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Help Me Decide On A Micro Amp
- Thread starter SG-Jazz
- Start date
Hmmm very interesting..Thanks guys.
As far as durability.. Ive read that the mb 500 is built poorly and is flimsy. Is it true that the mark basses are built better?
A longer lasting little amp is always a plus in my books.
As far as durability.. Ive read that the mb 500 is built poorly and is flimsy. Is it true that the mark basses are built better?
A longer lasting little amp is always a plus in my books.
The GK micro's had a lot of trouble out of the gate... lots of build issues, and I was not very impressed. However, it seems that they have 'righted the boat' at this point, and the new version, the MB500 (I would NOT buy an MB2-500 used) seems fine. They are SO lightweight... significantly lighter than the F500, that it is hard to not have the impression that they are a bit 'flimsy', but given how much Tom and Vic dig them, I'm guessing it is just more of an 'impression' due to lack of weight.
I did find the original MB2-500 to be very noisy, and there has been a couple posts about noise issues (hiss) the the MBFusion. However, part of that is the goosed top end and aggressive voicing with hot input.
That being said, the F500 just 'feels' better to me... very sturdy case, very smooth, creamy feeling knob tapers, etc.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,950
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
I would disagree with this assessment. I find the GK heads to be quite well-built. The Markbass heads are also built like tanks, but IME/IMHO the GK heads should also hold up just fine.
Tom,
sorry to say that you have not heard the latest incarnation of the Doubler or Micro. The fact is that many of these micro amps use the same power section, the ICE Module made by B&O (although there are some newer alternatives that are drop in replacements for the ICE). If the power amp and supply are the same, the real difference is in the preamp and the features.
One thing that no one has stated either here or in the shootout is that as designers change the gain structure of the amp, you introduce distortion into the equation - that constitutes the "grit" or "snarl" some have mentioned. EA has chosen to provide the cleanest possible amp, with the least possible distortion. From that palate you can add in as much or as little distortion as you wish. Personally, I use DHA VT1-EQ bass if I need/want some tubey gooiness. For most of my solo work i NEED the cleanliness that the Doubler provides. In recent months, EA has increased the input gain a bit to "hit" a bit harder as you say Tom without sacrificing much in the way of cleanliness.
No one has also mentioned the GB Shuttle 9.0. That is also a fantastic amp. So much more headroom than the 6.0.
Mike
I voted other. I haven't played any of the amps in the poll but I did have a little GK micro bass combo way back in the late 80's/early 90's. Right now I couldn't be happier with my Acoustic Image Clarus. It's warm and clean and sounds just like my bass. That's the way I like it.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,950
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
That's another really nice amp, more for DB IMO than EB, given the very subtle EQ and the voicing (I don't find these amps flat in any sense.. very warm, mid present, a bit attenuated up top). Nice and warm though, and voiced very nicely. One of my favorite rigs of all time for my Rob Allen was a Focus driving an Acem B210... warm and big and fat and organic!
IMO there.. fine company, great products.
Alright heres a new one. How does the acoustic image clarus and shuttle 9.0 compare to the mb 500 and f500? The shuttle 9.0 seems very interesting.
why no love for the tiny terror?
Which one of these heads handle chords better and charlie parker type melodies?
Which one of these heads handle chords better and charlie parker type melodies?
Great company, they sent me a new bag for an amp I bought used, free. The Clarus sounds great for my 55-02 and my George Benson guitar. I think the newer models have more wattage.
Per my comment above, the Tiny Terror is voiced and designed to do the full out metal snarl. Run clean, it is not very impressive generating punchy, articulate, clean volume. That isn't its thing. Very different from any of these other heads.
Per you question on the Clarus+, again great amp, but VERY subtle EQ... it sounds like it sounds, round, warm, a bit attenuated up top. It is voiced and designed for DB, and excels there. If you like a very warm, for lack of a better example, 'Bartolini Humbucker' type tone, the AI stuff is great.... very organic midrange and smooth.
The power sections are very good, and there are quite a few EB players who use the AI heads as power amps, bypassing that preamp (which gives it its inherent tone) and using a more aggressive, EB friendly preamp into the effects return. Too much bother for me.
The Shuttle 9, as mentioned above, is kind of (IMO) what the Shuttle 6 should have been. While rated at a very high wattage, IMO it performs similarly to the F500 and MB500 (maybe a bit more oomph especially at 8ohms to my ear, but not a scary amount... lets call it a good, honest 600 watts versus the 500 watts of the other heads to my ear), and has a low end that is much less compressed and rolled off versus the Shuttle 6. I'm not a fan of the EQ points and 'all or nothing' voicing buttons of the Shuttle 9 myself, but it is a nice head if you want a kind of 'modern hybrid' tone, with a different kind of upper mid grind than the solid state MB500, or the totally clean F500.
