Biggest bang from the smallest combo?

[tombowlus]

Actually the request is for the smallest combo footprint with the best sound.

That would be AER, IME/IMHO.

 

[GBassNorth]

Yeah, that's been covered. They are often on sale new for $599 and can certainly be had used for at or even below the budget.

To me...the Markbass 1x12 combo is the gold standard for small, loud bass amps. Well worth topping your budget or even going over a bit to get one.

I think it's coming down to that as well. I had personally set the Markbass 121 combo as the benchmark to beat. Interestingly it sounds like a number of people on the thread feel the Fender rumble 100 comes close to the Markbass at half the price. That was news to me, so I intend to give the Rumble an audition alongside the Markbass. Ashdown, Phil Jones, Carvin and Ibanez may have some interesting offerings as well but are a bit harder to try before you buy.

 

[GBassNorth]

That would be AER, IME/IMHO.

I forgot to include .... At around $500 new or used. Does the AER fit that bill?

 

[DirkP]

I think it's coming down to that as well. I had personally set the Markbass 121 combo as the benchmark to beat. Interestingly it sounds like a number of people on the thread feel the Fender rumble 100 comes close to the Markbass at half the price. That was news to me, so I intend to give the Rumble an audition alongside the Markbass. Ashdown, Phil Jones, Carvin and Ibanez may have some interesting offerings as well but are a bit harder to try before you buy.

Didn't know that the Fender Rumble is under 10 kg, but it is 100 watts / 8 ohm. And you cannot connect an aditional speaker. The Markbass is 300 Watts with the internal speaker and 500 with an added 8 ohm cabinet. That's not just a huge difference in power but even more so in speaker surface.
And the 121P is smaller too.

 

[nutdog]

I forgot to include .... At around $500 new or used. Does the AER fit that bill?

It will get you the A.

 

[cfsporn]

I have played one of those and it certainly is an over achiever for its size. Unfortunately it's priced even more insanely than the Markbass 121. She is a sweet one though with some really nice features.

I got my Walkabout for $300 used and my Scout 15 for $350 used. In fact, everything in this picture cost just a couple hundred more than a Markbass 121H

 

[tombowlus]

I forgot to include .... At around $500 new or used. Does the AER fit that bill?

Not quite, unless you are really lucky. The Ibanez Promethean combos are great, especially the old 500-watt ones. I have a P5210 which I love. GK and Fender Rumble probably get my vote for best new stuff in your price range. Need to spend more time with the new Hartke kickbacks, though.

 

[Honch]

Yikes. I hadn't heard about reliability issues with the rumble. Your right on the trade off issues as you go smaller the sound suffers, and as you go cheaper the sound also suffers. The real question is how small and how cheap can you go without giving up too much sound quality.

No, it's a rare circumstance that reliability issue. I got a new one (a new unit) from warranty. Fender does not repair light weight class D on warranty, they just change it out. No use. The store I bought it from has sold at least a dozen last year, without getting anyone back in return, except mine. Mine's the only one with problems so I definitely wont say it's a pile of crap. They MAY have had got in a "bad batch" of duds, friday afternoon specimen, or similar. The error is in the sound, it cracks, and breaks up as if something really is broke. It's in the preamp section. It it's in the power amp, the cracks and pops goes out at full volume. When all knobs are turned down, i e no volume at all, it made these occasional swish, and noises sounds. A condensator gone bad, a chip, whatever. The main annoyance, is that all this happened at gigs. On rehearsal it's the same volume... luckily I have backup. Maybe it's because I feed it with active pickups at 18v...?

So a caveat of hope to everyone: It's just a rare circumstance this one, with the Fender Rumble 100W. Don't make you judgement just by that one, on buying it or not. I do very much like the sound of it. Oh, and weight! A decent all arounder at medium volume levels.

 

[Honch]

Fender Rumble has 40 W combos too. I don't know how well they stack up... a little weak if you have to "do" low b fair.

 

[1stnamebassist]

Fender Rumble has 40 W combos too. I don't know how well they stack up... a little weak if you have to "do" low b fair.

The 40 is decent for home practice or maybe coffee house stuff. Haven't tried a low B but I have a feeling it
would work pretty well.

 

[Honch]

Well, it's Fender Rumble then. Readily available. If it breaks during warranty period, you'll get one changed out. No repair. It costs too much for them. Try that with Barefaced.

 

[jlepre]

I'm waiting to try that new Hartke kickback

Sweetwater.com has them in stock right now.

 

[jlepre]

Well, it's Fender Rumble then. Readily available. If it breaks during warranty period, you'll get one changed out. No repair. It costs too much for them. Try that with Barefaced.

So you're saying during the 5 year warranty period Fender will replace any Rumble product instead of repair it?

 

[Honch]

So you're saying during the 5 year warranty period Fender will replace any Rumble product instead of repair it?

Well they did in my case within this (or last - 2015 - year). I'm on my third repair now, the two first was swapped out within a year period. Now, slowly as product cycle wanes, as it hits the 5 year, they're running out of new total units, so they eventually will have to repair them. Mind you, 5 year warranty is in US only, not here in EU or at least not in Scandinavia. They sure have made the planned obsolescence so you would be better off buying new and better things cheaper in 5 years.

