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Looking for new Amp ideas

Graham Lindsley

Graham Lindsley

Dec 10, 2019
25
8
#1
Hi all
I currently play a Stingray 4 through an old ampeg combo and want to treat myself to a new rig. Looking at approx £1000. I practise in quite a large room in a relatively noisy indie rock band and do a few small gigs. I tend to look for a punchy sound and play up the neck quote a lot. ive been eyeing Markbass & GK gear. Any advice appreciated
Thanks
 
#11
I'd highly recommend looking into used Aguilar TH 500 with a used cab. I also like the Portaflex recommendation from Iristone.
I have played in some bars for years that have GK house amps and I'd really not recommend them. I've heard some of their older stuff can be good, but I've had too many of them literally go up in smoke while playing. Personally, I really do not care for their sound either, but that's just my opinion.
 
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#12
I've been happy with my TH, have run it through several Bergantino cabs and a Barefaced One 10. When I demoed heads the GK and TH were at polar opposite ends of the sonic spectrum, the GK too bright for my tastes but lots of players like them. Trying bass amps usually involves some traveling but IMHOP well worth it to drag your bass, etc. and try out a few things.
 
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#15
I noticed you used a £ instead of a $. So I went to Andertons online and holy crap are cabinets ever expensive in GB! I exceeded your budget and I apologise for that, but I think they have monthly payment plans available for the remaining balance.

There is a secondhand Markbass Littlemark III head for £299, buy that pronto! You aren't ever going to need more than 500 watts, but it is your driver configuration that you have to be mindful of. Were I you, I would buy the 2 8 ohm Fender Rumble 410 mark III cabs they have which are £479 each. If you buy 1 cab your head is only going to push 300 watts into it and I'm not sure that is going to be very much louder than your current Ampeg combo. If you HAVE to stick to your budget, try a TC Electronics K410 on top of a K115 stack, but other than value I can't vouch for what these cabinets sound like.

Finally, 2 pedals are too good to pass on so I would get those as well. Getting the Xotic limited edition BB Andy Timmons preamp pedal for 99 Quid when it normally comes in at £210 is a fantastic option for adding a few more tonal options to an already punchy yet warm sounding head. And then putting a Morley distortion/boost pedal in your effects loop is a great choice for those moments when you want a bump in volume for solos or a little hair on your tone for certain songs (and it wouldn't be too much either as the loop in the LM lll automatically mixes the distorted signal from the pedal together with your clean unaffected signal at a 50/50 ratio). The Morley distortion boost pedal is currently on sale for £69.

Please ensure you try before you buy, all of this gear and particular applications of each piece may sound fantastic on paper, but your active musicman bass may not play nice with the Andy Timmons BB preamp or using 2 cabinets may not be practical for you and you want to completely blow your budget and get a single cabinet such as a 4 ohm Aguilar 4x12 for £1899, so you can roll it in one trip instead of having to make 2 trips carrying a 28 Kg 4x10. I'm done rambling, I hope it was helpful. Best regards!
 
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#17
Warpeg said:
Agreed. You can't go wrong with GK for your needs.
Click to expand...
I've been a GK guy since the '80s. Always loved the combination of sound and quality build. I've migrated to some newer GK stuff, but I had a relatively new (but out of warrantee) combo amp power supply fail this year. Part has been on back-order coming up on 4-months. Granted it is a small combo ... but I used it as a stage monitor at relatively low volumes every week ... I can't have it gone for 4 months. It was perfect while it lasted. But apparently you must throw it away and buy another. Still no commitment on parts coming in ... absolutely ZERO help from GK on options ... so I'm switching my brand loyalty for sure ... and certainly moving away from combos to a cab with separate amp + a backup amp. I fear similar issues with most brands of these small switching power supply type amps if something fails. So I guess you just also need to carry a back-up.
 
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#19
Graham Lindsley said:
Cheers mate, can I ask what cab do you run from it?
Click to expand...

I have a few I use depending on the gig. For small/medium gigs I take a 2x8" cab. or a 1x12". For the medium/larger rooms one or two 1x12" cabs, and for bigged indoor or outdoor gigs, I use my 4x10". If I need more than the 4x10" I have a couple different 1x15" cabs I can use with it. All my cabs I have built myself, with the exception of the 4x10, which is an older Genz Benz. I forget what the 8s are, but the 12s & 10s are Eminence drivers. One of the 15s is an EV, and the other an old Gauss. The Markbass sounds great using any of those configurations.(minimal knob tweaking) And always plenty loud.
 
#20
Not at all. It's an MB110 purchased new ... mid to late 2016. Typically ran it with flat EQ. I used it with a PLEX or VTbass DI. I rotate basses pretty regularly but most are passive. It gave me a good indication of what I am sending to the house without coloring it too much at all. Very useful ... had it with me for past 2.5 years.
 
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