5 Bass Heads Under £1,000... Shootout!

[@blamelouis]

Markbass is always so musical ...love them.

[@pCeLobster]

The Little Mark 800 has been my only gigging amp for almost 10 years. I still get excited every time I turn it on, and vice versa. Perfect tone in any room, with any bass, in any band.

[@DynaBruhBlackKnight]

Vice versa..? So let me get this straight....IT gets excited when it turns YOU on as well..?

[@il_billone]

Which cab do you use?

[@RicardoPintoMusic]

@@DynaBruhBlackKnight I laughed so hard 🤣

[@waitin4winter]

Or vice versa meaning you get excited every time you turn it off?

[@beornthebear.8220]

They all sound good. I have a Little Mark Tube, and I like it. I run it through a 104HF on top of a Peavey front vented 1x15. I'm a happy camper so far.

[@grahamcooper2144]

Great demo. To my ears, no matter what tweaking was done, the Aguilar has a very pleasant sounding bump in the low-mid range, whereas the others have a flatter response.

[@AshdownBassAmps]

Seems to be something missing... Can't put our finger on it though....

[@Walliebal]

Very unfortunately. I would love to see the Rootmaster 500 EVO II against these other heads.

[@jameslewis2635]

Probably valves. These are all class D amps which means they are a particular kind of solid state technology. Not that it is bad but they lack the typical valve warmth generally speaking. The only real exception here is the Darkglass which could possibly have one of their Nutubes in the pre-amp but with it being listed as a class D we know it is not a valve power stage and it sounds almost exactly like the Markbass amp to me. Having said that, the listing says it is rigged up like one of the Darkglass overdrive pedals so it probably was not engaged for this shoot out. The full review on the Darkglass head has quite a different sound to it which would support this theory.

[@deeplydisillusioned683]

If it's any comfort, im sticking with my TE AH300 (thankfully I don't have to carry it anywhere anymore)

[@AshdownBassAmps]

Cheers@@Walliebal So would we!

[@kingstumble]

James Lewis I think you missed the point of the question. Never heard of Ashdown amps?

[@czguy3045]

Pete is an excellent guitarist. Absolutely outstanding. So much emotion and subtlety in his playing.

[@wadefaulkner73]

What we are actually witnessing here, is how much torture a Genzler cab can endure.

[@MrAMF50]

yes and probably the cleanest amp of the lot if used properly.

[@mranderson5824]

Pete talks more than a retired truck driver. He’s still one of my favorite guitarist at Andertons.

[@zr2700]

2 best sounding amps here to my ears: @6:22 - Markbass LM @7:22 - Aguilar TH @8:37 - Markbass LM @8:55 - Aguilar TH @10:56 - Markbass LM @29:26 - Aguilar TH

[@Tawni.6269]

I'm with Nathan it's all about the "TONE" also I'd never max the Vol nor gain controls so it's the "Little Mark" first for it's superior tonal range and The Gallien Krueger second for its compact unit and decent tone qualities. Thank you guys for this awesome review best one ever that i have checked out, i've "LIKED" this video & "subscribed" to Anderton's KZbin cut years ago i look forward to doing business with you guys to pick up the Little Mark and the Gallien Krueger bass amps.

[@paulsummerside]

The two amps that sounded the most musical when being driven loud were the Aguilar and the Mark Bass. The Aguilar had a good actual overdrive tone. The MarkBass was clean all the way up. And both had some nice tuneful tones across the board. It is a pity there was no Ashdown amp there. Would look forward to a sub £500 (or more realistically sub £600) shootout. Done in Top Gear style.

[@ArielsSmartyPants]

For me, the DV Mark has by far the best tone and tonal options, but the GK amp was really close and is more than twice as loud. I'd have to play them to find a winner :)

[@tomtrold2884]

am i only one who watch only all about the bass on andertons?

[@rca3rd]

No.I do.We need more of them!

[@robertgreen5123]

Nah, our little bass community may be small in number but we're out there! :)

[@rca3rd]

Yes we are.It is so hard to fine TAB for us.

[@joamon559]

yes, used to watch the guitar stuff, but can't bear listening to Rob Chapman (talk or play).

[@cullenjames7542]

No, Pete, that's not how ears work. Loud noise is loud noise and it will damage your hearing unless you're wearing hearing protection.

[@pCeLobster]

Nathan's looking at him like "that's not how this works.. that's not how any of this works"

[@D1570R73D]

The pitch of the noise matters a good bit, you're more likely to rattle something off of a shelf before you hurt your ears with bass.

