Best Class D Bass Amps???

[Killed_by_Death]

Best is so subjective.
Others rave about the MB Fusion 500 or 800, but I dislike G-K's overdrive a lot.

Meanwhile, I like Aguilar's overdrive in the TH350 or TH500, but others don't.

 

[bdplaid]

The Gain is a little unusual in that you can run the amp just fine with zero Gain. If you want clean, that is the way to go. I play Bluegrass and Gypsy jazz in two acoustic groups so I keep the Gain on zero and get a very clean sound. I still have plenty of power.

I tried that and with the gain at zero, the power is just not there. IMO the TH was designed to sound overdriven, at least a little - or a lot.

I say if you want a simple amp try the Fender 500 Rumble...it sounds really good for the design and cost.

edit: I have played a few of the newer amps and overall this one was VERY good.

I agree. It' deceptive in that such a good sounding amp is in Fender's low-budget line, but thee it is.

My favorite class D was the Streamliner 900 UNTIL I tried the new Genzler Magellan MG800.

whoa, now THAT's a dark sounding amp! I recall using it on a couple of gigs where I let the opening band's bassist use it, and the comments were al along the lines of, "Is the tweeter blown?" I never got anything but blanket-over-the-speaker tone from it.

The only exception was the Mesa D800. After the honeymoon period, I could never bond with it. I loved that it did 2 ohms so I could run the two 4 ohm cabs I had at the time (CN212's), but it was always a little too dark for me.

I know what you mean, but I've found that dialling back the low and low mid into negative territory can lessen the dark. The Rumble 500 is the same way, sounds best with the lows cut, but it has a bright switch, too. The D800's native sound is on the dark side, but comparing it to a Streamliner? No, the D800 is leagues better in every regard.

 

[Agosix]

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.

I would go with the Quilter over Terror Bass (now discontinued). Had a Terror and it was unique but could not get it to be clean. Quilter is clean and has a bigger wolop and cuts through. If you need dirt then add a pedal.

 

[bdplaid]

Then the Tonehammer is out for me. I fool around with distortion for home entertainment value, but for gigs I only play clean. If you can't get good clean tones out of the Tonehammer, then it's definitely not for me.

I'm always surprised that the TH gets such great reviews. I found nothing to recommend it. I guess I don't hear what others do in it. I like the Rumble 500 a million times more - and the Rumble also has a distortion channel that sounds pretty good.

Funny you say that about the Mesa not having enough brightness, because from the demos I heard online, it sounded too bright to me. I was kind of dropping it way down on my list, because judging from the online demos I didn't think it would have enough warmth. But, being one of the only suggestions that I can actually find locally to test, I am going to go play it tomorrow.

If you can check it out, do so! I have the Subway D800 and matching 115 and 112 cabs. It's the only rig on which I have turned UP the tweeters. And my sound is very much not bright nor zingy, not Marcus Miller. For what I like, think Freddie Washington on Forget-me-nots.

How is the Markbass? Was kinda surprised no one here has endorsed that yet. I've never had any of their stuff, but it seems to consistently get reviewed well.

Lack of MarkBass is a surprise to me too. It has a native sound that is either very flat, or mid-rangey, depending on whom one asks. It can bring the beef if one turns up the low end, but it's native sound is more about midrange. The VLE knob - Vintage Loudspeaker Emulation, basically a LPF - is one of the great things about the amp in that one can dial out the tweeter gradually from the amp. I think MB amps work best when paired with Markbass cabs, but I use mine (Little Mark 800 and F500) into just about anything and can usually get something good from it, but sometimes it does take a little work to get there.

To be clear though, in a lot of ways Markbass is the opposite of the D800. Where the MarkBass is about midrange and articulation, the D800 is about "push," lots of low end while retaining the articulation. The Rumble 500 falls somewhere in the middle, but toward the D800. For punch and good low end, these are all worth looking at.

One other thing - I found the Subway 115 cab to be a real gem. It makes all my amps sound better.

 

[AztecViking]

Just try out everything you can in person. Preferably in a live band situation. The right setup will truly speak to you.

