Which Of These 2 Would You Choose?

[chump stain]

I'm looking for a new bass rig, and I have about $1000 to spend. I found these 2 stacks in musicians friend, and they seemed like good deals.

I want something loud enough to play small clubs and bars.

check 'em out

Ampeg

SWR

I've played a few SWRs and I've always liked the tone a lot. I even like the fake modeled SWR on my churches Peavey BAM. But, right now the Ampeg comes with a flight case for the head, and it's 450 watts, where as the SWR is 400.

My local guitar store will beat musicians friend's prices, and they deal with both Ampeg and SWR, so I'm sure I'll get it there.

 

[SuperDuck]

I wouldn't hesitate to go with the Ampeg. One thing to note is that the Ampeg head delivers 350 W into a four ohm load- I am guessing that the 4x10 cab is at _least_ a four ohm, if not eight.

 

[chump stain]

anyone else?

anyone have any personal experience with either of these rigs?

 

[Stephen Soto]

get something used man! know for a fact on ebay you could get an svt-3 pro for about 400-500. and then that's 500 for a cab. it would be a lot wiser choice to go used . SWR and Ampeg are good though.

 

[chump stain]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

[chump stain]

I've been reading that the Ampeg is not that loud. Which one of these 2 would be louder? Since that will go into the decision making.

 

[Woodboy]

MF also has a deal on a 700rb-II an SBX 210 and SBX 115 for about $1250. Personally, I feel the GK head has more going for it than a B2R. Having the 2 cabs makes your rig more versatile.

 

[soupy112]

I've been reading that the Ampeg is not that loud. Which one of these 2 would be louder? Since that will go into the decision making.

I always thought SWR to be louder, however I have limited experience with both.

 

[basss]

Just be warned if you buy from MF you will probably recieve an item that is for all intents and purposes a used piece of gear due to their generous return policy. I bought from MF a keyboard that worked fine but had obviously been handled before and a music stand that arrived broken.

 

[naughtry]

hey im looking to buy an Ampeg rig too and I noticed Link Removed is cheaper than MF. For example the SVT-4PRO is $150 less, but I dont remember seeing the B2r stack there. Worth looking into if you go with a diferent model I guess.

 

[ojthesimpson]

Don't buy from MF, the only friend they have is "the man"
Buy an Avatar 410 and 115 and a used GK head that's what I use and it cost me about 1000. That or get all used stuff. You'll get a much nicer setup that way.

Out of those two I'd go ampeg but..... The only way I would own either of them is if someone left them on my doorstep rang the doorbell and ran away.

check out this cab I'm selling it's perfect for you price range and sounds amazing. If anything it can give you an idea of the type of stuff you can get used in your price range.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115446

 

[Reverend G-Money]

Dan, what's up man? Go for the Ampeg head and get an Avatar. the B410 can handle so much power that if you ever wanted to upgrade from something like the Ampeg B2R you wouldn't need an extension cab or anything. before all my stuff was stolen, i ran the older rear-ported B410 with an Ampeg B4R bridged mono at 1000 watts and the speakers never strained. because of finances i've switched over to the GK 800RB and it's got a pretty good amount of power in it. you might want to try one of those before you get a stack, they are also pretty affordable. a good used one of those and an Avatar would be around $800... but, if i could, i'd get that B4R back and another Avatar..

 

[freshmeat1989]

i know this is kinda off the subject but i've got two questons.
1. if you've got a 350 watt head and a 400 watt cab does that mean it will put out 350 watts and you would have to get a better head to push out the extra 50?

2. If youve got like a four ohm head does the speaker have to be 4 ohms or what?

 

[The 0x]

While the B2R is a nice sounding head, it is probably the quietest 350 watts you'll ever hear, and with that one 8-ohm cab, it'll only be 200 watts, which'll be even quieter. And for the SWR WorkinMan's stuff, you can do much better, especially for the money. An Avatar cab and a SansAmp RBI with a QSC poweramp, would give you much more power and flexibility and bang for the buck than the others. Or a Yorkville head, or a used GK head with 2 avatar cabs if you want a full stack would be a good option.

 

[chump stain]

thanks guys! I'm keeping my options open, nothing is set in stone yet. I think I got another 2 weeks before I have the cash. I've been eyeballin' ebay. I see a lot of the Harke 3500 amps on there pretty cheap. Are those any good?

Only thing is, I want this to be a cash deal. I'm going to use my vacation pay comming up soon, if I put the money in the bank, my wife will want to use it for bills, groceries etc. I don't want to have to deposit the money, then use paypal or whatever. I'll probably go down to Motor City Guitar, and Boom Bam, new amp. That way she doesn't see the money, just a new amp

basicly the goal is; Volume/ Tone/ bang for the buck. In that order.

 

[Sundogue]

I just picked up a Hartke 4000. 400 watts. $500 brand new.

Or you could get a Hartke 5500 for $570 brand new. That's the new version of the Hartke 3500, only with 500 watts.

 

[chump stain]

I may have to change my cash only policy. They got a bunch of the Hartke 3500s on ebay new for $399, and I could get an Avatar b410 (w/casters) shipped for under $400. What do you guys think of that rig?

Run it 350w at 4 ohms. That should be pretty loud.

 

[The 0x]

I may have to change my cash only policy. They got a bunch of the Hartke 3500s on ebay new for $399, and I could get an Avatar b410 (w/casters) shipped for under $400. What do you guys think of that rig?

Run it 350w at 4 ohms. That should be pretty loud.

Hartkes are very loud, yet there isn't much coloring in the tone. If you want more of a classic tone, you'll need a preamp with that.

 

[matt bass]

Volume/ Tone/ bang for the buck. In that order.

If this is your goal, look into Peavey amps. These things are damn loud. I own the Firebass rated at 700 watts at 2 Ohms. Im currently pushing it through a Peavey 4x10 so its running at 450 watts. This easily competes with my guitarists Power/pre set up of about 250 watts. As for tone, theres not a lot of it, which is not a bad thing. It is a very neutral sounding amp, although pretty easy to colour your sound.

See if you could get a Firebass used on ebay and a couple of Avatar cabs. I would set you up nicely

 

[chump stain]

thanks guys, I seen one of those firebass amps on ebay. I think they have 'em at my local guitar store too.