# Seeking opinions on specific bass amps for metal.



## s5470Pro (May 5, 2011)

I have done a little research and have it narrowed down somewhat. Keep in mind I am a guitarist and my bassist is ready to make a purchase. He is a great player, but has never been in a band and doesnt know much about gear.

We play metal, if we had to have a subgenre I would say Heavy/groove/speedy/death/thrash lol...

Just think of bands like The Black Dahlia Murder, Nile, Divine Heresey, DevilDriver, Testament. Those are the kinds of sounds we are looking for. He does really like mids so we are not looking for mid scooped sound.

For guitar I use a VHT Pitbull 100w its loud, cuts through and we do have 2 guitarists.

Now the bass amps in question:

Ampeg 410HLF, PF500 or SVT-3 or 4?
Acoustic B200H
Sansamp RBI or PDDI???
GK 700 RB II
Mesa M6 or Big Block
Laney Nexus 400
Orange Terror

These are all amps I have seen quite a bit of metal guys mention or have heard you tube clips of and was impressed, not sure what alot of them are.

He is looking to also get a semi decent cab and has a budget in the $1,000 to $1,500 for both so keep that in mind as well.

Help us out guys....Thanks


----------



## ApteraBassist (May 5, 2011)

Marbass. they cut through so well. plus behemoth and adagio use them


----------



## s5470Pro (May 5, 2011)

Never heard of that amp, thanks Ill check it out..I dont think he wants any distortion though.


----------



## deevit (May 5, 2011)

Markbass would be a good option if he doesn't want any distortion. The GK would be a great option too.

But IMO there is no such thing as a 'metal' bass amp. Just go out and try as much as you (he) can and pick the one he likes most and is loud enough.


----------



## ApteraBassist (May 5, 2011)

oops yes that was a typo, MARKBASS is what i meant. they're great and are most commonly used clean, not distorted, but the littlemark Rocker bass amp does come with a tube gain option!


----------



## HaMMerHeD (May 5, 2011)

Mesa, Markbass, Hartke. Some people don't like Hartke, but some people don't like Mesa, Markbass, or any other given brand either.

Were it my $1500, I'd go with a Hartke Hydrive HX810 and a Hartke LH1000...but I like Hartke.


----------



## josh pelican (May 5, 2011)

I've never liked Hartke myself. I'd say Ampeg. I can name A LOT of metal bands using Ampeg.


----------



## signalgrey (May 5, 2011)

Ampeg

OR

Orange Thunderverb 200
2 channel all tube amp. Sounds fucking awesome with bass


----------



## HaMMerHeD (May 5, 2011)

Yeah...a lot of metal bands use ampeg. But then, a lot of metal bands have completely inaudible bass players.


----------



## signalgrey (May 6, 2011)

HaMMerHeD said:


> Yeah...a lot of metal bands use ampeg. But then, a lot of metal bands have completely inaudible bass players.



because they dont EQ right. Ampeg has tones of power but if you EQ like a retard its not going to matter what you use. You could plug into gods peehole and it would sound like shit if you EQ like a re-re


----------



## TemjinStrife (May 6, 2011)

For $1500, in a metal mix I'd concentrate on speaker area and an excellent cab or two first. An 810, 610, good 410, 412, or 215 would be the minimum I'd use for competing with halfstacks. Speaker area >>>>>> wattage when it comes to volume.

If you need to go cheap, look for used Eden D410XLTs; they are the old touring standard and are heavy as fuck, but are VERY loud and have a nice midrange bump that will power through a mix. They can be found as cheaply as $300-500 since they're much heavier than a lot of modern cabs.

Also, a GK1001RB will get plenty loud and can be had used very cheaply. Great growl, very clean, and lots of punch. Any number of other amps will work; like I said, grab some cabs first as they're really the toughest part of the equation to sort out.


----------



## s5470Pro (May 6, 2011)

Great, thanks for the info. I think Hes going to end up with the GK 700 RB. You think that would be enough to cut through with a 1x15 and a 4x10?


