HELP! need advice on finding right amp head for me

[cooltalldad]

hello all!

i’m looking for a bit of advice, I am looking for a lightweight/compact bass head to pair with my SVT410 bass cab and I have a few ideas, but have heard many positive and negative opinions on all of them, I would love some thoughts from those more familiar with this gear than I am.

for some background info I am in an emo/math rock type of band ( basically, just loud, think sunny day real estate ) and I am looking for this amp largely to tour with. we have mixed venues lined up ranging from basements & house shows to larger venue shows that’ll have a PA. delivering a punchy and loud bass tone with plenty of power while taking up little space is what i’m looking for.


here are some options

• ampeg SVT-3 pro head

•i’ve heard people say this amp doesn’t have enough power?

• fender rumble 500

•i am hesitant about this because i have a fender rumble combo amp that i don’t love

• ampeg portaflex 500

•a good friend of mine says these are highly unreliable, and they went through a few of them.

• gallien kruger 1001RB

•frankly, i know very little about GK amps so this is a shot in the dark for me, it seems too good to be true



any thoughts, insights, or recommendations are incredibly appreciated!! thank you in advance

 

[mikewalker]

You forgot the Traynor yba-100
Plenty loud enough with a good cabinet, and sounds that will make everyone smile again

 

[Wasnex]

hello all!

i’m looking for a bit of advice, I am looking for a lightweight/compact bass head to pair with my SVT410 bass cab and I have a few ideas, but have heard many positive and negative opinions on all of them, I would love some thoughts from those more familiar with this gear than I am.

for some background info I am in an emo/math rock type of band ( basically, just loud, think sunny day real estate ) and I am looking for this amp largely to tour with. we have mixed venues lined up ranging from basements & house shows to larger venue shows that’ll have a PA. delivering a punchy and loud bass tone with plenty of power while taking up little space is what i’m looking for.


here are some options

• ampeg SVT-3 pro head

•i’ve heard people say this amp doesn’t have enough power?

• fender rumble 500

•i am hesitant about this because i have a fender rumble combo amp that i don’t love

• ampeg portaflex 500

•a good friend of mine says these are highly unreliable, and they went through a few of them.

• gallien kruger 1001RB

•frankly, i know very little about GK amps so this is a shot in the dark for me, it seems too good to be true



any thoughts, insights, or recommendations are incredibly appreciated!! thank you in advance

The SVT 3-Pro is not a massively powerful amp. You have to thrash it bit to get the most out of it. One particular thing I have read is don't let the blinky lights scare you. With this particular amp you have to push it hard enough for the lights to flash frequently, or you're leaving usable power on the table.

Lot's of people think the GK RB series punches above it's power level. The original 1001RB made 540W at 4 ohms and the series II made 700W at 4 ohms. I believe there was also a minor voicing change between them.

I have one of the original 700RBs, which is basically the same amp as the 1001RB with a smaller power transformer that limits its power. Mine is rated at 380W at 4 ohms. I have done some pretty loud gigs with the built in 12" speaker and an extension cab. Never ran out of headroom, but this amp can sound pretty compressed or growly depending on how hard you hit the Boost circuit This is because the Boost circuit is actually designed to emulate a pushed tube.

Some people find it bit confusing to adjust this amp because it has a Volume control, Boost control, and two Master Volume controls. The Volume control sets gain before the tone controls. Distortion produced before the boost circuit tends to sound harsh and nasty IMHO. Feel free to run the Volume relatively high, but you probably don't want to crank it so high that the tone controls are pushed into clipping. The Boost control come after the tone controls and attenuates the signal just before the Boost circuit. The Boost circuit compresses or transitions in OD based upon the signal level. Here is the part some find confusing: Both the Volume and Boost control effect the level sent to the Boost circuit.

The Masters come after the boost circuit. The reason for the two Masters is this amp is setup for biamp, so it has separate controls for the woofer amp and tweeter amp The tweeter is crossed over at 5kHz. To take advantage of this feature you need one of the compatible GK cabs like a RBH series or one of the older Neo series. The most recent GK Neo cabs do not biamp. The idea with the biamp capablity is you can push the Boost circuit and woofer amp into grind territory, but the tweeter amp stays clean.

I found the EQ to be pretty good for balancing your tone live. However, if you crank up the lows too much the sound seems to loose focus and become overly mushy and wooly to me. So I think this amp is best for sort of a lean sound where it is dialed in to be growly or grindy.

The best thing you can do is go out and play a bunch of amps. If you don't need an amp right away, take your time and enjoy the ride. Everybody has their own idea regarding the way bass should sound. So take the time to find an amp and cab you really like. Just because millions of people love a particular amp does not mean it's the right amp for you. Better to use and trust your own ears.