Best reasonably priced Class D amp

[The Bass Clef]

There is no better bang for your buck than a Peavey MiniMax IMO. Not even just because of the price either, the tone beats out the Aggie Tonehammer, MarkBass LMII/III, all the class D Ampeg stuff for me... and I’ll say it, I like the way it sounds even more than the Mesa D-800+. The MiniMax has a thickness to it that no other class D I’ve ever heard can do. The only drawback is a fairly loud fan, which is a non-issue in live contexts, only might be an issue in the studio (but I personally have better options to record with than a micro amp anyways).

 

[Rnr..........4]

There is no better bang for your buck than a Peavey MiniMax IMO. Not even just because of the price either, the tone beats out the Aggie Tonehammer, MarkBass LMII/III, all the class D Ampeg stuff for me... and I’ll say it, I like the way it sounds even more than the Mesa D-800+. The MiniMax has a thickness to it that no other class D I’ve ever heard can do. The only drawback is a fairly loud fan, which is a non-issue in live contexts, only might be an issue in the studio (but I personally have better options to record with than a micro amp anyways).

Might look into one of those as a back up.

 

[74hc]

What do you guys recommend small to medium clubs and church is all I ever play at.

One thing I've learned doing church gigs, is that there's a wide variety of music. From traditional organ-based choirs, to more modern choirs, and then to full music venue type churches with christian rock/pop. So it can be difficult to give recommendations.

I do the modern choir gigs with singers, keyboardist, guitars, bass, and usually a wind instrument. For that, I've found Markbass to be an excellent choice. And the cheap option is waiting until Musician's Friend puts one on stupid deal of the day. I got my LM250 for $225, price matched at GC. I think they had the LM500 for $299 several months later. Someone posted a heads up here on TB.

 

[GreyBeard]

I've owned a lot of different amps over the years. These days I use a Fender Rumble 500C alone for smaller rooms and for bigger rooms I add a single 15 to it. Lite weight, plenty of power, all I really need.

Fender Rumble 500 2x10" 500-watt Bass Combo Amp

 

[agedhorse]

Off topic I know:
I don’t get how these dinky D amps have big numbers for output at 4 ohms ...but all my speakers are 8 ohms.
Mesa Powerhouse 4x10 - 8 ohms. Ampeg 15 - 8 ohms.

Why don’t they set them up for 8 ohms full watts output? Thanks.

Because nobody would buy an amp that can only drive an 8 ohm load.

Just choose an amp that delivers an appropriate rated power into 8 ohms and ignores 4 or 2 ohms.

 

[VolverseLoco]

Because nobody would buy an amp that can only drive an 8 ohm load.

Maybe his thought was why dont the amps marketing group base the advertised power at an 8 ohm load, because like him probably, I was under the impression that most cabs we buy are 8 ohm. On the other hand if they hyped the amp advertising 500 watts at 8 ohms to get your attention, they'd have to make it 1000 watts at 4 ohms to cover those 4 ohm speaker buyers. That would be a costly amp head then.

 

[Nephilymbass]

What do you guys recommend small to medium clubs and church is all I ever play at.

I picked up a Mesa Subway D800 used super cheap. I really don’t see the point of going with anything else. Mesa now has 4 heads in the subway series. And as all the newer ones came out the original d-800 started hitting the used market at really good prices. So it’s a unique situation where people are selling these really good amps on the used market after they bought the 800+, TT, or wd from the same series

 

[chris_b]

IMO there isn't a D class amp on the market that would make anyone sound bad. As long as you don't make crazy decisions with the EQ, all amps will make your bass sound like a bass (that's good). The minute detail that we all get caught up with and think is important, is usually lost on most non-bass players.

If I was to sell my Aguilar amps my personal choice would be between Mesa, Bergantino and Genzler. If my budget was limited, I'd be looking in the classifieds.

 

[lug]

There is no better bang for your buck than a Peavey MiniMax IMO. Not even just because of the price either, the tone beats out the Aggie Tonehammer, MarkBass LMII/III, all the class D Ampeg stuff for me... and I’ll say it, I like the way it sounds even more than the Mesa D-800+. The MiniMax has a thickness to it that no other class D I’ve ever heard can do. The only drawback is a fairly loud fan, which is a non-issue in live contexts, only might be an issue in the studio (but I personally have better options to record with than a micro amp anyways).

The lows on the Minimax are insane.

 

[Barisaxman]

At this point I'm just piling on, but IMO really you'd be hard pressed to find a bad sounding class D amp. Every manufacturer has their flavor. Pick what works for you tone-wise and go for it. Personally I've played SWR Headlite, Orange TB-1000, TC Electronics BG (250 combo), Mesa Boogie D800, and currently a Peavey Minimax (v2). They all have their own flavor of good. Really TC electronics is my least favorite, but that's simply because I'm not a fan of where they put the EQ points on their heads as they just don't fit what I like to do tonally. I've tried several more amps that I didn't buy (GK MB, Fender Rumble, etc.) but again they all sound like "me" with slightly different variations in tone depending on the bass and the cabinet I've played them with. That leads me back to "play what you like", as there isn't any one inherently "better" than the others

 

[sears]

I've never played a bad superlight amp either. I've played the LMii, KXB500 and TH700. All very good, all slightly different.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

There is no better bang for your buck than a Peavey MiniMax IMO. Not even just because of the price either, the tone beats out the Aggie Tonehammer, MarkBass LMII/III, all the class D Ampeg stuff for me... and I’ll say it, I like the way it sounds even more than the Mesa D-800+. The MiniMax has a thickness to it that no other class D I’ve ever heard can do. The only drawback is a fairly loud fan, which is a non-issue in live contexts, only might be an issue in the studio (but I personally have better options to record with than a micro amp anyways).