I think they TRY to repair it, but when checked it's better and cheaper to scrap and replace all of it. It depends on what the error is, of course. The class D molded "monocoque" kits are a pain to change out parts within. Say if the speakers broke, I do think it's better to swap just that one out without asking questions. Gluing, fixing, or re-coning speakers are not just in the best business conduct. I think they shift so many units, that they have taken heed, and height for this warranty cost anyway. Insurance built in the retail price.

 

[Honch]

But I'll say, if there's one more error in this unit, I'll go for Mark Bass instead in spite how ugly they look. Price upcharge. They hold up quite well, and are sturdy and lightweight enough...

I even would consider a Fender Rumble HEAD connected with aforementioned Barefaced. Get a second head as a spare if the main one fails. The only thing I don't like with lighweight class D amps - which is something for the OP to consider, regarding the low volume environment he plays in - is the noisy fan from some of them. In order to cool the unit there's a high rotation fan going on most of the times. I've sold many lightweight heads because of that. Warwick, EBS Reidmar head, Mark Bass head, Rumble has a fan too, but at 100W it ain't taxing it, and does not run at low volume. It may very well be a fan error on my humble rumbles that has cause the power amp or anything else to malfunction. The sound is definitely of somethings that is getting too hot... and dies becasue of that, because the first 10-15 minutes it is ok.'

Well, I mean, did, it doesn't do it right now since it is fixed of course.

 

[GMC]

If you don't mind separating the head and speaker, a lightweight class D of Markbass, or similar, then BAREFACED brand new ONE TEN would be perfect fit. The new nano from markbass at 300 W and this:

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Ohh... dear, how big this pic turned out. But sorry, it's almost actual real size... ahh, well maybe that's a stretch...


but Barefaced has - on this one - put the tweeter inside the woofer, so it's a concentric speaker. This is with steel grill. With soft cloth grill : 7 KG / 14.5 LBS 15" high x 11.5" wide x 11" deep. Plus that little Nano from Markbass...weight: 3.2 LBS /1.45 kg WDH: 7.87x8.27x2.09 inches. You could ALMOST carry the amp in you inner pocket of a fluffy huge alpine coat, and wear that Barefaced as a hefty backpack. And your bass case with bass in one hand. If you have huge Mono case the Mark nano fits in one of the pockets.

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This is the only one taking a low B at that size 10 inch.

Surprisingly, Markbass don't make many class D amps. Most of them are class A/B amps with a digitally switched PSU. Their 800w units tend to have Class D electrics. Ashdown however, have a complete class D range of amps called the Rootmaster Evo range. 500w or 800w options, in three combos, two amps and 5 cabs on offer.
However...the Barefaced cab is REALLY nice and probably a better option than any other OEM generic cab.

 

[Whippet]

The problem with the lead sled big power amp heads is that they struggle at lower volume levels. The problem is trying to dial them down low enough in a bedroom / front room context and that puts quite a strain on them. The problem with smaller powered practice combos is that in a larger room the amp can't dampen the cone enough and they sound indistinct and lost, they just can't project or push through. Some of the newer class D amps seem to be better at doing lower sound levels than the big rigs of old and they seem good at the high power stuff too. So my advice is to seek a decent class D combo. I would seriously look up the new Ashdown Evo Rootmaster range. The new 1x12 looks very capable. At 500w and 14kgs...it should be top of your list. I've been running a 420w head since Christmas and it's astonishing how well is caters for bedroom practice levels and "fill a 200 seater" situation with relative ease. Naturally, add a 2nd cab (again the new Ashdows 1x12 is looking good) to get the most spl / wattage out of this class D amp and you have a very capable rig / combo that can do most things before needing PA support in larger venues.
I've also been amazed at the MarkBass CMD 121P, it's a small and powerful package but running a class A/B power amp. It's smaller than the Ashdown and I don't know if it can handle the lower volume levels as well as the Ashdown...but it's reputation is mustard (as they say in London) and probably more available state side. My only criticism of the Markbass is that i don't like the tone of their speakers. The Ashdown sound is far more my thang. But your mileage might vary.

Could you tell me a little more about the big head with power struggling at lower volume. What do you mean when you say it puts a strain on them?

 

[rtslinger]

Peavey Max 112 200watt light weight or the Fender Rumble 100 I have both perfect for what you are looking for. Only thing smaller and more powerful would be the Ibanez Promethean

 

[Tricaptain]

Sup! Gosh... I feel like I'm running into nothing be necro-chats! Nonetheless... it might have been mentioned already, but I'd like to simply state that I'm a VERY, very happy owner/user of the Markbass Ninja 102-500. It's pretty much (I think identical) to a Markbass Little Mark III and a Traveler 102P, but in one box as a 1-hand carry. Ya, it's a little pricey, but I'm really, really happy with it - tone, power, portability... and I couple it with another Markbass Traveler 102P as a stack (for a 4x10 vertical configuration)… it's more than I need. YES, I also own 2x15 cabs, a Mesa/Boogie Walkabout Scout 12, a Markbass Club 600F32 2x12 - all are AMAZING, but the Ninja 102-500 (for all that it offers) has made my gigs SO much easier. Anyways, cheers, you guys.