Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Cheap Micro-Heads


Dr M
 Share

Recommended Posts

There seem to be more Class D micro heads available every week! The number under £300 seems to be shooting up as well - I wonder if the popularity of the GK MB200 has had something to do with that?

Fender Rumble 150
GK MB200
MarkBass Little Mark 250 Blackline
TC Electronic BH250
Ampeg PF-350

And probably the Ashdown PiBass when it's released.

So what are people's thoughts on these heads? Are they decent light-weight budget heads, or do the lack of features hold them back?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a Little Mark 250 for a while and it sounded fantastic. Build quality and components second to none, too. The only reason I moved it on is because it was simply not powerful enough to cope with a lunatic rock drummer and guitarist who insisted on playing WAY too loud.

But that was with a single 8 ohm cab, so I was probably only seeing 150W or so max. With a second cab I'm sure it would be powerful enough for 99% of applications (depending on genre and lunatics). It was absolutely fine in a nine-piece soul/stax band with three singers, guitar, drums and three-piece brass section... master at around 10 o'clock.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I`ve had many of them in my search for the tone I wanted, and sortof have one now - the Markbass LM2 in a 112 combo.

At 500 watts at 4ohms, and about 350 at 8ohms, it`s plenty powerful enough for my needs.

None of them will sound like a big valve amp, but then, they aren`t big valve amps, and to be honest, very few people would be able to tell the difference anyway - aside from us here on Basschat. Plus, the ease of use and portability of these Class D amps is amazing. Even if I were able to carry the big old amps, I wouldn`t use them now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like my BH250. I gigged it outdoors at a small wedding last week with just a single 210 and a vocal-only PA and it was fine. Amp was on about 75% volume and my active j was on about 75% as well. If I'd added my 212 I would have had to turn down.

Not too fussed about the toneprint thing though. It's fun to play with but I wouldn't miss it.

Seems to me the heavyweight stuff is for bands with roadies. ;)

For £235 brand new it seems like a bargain to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1374510338' post='2149540']
I`ve had many of them in my search for the tone I wanted, and sortof have one now - the Markbass LM2 in a 112 combo.

At 500 watts at 4ohms, and about 350 at 8ohms, it`s plenty powerful enough for my needs.

None of them will sound like a big valve amp, but then, they aren`t big valve amps, and to be honest, very few people would be able to tell the difference anyway - aside from us here on Basschat. Plus, the ease of use and portability of these Class D amps is amazing. Even if I were able to carry the big old amps, I wouldn`t use them now.
[/quote]

LM2/3 is Class A/B not D. Still light though and my favourite sounding micro head

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='sk8' timestamp='1376316921' post='2172012']
LM2/3 is Class A/B not D. Still light though and my favourite sounding micro head
[/quote]

They sound amazing and are mega loud for their size/price! Can be had very cheaply s/h to say they're £680 new too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='sk8' timestamp='1376316921' post='2172012']
LM2/3 is Class A/B not D. Still light though and my favourite sounding micro head
[/quote]

Didn`t realise that - I suppose I automatically assume any amp I`m capable of lifting has to be Class D.

I feel much stronger for knowing I can lift an A/B amp :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the Ampeg PF 350. I used it for recording a couple of months ago & the results were pretty impressive. The engineer got a really nice tone out of it. He also commented on how good he thought the amp's DI was too!
I've also used it live @ Dry Bar in Manchester last year. It did go through the headlining band's 4x10"+1x15" stack with the DI plugged in, but I was still pleasantly surprised with the sound.
Out of all the others, I've only tried the TC Electronic BH 250. But that does have a BEAUTIFUL tone!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Picked up a BH250 recently and used it for the first time in anger last night paired with the Super12T. Smallish room but against a loud drummer and two guitarists for some classic rock covers (Lizzy Free Bad Co etc) and it easily held its own and sounded awesome.

There's my smaller gig rig sorted. Streamliner where I need a bit more POWER. BH250 for smaller rooms. Marvellous!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How much volume do you need?
I've gigged in venues with just an EHX 44 Magnum driving a Hi Watt 4x12 and it was plenty loud on stage but had FOH boosting it out front. It easily would have done for the average pub gig by its self. Its about as light weight as it gets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just bought a GK MB200 last week. Cabinet has yet to arrive though. So far through headphones the amp is rather nice.
It sounds like I have a new bass (to my ears anyway). I am aware that my experience with modern amps is "limited", to put it mildly. I ordered the eden 4ohm 12 inch cab. Going for small and light. Hope I like it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1376829823' post='2179577']
Picked up a BH250 recently and used it for the first time in anger last night paired with the Super12T. Smallish room but against a loud drummer and two guitarists for some classic rock covers (Lizzy Free Bad Co etc) and it easily held its own and sounded awesome.

There's my smaller gig rig sorted. Streamliner where I need a bit more POWER. BH250 for smaller rooms. Marvellous!
[/quote]

Is that a 4 or 8 ohm cab? I'm interested to know as I'm keen on getting one and running at 4 ohms, but I cant seem to get an answer anywhere as to how capable it is at 4 ohms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recently bought a GK MB500 to replace an old 200W Marshall head. I've been [i]very[/i] happy with it and it's garnered several positive comments from the rest of the band, about both its (diminutive) size and tone. I'm running it through my old 4 ohm GK 210T cab, which I can now easily stand on its side with the amp on top :)

I was sorely tempted by the GK MB200 and the TC BH250 (though while it's quite cool, I wasn't convinced that I'd actually use the Toneprint facility in the real world).

In the end, however, I decided that a little more headroom couldn't hurt (not that I really need - it the amp is plenty loud enough for the gigs we play) but, possibly more important, the M500's extra controls and connectivity options swung it.

Edited by cybertect
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...