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Best reasonably priced Class D 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.
If you look at your power button, it will light red if the DDT circuitry senses power amp clipping and has to step in. I've seen it. :D
 
Tech21 VT500 gets my vote.

Great tube amp sound.

paid $440 new from Sweetwater.

Light
416EDDBE-58CA-428D-98FF-89B1D1D0542C.jpeg
and reliable.
 
Best bang for the buck in a class D is pretty much anything nowadays. People do have their preferences, some brands have more troubles than others, and company support/warranties are not all the same.

But I believe this is the golden age for bass musicians. Let's say you spent $2000 for your rig in 1980. Factoring inflation in, that same rig would set you back $6383. Today, we can walk out of the store with a 500 watt head and 2 - 15" cabs for a little over $1000. We get abundant power in tiny packages at very reasonable prices.

I'm not going to make a recommendation, but urge you to look at the intangibles like reliability, customer support and available warranty.
 
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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.
There always has been great value in Peavey products. You go with what moves you regardless of the "choir".
 
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I would take a look at the Class D amps TC Electronic offers if I was you.

I've only heard great thing about those amps, and they are more than just reasonably priced.

Their tiny 200W BAM200 is so small and light weight that you can almost carry it in your pocket, and paired with the right cab ought to be plenty loud enough for band rehearsals and any gig with PA support or in an about bar sized small venue without PA support, and it is about as cheap as amp comes.

Otherwise at the expense of being able to fit it into your pocket there are the only slightly heavier and only a bit more expensive TC Electronic 250W BQ250 or the 500W BQ500 amp, that unlike to the tiny BAM200 got both a high and a low mids EQ control, instead of just a single mid EQ control, and got a simple compressor build in as well, which can be switched on or off as you wish.


Here's what the TC Electronic BAM200 looks like :
14176515_800.jpg


And here's the TC Electronic BQ500 :
13543636_800.jpg
 
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Maybe they're coming out with something else?

I hope that's the case. I've always liked Tech 21, and will never let go of my SansAmp Bass DI, but I wonder about the health of the company. Their products are generally a little quirky, and I fear just quirky enough to alienate a lot of mainstream buyers.

Regarding their guitar and bass amplification products, I see things being discontinued over the last few years but nothing new replacing them. They used to have a few bass heads on the market, but I see nothing available from them today in this category. :-(

Two times I almost bought a VT Bass 500 at a local shop but changed my mind at the last minute. Now that I have a TT800 and Tone Hammer 500, I don't think I'd pay $500 for the VT 500 today even if it WERE available, honestly.

Tech 21 has always made cool products with unique features and flexibility that often get overlooked, and I am just as guilty of glossing over that as anyone. Years ago I was jonesing for a Trademark 60 guitar amp but there were none in stock ANYWHERE. I had cash in hand and was ready to buy. I have a friend who called a friend at Tech 21 and they got back about a week later that they would have some in in about 3 weeks. A month later when they were available, I had already gone with another option. :-(

I hope my gut feeling is wrong and they have a deluge of cool new gear just waiting and ready to flood the amp market.

But I doubt it.

It seems pedals and whatnot are their game these days, and that's fine... it's just not a category I'm interested in. I hope all is well with them!
 
I hope that's the case. I've always liked Tech 21, and will never let go of my SansAmp Bass DI, but I wonder about the health of the company. Their products are generally a little quirky, and I fear just quirky enough to alienate a lot of mainstream buyers.

Regarding their guitar and bass amplification products, I see things being discontinued over the last few years but nothing new replacing them. They used to have a few bass heads on the market, but I see nothing available from them today in this category. :-(

Two times I almost bought a VT Bass 500 at a local shop but changed my mind at the last minute. Now that I have a TT800 and Tone Hammer 500, I don't think I'd pay $500 for the VT 500 today even if it WERE available, honestly.

Tech 21 has always made cool products with unique features and flexibility that often get overlooked, and I am just as guilty of glossing over that as anyone. Years ago I was jonesing for a Trademark 60 guitar amp but there were none in stock ANYWHERE. I had cash in hand and was ready to buy. I have a friend who called a friend at Tech 21 and they got back about a week later that they would have some in in about 3 weeks. A month later when they were available, I had already gone with another option. :-(

I hope my gut feeling is wrong and they have a deluge of cool new gear just waiting and ready to flood the amp market.

But I doubt it.

It seems pedals and whatnot are their game these days, and that's fine... it's just not a category I'm interested in. I hope all is well with them!
I have a casual interest in their VT200 COMBO. Looks like a neat little package and excellent reviews. But, yes, I remember some of their lead sled heads and they peaked my interest as well but not enough to hop on board. I got the feeling they were a step behind current trends and/or positioning themselves against Ampeg which is a bit behind current trends. I've heard a few people claim Tech 21 does Ampeg better than Ampeg, in reference to the VT pedal.
I'll tell you, I get a chuckle everytime I go to the carwash. At the end of the run are these monster Tech 21 blowers to dry the car.
Guess they do more than music equipment..
 
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