I need help picking my first bass head

[fhm555]

It's used but you'd never know it. I drove the crap out of a Hartke 410XL with it for a few years and only a couple times did I wish I had more volume.

If you already have a 210 this will not even break a sweat, and you can snag another 210 later if you need to crank it up.

It's used but never abused.

For Sale - RED FACE SWR BASIC 350 | TalkBass.com

 

[ubernator]

Best. Amp. Ever.

Don't sell it!

Due to a drop off tailgate while in a rack bag early on, the handles got bent on my 98 redface bass 350, and unwise storage of my wl beltpack loose in the anvil rack scratched some paint off the front too, but it is a great amp. Your basic looks clean and that is a piece of swr history, the original version.

You will regret it, they don't make amps like that anymore. If I had any money I would buy it myself.

I regret selling my studio 220 and I will never sell my bass 350

 

[Crowd crusher]

+1 gk400 rb. Great tone , enough power to hurt people, light weight. Sounds like it might be perfect for you

 

[sledhead1]

Wow this forum is awesome. I never expected to get so many recommendations. Going to go for a bit of a drive this week. Hope to get to try a few amps. Sb500h, tone hammer, ashdown, tc electronic, gk, portaflex, fender. It dosnt sound like that there is a bad amp out there. I'm going to visit family 5hrs away and will try and make it to a few big shops there.

 

[sledhead1]

Also what does everyone think of a little mark. The cheap one blackline. The one shop also has a eden e300. Is it worth a look?

 

[tastybasslines]

The TC Electronic bh250 might be a good option. The watts will match your cab and being new to bass the tone print will allow you to try multiple effects without blowing heaps of money on pedals

I can get giggable volume levels with the BH 250 running both of my Aggie 112 cabs. Deceptively loud and fits in my gig bag.

 

[Lovep]

Ampeg PF500...you can find one used for less than $250! 500W at 4 ohms and 300 at 8 ohms!

 

[ubernator]

Ampeg pf known reliability issues. Eden e300 is sortof their take on th3 basic/bass350 type of amp. Haven't used one myself though.

I will agree gk400rb is a good and reliable amp but a tad under powered. 800rb a bit better but you have to figure out what to do with its usually wasted 100w "biamp" section. I forgot if you can run that full range or not, if so it would come in handy for running an extra lower capacity cab or maybe a floor monitor. Most people just use the 300w main section. It was one of the amps I chose my bass350 over and have no regrets almost 20 yrs later.

Buy that other guys basic350 you wont regret it.

I still think the rumble 200 and 500 are the best bang for th3 buck today, many voicing options, foot switch able overdrive, plenty of power, 5yr warranty, super light etc...

 

[ubernator]

Mark bass fine if you like clean tone to the point of sterility, and paying extra to do so. Not a bad amp if you want clean only, but not in the bang for the buck category

 

[AlexanderB]

Also what does everyone think of a little mark. The cheap one blackline. The one shop also has a eden e300. Is it worth a look?

Now we are talking! Almost all MarkBass products, and especially the LMII and LMIII have a reputation for being neutral sounding (but not dull!), powerful, reliable and generally easy to get along with, as well as bringing out the character of each bass. An LMII with the right cab(s) will give enough volume to work for all but the very loudest gigs.

I am personally very picky about gear, but I still have the LMII that I bought new shortly after the introduction. While I have had (and let go of) amps from Fender, Ampeg, Traynor, Peavey, EBS etc, this LMII is not going anywhere...

The Traynor is also a good choise, IMHO, as while it is similar to the others it is manufactured in Canada, where you live(?). Buying a "local" product seems like smart thing to do.

Good luck with your purchase!

 

[tastybasslines]

I have a bh250 that i gig with all time. I run through a Kustom 4x10 and 1x15 stack and it sounds great. Tone print is fun to play around with but honestly i mostly just use a comp. its nice not having to drop $100 on a pedal when you can do so much with this amp. Ive been complemented by sound guys as to this amps tone, and even at 250w I've had to turn it down, so there,s plenty of headroom. I really like how small it is so I can throw it in my gig bag to go to practice or shows that provide cabs. whats really cool for som body whos using it for practice is the headphone amp and input jack. So you can put on pair of headphones and play a drum track through the input (i use youtube videos on my tab) and jam some 12 bar 'til your fingers bleed without bugging anyone. This is a great amp that sounds good through a 8 inch speaker or 8 10's. highly recommended. /,,/

Yep, pretty much everything I need in an amp. Love mine.

I may eventually get a bigger head but this handles it all for me at this point.

 

[sledhead1]

Well I ended up getting a Traynor small block 500. Got to try like 6 heads back to back. I also liked the gk mb500 but it was another $150. I was disappointed in the mark bass blackline, but it was $100 cheaper. I was surprised how different each one was. I didnt get to try a rumble, no one had stock. I tried a mark bass 800, it was nice but $1200. Tried the portaflex and a hartke lh500.

So far I am really liking this head. I finger play, mostly blues. I liked how clean it sounded. I liked how much the tone controls changed the sound.

 

[Linnin]

Well I ended up getting a Traynor small block 500.

Good solid choice! Well Done and/or Good Show.

 

[bebass]

Well I ended up getting a Traynor small block 500. Got to try like 6 heads back to back. I also liked the gk mb500 but it was another $150. I was disappointed in the mark bass blackline, but it was $100 cheaper. I was surprised how different each one was. I didnt get to try a rumble, no one had stock. I tried a mark bass 800, it was nice but $1200. Tried the portaflex and a hartke lh500.

So far I am really liking this head. I finger play, mostly blues. I liked how clean it sounded. I liked how much the tone controls changed the sound.

I think you made an excellent choice. The SB500H's extreme clean punch, the variety of tone shaping, along with Traynor build quality, makes this head, IMO, one of the best on the market. I too bought one immediately after auditioning it.

 

[AlexanderB]

I think you will be happy with the Traynor. What was it with the MarkBass that you did not like, if I may ask?

 

[edencab]

Well I ended up getting a Traynor small block 500. Got to try like 6 heads back to back. I also liked the gk mb500 but it was another $150. I was disappointed in the mark bass blackline, but it was $100 cheaper. I was surprised how different each one was. I didnt get to try a rumble, no one had stock. I tried a mark bass 800, it was nice but $1200. Tried the portaflex and a hartke lh500.

So far I am really liking this head. I finger play, mostly blues. I liked how clean it sounded. I liked how much the tone controls changed the sound.

great choice......you have a powerful powerful amp, built like a tank with lots of tone range....it'll do clean and dirty all day...jamming on my 200sb tonight..... love it!

 

[ubernator]

Do the traynors have the icepower modules like most others in the range?

 

[sledhead1]

The blackline was the first and last one I tried. It just... was lifeless? I don't know. That's why I tried it twice. I don't know if it was because it wa less power or what. It had less punch. Even the stuff in the room rattled less. It was plenty loud, it just seamed less....

 

[Eminor3rd]

I'd suggest trying to get ~300W into your 8 ohms (which will generally mean finding an amp that puts about 500W into 4 ohms). There are a bunch of class D micro heads in the ~$500 range you can get new. GK MB500, Eden WTX-500, Aguilar TH500, MarkBass LMIII, Ampeg PF500 are all good choices in that range.

 

[Arthur SX]

That sounds like more than I want to spend and its kinda big and heavy 33lbs?

I have tried the light weight heads I do not like them. " I say go big or go home ;-) "