PS. I've been running a Markbass rig for nearly 5 years now and have been supremely pleased. I've got a GenzBenz Shuttle 9.0 too as a backup but for my ears the Markbass has much more "upfront presence". All of this stuff is just SO subjective that you really need to try things with your own basses/cabinets and listen with your own ears.

 

[Bassworship1]

I've owned several amps and tried just about all of the more popular class D-amps but by far my favorite 2 are the Mesa D-800 and the Genzler 800. I did some side by side testings with the Genzler and the Mesa 800 in the same venues using the same basses and with my wireless walking out in front of the stage in the audience before shows. To me the Genzler sounded better overall and even those I asked before shows preferred the Genzler. You couldn't go wrong with either but the Genzler is the best Class d amp I've tested and owned.

 

[SLO Surfer]

For a clean, modern sounding, good for slap class D amp, I think of the GK MB 500/800. Don't look at the fusion models if you don't want tube pre or GK's overdrive.

I didn't like the Mesa D-800 myself. Too flat and dark sounding. Had no life to it IMO.

 

[bluesblaster]

If you just want a good solid bass tone like I do, Get a Euphonic Audio Iamp , love mine

 

[jthisdell]

What these posts show is that "good tone" is very subjective. Everyone has a different idea of what that means. The only way to find the amp for you is to get in the car and go try as many as possible. Depending on where you live that may not be easy but it is necessary.

 

[WillieB]

GK MB800



damn this site ! Now I'm going to HAVE to try a Quilter Bass Block 800

 

[ShadowImage]

Can't believe all these great looking little class Ds. I need to replace my rack with one of these, one less piece to lug into a gig. Hard to believe so much power fits in a little module you can stash in your gig bag.

 

[aproud1]

Best simple class D imo is the Epifani Piccolo. well built, easy to use and solid. not super tiny but very powerful and easy to get a good sound out of them.

Nice company too. I've been considering buying another.

There are so many options out there

 

[noahw1]

Genzler Magellan 800

 

[lowfreqgeek]

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.

PJB D600, or wait till early next year (post NAMM) for the new D1000.

 

[Robroy]

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.

I use a Crown class D PA amp. There are all sorts of ways to get a signal into it without getting a rack mount bass pre (a Sansamp DI for example)

 

[KevInDaBassment]

GK MB500/800!!!

Aguilar Tonehammer also gets honorable mention in my books

 

[Nephilymbass]

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.

I run a sans amp RBI with a crown xls1500 in a small rack bag. Easy to carry and a lot more juice than the class d bass heads I've tried. I've been using the RBI for many years and the crown for about two years now. No issues at all.

 

[74hc]

My experience is that it's not so much the class D amp you're interested in, but the preamp section. The vast majority use class D amp modules from the same vendor. They distinguish themselves in the preamp section where the features and sound signature comes from.

Some get their cost advantage by questionable wattage ratings, imo. They'll use a low-power ICEPower amp module, but will stretch the wattage claim. If reliability is a top priority for you, I'd recommend that you look for one the comes closet to the sound you want, and also backs up their product with good warranty and no hassle repair/help.

From the low wattage combos like 40 watts and lower, you find the same thing but in chip amps. They mostly use TDA7293/4, or LM3556, with a few using a couple of other chip amps. Undersizing the heatsink for the chip amp is a concern here. Again, the signature sound comes from the preamp section, and so does the features.

 

[Funkabilly]

I love my TC Electronics BH800. It has plenty of power, simple eq, and sounds great with my MarkBass 2x10s. Throw it on a 4x10 cabinet and its everything you need. Nothing beats the sound of my old Ampeg, but this thing fills the void and my back is happy!

 

[Linnin]

My experience is that it's not so much the class D amp you're interested in, but the preamp section. The vast majority use class D amp modules from the same vendor. They distinguish themselves in the preamp section where the features and sound signature comes from.

Ah-Ha! The Voice of Reason! Just buy the one that sounds best to you regardless of the name on the front.

And since nobody mentioned it ... Trickfish 1000! drool