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Best Lightweight Head at 8 ohms

Beat lightweight head at 8 ohms

  • GB Shuttle 6.0

    Votes: 40 29.9%

  • Carvin BX 500

    Votes: 18 13.4%

  • MarkBass Little Mark ll

    Votes: 53 39.6%

  • Other

    Votes: 23 17.2%
  • Total voters
    134
jnewmark

jnewmark

Just wanna play the groove.
Supporting Member
Aug 31, 2006
10,120
7,020
NW Ohio
Disclosures
Third St. Cigar Records staff musician.
#1
I have now tried 3 of these lightweight heads with my Carvin LS1503: The Little Mark ll , the Carvin BX500, and the GB Shuttle 6.0. As far as volume, tone, and options go, I have to give the nod to the Carvin. I don't think I ever had the master above the 10 o'clock position, and the graphic eq was a pleasant surprise, along with the compression ( which the other two do not have ). As far as build quality goes, the Shuttle wins hands down - very solid feeling to it, excellent controls, very sturdy. I wound up not even using any of the Shape switches, and ran the amp as flat as I could get it, but really needed to pump up the master to the 12 o'clock position in a band situation. The Little Mark ll was a total mystery to me; I just could not get any usable tone out of it no matter how many knobs I twiddled. Just a very clunky, boxy sound, but had more volume than the Shuttle at similiar settings.

So, I'm wondering what you guys think, those of you who have tried these heads in a single cab, 8 ohm situation. The Carvin is the winner for me, especially the price point. Just a louder, more tone options head to me. How about you?
 
#9
I won't vote, since my only real experience with lightweight amps was with the LMII. Voting would make me partial. Though, I can testify the LMII sends good juice on a single cab (MarkBass Traveler 102P), even with a 5-banger (SR5). That's what I used to play in bars and small clubs at these times.
 
#10
I had to choose "other" since I use a NeoPak 3.5 as my main amp. (not likely to switch either) But, this post did confuse me a bit. While it is true that different cabs will give different tone, I have never experienced tonal changes due to ohms, but only a difference in volume. I'm not sure it is prudent to claim that a 4 ohm cab sounds any different then an 8 ohm cab of the same model, by the same manufacturer. Maybe I have missed something.
 
#11
lomo said:
I voted LM2. Did you begin with the VLE and VPF off (counterclockwise extreme)=flat?
Click to expand...

Yes, and although I got enough volume, I just could'nt dial in my usual tone. It was baffling to me because, I thought I had it dialed in at home, then I would get to the gig and spend the rest of the night turning around and twiddling knobs. Just could not get it right. The Shuttle was closer to my tone goals but seem to lack the punch the other two had, and those shape filters are a waste of space, imho. I would swap them in a second for a good compression.
 
#12
I use an LMII and am surprised you have such a problem getting your sound. But there it is, it's your sound and you know what you like. I voted for the Carvin (although I have no experience with it) because you found the options so appealing and that you're running it through a Carvin cab. Sometimes a matching manufacturer's head and cab just work best together, I certainly found this with Ashdown and most Aguilar users have matching head and cabs. At the end of the day it's your ears that should the decision.
 
#14
Yep, the Carvin is nice - I'm pretty close to the Carvin factory, so I get to try lots of their stuff.

The Markbass just did not cut it for me either - personal opinion reigns supreme in amp choices....

I have the Shuttle 6.0 and love it - usually without the pre-shapes and with either the Berg HT/EX stack or a Accugroove Tri-115. I find myself using it more often than my Glockenklang HeartCore because of the ease in transporting and great sound. Yes, the Glock sounds better but there is something about having the light weight amp that sound 98% as good.

You really can't go wrong with either of the ones you like....

Dan K.
 
#16
dog1 said:
I had to choose "other" since I use a NeoPak 3.5 as my main amp. (not likely to switch either) But, this post did confuse me a bit. While it is true that different cabs will give different tone, I have never experienced tonal changes due to ohms, but only a difference in volume. I'm not sure it is prudent to claim that a 4 ohm cab sounds any different then an 8 ohm cab of the same model, by the same manufacturer. Maybe I have missed something.
Click to expand...

I used 8 ohm as the qualifier because that's what I have- an 8 ohm Carvin LS1503. I was astounded at the perceived volume differences between the heads, as they are right in the same ballpark as far as watts go (300 - 375 ). The Carvin was clearly louder to me with master at 10 o'clock than the Shuttle or Markbass was, all other things being as equal as I could get them with the same cab. Of course, it just may be my ears are playing tricks on me after 40 years of playing bass!
 
#19
tolson36 said:
you don't judge power based on percieved loudness at one partucular spot on the master pot.
Click to expand...
+1. None of these companies have a reputation for lying about wattages, but they all have different power ratios for their knobs, especially when you throw a separate gain/master into it. Judge on tone, not loudness. They'll all get way louder than you'll ever need ;)
 
#20
jnewmark said:
Yes, and although I got enough volume, I just could'nt dial in my usual tone. It was baffling to me because, I thought I had it dialed in at home, then I would get to the gig and spend the rest of the night turning around and twiddling knobs. Just could not get it right. The Shuttle was closer to my tone goals but seem to lack the punch the other two had, and those shape filters are a waste of space, imho. I would swap them in a second for a good compression.
Click to expand...

The LMII is very even and very clean, and if that's not your thing, then that's not your thing. The Shuttle is quite a bit more 'inherently voiced', and is brighter up top and more compressed down low. That might just be a better 'mix and match' with the cab you are using.

I'm not particularly impressed with any of the micro heads running into a large 8ohm cabinet. They are really all designed to put out their best tone run at 4ohms, especially if you dig in a bit. Obviously, if you play at only moderate volumes and don't use aggressive playing styles (like digging in with a pick or slapping), most will perform fine at 8ohms.

I understand that the Shuttle Max 6 has a bit more even tone and ooomph than the original Shuttle 6, and it has a MUCH better EQ/preamp, with variable voicing controls and two bands of semiparametric mids, and a separate tube and SS pre. That might do the ticket, but it costs a bit more than the other heads you are considering.

The new LMIII has been modified to provide a bit more ooomph at 8ohms, but it sounds like the tone didn't work for you, versus the volume, so that probably wouldn't really be an option.

In this day and age, having a large 8ohm cab as a stand-alone for use with a micro head makes very little sense to me, but if that's the route you've decided to go, the Shuttle Max 6 seems to be a good option for you, given your review above.

I would stay away from the GK and Carvin due to the massive number or problem posts each of these Micro's have had.
 

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