What Small Class D head to pair with a Barefaced 2x10?

[MirageIndigo]

Hiya gang,

TLDR: What Class D head do I want to pair with a Barefaced 2x10?

I am finally at the point where I've gone to the low side and am now a gigging bass player vs a guitar player who sometimes plays bass, so I need a real rig.

I play two basses, a Rick Turner piezo fretless 4 and a parts-o-caster JazzBas 4 with active pickups and a solid rosewood neck (and a hipshot Dtuner). So two very bright, basses, one quacky, one punchy.

I've built numerous tube heads for guitar, but I won't be able to throw one together in time for the next gig. Likewise, I have most of the guts of a fEarful 15/6 cab but not enough time to pull it off before the gig.

Right Now, I just need a small light loud cab and a Class D lightweight head. One of the Barefaced cab seems like a great buy. I don't mind sounding dark, so the 2x10s seem a better choice than the 12" line for me.

For the head I've been looking at the TC500, the Traynor 200 at the lower price point and the Quilter BB and Aguilar tone hammer 350 at the more expensive breakpoint.

What else should I be looking at? I don't really need overdriven sounds and I have a HXStomp board for ampless gigging. I just need to be able to fill up a bar or church stage without destroying my back.

 

[joel406]

Any class D will work.

At least 500 watts should do it.

Used market is always a good place to start.

Brand wise? Everyone has a fav. You need to do you. Go shopping. Play as many as you can. Take your stuff and see what it sounds like.

And Mesa is the best.

 

[Mvilmany]

Want a “wooly” tone?: Aguilar
Want a clean tone?: Genzler
Want a rock amp?: Mesa

 

[chris_b]

I paired my BF Two10 with an Aguilar TH500. Then I'd add a One10 and use my Aguilar AG700.

 

[Tim1]

My preference when using a single BF Two 10 is the Mesa Subway 800+

 

[313]

I have 2 Barefaced 210 cabs, and normally use an Ampeg PF800. That combo works great for me in a hard rockin' cover band. I have also used a TH700 with great results.

 

[pisces_bass]

I run a Quilter BB800 with an Audiokinesis TC112 cab. Transparent amp+transparent cab works great with my acoustic bass but I like more color with my electrics. Problem solved with an Aguilar Tone Hammer pre/DI. Something to keep in mind is the Quilter is designed to integrate with preamps and has a pretty subtle voice of its own. FWIW I think it would pair quite well with that Barefaced 210.

 

[groove pump]

I switched to a Class D a couple years ago when the old "conventional" head was just too much at almost 35 lbs. and I wanted a change. I picked up a GK MB 500 that has really given me some perma-grin. The sound has been bold and clear, it has more volume potential than I need when running a pair of 2x10 cabs, and I simply cover it with a layer of bubble wrap and carry it in a backpack. Quite civilized!

I kept the hefty old head as a backup, but eventually got tired of even loading it in the car and leaving it there at my gigs. When I decided to replace it with another Class D, I first looked for a second GK, but I came across a nice deal on a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 and thought that would be fine as my backup.

Then I started playing it... I haven't turned up loud with this head at a gig yet, but the warmth and richness I'm getting at home at lower volume has literally given me "that sound in my head". I'll try it at higher volume at a band rehearsal next week - should be fun. The GK has been a real winner for me, but the Shuttle seems to be a happy accident that's also headed for the win column.

 

[MirageIndigo]

Thanks for all the ideas. I think I'm gonna end up going with a Genzler Magellan 350 to pair with one of their new 112 neodymium cabs. Now I just have to go figure out who has one in stock. The barefaced I think wil be the next expansion.

 

[LoveThatBass]

I personally would get a 500 watt or greater. Better to have too much wattage and not need it than too little and wish you had it a Mesa D-800+ is a great amp head

 

[lomo]

Of the listed options, I enthusiastically vote Quilter and transparently express my "meh" reaction to TC. The Traynor is underpowered for that cab IME. The TH is a great head (once you figure out the non-intuitive eq as has been well described elsewhere on TB) but the cab is a low-mid machine, so I'd fly with the Quilter, and recommend the 802 over and above the 800 due to the more flexible mid controls.
I have owned all those heads and still have a BF One10 and a Quilter BB802 and 45 watt Interbass pedal amp.

 

[MirageIndigo]

I ended up ordering a Genzler Magellan 350 combo with their 112 cab for my "small" rig. The enthusiasm over in the genzler thread convinced me. That said, I think there will be a companion Barefaced extension cab at some point soon and then a larger head for the stage rig. I will likely build a TL606 with the Deltalite 15 I have sitting around also (although I can't get it done in time for my next gig, alas).

 

[mmbongo]

I ended up ordering a Genzler Magellan 350 combo with their 112 cab for my "small" rig. The enthusiasm over in the genzler thread convinced me. That said, I think there will be a companion Barefaced extension cab at some point soon and then a larger head for the stage rig. I will likely build a TL606 with the Deltalite 15 I have sitting around also (although I can't get it done in time for my next gig, alas).

It would be best to get a matching cab to what you have now. I would not mix those cabs.

 

[Matt Dean]

Any of the Mesa class Ds.

 

[msb]

Mesa , Bergantino , Genzler , Aguilar , there’s a ton of great D Class heads around , try as any as you can before purchase . The power chips are all the same but the front ends are voiced quite different .