronic BQ500, Warwick Gnome 300, Ampeg PF350, Markbass... I'd like to get at least 200W at 8 ohms, but REAL watts. I had a TC BAM 200, and I don't think it really delivers the 200W it's supposed to. It wasn't enough for rehearsals. Some amps don't seem to deliver the volume they claim to. Since it's only a rehearsal amp, I don't want to spend too much. Any other options or suggestions? Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
I personally don't like the idea of having an amp that's only good for practicing. I have two heads - one is a GK MB 500 and the other is a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0. I use both of these for gigs and also practice through both of them at home, but I love that I can drop them into one little backpack together along with their cables and whatever else. Easy to carry and I have a backup for just in case.

I'm not saying go out and get a second Aguilar head, but maybe consider something that can back you up in case you have trouble with your primary head. Maybe you've already got that sorted out...

Enough about me and my $0.02. If you go for a loud and not-too-pricey practice head, I'd bet that you could do well with a lot of options from GK. Even their 400rb has earned a reputation for being good and loud despite its size and ratings. I'd expect a GK 700rb pushing a 4x10 cab to give you more than enough volume. I can also say that my MB 500 is easily the "loudest 500 watts" I've ever heard in a little amp like this. I'm actually glad that I didn't go shopping for the 800 watt version of this head - it would have been too much for me.

I can also note that both my MB 500 (bought it new) and my Shuttle (bought used) have been 100% trouble free through a few years of gigging a few times per month.
 
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#18
IMO the current best "small" bass head is the Genzler Magellan 350 and I recommend highly. Plenty of power, can push 3 x 8ohm cabs. Excellent feature set and can be found for under $500 used in great condition.
Magellan 350

That being said I've had good experience with the Fender Rumble series heads/combos and am intrigued by the new Ampeg stuff (Yamaha influence)
 
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#19

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