Jazzjames Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Hello everyone, What amp would you buy/have experience with for pushing good power to 8 ohms? I’ve bought a fearless f112 in an effort to scale down from my DB112s. I like the aggies very much but they’re a bit of a pain to carry around at night and I can’t park in front of my flat, so I bought the F112 as a single cab solution. What portable amps would you recommend to get the F112 singing? I use a TH500 but it’s not got so much power at 8 ohms. I am tempted by the Darkglass m900. I don’t play music where I need distortion but a bit of ’furr’ is welcome. I can also see the Quilter bass block as an option. It seems like a good albeit simple design. Good price! Missing anything? Your thoughts and suggestions are welcome. *I am aware that going from two 1x12 cabs to one means that I will probably lose volume due to less air being moved, and I realise sensitivity not watts equates to volume, however, the tonehammer doesn’t have the required headroom at 8 ohms. Thanks! James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudpup Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 (edited) I have recently picked up a Quilter BB800 and am now 6 gigs into using it. Its a brilliant little amp and so unlike all the other class D ones i've had. It has a weight and evenness across each of the strings and is incredibly loud if required. You just have to learn the eq section - its very intuitive once you understand it. Well worth a look..... Edited June 30, 2018 by Mudpup 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzjames Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 Thank you for the quick response! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 I have a 1000w Orange terror bass, not for everyone but certainly not lacking in oomph! I have swapped the AX7s for AT7 valves to give a little more clean headroom. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky8884 Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 A GK MB800 could do the job 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 (edited) I suppose it depends a lot on the cab that the amps are connected to, but the best Class D amp I`ve used is the Ashdown RM-500, there`s just a lot more depth to the sound than any of the others I`ve had, of which there were a fair few (GK, Markbass, Aguilar, Ampeg). I thought all of them were great, none of them lacking at all but for me the RM-500 has them beat. I should add that I use mine connected to an 8ohm Ashdown 410 and it has power for days, a startling amount in fact. Edited June 30, 2018 by Lozz196 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 I use a GK MB800 into an 8 ohm BF Compact cab, which should give around 500 Watts. Never been stuck for volume yet, and that’s up against a drummer using broom handles.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkle Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 Lol. I'm going to suggest what I was using. Tecamp Puma 900 (500W into 8 ohms) is loud as hell into the F112. The voicing options on the head work well. The bass knob cuts at 30Hz so acts as a HPF for some rooms. 'Taste' knob radically changes the sound from crisp/clear to 'old school' middy/thumpy. The treble knob is set a touch high for my taste, but I only really tend to cut a bit there, so no biggie. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Sounds like a job for the Orange Terror Bass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 On 05/07/2018 at 22:03, funkle said: Lol. I'm going to suggest what I was using. Tecamp Puma 900 (500W into 8 ohms) is loud as hell into the F112. Louder still would be one of the Tecamp designs that has 2 output channel into 4 Ohms and a bridged mode into 8 ohms. Can't remember what it's called but they pop up second-hand in the forums occasionally. A PA-style power amp will do this too, but these are usually in a 19" rack format which might not meet your requirements for it to be compact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 I use a GK MB800 with my F112. Works well. I imagine the Quilter would too judging by reports from other Fearless users. If you use Facebook there are a few groups on there dedicated to Fearful/Greenboy if you want more advice from users. I replaced a three-way 212 with one Fearless F112 pretty successfully. Once in a very long while I'll need more sound and I bought a second F112 for those times. I have yet to need it since buying it though...lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzjames Posted July 9, 2018 Author Share Posted July 9, 2018 (edited) Thanks guys! I actually bought a Quilter Bass Block 800. It controls all of the note extremely well. Lots of the lightweight heads go loud, but not in a very effortless way. I can however recommend this amp/speaker combo. I played an outdoor festival type gig on Saturday playing a mix of rock/pop and soul, and it didn’t break a sweat. Edited July 9, 2018 by Jazzjames 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 IME having a decent cab with a high efficiency is far more important than your choice of amp. After that from a power output PoV all the small lightweight amps are pretty much the same since they nearly all use the same power amp module, so it's finding one with a pre-amp voicing that you like which can only be done by you auditioning the amp in question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, BigRedX said: IME having a decent cab with a high efficiency is far more important than your choice of amp. After that from a power output PoV all the small lightweight amps are pretty much the same since they nearly all use the same power amp module, so it's finding one with a pre-amp voicing that you like which can only be done by you auditioning the amp in question. Fealess cabs aren't that efficient but sound fabulous so it's worth getting a more powerful amp to break even. They are pretty close if not all the way FRFR so what ever you put in you get out, you just need a bit more power. As an interesting side note, when I first got the single F112, I tried a Markbass LMII, the GK MB800 and an Acoustic Image Focus 1 staight in, no effects. The Markbass sounded great but ran out of puff and you could hear it compressing quite a bit at higher volume. The AI, when pushed, distorted enough that I thought something was wrong with the speaker or the amp. After reading a few early articles about the F112 it turns out that the cab is that clear you will hear if a power amp is stuggling and distorting, even if the input gain is fine. It surprised me that the AI suffered this as with every other cab, it sounded great. I still use it but only on quite, small gigs. The GK was the winner at the time although I'd love to try the Quitler. Edited July 9, 2018 by TPJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzjames Posted July 9, 2018 Author Share Posted July 9, 2018 7 hours ago, BigRedX said: IME having a decent cab with a high efficiency is far more important than your choice of amp. After that from a power output PoV all the small lightweight amps are pretty much the same since they nearly all use the same power amp module, so it's finding one with a pre-amp voicing that you like which can only be done by you auditioning the amp in question. You’re not wrong but high efficiency normally means more speakers and a larger and heavier box to hold them in. I bought the Fearless because I wanted something smaller and lghter than my two DB112s. I haven’t gigged them side by side, but my feeling is that the fearless sounds clearer and goes higher and lower. Shocking for its size I must say. This thing will demolish many 4x10 cabs. I’ve owned a few, and not the cheap ones either. Regarding the amp, the Quilter is one of the very few with its own design of power amp, and boy does it sound good. I took my tonehammer 500 along to A/B them in sound check, and to have as a backup. The Quilter controls the notes much better, and does so with much more ease. The Tonehammer sounds great, but you don’t get that same presence in a band situation that you want. It sounds good at lower volumes, but not at the volumes I (sometimes) require of it through the Fearless. It’s loud but it runs out of puff, just like what TPJ said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 While the Fearless might not be as supper-efficient as something from Barefaced, it's a modern cab design housing a modern driver so it should be plenty efficient enough. IME with just a Puma 300 amp the only times I've stubbled to hear myself on stage is when I've done equipment sharing gigs and have had to use another bassist's very old and inefficient cabs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No lust in Jazz Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Buy a Quilter Bass Block 800 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 I use an Ashdown RM 800 into 8ohms (Barefaced super compact) for most of my gigs, very rarely bother to take my 4 ohm super twin cab, I think I've played through it once this year! I have yet to crank the volume above 1/3rd even into the 1 x 12 at outdoor gigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 2 hours ago, No lust in Jazz said: Buy a Quilter Bass Block 800 On 09/07/2018 at 13:00, Jazzjames said: Thanks guys! I actually bought a Quilter Bass Block 800. It controls all of the note extremely well. Lots of the lightweight heads go loud, but not in a very effortless way. I can however recommend this amp/speaker combo. I played an outdoor festival type gig on Saturday playing a mix of rock/pop and soul, and it didn’t break a sweat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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