Head Suggestions

[VTypeV4]

To the OP.. Have you considered an all valve head with less bells and whistles?

With regards to the ashdown comments, I'm afraid I have no love for them either. I don't mind the cabinets, I had a MAG 210 that was great but I simply cannot get along with their amps, MAG, ABM or even the Mark King ones..

[hamfist]

To the OP - a key point is whether you are looking for a totally clean amp, or one that gives you some OD options.

Also "warm" is one of those words that, like "growl" and "punch" can mean different things to different people.

But anyway, I'd say the Streamliner is one of the "warmest" amps out there. However, it IS mid-scooped, and it does have this enormously pillowy huge bottom end. It is nigh on impossible to completely remove this quality. If you like it then great. If not, then it is not the right amp for you. I battled with it for months. Loving a lot about it but being simply unable to remove this incredible bottom end, that was just too much for me. Also I wanted more mids (you can boost mids in one area, but then it will leave a hole in another).
ABM's are definitely "warm" amps to many. Woolly to others (I'm in the 2nd camp, I'm afraid). Markbass LM II/III are often described as warm by many, and I can see where they are coming from. Won't find much "sparkle" with an LM though. A totally clean amp also.
Another totally clean amp that can be very warm, but also has modern and sparkly sounds available also is the Ashdown Spyder 550. Personally, I love this one. Don't believe the online official Ashdown demo vid though. The later versions of this amp do NOT overdrive, whatever you do !

The Ampeg pf's and pro7 can also do there own version of "warm". For me, they lack some "clarity" to their sound. But these are all such personal descriptive terms, and we are all looking for different things.

Good luck with your search. A lot of us know what it's like to be utterly obsessed with finding the right amp !

Edited December 27, 2012 by hamfist

[thinman]

[quote name='kennyrodg' timestamp='1356229625' post='1908253']
Thanks for the suggestions guys.
Cabs, For smaller gigs I've settled on a BFM Omni 2x10 with an Omni 10.5 1x10 stacked. For the bigger gigs, weddings and functions etc I'm using a Laney NX810 (sealed). NB, this is not for massive volume, just articulation and punch. I also need a tall set up as I really struggle to hear cabs that are less than a meter high.
Budget is approx £650 tops give or take.
Cheers.

[/quote]

As someone who uses 2 * BFM Omni 10.5s I'd question a 500W head being a necessity - as you must know they're very efficient cabs and I'd wonder at how much power you actually use.

I currently drive mine with an EBS Reidmar rated at 250W into 4 ohms and have never felt underpowered in any way.

You may find it easier to try for heads that you like rather than aim for a specific output - especially with those cabs - it may open up your choices considerably.

[Guest]

Hi guys,
I'd really like to thank everyone for their input and suggestions.I've been keeping an eye on the thread as it's developed so If I could answer some of the questions that come to mind.
Sound wise I'm not looking for any distortion or overdrive at all, I'm playing pop stuff mostly but it's the Blues Band where I want to get my tone right. I don't play Rock of any kind so nice and clean is the way to go.
I'm on my iPad ATM but I'll post a link or two in the morning to give you an idea of what I'm looking for, hopefully that'll help some.

With regard to the Omni cabs,
I'm really happy with the way they sound and they're great for the smaller gigs but I need a head that'll give me enough umph for the larger events we do. I keep coming back to using my Yamaha BBT500H but it's only 200 watts or so at 4ohms so it quickly runs out of steam.
Cheers for now guys.
EDIT,
Here's a couple of vids for what I'm after.
I got the Thumb thanks to this concert hehe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf1BR1wFZio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvvlLs8ScIQ

Edited December 28, 2012 by kennyrodg

[Guest]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv8H9NJUNHM

[JTUK]

Eden. but there is nothing in the sound that a decent rig can't get to IMO.

But...Eden WT could do some extreme tone shaping, IMO. if required.

For this gig... DB750 and DB410... or 2x210's. or 810 if you can justify the cab.
The amp is killer on decent stages... too much for a pub tho, IMO

Edited December 28, 2012 by JTUK

[Yango]

If I may make a suggestion, you might want to check out Gallien Krueger's MB Fusion 500. Three tubes in the preamp, has two (foot switchable) channels, it weighs about 4 pounds and fits nicely in a gig bag. And it sounds HUGE and warm—actually that's not entirely true—[b]you can get virtually any sound you want out of this amp[/b]. It just so happens that I like big, warm, slightly gritty old school, and I get gobs of it!

I picked this amp up to use for rehearsals (I travel by subway) so I was getting a little fed up with lugging my 13 pound Mesa Boogie Walkabout head with me. I have to admit that I like the GK just as much as I like my Boogie... and that's saying a LOT!

For some reason or other I'm not able to attach any pictures here—so here's a link to the GK site:

[url="http://www.gallien-krueger.com/products_mb.html"]http://www.gallien-k...roducts_mb.html[/url] (scroll down to the MB Fusion)

You should probably keep in mind that what you're hearing on the Austin City Limits clips, is the sound of his bass through a DI into a mixing board. You're not hearing his amp at all.

Edited December 29, 2012 by Yango

[Mark Dixon]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1356693517' post='1912417']
For this gig... DB750 and DB410... or 2x210's. or 810 if you can justify the cab.
The amp is killer on decent stages... too much for a pub tho, IMO
[/quote]
You mean the Aguilar DB750? Great amp, love the tones but such a noisy fan..