# In the market for a new bass head, point me in the right direction!



## Krankguitarist (May 1, 2012)

Just picked up a spot in a local band, and they've got plenty of shows lined up for this summer. They've got an amp for me to use in the meantime, but I'd prefer to have my own rig.

I've already done a little research: The Orange Terror Bass 500, TC Electronic RH450, and Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 all look appealing. 

Price range I'm looking at is about 1k. These guys are tight, driving, and heavy: a little slipknot-esque. Portability is a big issue, I want something that's easy to grab and go. 

I'm sure there's gotta be a ton of threads like this, but there's an awful lot of information to sort out out there, and this is the first time in...forever...that I've even considered looking at bass amps. Anybody have any other suggestions, or can speak for the amps I have listed? 

Any help is greatly appreciated .


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## MaxOfMetal (May 1, 2012)

Get out there and play some amps, and be sure to take your bass with you. The market is flooded with small, light weight, great sounding amps, so you're just going to have to find one that gels with how you play. 

You'll probably want an amp that's rated for ~500 watts at 8 ohms. That'll work well with most cabs and give you the headroom you'll need. 

As for your individual needs:
-Do you want a head/cab setup, or would a combo be more up your alley?
-Are you going to need multiple channels?
-How much tweaking do you want to do? Are you more of a "plug n' play" kind of player?
-Are you going to be mic'd/DI'd at gigs?


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## Krankguitarist (May 1, 2012)

All great questions! Truth told I had a bigger opening post written up that addressed all those, but I figured...ah...short and succinct would be the better option to open up with.

- Head/cab is the way I'm leaning. I might be picking up a 2x10 neo cab from avatar just to have something on stage for monitoring and sound reinforcement. Though I'm open to other options on that front.

- Multiple channels aren't a necessity. It'd be nice to have the option there, but it's not a necessity.

- I'm definitely a "plug and play" kind of dude. Simplicity is key...the more tweaking I have to do, the less I focus on playing and making music.

- More likely than not I'll usually be running a DI out to the PA, so my on-stage volume requirements aren't huge. I was thinking that around 500 watts would be enough.

Only problem about testing things out is that I'll have to make a day trip out of it...the guitar center in town here isn't really well stocked. A good 40 minute drive up north opens up a few more possibilities, though.


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## MaxOfMetal (May 1, 2012)

Given that, I'd recommend taking a look at the TC Electronic Staccato 51. It's super small and lightweight, meets your headroom requirements, has a built in DI, built in compressor, three presets (channels), and some other nice features, namely a built in tuner. Best of all, it sounds pretty darn good. They were going for a more "classic" vibe with it, but it's still capable of more "Hi-Fi" like modern bass tones.


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## Bevo (May 1, 2012)

^ That is a great option!
I did play that before I got my Ampeg PF500 and not after the fact I still think it would of been better other than the price.

Do you guys use in ears on stage?
If so it may change your needs a bit.


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## iron blast (May 2, 2012)

Genz benz shuttle max is absolute devastation I would pick it over many amps costing 3x's as much.


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## BucketheadRules (May 2, 2012)

You could try out the SWR HeadLite.

Packs 400 watts while weighing less than 2 kilograms


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## cGoEcYk (May 2, 2012)

If you can find or try a Mesa M-Series that would also be killer for what it sounds like you guys are doing. Straightforward controls, very cool sounding tube grind, earthquake power.


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## MassNecrophagia (May 2, 2012)

Bevo said:


> ^ That is a great option!
> I did play that before I got my *Ampeg PF500* and not after the fact I still think it would of been better other than the price.
> 
> Do you guys use in ears on stage?
> If so it may change your needs a bit.


Try one of these, or the SVT7-PRO
The only downside to the PF-500 is that it only has one line for speaker out


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## ApteraBassist (May 2, 2012)

Look at a marbass! They're fantastic. also you can get a littlemark 2 for like $200, and if you get two cable to plug into it, its 500 watts


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## HaMMerHeD (May 2, 2012)

I'd look at the TC Electronic RH750 over the 450 or Stacatto '51.


