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New amp suggestions

K

klejst

Oct 5, 2010
6,647
3,676
#1
I am on the hunt for a new bass amp and may very well be looking for the needle in a haystack however I figured I would ask my fellow TB members for some suggestions. The thing is I only have about $100-150 I can drop right now, again I know looking to buy a farm with bottle caps. I have been checking Guitar Center's used section of their website as much as I possibly can and they do have some amps in the $150 and less amount however many would call them the low budget amps...however that is basically my category right now.

I just need something that will work for now and pair well with my Mesa/Boogie 2x15EV cabinet, which by the way and another catch is 8 ohms.

Any good suggestions?
 
#3
Thanks for the suggestions and links too. No I need just the head as I have the Mesa cab. The problem with 8 ohms is there is not many amps out there in this price range that also bring a big wattage amount and my cab has a 800w handling capacity. However I have heard under powering a cab is a myth and also it's in the speakers and how many not the wattage when it comes to overall volume, but of course I have also heard the flip side of those statements as well. That GK Backline is promising if it is a bit anything like the GK 700RB but with less wattage and perhaps features of course. I take it all these 4 ohm heads will not have a problem with my cab though? Of course besides basically cutting their wattage by half or more.
 
#4
Any of those heads will be just fine powering the cab. Think of the cabs "rated" wattage INPUT power as a fuel tank. You don't have to always fill it up. The Acme cabs are an exception as they trade inefficiency for frequency response.
The BL600 is a nice head as is the 400RB. The BL600 having slightly more wattage but the tone of the 400RB is prefered by most. You DO NOT "need" a 800 watt amp head for your cab.
I have been doing repairs for over 40 years and did design for almost 20 before leaving the electronics industry.
 
#7
Where are you planning on playing? What types of gigs? Highly doubt you need anywhere near 800 watt for suggestion #1. May not even need that much cab either, but I don't know.

Suggestion #2, save some more money if you want a better head.
 
#8
I am sure nothing like arenas or anything like that, but medium sized venues. Most places I play do have DI or PA (mic'ed) support, however for those house shows that do not it will be nice to have the head room. I currently don't have a amp and as listed before don't have a big budget I can allocate right now so I am between a rock and hard place.
 

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