Put another way, the Shuttle 9, the Markbass F500 and the GK MB500, while sounding different and unique in their own way, are all capable of generating a reasonable transparent tone (i.e., not overly voiced, etc.), enough power to push a typical 4ohm 410 or 212 to full output, and all have enough EQ power to keep that tone relatively constant across rooms.
All will have their favorite (mine is the F500), due to the relatively subtle differences in frequency response, features, EQ points and 'ratio of clean versus a bit grindy' midrange response.
HOWEVER, if you can play, and again aren't looking for full 'all tube amp' sort of break-up or give or whatever, any three of these amps should work VERY well for any player with your tone goal. Kind of like deciding between a Camry and a Honda Accord.... different, but the differences are more 'icing on the cake'.
I could be VERY happy with any one of these three heads, which represent, IMO, the top of the heap of, again, relatively transparent and clean, powerful, relatively low cost class D/SMPS 'micro heads'. (I have not tried the little SWR micro, and there aren't many user reviews that I read, but that looks like a nice one also... can't comment on it though).
Given the above, and that all three of these are available at Musician's Friend, and a sale is coming up next weekend, and you can return within 30 days and get all your money back except shipping, the choice is relatively low risk. If you have the cash, order all three and return the two you don't want
If you don't have the cash, buy the one you think you will dig the most, and if you end up not liking it, return it and try the next one.
Amazing that we have that opportunity now!
IMO... this is one of my favorite topics, so forgive the 'overposting'. I just love the performance, size and weight of this newer batch of small amps
All will have their favorite (mine is the F500), due to the relatively subtle differences in frequency response, features, EQ points and 'ratio of clean versus a bit grindy' midrange response.
HOWEVER, if you can play, and again aren't looking for full 'all tube amp' sort of break-up or give or whatever, any three of these amps should work VERY well for any player with your tone goal. Kind of like deciding between a Camry and a Honda Accord.... different, but the differences are more 'icing on the cake'.
I could be VERY happy with any one of these three heads, which represent, IMO, the top of the heap of, again, relatively transparent and clean, powerful, relatively low cost class D/SMPS 'micro heads'. (I have not tried the little SWR micro, and there aren't many user reviews that I read, but that looks like a nice one also... can't comment on it though).
Given the above, and that all three of these are available at Musician's Friend, and a sale is coming up next weekend, and you can return within 30 days and get all your money back except shipping, the choice is relatively low risk. If you have the cash, order all three and return the two you don't want
If you don't have the cash, buy the one you think you will dig the most, and if you end up not liking it, return it and try the next one.Amazing that we have that opportunity now!
IMO... this is one of my favorite topics, so forgive the 'overposting'. I just love the performance, size and weight of this newer batch of small amps
Thanks again Kjung you are very informative. I think my final choice is gonna be the F 500. I have a GK 2000rb if I need more power or want that GK tone. I dont want the tube tone right now(I sold my Ampeg SVT to buy a micro head).
The next question on another topic is gonna be cab choice..ugh. I see alot of people using the Berg ae112 or the EA 12' wizzo as cab choices for the f-500, is it really that much different then just getting those gk neo cabs.
Oh yeah one last thing.. Can my ampeg 8x10 do the job with the f 500 til I get a mini cab? Thanks
The next question on another topic is gonna be cab choice..ugh. I see alot of people using the Berg ae112 or the EA 12' wizzo as cab choices for the f-500, is it really that much different then just getting those gk neo cabs.
Oh yeah one last thing.. Can my ampeg 8x10 do the job with the f 500 til I get a mini cab? Thanks
I am completely immeresed in this same quest right now, and I honestly don't know what I would get, but I do know I want to try out the Promethean! And a GK MB 500. To OP, why aren't you considering the Genz Benz Shuttles or ShuttleMax? So far between the LMIII and ShuttleMax I prefer the ShuttleMax just a bit, but like the LMIII better than the Shuttle. The FET channel on the ShuttleMax is very warm, so you get two different and very usable tones. I was talking with a guy in a music store (who uses the GK MB2-500 and says that works better for his prog rock band than the LMIII) and he says that the Promethean is most "tubey" sounding of the class D pack, which surprised me. I want to try one out! Right now I am using an Eden WTX-260 (their original class D offering) and it is very warm, but underpowered and gets very grainy when pushed, and the onboard compressor is not very nice sounding at all. Plus I've had reliability issues with it, although they got resolved on warranty, still... I'm looking to upgrade.
