Amp Head

Amp Head

Should i go with a combo bass amp or head and cabinet connected?

I want to get a great sounding loud amp. Should i go with a combo amp or head and cabinet seperate? My price range is around 500 dollars but i want good quality. Please name some brands. Thanks!

Hi BamBam.. While years ago the head/cab was the ONLY way to go.. things have changed in bass amplification quite drastically in the last 10 years or so. A lot of the stand alone bass heads you can buy from different manufacturers are also built right into their combo amps with many speaker configurations.

While I own both types of amps, I find it much easier to take the combo amp, as its less work to load in. Some brands worth looking into would be GK, SWR, Ashdown, (my personal favorite), and Peavey. I would avoid at ALL cost Behringer, and also Hartke, but only the Hartke's with the Aluminum Drivers. Hardly anyone will do a recone job on those, and if they do...... extremely expensive. (as with any aluminum driver) Plus, they are not cheap to buy new as well.

Someone mentioned if you want low end go with a 15, and more punch go with a 10 or 12 inch speaker?? Not necessarilly true. A lousy 15" speaker, such as the ones Behringer puts in there bass amps has low end.. but.. not much, and it breaks up alot if pushed to hard. And, if the wattage isnt there to push even a quality 15, (more air to push on a larger diameter speaker)... it will wind up sounding like nothing more than a well executed fart! My Ashdown Mag 300 with 4-10's, and a 2-10 Peavey extension cab has MORE low end than most amps ive heard. I would also go with either 2 or 4 10 inch speakers to start instead of a single 15. A 15 by itself just doesnt have the tonal qualities to cut through a lot of different playing situations.(add the 15 later)

Im enclosing a link to an amp that I think would be great in the price range you are looking at. Its the Ashdown Mag 300 w/2-10's.

http://www.music123.com/Ashdown-MAG-C210T-300-Combo-Bass-Amp-485033-i1145983.Music123

Heres a couple of reasons I'm recommending this amp. First off, it will handle the tonal range of 4,5,6,7 and 9 string basses. ( I own all of these, so speaking from experience). One more reason... Ive had this amp on stage for "festival" type settings, with many bands playing on my rig during the course of 12+ hours. It has handled country, classic rock, metal, blues, thrash, regaee, and jazz, and not one player complained about this amp. Most of them were not familiar with Ashdown, and had nothing but praise for it.

Hope this has helped.. bottom line... get what sounds good to you, and get a brand of amp that carries a good reputation. There's a lot of good user reviews on various amps as well as other products at harmony central that might also be worth taking a look at.

Fuchs Viper Amp Head

Amp Head

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