Which Amp head would you buy?

[PhatBottomBass1]

Mine gets here Thursday...it is $99 more, but you will know where the extra money went!

With two separate effects loops, one on each channel. The return insert point will let me run another preamp with it and loose the SW channel, while keeping the tubie Boogie channel intact. (Will have the MESA channel switching/mute FS, too. +$55)

I think this amp will jump!

 

[sid sonic]

buy one thats made in america...support our team !!!!!...ss

 

[SixtyCycleHum]

Mine gets here Thursday...it is $99 more, but you will know where the extra money went!
View attachment 4451908
With two separate effects loops, one on each channel. The return insert point will let me run another preamp with it and loose the SW channel, while keeping the tubie Boogie channel intact. (Will have the MESA channel switching/mute FS, too. +$55)

I think this amp will jump!

One day, I really want to try this amp. Or Mesa in general. It's another thing that doesn't appear in the wild a lot over in Aus. Every piece of Mesa gear (I'm not counting the Cab Clones) just sounds gnarly af in the best way.

 

[TrevorOfDoom]

I chose the Quilter BB800.
It’s loud, it’s clean, and it sounds just like me.

 

[REV]

I've tried Mesa, Bergantino, Aguilar and Genzler. I bought Genzler.

 

[Jim C]

I've owned MB and GK and tried Genzler.
I ended up with a Mesa TT800 and couldn't be happier. The clarity, depth, warmth, and the ability to have distinctly different channels sold me. Please the companies heritage and reputation are really strong.

I am curious about the Quilter though.

 

[Matty Koff]

I personally splurged on the Mesa WD-800 when my Markbass amp started making funny noises that didn't have an easy fix.

What sold me was watching the production videos on youtube showing bits and pieces of the manufacturing process.. well that and the amount of love the Subway series has gotten on Talkbass, with good reason in my opinion. The WD-800 through a single Subway 115 is a beast.. i have a pair of them.

I probably would've ended up with a TT-800 if it had been out when I ordered the WD-800, but I'm confident that if you were to choose a D-800+, a WD-800, or a TT-800, you're likely going to be happy with your amp.

I like the WD-800 because the semi-parametric mids allow me to target just about any frequency I want from 80hz up to about 5khz. It has a built in HPF should the bass be too boomy. It's 2 ohm capable.. offering a huge range of speaker selections. Up to four 8 ohm cabinets, or two 4 ohm cabinets.. OR.. you can set it to 2 ohm using a single 8 ohm cabinet for 300w, A single 4 ohm would be 600w, or a 2 ohm load @800w. or leave it switched to 4 ohm and an 8 ohm cab would be 400w, with 4ohm = 800w


It has a functional DI via XLR out, fx loop. It has a dedicated tuner out. Headphone out and you can run it as a DI box or a headphone amp without a speaker load.

My rig wasn't cheap.. but I've said multiple times on these forums that I believe it is of a quality that I will most likely still have it a couple decades from now unless I get extremely desperate for cash.

The WD-800 sounded great through an Avatar b410 I scored used for like $200 + shipping but eventually I bought the Subway 15" cabs and am glad I did... I can probably get away with just one and the cab is like 35 or 37 lbs. It's about as wide as my body is so it isn't awkward to move with my bum shoulder. I sometimes think maybe I should've grabbed the 112's instead.. because they have a smaller foot print and would be that much easier to move around.. but for the most part, I'm happy with this rig.

Back in my teen years playing guitar, I never dreamed I'd own a Mese/Boogie rig because of the high price tags. But the amp subway heads themselves are pretty modest in price compared to something like a Rectifier. The cabs are pricey.. but plenty of people are running Subway heads through different brands of cabs and loving it.

 

[gtirard]

I have the Quilter and I'm so happy with it. Very light, super loud, neutral but not sterile. Works very well with tube preamps too. I don't know if it's true, but I've been told that all class D bass amps use the same Ice power module except Quilter, who designed his own class D power module (Pat Quilter is the Q of QSC).

