Recommend some Class D heads to try

#62
I’m a big fan of my Little Mark Ninja. But since you already have checked out Markbass I’d also recommend anything by GK.

I’ve never had a bad experience with any of my old GK items. They’ve always been well made and reliable!
 
#66
bassbuddy said:
Being an old fart, I love the development of all the new mini and micro heads. I've been using my Little Mark II for years; it's never let me down, and truth said I've been pretty happy with the tone. But gigs are down this month, spring is coming, and I'm a little bored, which means it's time to screw around with my gear. I might as well try some new heads to see if there's something I'm missing.

I play flats about 60% of the time, and even my roundwound tone leans old school (think seventies). Looking for warm, tight, and present. Probable candidates would be a Mesa Subway and an Aggie Tone Hammer. I would try Ampeg, but I just don't trust their build quality any longer (am I wrong?). Anything else I ought to be looking at?
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I love my ToneHammer 500. What’s wrong with them?
 
#70
Since this is still up today, and it's TL;DR for all the responses, so this may have been suggested...

But I'd consider a class D PA, lets you play with a bunch of different pre's. And if you stick with the LMII, you can flip the PA here, or in an audiophile forum.
 
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#73
el murdoque said:
If you like something to compliment your LMII and expand your tonal range, I can recommend the Aguilar Tonehammer.
I've bought the LMII a couple of years back because my Tonehammer was on backorder and I needed a head fast for a few gigs. I intended to sell the LMII as soon as the Tonehammer arrived, but when I A/Bed them, I decided to keep both. The Tonehammer is as tube-like as you can get without tubes. It's rich and warm, a bit wooly and offers lots of different sounds. What it can't really do is what the Markbass excels at. Harsh, ultra dry bass and ear piercing highs.
Those two heads really go well together.
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That sounds like what I've been going for. My only concern is I really like having that low mid control to get rid of mud and low honk. Other than that, and maybe a little bass boost, I rarely touch the tone controls, getting what I need out of the filters. And keeping the LM II is totally viable economically; it's value and quality as a backup probably far exceed whatever I could get out of selling it.
 
#75
Like the OP, I have had my trusty Little Mark II since 2012. I've tried many heads including Hartke, Aguilar, Trickfish,Ampeg, GK, SWR, Eden. All were decent sounding but none really stood out for a clean uncolored sound like the mark bass did. So I guess I'll still use the old black and yellow. I will say my next in line fav is by Larry Hartke. Oh yeah, my old Fender Bassman sounds the best but Im not carrying that on any subways soon:)
Best of luck, but you got a good one there!
 
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#76
Quilter Bass Block 800, it's simply amazing. To me it blows the doors off of any other class D. The mesa subway 800 is nice but the QBB is so versatile and user friendly, plus extremely powerful.
 
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#77
Greg Ney said:
Any love for the Darkglass 900 head? Im a guitar player and picked one up on some friends recommendations for having something around in my jam space, but I’m curious how it stacks against some of the other heads mentioned here.. Thanks, Greg
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I use the Darkglass M900. I own/have recently owned: Mesa Carbine M6/M9, GK MB Fusion 500, Ibanez Promethean P5110. I have extensively tested the Mesa Subway D800. The M6/M9 are not Class-D, but good for reference.

All usable amps, but depending on what you play and sound preferences there are choices to be made. My favourite is the M900, but then I really like the overdrive/distortion effects it comes with. For more traditional tone, the D800 is a tie with the M6/M9. (No, I am not old-school-traditional.)

For rock: M900. For jazz/blues: D800. Either will do really well in both. It comes down to taste IMHO.
 
#78
There's no age limit on trying modeling.
If you have decent PC, many of the software modeling packages have free trials.
The advantage is it gives you access to many different sounds from ancient old amps to new sounds not yet invented.
The major Amp head makers are certifying many models to confirm the meet their sound requirements.
They work amazingly well. The Hardware modeling amps are also brilliant.
Just turn the knob if you want a different sound.
 
#80
bassbuddy said:
Being an old fart, I love the development of all the new mini and micro heads. I've been using my Little Mark II for years; it's never let me down, and truth said I've been pretty happy with the tone. But gigs are down this month, spring is coming, and I'm a little bored, which means it's time to screw around with my gear. I might as well try some new heads to see if there's something I'm missing.

I play flats about 60% of the time, and even my roundwound tone leans old school (think seventies). Looking for warm, tight, and present. Probable candidates would be a Mesa Subway and an Aggie Tone Hammer. I would try Ampeg, but I just don't trust their build quality any longer (am I wrong?). Anything else I ought to be looking at?
Click to expand...
No doubt about it, you have to buy a Mesa/Boogie Subway D-800+, and a Mesa/Boogie PowerHouse 1000 bass cabinet to match it.
Works great for church service, or any little pick-up gig you might get. Cut's through the mix well enough too. drool
 
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