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Best $600 rig?

#6
Depends on how much volume you need... are you playing metal? jazz? classic rock? country? noise rock? English music hall?

For $600, which is a decent starter budget, you want to balance how much volume you'll need versus the best available tone.

First, if you check the FAQ in this forum it can give you some good tips for what to upgrade first and what to spend most of your money on. Second, try to figure out if there are any bassists that you want to sound like and try to figure out what gear they play or how best to get close to that sound. Third, when dealing with a budget, a good idea is to go used... many dependable, decent heads and cabs (because I think you'll want to go with separate heads and cabs versus all-in-one combos) can be had for good prices used.

$600 isn't a lot, but you can get a decent (and loud, if you need it) setup... Peavey, Hartke, Ashdown all make good heads that are easy to find (Peavey's Nitrobass , Firebass, and MAX line, Hartke's 3500, and Ashdown's MAG series)... Gallien-Krueger older heads sound great and can be found used for pretty cheap (the 800RB and 400RB). For cabs, you can find a used Peavey 4x10 or 1x15 (depending on your needs and preferances). Also, lots of people recommend Avatar cabs (avatarspeakers.com) for new, inexpensive cabs.

I'm sure others can chime in with other good suggestions... it's place to start at least. Again be sure to check the FAQ of this forum and use the search function to learn more about specific amps and setups that you're interested in.
 
#8
You are really in the market for a NO BS RIG. The Ashdown Mag 300 is you best bet for a head. I like Ashdown because they make stuff that works for bass players at all financial levels. AND IT'S ALL GOOD. The Avatar 212 neo or Delta (I like the NEO) is by far the best NO BS cab.

good luck and.........................
 
#10
I would go with a Yamaha BBT500H. It's on clearance right now and so are the matching cabs (with free shipping to boot). Way more versatile than most amps you'll find with 500W and 2 Ohm capability (you can use two 4 ohm cabs...this would fry most amps). I own the BBT110S 1x10's (2 of them) and they kick out crisp clear sound. You could buy this:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-BBT500110-500W-1x10-Bass-Combo?sku=480829

and add this:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-BBT110S-10-Bass-Speaker-Cabinet?sku=601410

And for $650 (no tax, free shipping) you'd have a kicking, lightweight, compact rig. Use the combo at home, recording or practice, take the extra cab when you need it. Or add the 2x10 for more volume instead ($700 total).

The aforementioned Ashdown + Avatar combo is also nice (but the Avatars without the Neos are crazy heavy and bulky). Depends on what you want. The Carvin B800 is also a great head...best Carvin bass head to date (as far as tone goes). It's 2 ohm capable as well for greater cab options in the future.
 
#12
Man, as much as I like Yamaha, you can get a brand
spankin new Carvin B500 on ebay for $380 shipped
to your door with a warranty.
Then you could check out some 4 ohm cabs, for instance
the yamaha cabs above, but one can buy a BBT210 for
$200(I believe shipped?)as opposed to $300 for 2 BBT110 which makes absolutely no sense to me(except the 2 ohm arg./which I don't think is valid for 2 single 10s)
Just a thought and not any advice!!!!
 
#14
GabeN said:
Wow, thanks for the help guys! I am trying to go for a Flea-ish sound, so I was going to go for a Backline 600 and a 1x15 GK rig, but these other rigs look much better for the price.
Click to expand...

I like the Ashdown MAG300 alot better than the BL600. Alot fuller sounding to me...
The Flea sound is definitely GK, but it's the Artist series stuff with a high dollar bass. You can get that sound well enough with the Ashdown, I did it...with a P bass and a Sonic 4x10. Just crank the input gain...
C7
 
#16
Another vote for the Ashdown Mag 300H- you won't find a better budget priced amp. I have one and push an aguilar 2x10 and 1x12 with it and get good volume and great tone. Aguilar cabs are a bit nicer than Avatar, but they are sginificantly more expensive. If you are going for the most versatile setup with teh most volume, you want the Avatar 2x12 through a Mag300H. You can get that rig brand new for just about $600 and I promise you will be thrilled.
 
#17
The Ashdown Mag 300 and an Avatar cab are definitely good bang-for-the-buck recommendations. A couple of other thoughts:

1) IME, if you go with a 2-way cab, I think a 12" speaker generally gives you a little bigger, more solid bottom end than a 10". Also, with the notable exception of the Euphonic Audio NL-210 (which is much more expensive), I generally find non-neo speakers to have a bigger, more solid bottom than neos.

2) If you prefer a cab covering other than the ubiquitous black, industrial rat fur on Avatars and so many other cabs, check out Mark Serio's cabs (www.drbasscabs.com). His RX115, RX112 abd RX210 models are all around $300, even with shipping. Ask very specifically, however, whether he has them in stock and how long it would be for delivery.

Just my $.02. The experience of others may differ.

Let us know what you finally decide to get and how you like it.

Best of luck !

Bluesy Soul :cool:
 
#18
A used Peavey Max 450 & Avatar B212 Delta 4 ohm cabinet. Good set up and will give you some decent volume. Since the Peavey will go to 450 watts 2 ohms so you could ad a B210 Delta or Neo later.

An Ashdown Mag 300 would be a good choice too but you will max out at 300 watts at 4 ohms.
 

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