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## TemjinStrife (May 2, 2012)

I own an Aguilar Tone Hammer 500. Can get plenty of thick, punchy midrange grind and growl. A little less "bright" than some, but you can get around that with pedals or by boosting treble on your bass if you need that "clank."

Here's me, (very drunk, thus the lack of much rocking out) hammering away on my TH500 with a VT Bass pedal out front giving it some snap.


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## Bevo (May 2, 2012)

That sounds pretty good, nice tone and damn the lights are bright on your head!
What cab are you using, it looks like a small PA cab?


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## TemjinStrife (May 2, 2012)

Bevo said:


> That sounds pretty good, nice tone and damn the lights are bright on your head!
> What cab are you using, it looks like a small PA cab?









It's an AudioKinesis Thunderchild 112. 34 lbs, and about as loud as a good 3x10. Amp is the aforementioned Aguilar Tone Hammer, with a Tech 21 VT Bass in front to give a little compression and "snap" to the tone. 

Whole rig, including pedalboard, is under 45 lbs and fits on a cart through the turnstiles in the NYC subway, while being loud enough to kick some serious ass.


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## iron blast (May 2, 2012)

that is one sick setup man


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## HotelEcho (May 3, 2012)

I just got a second-hand Gallien Krueger 700RB and played my first gig with it, it's not the smallest or lightest amp out there compared to the more modern tiny class D models, but fantastic tone and all the features you could need for small to medium sized gigs.

Really simple control layout too.


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## KatatonicBassist (May 3, 2012)

One of the greatest sounding heads I've ever played through, you can probably snag them on ebay for around 1k

SWR 750X Pro Series Bass Amp Head at zZounds


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## Styxmata (May 6, 2012)

I recently purchased a Genz Benz GBE 1200 as a back up tour head, my primary is my Fender Bassman 300 Pro through an Ampeg 8x10 and I absolutely love it. So much raw low-end power and when the pre's are pushed to that lovely point of distorted break up it's pure tone heaven. The few times I have spent with the Genz I am always extremely impressed with how easy it is to dial in either a flawlessly smooth, clean, sound or a high gain, fuzzy, metal tone. You have the choice of using a FET channel which I have found is best when you need that fast snappy attack when playing slapping,popping, or tapping riffs and a Tube channel that produces such warm, fat, buttery tone that you might think you're playing through an all tube head. You can run the two channels mixed together for limitless tonal variety. This head has massive power, and I mean BIG. Switchable 8/4/2 ohm 550W/1000W/1200W output will make any cab your bitch without even breaking a sweat. You'll be better off going to the Genz Benz site to really get an idea of all the features this beast has to offer but I was very impressed with what the rear panel in particular has to offer and the solid machined aluminum knobs are great, not many other companys put these on their heads these days. With that said, I am also selling this bad boy. It's minty fresh with maybe 2-3 hours playtime max, fan cooled, 5 button foot switch. I am in So.Cal. so pm if you would like some more info.


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## Krankguitarist (May 10, 2012)

After a lot of research, listening to sound clips and videos, reading reviews, trying out shit at the store, I've narrowed down my options to either the Genz Benz Shuttle MAX9.2 or the Streamliner 900.

Both have their pros and cons...I'm currently leaning towards the shuttleMAX, but it's...a little knobby. I appreciate flexibility, but I'm really a plug-in and go sort of player. It's a little intimidating.

The Streamliner is much more appealing in that respect, though I'm not sure if it's going to be tight enough in the low end for my needs. We really ride that low B string a lot, and I want to have a nice, clean response in that frequency range.

I'm not going to be picking one up until after the 19th...That's going to be my final "test date", as that'll be my first gig with the band. If all goes well, I'll be buying something after that.


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## Styxmata (May 19, 2012)

I heard the Genz Benz GBE 1200 is super awesome!


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