Backup amp question...

[NickFromNY]

I have a Mesa D800, love it, its going no where... i also have a Subway preamp pedal for my home studio. I am looking at a backup amp for gigs in the rare event the Mesa breaka down. I tried some GK things but that didnt work for me.. what budget head will get me closest to the Mesa tone? Peavey minimax? Fender Rumble? Carvin BX500? Have about $250-300 to spend on a used head. I could pick up a power amp and run the subway pre through it in a pinch, but which of those (or other sugesstions) will get me close in that price range? Using a berg cn410 and various musicman basses

 

[mmbongo]

I also have a D800, my secondary amp is a Carvin BX500. Sounds fantastic with the Subway DI pedal going into it. It's also 2 ohm stable like the Mesa so it's the perfect backup.

Fender Rumble? Don't even bother. No Speakons, not 2 ohm stable, made in Indonesia.

Peavey? It at least has Speakons so I'd choose it over the Fender.

 

[Wicked G]

I personally have no experience with the Mesa, but I read a while back that another Talkbass member (I think it was @nutdog) had both the Subway D-800 and the TC Electronic BH800 and found them both very similar in tone. You could probably find that or the BH550 in your price range.

 

[nutdog]

I personally have no experience with the Mesa, but I read a while back that another Talkbass member (I think it was @nutdog) had both the Subway D-800 and the TC Electronic BH800 and found them both very similar in tone. You could probably find that or the BH550 in your price range.

Wow. I completely forgot I had them at the same time. New TC Elec. BH550 & 800

For the op price range I have no idea what would sound close to a subway but I'd be looking for a used shuttle.

 

[Steve]

if I had the active pedal, I'd just use a power amp. That's the way to get what sounds closest cheapest fastest. IMHO

 

[yakmastermax]

If you already have a good preamp pedal, try the BX700.

Lots of power, decent amount of adjustment, pretty neutral tone out of the box. Good price.

I had a BX700 for a while as my main amp. Sold it plus the 2x K212 setup I had. Right now considering buying a BX700 again as a backup/home amp since I leave my rack mounted GK 700RBII at the drummers place.

 

[jcerio]

Ok. Bumping this thread. My current rig is an Aguilar TH500 and 2 SL112 cabs. I love them. They're not going anywhere. The only other amp I ever tried with those cabs is an Ampeg PF500. I liked the sound. It was completely different from my Tone Hammer, but in a good way. The only problems were weight (life is too short to carry an amp that weighs more than 6 or 7 pounds) and that it was weak volume-wise compared to my Tone Hammer. I currently have a Peavey Nitrobass that I can use if something happens to my Aguilar, but it weighs a ton and is underpowered at 4 ohms. I'm interested in finding something that is relatively inexpensive, allows me to have a different tone than the Tone Hammer, and is under 7 lbs. Any suggestions?

 

[NickFromNY]

I wound up picking up a used Tonehammer to use as a backup/2nd amp. As far as lightweight and different tone than the Tonehammer, I would start with Genz Benz shuttle amps or GK MB500/800. those are on a completely different tonal plane than the tonehammer, are relatively cheap used and very light weight.