jamesbass116 Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 Hey guys, i'm relatively new to this so let me give a quick description of where i am as a bassist. i'm 16, gigging fairly regularly for a kid doing his a levels... about 2 times a week.. three if i'm lucky! i've got a line 6 lowdown, and to be frank, it's getting on my wick a bit. waay too muddy sound for my liking. i'm playing jazz/funk/fusion and a nice crisp sound is what i'm after. i've heard great things about the new hartke 5210 and thats my preferred choice, but i wouldn't mind some other peoples inputs if thats alright? thanks a lot. i really appreciate the help James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHBASS Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Hey, I would definitely recommend ashdown gear. Ive got one of their 180-watt Elecetric Blue combos....its got a 12" speaker so nice and mellow, but push it and will bite back!...Ashdown makes great reliable gear that's wallet friendly...usually not to bad to lift either! Also some of their practise amps (e.g. the fivefifteen) still pack a 100 watt punch!...I mean to be honest...how much money have you got is what limits you....Ashdown seem to cater for all budgets, and if you cant tell, I simply love their stuff! (no Im not trying to get an endorsement!) Hope I helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Yes, I've played through one of the smaller Hartke combos and was very impressed. As the previous poster mentioned, the Ashdown combos give you a lot of bang for your buck. The Electric Blue 180 series are usually bullet proof and if you have a look around you could even get a MAG 2x10 300w combo for under £300. All of these are good amps and offer excellent value. If weight is an issue you can look further up the price range at the MarkBass and Genz Benz combos. They really are excellent, but you're talking literally three times the cost of the Ashdown gear in some cases. I'm sure you'll fond something suitable pretty quickly Rich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 There is the Hartke A100S combo on sale at Reverb stores at the moment for £229 in their sale. 100 watts,15" speaker,graphic,cd input/headphone output etc etc. You could do a lot worse for the dosh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbass116 Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 hey guys, thanks for the recommendations! going into london today so i'll give ashdown a crack, i played through an ashdown once and remembered the sound was amazing so i'll have another demo. i've got about £650 to spend, which is why i was considering the hartke 5210. but yeah, i'll be up in london today trying amps and hopefully would've ordered my new amp before the end of the week! i'll get back to everyone about the amp i get. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Splayer Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 just make sure you dont buy the ashdown mag 115.............. you might as well just plug your bass straight into a sheeps arse hartke give you a lot of bang for buck, nice and punchy too all IMO, of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I played the Eden Nemesis 15" combo recently (the RS115), and was mighty impressed - they're around the £600 mark. I'm using a Roland D-Bass 115 at the mo, and it's a great combo if you can find one - light and loud. List price on them has gone silly, but they can be a secondhand bargain, as they're not fashionable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbass116 Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 [quote name='Bay Splayer' post='696377' date='Dec 30 2009, 03:02 PM']just make sure you dont buy the ashdown mag 115.............. you might as well just plug your bass straight into a sheeps arse hartke give you a lot of bang for buck, nice and punchy too all IMO, of course[/quote] all opinions are welcome! haha don't worry, i've read reviews on the ashdown mag, lots of complaints about responsiveness etc i have the necessary budget to buy a decent ashdown rig haha but hartke's are still favourites for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbass116 Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 [quote name='Muzz' post='696384' date='Dec 30 2009, 03:08 PM']I played the Eden Nemesis 15" combo recently (the RS115), and was mighty impressed - they're around the £600 mark. I'm using a Roland D-Bass 115 at the mo, and it's a great combo if you can find one - light and loud. List price on them has gone silly, but they can be a secondhand bargain, as they're not fashionable.[/quote] good shout muzz! when i went to america in july and popped into a local guitar store the guy recommended eden amps to me. i would've considered getting one as soon as i got back until i saw the list price for their cheapest combo! but like you said, there are bound to be some bargains about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhk Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 for what its worth ............... your budget might get a used Eden metro combo,however I realise you want to get sorted quickly and they don`t pop up that often .....the reason generally is that once you get one you hold onto them ...........they are remarkable.....loads of power,great eq for any sound you want............crisp and clear as you like without losing bottom end fatness and NO mud.I can`t praise them enough.Best combo I`ve ever had or heard. They are crazy loads of money !!! Try one if you can ,even as a reference point for later purchases. hope this helps regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouMa Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 The 120 watt hartke kickback i bought on here has a great sound,really hifi. Its exactly what i was looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 3 second hand combos I'd look for would be the 2x10 Markbass, Eden and Swr Redhead With 2x10 speakers, if you need to add more power drop in a 15 underneath...or another 2x10. £650 should a healthy budget if these crop up second hand, and you will not need to upgrade for quite some time, I'd reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbass116 Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 thanks for all of the input guys. i got up pretty early today so it gave me some thinking time over what amp to get.. unfortunately i couldn't find the suitable secondhand eden/markbass/swr for my budget, and my afternoon trip to london only convinced me further the hartke was the way to go so i'm proud to announce that by next week i will be the proud owner of a hartke 5210 thanks again! James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 (edited) [quote name='Muzz' post='696384' date='Dec 30 2009, 04:08 PM']I played the Eden Nemesis 15" combo recently (the RS115), and was mighty impressed - they're around the £600 mark. I'm using a Roland D-Bass 115 at the mo, and it's a great combo if you can find one - light and loud. List price on them has gone silly, but they can be a secondhand bargain, as they're not fashionable.[/quote] big +1 on the Roland D-bass,i use a D-bass 210 & it's the best amp i've ever used. in fact it's so good i sold my Ampeg SVT rig & just use this now,it's a mega loud & very versatile light weight amp. as Muzz points out though they aren't cheap,about £850.00,but i got mine from Rocking Rooster for £599.00 ex shop demo & it's totally unmarked plus they chucked a 5 year warranty on it too--sorted. Edited January 2, 2010 by artisan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 [quote name='Bay Splayer' post='696377' date='Dec 30 2009, 03:02 PM']just make sure you dont buy the ashdown mag 115.............. you might as well just plug your bass straight into a sheeps arse[/quote] ......are they a little woolly sounding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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