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GK or Ampeg
GK - Brat Pack 7%  7%  [ 1 ]
Ampeg 64%  64%  [ 9 ]
Or other (for about same price enter name in comment 29%  29%  [ 4 ]
Total votes : 14
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Post subject: AMPEG OR GK
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 12:41 pm
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i just stared playing bass i play in a Punk -(ish)
( i say that cuse people like Hard core and we arent like that more like Blink 182 the clash and stuff like that)

well back to topic i need to get a bass amp cuse im playing threw my Line 6 spider III 2x10

so a Ampeg 12 in speaker & 50 watt - $275.00
or a Gallion Kruger Brat pack 15 in Speaker & 125 watts-$299.00


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Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 1:21 pm
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About the most surprising and economical amps out right now are Acoustic brand. They are getting great reviews. To see what all the people were raving about I tried two of them about a month ago at the Guitar Center in Matthews NC and was impressed with both of them. I tried the 100 watter 1x15 combo which is going for $250. I also tried their 600 watt head into a pair of 4x10 cabs. They also had a 200 watt combo for about $350 but I didn't try it because it wasn't plugged in. The only downside I could see were these things are about the same weight as the comparable Ampeg BA combos and I want lighter stuff since I'm getting to be a geezer. For a young player, who doesn't mind moving an amp of traditional weight, the Acoustic line is worth a look.

Ampeg? I've used USA made Ampeg amps for gigs since about 1971 up till now. I've tried other brands too now and then but always came back. I've never used the Chinese Ampegs they sell now though. My next new gig head (if there ever is one) will be one of two brands made in North America and one of those brands is Fender.

I figure one Chinese amp would be about as good or bad quality wise as the next brand. I'm not going to bad mouth Chinese Ampegs, I just am not going to buy one.

I'm pretty sure you would find the Ampeg 50 watter inadequate and would push it harder than it should be pushed resulting in an early demise. The BA115 Ampeg would be more adequate. I used a BA115 for several years as a rehearsal amp and it was perfectly capable for that. If you were going to play coffee houses in a acoustic trio the BA112 would be ok, but when you add in drums you need a bare minimum of 100 watts of applied power.

By applied power, I mean if you use a 100 watt at 4 Ohm load head into one 8 Ohm cab you are actually only getting about 50 watts. You have to add another 8 Ohm cab to get the load to 4 Ohms and then you have 100 watts.

I can not find any specs on this "Brat Pack" even on the GK website so I don't know if the cab is 4 Ohms or even if the head is 4 Ohm capable. GK doesn't even list this amp on it's website! I find that strange.

GK makes some great amps. The Brat pack looks like a great set up for the money. Of the two amps you listed, the GK would "ON-PAPER" be the better choice between the two. However, I'd look at all the other options within your price range in person because with amps, as with instruments, it is best to TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.


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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:52 am
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For a cheap amp that sounds good, yeah I agree with Dave those new Acoustic amps are the ticket. I played two combos this weekend, the 100 watt version and 200 watt verstion, both with single 15" speakers. Both had nice tone and the price was insane (now $225 for the 100 and $325 for the 200) and they seemed to be put together well enough. Their drawback is they're indeed heavy. If you need a small amp for rehearsals or small pubs and money is tight, I'd grab one of these in a nanosecond. But in my case, I prefer the tone from Markbass' stuff, and Markbass combos are much lighter too, so my next combo is probably going to be a Jeff Berlin Markbass. But for all the reasons Dave said, Acoustic is an option you should consider.

The new Ampeg BA models I've heard nothing good about. Yeah they're made in China but so are the new Acoustics, and the Acoustics cost half as much and sound better (IMO). I love my Ampeg SVT-CL and all my cabinets are Ampegs (and most of them are Vietnamese made), so don't think I don't like Ampeg. I just can't recommend their BA combos based on the reviews I've read and based on what I know you can get now from Acoustic.

The GK Backline amps are good too, and would be a great choice for the music you want to do. If the Acoustic stuff wasn't so cheap I'd recommend the GK to you over the Ampeg BA stuff.


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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 1:02 pm
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I had a gig last Thursday in which I had the chance to play through an Ampeg combo and I was blown away by the sound. I really like the sustained, deep sound of a bass, so I was fooling around with the pickups and the tone of my P-Bass Special and the amp itself and I got a sound very similar to upright and double basses! :shock:

I was really surprised, impressed and everybody seemed to like how I sounded... Until my mate's guitar string broke into the body of his Shine and we had to stop playing... :oops: :evil: :P


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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:23 pm
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brotherdave wrote:
About the most surprising and economical amps out right now are Acoustic brand. They are getting great reviews. To see what all the people were raving about I tried two of them about a month ago at the Guitar Center in Matthews NC and was impressed with both of them. I tried the 100 watter 1x15 combo which is going for $250. I also tried their 600 watt head into a pair of 4x10 cabs. They also had a 200 watt combo for about $350 but I didn't try it because it wasn't plugged in. The only downside I could see were these things are about the same weight as the comparable Ampeg BA combos and I want lighter stuff since I'm getting to be a geezer. For a young player, who doesn't mind moving an amp of traditional weight, the Acoustic line is worth a look.

Ampeg? I've used USA made Ampeg amps for gigs since about 1971 up till now. I've tried other brands too now and then but always came back. I've never used the Chinese Ampegs they sell now though. My next new gig head (if there ever is one) will be one of two brands made in North America and one of those brands is Fender.

