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Best Class D Bass Amps???

foothilla

foothilla

Aug 21, 2016
692
754
Los Angeles
#1
Hello All,

I am interested in getting a SIMPLY DESIGNED class D bass amp head, but am feeling a little overwhelmed. Class D seems to have been rapidly evolving in recent years and many of the "class D" threads on talkbass are 5+ years old. So, I would love opinions on the absolute best class D amps out there, as of late 2016.

Price doesn't really matter, I am looking for the best of the best. It has to have enough power to drive 8x10 cabs, and I want the design to be simple (i.e. the Orange Terror Bass, or the Quilter Bass Block). I am tired of super heavy, unreliable, rattling tube heads (just sold my last one, a Mesa 400+). And I have plenty of class A/B bass amps. I'm looking to step into the modern day, with a high end, lightweight class D amp. I want something that can do slap tones and modern sounds,...but would also like to be able to roll the treble back and get some nice, warm, vintage tones.

Thanks in advance for taking your personal time to help out your bass playing brethren.
 
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#5
Genz-Benz ShuttleMax. Most versatile amp I've ever owned, and I've run the the gamut from Ampeg to GK to Mesa Boogie to Mark Bass to Demeter, etc. (I blame talk bass for my disorder). The ShuttleMax is an amazing amp with a tube/FET Preamp (individual or blended) featuring a pre tube/FET volume and post tube/FET gain makes it possible to overdrive one or both yet attenuate either to maintain balance. This is just my favorite of the many features it has. The only downside is that it's no longer made and finding a used one can be a challenge. I originally bought the 6.0 version and spent a solid year tracking down a 9.2.
 
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#6
Believe it or not, I`m blown away with my Ibanez P300H, it cost me next to nothing and performs like a beast. Owned several D Class amps too. I understand there more powerful feature packed items with more tone shaping on the market but for my money this thing does the job, runs cool, aux input with headphone jack, dead quiet operation and no annoying fan noise at idle, switchable limiter and looks kinda cool too. Good luck.
 
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#7
I went back and edited my original post. I should have been a little more clear about my preferences. I like very simple design. I don't like stuff that is loaded with excessive bells and whistles (LED displays, digital settings, 10+ knobs, etc., etc.). I also don't want it to have any tubes in it anywhere (played Eden WT heads for years and had plenty of issues with the tube preamp sections).

I want really simple design. So far, the ones that have caught my interest the most are the Orange Terror Bass head, the Quilter Bass Block 800, the Mesa D-800 Subway, and the EBS Reidmar. What I like about these four heads is their simplicity (although the EBS is more complex than the other three). Unfortunately, the only one I can find to try out locally is the Mesa, and I haven't been overly impressed with the sound of the Mesa in the online demonstrations that I could find (on the demos it sounds very bright, brittle, hifi, and anti-vintage). So, I would appreciate feedback from anyone that has any experience with any of those 4. And I would also appreciate suggestions for other D class amps that are similarly simple in design.
 
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#9
foothilla said:
I went back and edited my original post. I should have been a little more clear about my preferences. I like very simple design. I don't like stuff that is loaded with excessive bells and whistles (LED displays, digital settings, 10+ knobs, etc., etc.). I also don't want it to have any tubes in it anywhere (played Eden WT heads for years and had plenty of issues with the tube preamp sections).

I want really simple design. So far, the ones that have caught my interest the most are the Orange Terror Bass head, the Quilter Bass Block 800, the Mesa D-800 Subway, and the EBS Reidmar. What I like about these four heads is their simplicity (although the EBS is more complex than the other three). Unfortunately, the only one I can find to try out locally is the Mesa, and I haven't been overly impressed with the sound of the Mesa in the online demonstrations that I could find (on the demos it sounds very bright, brittle, hifi, and anti-vintage). So, I would appreciate feedback from anyone that has any experience with any of those 4. And I would also appreciate suggestions for other D class amps that are similarly simple in design.
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lz4005 said:
That's a blank yardstick. You can use an 8x10 with 5 watts or 5000.

How many watts do you want?
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Here is a shoutout to the Aguilar Tone Hammer 500. It may not be the newest kid on the block but it is still as great an amp as it's ever been. :thumbsup:
 
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#13
As I read your post it occurred to me that the early design meetings for the Mesa D-800 probably had many of the same thoughts expressed. The Mesa D-800, Aguilar TH 500 and GK MB 800 are my three top choices for solid class D heads that get the job done, are fairly priced for the quality and certainly worth a look.
 
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#18
Tecamp Puma 900. It even has this switch called "taste". Can't go wrong with this one.

PJB. M-800. Some people say it just doesn't sound powerful enough, like a 800 watt amp should. I can understand that too. But personally I think it produces some great tones. The drawback....... close to 40 lbs for a class D amp.
 
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#19
foothilla said:
The Genzler and Aguilar both look awesome. Anyone have experience with both, and able to give an opinion on the advantages/disadvantages on the head-to-head comparison.

....those seem to be the 2 that are most recommended at this point.
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If you get the Tonehammer you'd better like distortion. I sent mine back the same day. It sounds a lot like an overdriven tube amp. Clean sounds it does not do. I hated it.

I also had a GK MB800. The tonal opposite of the TH. Very bright, very clean, sounds very GK, meaning a big dip in the mids. It's a great amp if you like that sound. Can be very punchy, but I find the midrange lacking just because of the baked-in GK sound. Reliable and very small.

My main amp is currently a Mesa Subway D800. Loved it when I got it, now I like it a whole lot, but don't love it after having it for a few months. I wish it were brighter. Having said that, it's a monster of an amp and worth every penny. It'll drive anything down to 2 ohms, and the controls are relatively simple. The thing that's a little different is the contour knob - on paper it's something of a mid dip, but sonically it does more than that. It adds richness to the sound. It's a great sounding amp. If you like this kind of sound - warm and punchy - you can't go wrong.

If I had it to do now, I'd buy the Mesa Subway D800+. I think the bright switch is needed. But then, the D800+'s controls look like more than you want.

I have a couple of other Class D's on the lower end you might like (I do): Fender Rumble 500. Dead simple, has a lot of grunt, just sounds good. Been reliable for me. I also have a Rumble 500 combo and the same comments, Love it.

A surprisingly good sounding Class D is the Acoustic B1000HD. With a graphic EQ, it's not what you want, but I mention it because I love the sound of it. I've only just gotten it so can't speak to the reliability.

And there's MarkBass, but you probably know about them.

Good luck!
 
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