Thanks, I looked it up and it sounds fantastic... but it's pretty far from my budget.
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Bigger bang for the buck??
- Thread starter devinp17
- Start date
... no, I am saying analyze your situation completely, taking into consideration the potential cabinet(s) you are considering, the type of power you are choosing (class A,D, etc), and then just how LOUD it is that you want/need to be with the genre (LOUD) and other instrumentation you will be competing against ... the size of the venues you willl be playing, the ability for FOH support, etc ...
Your words were LOUD, relatively cheap (<$400), while trying to get a BIGGER bang for your buck ... so you may need to go to something that is not currently in the 'most sought after category' of gear .. which is pretty much the $400 range, class D, 500 watt micro heads ... you may need to be looking outside of that grouping, and giving up a bit (like something non-micro, maybe a little bit older, or heavier, etc) ... you asked for something to last you 5-10 years too ... any idea what you are going to be needing for power requirements 10 years from now?? ... well, if you don't plan/want/intend to buy again, it only makes sense to get enough going in now to cover the unknown ... you know what is LOUD for you, none of us do, and you need to do your homework and what it will take to meet that need, we cant tell you that ... that Harke 1000, or the Carvin B1500 type stuff might cover you, or you can buy a MB500 and just use it for a preamp through a power amp at a later time if you need more ... my comment is not to tell you what you need, but what you need to consider based on YOUR stated criteria ...
.. just make sure you leave enough in your budget for a decent set of ear plugs ...
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
I see... I never really liked the idea of Carvin in the first place. And I don't really like their sound.
Seconded, I paid thru the nose to bring an Acoustic B600H over the border. 75$ on an amp I paid 225$ for. Gee, thanks UPS.
... so how is a USED $300 Carvin amp (the ONLY Carvin mentioned in this thread by me ) any less of a 'bang for the buck' than the used $350 GK MB500 the OP is consdering that may be located in the US ... ?? ...
.. wont their be import (or whatever) fees on anything?? ... that pretty much shoots ANY used amp located in the US out of the 'bang for the buck' category wouldn't it ...?? ... cant you ship another carrier on used gear to make it feasible ... USPS? .. or just look for something that meets the above criteria on YOUR side of the border .. buying ANYTHING new is almost assuredly is not going to be considered even remotely a 'bang for the buck', and that suggestion appears no where in anything I have posted...
keep in mind ... these suggestions are coming from an AMERICAN ... so take with the appropriate grain of salt ... jeesh!
Just to clear some things up:
I'm currently in a "basement" punk/metal band. We haven't gigged yet so that means that when we do, it will be small gigs. I decided I want to get an 8ohm 410 cab, then later I can add another 8ohm 410 when I need it (then it will be 4ohms, obviously). When I said I wanted a 500w amp head that will last 5-10 years I was thinking that if I needed to (if my band starts playing large gigs), I could get an amp with more watts... like an 800 or 1000w. But since that's not in my budget right now, I thought I'd start with a 500w and it would be just fine for me until my band starts playing big gigs (I was thinking 5-10 years... I'm still in highschool btw). But now I'm thinking (from what I've gotten out of this thread) that 500w or 350w isn't gonna be enough for what I'm wanting. If I get a reliable amp, would I not be able to push it pretty far? As long as I'm not hurting the cab, of course.
Thoughts??
I'm currently in a "basement" punk/metal band. We haven't gigged yet so that means that when we do, it will be small gigs. I decided I want to get an 8ohm 410 cab, then later I can add another 8ohm 410 when I need it (then it will be 4ohms, obviously). When I said I wanted a 500w amp head that will last 5-10 years I was thinking that if I needed to (if my band starts playing large gigs), I could get an amp with more watts... like an 800 or 1000w. But since that's not in my budget right now, I thought I'd start with a 500w and it would be just fine for me until my band starts playing big gigs (I was thinking 5-10 years... I'm still in highschool btw). But now I'm thinking (from what I've gotten out of this thread) that 500w or 350w isn't gonna be enough for what I'm wanting. If I get a reliable amp, would I not be able to push it pretty far? As long as I'm not hurting the cab, of course.
Thoughts??
Like I said, you may not believe it, but get yourself a Rumble, man. They're super easy to maintain, have simple EQ settings (I played pop punk, you're not really gonna be messing with it a lot.) The new series also have a jack for adding a second cabinet which is also a great opinion over the grill face ones. For the cabinet, I would also recommend a Hartke 4x10. I tried this duo out recently, and I loved it. That's just me though. Good luck and have fun man!
The B1000 I believe...
I don't mean to contradict what I said about how I love it loud and all the rest of that post, or whatever whatever you guys think is the best for my description (Carvin), but Carvin just doesn't seem like what I'm looking for. If that makes sense...
Thoughts are this - The rule is double the watts gets you 3db more volume, which most people won't hear. Wattage gets you clean headroom, which is nice if your amp distortion isn't pleasant. In bang for the buck, adding displacement and excursion with speaker cabinets gets you more volume. An 8ohm 810 (is there such a thing?) vs an 8 ohm 410 will get you way more volume, though you will still only be hitting the amp for the same wattage. So a 500w amp would be 500w at 4 ohms (in general) meaning you'd be pulling about 250-300 watts, from a solid state head, into either cab. The 810 will be much louder. If you want loud, then get a bigger, and/or more efficient cabinet. Don't dink around with wattage numbers which may net you another 3db at best.
Also understand the power of an EQ setup. Go for a 4 band eq, which will allow you to cut the supper lows with shelving around 50hz, and bump the low mids in the 200-300hz range. This will feel like lows and won't waste energy in your cabinet by making it try to produce the lows which nobody hears, and that the drums already cover, and that create boom.
...and if you can wait on the amp, the Peavey MiniMega 1,000w micro which was due out earlier this year should be showing up soon (January-ish). It will be a great amp for the money if the specs are real.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
I missed that it was used, so the seller can at least ship it via USPS. Even then, it will still add more than $50 unless the seller lies about value. The problem isn't importing, it is importing with couriers. Couriers add excessive and unnecessary charges.
The fact the Carvin is in a road case does shoot that particular deal down, you will be paying more to ship the case. The case probably weighs 3 times as much as the head. To top it off, you would pay shipping to get it back for service (if needed) and then pay shipping and UPS import fees to bring it back. If the OP wanted it badly, it isn't out of line price-wise but it is hardly a great "bang for the buck." It is about on par with gear that has a much better reputation.
For what it is worth OP, I really do like the BX1500 tone. Although, I may have played a BX2000 not a 1500.
http://barefacedbass.com/technical-information/mythbusters1.htm
read.
1, 5, 7 are right on point. Alex is a smart guy.
read.
1, 5, 7 are right on point. Alex is a smart guy.
Recently took delivery of Kustom KBX 500. Amazingly it has relegated my Tecamp Puma 900 to a back up. I have used various micros ( TH 500, various Markbass, Tecamp Puma) and the KXB 500 is the pick of the crop IMO and so cheap. It represents fantastic value.
So now I understand that wattage pretty much only gives you more headroom, and not much more volume. But I'll get more volume if I get a bigger cab, correct? So basically you're saying I can stick to the 500w amp idea (as long as it gives me the headroom I want), but I should rethink my cab idea, and get a bigger cab for more volume... right??