The other amps I'd love to try: Mesa, GR Bass, Trickfish & Bergantino. But since I already have the Quilter, I prefer buying more tube preamps to increase tonal flexibility.

 

[Rnr..........4]

I only have the Quilter BB802. Just clean power with some good eq settings. I use a pedalboard with it with a boss tuner, YYZ and eventually a compressor. Looking at the EBS, Seymour or Cali 76.

That said, I'd like to try the whole enchilada like an Orange MK III or WD 800.

 

[Iristone]

Depending on your tonal preferences. Personally I'd go Ampeg, either PF-800 or SVT-7. Many amps that use a Fender-type low/middle/high tone stack will sound a bit different.

 

[Tanner5382]

I love my Mesa D800+. It sounds great and is easy to dial in a variety of great sounds.

I don’t think you’re going to go wrong with any of the options listed.

 

[HolmeBass]

Staying in your price range you could get 2 flavors by getting the Quilter Amp and the Mesa Subway plus preamp (D800+) . win win. I have these 2 and they pair great. Using the Quilter alone is very viable as well. Disclaimer : I also have the TT800 which is my primary setup.

I have the D800+ and the Quilter BB800 too! Pretty different amps but both excellent in their own way. The D800+ is my main amp.

 

[Frank77]

I don't think you could go wrong with either of these options. Me, I tried a bunch and went with Quilter (the original Bass Block 800) because that's the tone I preferred (the fact that it was the most affordable AND made in North America were just nice bonuses). For upright, I go through a Tech21 Q-Strip, and into the amp's XLR in. Works great.

 

[neddyrow]

If you play BG and DB, I'd recommend an Acoustic Image. Works great for both. I have an older 2-channel Clarus 900Watt head and it works great for when you have to do both at one show. I'll play my Genz Benz Shuttle at strictly BG gigs (which is another great option) but I love Acoustic Image and recommend it highly. The best part is when you have question or a problem, you talk directly to the owner.

 

[jnewmark]

I went with the Mesa WD-800, as they are tried and true. You just can't go wrong.

Plus the things that Mesa has over most others:
Made in USA.
Best Warranty.
Best service.

And designed by our own Agedhorse.

 

[dbase]

 

[Phaidrus]

With all that in mind I have bought the Markbass Little Mark Vintage head and really like it. Sweet modern tone.

 

[skyline_01]

One you didn't mention is the EBS Reidmar 502, which I have and really like. It is clean and very articulate, and 2 ohm stable.

Thank you for bringing up EBS - I think they're overlooked most of the time in favor of the usual names.

I have the Reidmar 750 and it's probably the finest head I've owned. It does clean/transparent really well (some have compared it with SWR) but can also get some nice grit w/ the drive knob turned up.

Plus it has that great EBS compressor, a para mid, a character switch, a bright knob for extra top-end sheen, a really clean DI, and all the usual effects loop stuff. Oh, and gobs of power doesn't hurt either - I've yet to turn up past about 9 o'clock with a full band setup.

Maybe a little heavier than some of the smaller class D heads, but still only around 8 lbs.

 

[el murdoque]

I have to admit that If I was looking for a setup where I plug my bass directly into the amp (no pedals) and wanted to have a range of tones available, the TT-800 beats everything.
Being in Europe, the price is rather steep, but I'd cough it up.

If it was sheer wattage I was after, I'd look for a used Orange Terror Bass 1000. These things are obscenely loud.

However, I create most of my sound on my pedalboard and basically only need something to make that loud enough to push cabs, so I use what I have sitting at home: The simple Solution is the GSS Baby Sumo. 600W Class D, poweramp only, but in a tiny form factor.
The other option is my Aguilar Tone Hammer 500. I've had that one for a long time and I like the look, the reliability and the tonal options. With the silver faceplate and the black sides it matches my cabinets (barefaced with cloth grille) and I mostly plug my pedalboard into the FX return and that's it.

 

[Crash 56]

Recently bought a D800, and so far, after two dozen gigs, its held up to all expectations. I don't fiddle with my tone once its set, so the simple control layout works for me. love the carry bag, and more power than I will ever need!