Not sure how Peavey craftsmanship is (nowadays) or if it measures up to the "olden" days, but that's one thing to consider when buying an amp. Also, customer service. I know Mesa's build quality and engineering are excellent and their customer service is tops in the industry. I guess what I'm saying is that when purchasing a Mesa product, there comes peace of mind. But of course, if you don't like the tone, I guess that's irrelevant.

 

[The Bass Clef]

Not sure how Peavey craftsmanship is (nowadays) or if it measures up to the "olden" days, but that's one thing to consider when buying an amp. Also, customer service. I know Mesa's build quality and engineering are excellent and their customer service is tops in the industry. I guess what I'm saying is that when purchasing a Mesa product, there comes peace of mind. But of course, if you don't like the tone, I guess that's irrelevant.

It’s not that I don’t like the tone of the Mesa D800+, I just like the tone I get out of the MiniMax more. It just has a fatness I have never gotten out of any other class D. I might get lynched around here for saying this, but I actually prefer my MiniMax tone to my Ampeg V4B reissue. And Peavey’s customer service is also very good. I called them about a year ago to try to get some pieces for a 20+ year old amp I was fixing and they got me the parts no problem. It wasn’t a warranty thing, but they were still very helpful.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

It’s not that I don’t like the tone of the Mesa D800+, I just like the tone I get out of the MiniMax more. It just has a fatness I have never gotten out of any other class D. I might get lynched around here for saying this, but I actually prefer my MiniMax tone to my Ampeg V4B reissue. And Peavey’s customer service is also very good. I called them about a year ago to try to get some pieces for a 20+ year old amp I was fixing and they got me the parts no problem. It wasn’t a warranty thing, but they were still very helpful.

That's cool... and good to know (Peavey customer service). I have never played through a Peavey MiniMax before, so I'll shut my mouth! LOL. What cab(s) are you running it through?

 

[Rnr..........4]

It’s not that I don’t like the tone of the Mesa D800+, I just like the tone I get out of the MiniMax more. It just has a fatness I have never gotten out of any other class D. I might get lynched around here for saying this, but I actually prefer my MiniMax tone to my Ampeg V4B reissue. And Peavey’s customer service is also very good. I called them about a year ago to try to get some pieces for a 20+ year old amp I was fixing and they got me the parts no problem. It wasn’t a warranty thing, but they were still very helpful.

Saving money for quality always a good thing. Will have to check this amp out. Thanks for the suggestion. I did try a Quilter Bass block 800 which was good but lacked the features like ground lift and had only one speakon port. I don't get why the Quilter is 700 and the MiniMax is 400 and pretty much the same specs besides the watts. I'd like to get the WD-800 but lot of money.

 

[The Bass Clef]

That's cool... and good to know (Peavey customer service). I have never played through a Peavey MiniMax before, so I'll shut my mouth! LOL. What cab(s) are you running it through?

I usually run it through 2 Aguilar SL112s and it’s one of the best rigs I’ve ever played through. I also have used it with 2 Ampeg SVT210AVs several times and that sounded awesome too (but the Aggies win).

Pics from a St. Paddy’s party I played a week ago.

 

[The Bass Clef]

I should also add about the Peavey MiniMax, that in addition to a loud fan (which as I mentioned earlier is a non-issue live, but might be an issue for some in the studio), the DI is also very noisy... to the point that it’s unusable on my amp. This may be corrected on the newer 600W MiniMax models, I don’t know. I have the older 500W one with the “chicken head” knobs and my work around for the DI is to feed a direct box from the 1/4” FX send on the back of the amp. That way I still get the tone of the preamp, just as I would from the DI going to the FOH board. But I’m telling you, I like the tone of this amp so much, that it’s worth it.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

I should also add about the Peavey MiniMax, that in addition to a loud fan (which as I mentioned earlier is a non-issue live, but might be an issue for some in the studio), the DI is also very noisy... to the point that it’s unusable on my amp. This may be corrected on the newer 600W MiniMax models, I don’t know. I have the older 500W one with the “chicken head” knobs and my work around for the DI is to feed a direct box from the 1/4” FX send on the back of the amp. That way I still get the tone of the preamp, just as I would from the DI going to the FOH board. But I’m telling you, I like the tone of this amp so much, that it’s worth it.

Very cool. Handsome looking setup. Love the bass too! Can you push the Aggies without them farting out or dealing with your limit light on the amp illuminating much? Not sure if you have a limit light on the amp.

 

[equalizin]

I like a lot of amps but in this case I'd recommend a GK 500 watt head. Maybe a legacy. GK does the gospel/r&b thing better than most. I'd try a Mesa before you buy. Definitely wasn't for me. I think a Magellan does better what the Subway tries to do.

 

[The Bass Clef]

Very cool. Handsome looking setup. Love the bass too! Can you push the Aggies without them farting out or dealing with your limit light on the amp illuminating much? Not sure if you have a limit light on the amp.

Thanks! With 2 of those SL112s, they will get very loud well before any farting would happen, at least for what I do. I play in a rock/soul original band and also a classic rock cover band, both with 2 guitars, and never have any issues. Maybe if I tried to power a big room with a single cab and had to really turn it up, but I’ve done 100 person rooms with just one of those cabs and still sounded great and loud enough.

I don’t remember off hand if the Minimax has a limit light or not. But I usually run the gain at about 25% and the volume at only 30-35% (with a passive Fender), and those are enough to engulf my body in clean solid bass on an outdoor stage like the pic above. And the amp and the cabs will easily handle a lot more if I wanted to get stupid loud.