bloke_zero Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 I want to updgrade from my ancient Sessionette bass amp. It's heavy and I never liked the tone. I would like class D head small that I can plug into to play, clean, analogue - no digital tone printing anything. I'm thinking of getting a TC Electronic BC208 2x8 + head as a mini practice rig. Mainly for playing at home and band rehearsal which are not that loud, and maybe at a pinch as personal monitoring at a gig. (In some ways I'd be happy if it was just a power amp but I'm having trouble finding anything like that. That way I could just plug a pre amp in front of it and idspense with tone controls and drive.) And all for a say £300-400? I was looking at the tc electronic BQ500 Bass Head as I like that FET sound but no one has them in stock and the lead times suggest they may never come back in. So I started looking at the Ampeg PF-500/350 Portaflex 4ohm 500w Class-D, or Maybe the cheaper Markbass ones? I'm open to suggestions! I guess Ideally I'd like a massive classic Ampeg stack, maybe SVT, but back in the real world... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrixn1 Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 An RCF HD 10-A would work for home use, rehearsing, and monitoring (you can lay it down as a wedge). Plug your preamp in and you're all set. I had a mk4 a few years ago but there is now a mk5. https://www.rcf.it/en_US/products/product-detail/hd-10-a-mk5/1661220 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted October 4, 2021 Author Share Posted October 4, 2021 8 minutes ago, jrixn1 said: An RCF HD 10-A would work for home use, rehearsing, and monitoring (you can lay it down as a wedge). Plug your preamp in and you're all set. I had a mk4 a few years ago but there is now a mk5. https://www.rcf.it/en_US/products/product-detail/hd-10-a-mk5/1661220 That is a thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottomfeed Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 (edited) Trace Elliott elf is surprising punchy, very usable ...& tiny! Edited October 4, 2021 by bottomfeed Add pic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 5 hours ago, jrixn1 said: An RCF HD 10-A would work for home use, rehearsing, and monitoring (you can lay it down as a wedge). Plug your preamp in and you're all set. I had a mk4 a few years ago but there is now a mk5. https://www.rcf.it/en_US/products/product-detail/hd-10-a-mk5/1661220 Along similar lines but cheaper, I use a Alto 10 inch powered speaker. I think I paid £100 for it and it`s great for home use. A 10 inch powered speaker of some description is the way to go. I was gonna buy 2 x RCF 710`s, 1 for home practice and 2 for gig`s. Might end up doing that at some point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karrlander Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Well, I have a stack with a TC Bam200 and 2 TC208. For home practice I just use 1 208 and it works like a charm. Then I got an Ampeg PF-350 dirt cheap used and liked the sound of that one better with the 208's. Couldn't stop there so I got an Ampeg PF-210he cab to go with the head and I love it. So now I have 3 complete rigs. Yes, I have a Peavey MiniMax paired with a GK410 and a GK115 as well. I like and use them all, they are just different. The big rig stays mostly at our practice place. The 208 rig for home use or low volume jam and acoustic gigs. The Ampeg rig for most of the cover band and rock/blues stuff. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 29 minutes ago, karrlander said: Well, I have a stack with a TC Bam200 and 2 TC208. For home practice I just use 1 208 and it works like a charm. Then I got an Ampeg PF-350 dirt cheap used and liked the sound of that one better with the 208's. Couldn't stop there so I got an Ampeg PF-210he cab to go with the head and I love it. So now I have 3 complete rigs. Yes, I have a Peavey MiniMax paired with a GK410 and a GK115 as well. I like and use them all, they are just different. The big rig stays mostly at our practice place. The 208 rig for home use or low volume jam and acoustic gigs. The Ampeg rig for most of the cover band and rock/blues stuff. A perfect example of GAS! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted October 5, 2021 Author Share Posted October 5, 2021 Thanks all - a powered speaker is making a lot of sense to me, especially since I do some synth stuff to and could use it double duty. I like the idea of full range as well - popping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karrlander Posted October 5, 2021 Share Posted October 5, 2021 22 hours ago, yorks5stringer said: A perfect example of GAS! Guilty as charged! 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBass Posted October 5, 2021 Share Posted October 5, 2021 One option would be to make use of the really cheap deals on Ashdown kit at this German retailer: https://www.musik-produktiv.com/gb/bass-guitar-amplifiers/ashdown/ I, and several others on here, have bought Ashdown kit from them in the last couple of months and so far everyone seems to have no complaints about the process-I'm talking Brexit related customs issues etc. Most of the good stuff has gone but I notice you can still buy either the 112 or 115 Evo IV Pro Neo cabinets and either the Original or RM Evo II 300w heads, for a little over £400 for hand and cab. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 On 04/10/2021 at 09:43, bloke_zero said: I want to updgrade from my ancient Sessionette bass amp. It's heavy and I never liked the tone. I would like class D head small that I can plug into to play, clean, analogue - no digital tone printing anything. I'm thinking of getting a TC Electronic BC208 2x8 + head as a mini practice rig. Mainly for playing at home and band rehearsal which are not that loud, and maybe at a pinch as personal monitoring at a gig. (In some ways I'd be happy if it was just a power amp but I'm having trouble finding anything like that. That way I could just plug a pre amp in front of it and idspense with tone controls and drive.) And all for a say £300-400? I was looking at the tc electronic BQ500 Bass Head as I like that FET sound but no one has them in stock and the lead times suggest they may never come back in. So I started looking at the Ampeg PF-500/350 Portaflex 4ohm 500w Class-D, or Maybe the cheaper Markbass ones? I'm open to suggestions! I guess Ideally I'd like a massive classic Ampeg stack, maybe SVT, but back in the real world... I bought a TC BAM200 as a sort of backup that I could take anywhere as it's so tiny. It's become by home amplifier, I use it every day. It's basic but it's got a nice tone. It's also very cheap, which is a bonus, and it seems a good match for the BC208. It'll probably work well as a monitor live if you go through the PA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 I ended up (massive mission creep) getting a pair of RCF ART712A MK4 and just been fooling about with the ampeg scr-di preamp pedal as a front end for one of them and it very much sounds as I hoped, detailed and revealing of the Ampeg character full range. Thanks to all who helped me decide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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