I figure one Chinese amp would be about as good or bad quality wise as the next brand. I'm not going to bad mouth Chinese Ampegs, I just am not going to buy one.

I'm pretty sure you would find the Ampeg 50 watter inadequate and would push it harder than it should be pushed resulting in an early demise. The BA115 Ampeg would be more adequate. I used a BA115 for several years as a rehearsal amp and it was perfectly capable for that. If you were going to play coffee houses in a acoustic trio the BA112 would be ok, but when you add in drums you need a bare minimum of 100 watts of applied power.

By applied power, I mean if you use a 100 watt at 4 Ohm load head into one 8 Ohm cab you are actually only getting about 50 watts. You have to add another 8 Ohm cab to get the load to 4 Ohms and then you have 100 watts.

I can not find any specs on this "Brat Pack" even on the GK website so I don't know if the cab is 4 Ohms or even if the head is 4 Ohm capable. GK doesn't even list this amp on it's website! I find that strange.

GK makes some great amps. The Brat pack looks like a great set up for the money. Of the two amps you listed, the GK would "ON-PAPER" be the better choice between the two. However, I'd look at all the other options within your price range in person because with amps, as with instruments, it is best to TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.





So the Acoustic Amps are good for the price of the 100 watts?


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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:06 am
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taylorhill623 wrote:

So the Acoustic Amps are good for the price of the 100 watts?


100 watts, 15 inch speaker, $250 US dollars. Excellent buy. Just on the heavy side. About like an Ampeg BA-115 for less. I like them for the money. They look great and sound real smooth. I just want smaller and lighter these days myself. Still a nice combo for the money. Outperforms more expensive amps like the BA-115 and way better tone than a Behringer.


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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:30 am
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You should definitly check out Phil Jones amplifiers too. Great sound in a portable package.


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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:40 am
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Pig Bleeder wrote:
You should definitly check out Phil Jones amplifiers too. Great sound in a portable package.


Yes they are great amps, especially considering their size! But there is not a Phil Jones within Taylor's $299 budget restriction unless they've come out with a new budget line. Maybe Phil Jones amps are cheaper in Europe but here they are really pricey about like the comparable MarkBass amps.


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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:56 am
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I paid 600 euro for my Briefcase. So that's about say 650 dollars. I'd say get a job or look second hand or even third hand.


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Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:44 am
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Pig Bleeder wrote:
I paid 600 euro for my Briefcase. So that's about say 650 dollars. I'd say get a job or look second hand or even third hand.


What kind of music do you play with that Briefcase?

You are talking about the Phil Jones Briefcase with 100 watts into a pair of five inch speakers right?

Also 600 Euros is closer to 796 US Dollars and change. The Phil Jones website sells their Briefcase in the USA for about $700 USD which would be 527 Euros, but I suppose there is a bunch of import taxes, sales taxes and other tariff fees.


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Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 6:03 pm
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what about the Fender rumble 2x10


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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 12:43 am
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taylorhill623 wrote:
what about the Fender rumble 2x10


That is a GREAT 100 watt starter combo! It is also a good rehearsal room amp for pros. Many useful features like the XLR out with level control and ground lift which can be used for a PA or recording. Mid scoop button is handy. So is the the AUX input for your Ipod or CD player with an adapter you can get at Radio Shack. (Whatever you plug into the aux inputs goes DIRECTLY into the power amp bypassing the preamp and the volume control too so make SURE you have whatever you plug into this thing turned completely down and then GRADUALLY turn up the volume to a usable volume or you risk damaging your hearing! It has a headphone jack so you can practice at home without having the police show up. The first thing I noticed was a very professional looking front ported cab. This is a seriously professional looking amp.

On the negative side at 62 pounds it is a bit too heavy for an old geezer like me to enjoy moving around as a rehearsal amp when there are amps at half the weight that are as loud or louder. Many people complain about hissing from the horn but if you just turn the treble down it will be under control. All transistor amps hiss some and a horn just accentuates it. This is also a common complaint about the Ampeg BA115 which is a comparably powered amp also with a horn. Some people also complain that when you crank it to about 3 or 4 o'clock it starts to sound bad. To those people I say never crank it that high! As a general rule NEVER crank a bass amp much over half volume or 12 o'clock on either the Drive or Master settings. Under no circumstances should you go past 2 O'clock. If you get to 2 o'clock and it isn't loud enough, you need more power. I have turned my tube amp master up to about 4 o'clock with OK results but every transistor amp I've ever used seems to want to start clipping about 2 or 3 o'clock with the bass set pretty high. Clipping or more correctly "Square Wave Clipping" is what happens when you do that and these square waves are murder on speakers and sounds awful.

For rehearsal and indoor small to medium sized places like a church or rec center this amp would be enough. I wouldn't try it outdoors without a PA feed to a bi-amped system through subwoofers. It will keep up with a reasonably sane drummer indoors no problem. IMO for what it costs it is a really decent amp, but speaking for myself I'd spend a few more bucks and upgrade to the much lighter BASSMAN 100 at about 25 pounds, or more likely I'd go to the 39 pound Bassman 150 for a bigger speaker and more headroom. I'm just LAZY and tired of moving heavy gear unless it is for a paying gig. I have to carry my gear up steps to the front porch of my house....9 steps. LOL.


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