soundbass Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 (edited) I am considering getting a new bass head preferably with a valve pre amp. I have a budget of approximately £500 and am looking for real improvement in the sound. I guess what I am looking for is more clarity and punch from the sound. Any suggestions as to what are the best bass heads available at this price. I currently have an Ashdown Mag 300 with Mag 210T and 115T and use a Fender Squire Precision made in Japan with seymour duncan pickups and also a Fender Highway Jazz bass. The options I have considered are:- a) Upgrade to Ashdown ABM Evo III Upgrade to Hartke LH 500 My current set up has served me well and have done many gigs. Also should I consider changing my cabs in future and maybe sell my existing cabs to help fund replacements. Edited July 12, 2009 by soundbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 (edited) If you are in any way interested in tube overdrive then forget the LH500. It is uber clean, but by god is it loud and clear too. Punchy as a punchy punching puncher thingy too. My son has one driving his Berg stack and it is a staggeringly good sounding rig. Thats a 210 and 115 too. Dont know much about the quality of Ashdown cabs so cant comment... Edited July 12, 2009 by 51m0n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Friend of mine has a HA3500 350W Hartke for sale at the moment, if you are interested, sounds damn good to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 (edited) If you're happy to buy used gear you should consider an SVT 3. Usually go well within your budget and are awesome sounding amps. Edited July 12, 2009 by Musky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartacus Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 if your after clarity and punch then IMO dont 'upgrade' to Ashdown ABM EVO if you dont like the MAG stuff. The Ashdown amps are the weakest link (goodbye!) so you could try the Harkte HA3500 as mentioned above, which is a great head with your cabs and very versatile. You can change the preamp tube to suit your taste and mix it with solid state preamp, graphic and shelving EQ. Youve got a head/cab/cab setup so have the benefit of being able to change one bit at a time. Id start with the head and see if it improves things, and the HA3500 is a great head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 LH1000 is [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hartke-Hydrive-LH1000-Bass-Guitar-Amplifier-Head-Amp_W0QQitemZ180356634457QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item29fe17d759&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1683|293%3A1|294%3A50"]£330 on Ebay[/url], I'm seriously tempted, so you could get one, and not make much of a loss when you sell it on to me, if you don't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_pokkuri Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='539002' date='Jul 12 2009, 11:43 PM']LH1000 is [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hartke-Hydrive-LH1000-Bass-Guitar-Amplifier-Head-Amp_W0QQitemZ180356634457QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item29fe17d759&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1683|293%3A1|294%3A50"]£330 on Ebay[/url], I'm seriously tempted, so you could get one, and not make much of a loss when you sell it on to me, if you don't like it.[/quote] Its worth it - thats as cheap as you'll find it these days! I've got a LH1000 and I love it. As mentioned above you don't get much overdrive with it but it is crazy loud, clear and punchy. You can run it in parallel or bridge mode too. I run mine through a Barefaced BigOne - oh yeah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='chris_pokkuri' post='539116' date='Jul 13 2009, 09:28 AM']Its worth it - thats as cheap as you'll find it these days! I've got a LH1000 and I love it. As mentioned above you don't get much overdrive with it but it is crazy loud, clear and punchy. You can run it in parallel or bridge mode too. I run mine through a Barefaced BigOne - oh yeah! [/quote] By god I bet thats about as loud as any rig on BassChat.... Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 The Hartke amps get my vote. I didnt have my LM3 for my recent tour so I used the support bands Hartke all tour. Is was pretty damn good. In tone terms its better when its louder. Get the 1000W version! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 You could look at the Ampeg SVT3 that's for sale here. It should work well with your cabs and is a [i]big[/i] step forward from your Mag 300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_pokkuri Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='51m0n' post='539152' date='Jul 13 2009, 10:20 AM']By god I bet thats about as loud as any rig on BassChat....[/quote] It is loud indeed - for small & med gigs it really doesn't need to go over 6 and definately not over 7, after this the volume shoots up too. After using some less powerful rigs I love playing with the knowledge i've got enough volume for any gig i'll play. I haven't actually tried it at full volume - I think it might kill me if i'm standing anywhere near it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='51m0n' post='539152' date='Jul 13 2009, 10:20 AM']By god I bet thats about as loud as any rig on BassChat.... Nice![/quote] Suspect JoeGarcia's twin GS412s and Sunn1200S (plus another valve amp when he's between exploding them) might have the edge, 4-5 times the size, and many times the weight though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_pokkuri Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='539292' date='Jul 13 2009, 01:00 PM']Suspect JoeGarcia's twin GS412s and Sunn1200S (plus another valve amp when he's between exploding them) might have the edge, 4-5 times the size, and many times the weight though.[/quote] Jeez! That must be sooo crazy loud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='539292' date='Jul 13 2009, 01:00 PM']Suspect JoeGarcia's twin GS412s and Sunn1200S (plus another valve amp when he's between exploding them) might have the edge, 4-5 times the size, and many times the weight though.[/quote] I was going to make a similar comment.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='539292' date='Jul 13 2009, 01:00 PM']Suspect JoeGarcia's twin GS412s and Sunn1200S (plus another valve amp when he's between exploding them) might have the edge, 4-5 times the size, and many times the weight though.[/quote] Furry muff. Thats outrageous! Still pound for pound - both price and weight - I doubt there's many louder. I seriously doubt mine would compete on decibels - tone, now thats another thing baby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevieb85 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 svt4pro from soundslive ex demo, slightly higher than £500 but not by much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=41973"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=41973[/url] Buy it, it's a f**king bargain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundbass Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='Musky' post='538963' date='Jul 12 2009, 11:06 PM']If you're happy to buy used gear you should consider an SVT 3. Usually go well within your budget and are awesome sounding amps.[/quote] Thanks for the advice, does the SVT 3 have a valve pre amp and what is the output Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Heres the specs [url="http://www.findthebestdeals.com/buy.php/n=Ampeg+SVT3+PRO/v=InstrumentPro.com"]http://www.findthebestdeals.com/buy.php/n=...strumentPro.com[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='chris_pokkuri' post='539339' date='Jul 13 2009, 01:56 PM']Jeez! That must be sooo crazy loud![/quote] No so loud he didn't borrow my 8x10 also. And he claims its only unlucky he blows up all the amps he touches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='539292' date='Jul 13 2009, 01:00 PM']Suspect JoeGarcia's twin GS412s and Sunn1200S (plus another valve amp when he's between exploding them) might have the edge, 4-5 times the size, and many times the weight though.[/quote] Pure doom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='Musicman20' post='539715' date='Jul 13 2009, 09:13 PM']Pure doom! [/quote] Sadly, not very doom looking shiny modern cabs. Considering covering them in some sort of grill cloth to pretend they are oldschool. The sound is there, check the Caricatures recording I borrowed one for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='539734' date='Jul 13 2009, 09:30 PM']Sadly, not very doom looking shiny modern cabs. Considering covering them in some sort of grill cloth to pretend they are oldschool. The sound is there, check the Caricatures recording I borrowed one for.[/quote] I bet the 12s are perfect for getting that sound though. I like a little doom/heavy rock n roll every now and then. Boris are sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmansky Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 ashdown abm evo 11 will give you what you are looking for,much better than the newer model as i have had both.some for sale around at the moment.weakest link they certainly aint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatbass787 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 [quote name='bassmansky' post='539740' date='Jul 13 2009, 09:36 PM']ashdown abm evo 11 will give you what you are looking for,much better than the newer model as i have had both.some for sale around at the moment.weakest link they certainly aint. [/quote] +1 never had a problem getting a punchy clear sound from the Ashdowns ive used/owned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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