----------



## HaMMerHeD (May 6, 2011)

signalgrey said:


> because they dont EQ right. Ampeg has tones of power but if you EQ like a retard its not going to matter what you use. You could plug into gods peehole and it would sound like shit if you EQ like a re-re



Obviously, but the point is that it makes no sense to use what other metal bass players use, just because they use it. If we're going to be mimicking our favorite players or bands in terms of gear and setup, there's no reason to do any of it.

I can't count the number of times I've read threads by people looking for Fieldy's tone, or Justin Chancellor's tone, or Tim Commerford's tone. Maybe it's because I'm not into hero worship, but I just don't get it.

Anyway...GK is a good amp. I'm not the biggest fan of their EQ stack, but if your guy digs it, more power to him.


----------



## highlordmugfug (May 6, 2011)

HaMMerHeD said:


> Obviously, but the point is that it makes no sense to use what other metal bass players use, just because they use it. If we're going to be mimicking our favorite players or bands in terms of gear and setup, there's no reason to do any of it.
> 
> I can't count the number of times I've read threads by people looking for Fieldy's tone, or Justin Chancellor's tone, or Tim Commerford's tone. Maybe it's because I'm not into hero worship, but I just don't get it.
> 
> Anyway...GK is a good amp. I'm not the biggest fan of their EQ stack, but if your guy digs it, more power to him.


The point is that other people have gotten good results (since he's looking for one that works good for metal, it makes perfect sense to mention that lots of metal bands use them, it has nothing at all to do with hero worship), they're quality amps, and the OP's friend should look into them. Plus, he mentioned ampegs as something he was looking at anyway. 

We all get that you're not an ampeg fan, quit making excuses to make it seem like it's something else you're worried about  It'll be okay.


EDIT: I've never played a GK, but if he changes his mind on that, really any of the amps you listed are pretty sweet. Might want to step up to the Acoustic 600H if he decides he like Acoustic, that or the vintage head that I can't recall the model of (307?) for more power. The acoustic 8x10's are pretty cheap and I think they're fairly light, a 600H and 2 8x10's would be a sweeet rig.


----------



## Hyliannightmare (May 6, 2011)

this is what my bassists uses and it sounds effin secks


----------



## TemjinStrife (May 6, 2011)

s5470Pro said:


> Great, thanks for the info. I think Hes going to end up with the GK 700 RB. You think that would be enough to cut through with a 1x15 and a 4x10?



2 4x10s, or 2 1x15s. Not one of each.

Hint: the 4x10s are generally much louder per watt than the 1x15s.


----------



## ZEBOV (May 6, 2011)

I HATE Acoustic amps. I don't understand why people like them so much.
I think he's like this amp:
http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=BX1500-10.4N
I've A/B'd it with an Ampeg SVT810E cab powered by an Ampeg SVT7pro 1000 watt head, and while they both sounded wonderful, the Carvin half stack was surprisingly louder.


----------



## TemjinStrife (May 6, 2011)

The BX1500 is a great amp. You could find a pair of used Eden D410XLTs or used Ampeg 410HEs or a used 810/610 for the price of that 4x10 though. There is no substitute for speaker cone area.


----------



## TemjinStrife (May 6, 2011)

Also, I wasn't a huge Hartke fan, but the new Harke LH1000 and HyDrive cabinets are *fantastic* value for money. Great sound, loud, and affordable. Great build quality too, and I really like the HyDrive speakers.


----------



## Nights_Blood (May 8, 2011)

TemjinStrife said:


> 2 4x10s, or 2 1x15s. Not one of each.



Why is this?


----------



## highlordmugfug (May 8, 2011)

Nights_Blood said:


> Why is this?


Because the wattage/efficiencies will make one of the cabinets louder than the other if it's a 410 and 115.


----------



## TemjinStrife (May 9, 2011)

A 4x10 is going to be dramatically louder (more sensitive) than a 1x15 with the same wattage. So much so that adding the 1x15 will not be heard. Plus, the 1x15 generally will not take as much power as a 4x10 and will blow sooner.


----------