[@cullenjames7542]

@@D1570R73D Recent research is showing that pitches that are below human hearing can still cause damage. It might not happen as quickly as it does in our audible range, but why chance it? And these effects are cumulative -- you don't get better after time, just gradually worse. A decent pair of full-frequency range earplugs can be had for less than $50. Why wouldn't you use them?

[@D1570R73D]

@@cullenjames7542 The point is that bass has to be louder than the highs to reach the same level of damage. It's not that it doesn't cause any damage, but you have to reach a higher volume for that to happen.

[@TheIntentionStudios]

you need to listen to loud noises to build up an immunity then you cant go deaf

[@marksby77]

Um... isn’t that a 350W-rated cab you’re firing all those 800W heads through at full chat? That probably develop around 500W through 8 ohms? Burning smell, you say? Yeah, that’s not the heads ‘crapping out’...

[@claywebb1784]

musicians can be in such a stuper sometimes... -_-

[@jean-sebastienchaumont8005]

A cab slightly over powered is better than underpowered a cab for the voice coil (dont put your volume at maximum plz... be smart) but it not for some stupid guy and probably a bunch of player will not agree with me but science is science

[@joetspaulding]

@@jean-sebastienchaumont8005 home and car audio guy here to agree with you. the interesting difference between audiophiles and musicians is the musicians overdrive their amps and pre amps on purpose and the resulting distortion IS the sound/character of the amp (this makes more voice coil heat though) and audio guys try not to overdrive their amps and leave some headroom for cleaner sound. the second I hear any distortion on my home stereo I know I and over driving it and turn it down. in short you can easily blow a speaker rated for 50W with an over driven 30w amp but run the same speaker for hours witth a 200w amp that isn't over driven. I know this both in theory and real world experience

[@MichaelBLive]

Also be on the lookout for the new Rumble 800 head.

[@kongandbasses8732]

You two music specialists (instrument and amp salesmen as well) should have used the clean channel of the Magellan. You used the distortion channel and complained about the distortion. No offense meant, lads. I use my Magellan together with a GenzBenz NeoX t 212" cab, a cab that was built by Jeff Genzlers old company. This thing goes ungodly loud, even on the clean channel, and has one of the best distortion channels with a verry tube like tone. GallienKrueger amps are loud, verry loud. They are because of the voicing that has a lot of high mids. This is why the old time RB 400 with 180 Watts @ 4 Ohm have been loud enough for anything. You just had to give them enough cone surface like two EVM 15L. OK, it seemed that you didn't have the time you needed to learn everything about the gain staging and the preamp (plus both channels and the two different voiced filters) to get all the goodnes out of the Magellan.

[@nothingEvil101]

The GK was the only one of these that had its own immediately recognizable tone in comparison. All the others were VERY similar. Not to say it’s better, that’s a matter of taste, but it was just the only one which sounded different than the rest

[@RH-xs8gz]

I agree. The GK seemed to have a little more top end than the rest

[@trailblazeratv6306]

They all sound great. I would be happy with either

[@anthonyrosa5006]

The test should be done with dual 4 x 10 cabs with ample ability to handle peak wattage. Pushing small cabinets tells me nothing except that the amp can push the cab to the edge of self destruction.

[@TheProgGuy]

I'm surprised they don't stock Ampeg bass amps because they're THE sound. I love my Portaflex PF-500 head with 2x10 flip top cab.

[@4StringNinja]

No Orange Terror Bass?!

[@fheathwilliamson]

Being a Mesa Subway 800 owner, it would've been nice to see how it compares to these amps.

[@jdssurf]

Do you still have it, I’m thinking about getting the plus version

[@fheathwilliamson]

Jbird I do, but I never use it anymore since I got a Helix LT. I have it up for sale but only on Facebook since I have little experience with shipping things.

[@liamb8624]

The first comment they made about the GK MB800 was a key decision point for me when replacing my previous amp head after 15yrs. With everything set at 12 it has a nice clean sound and then if our sound guy wants a little more warmth or bottom end in the room from my cab and not the PA then I just add a touch of the bass from 12 around to 2. The sad thing is that just after investing in the MB00 we all went in ear monitoring and with very low volume on stage so with everything now going through the desk and then back in to my ears through an IEM system it does not really matter what the bleeding hell your set up is at the front end someone is going to tinker with the input, squash it, change it on the desk and then pump it back out through an aux channel. I am sure they all do a job, but for me MB800 is super light, flexible and as they mentioned has the 2nd channel which I can have running hotter to get a bit more drive if it warrants it during the set and I can just switch it in and out as necessary.

[@PhantomUAV]

what happened to Lee??

[@LuKE-yo2bn]

prob sticking it up a big english muff

[@sethnicholls7861]

It's watching an american QVC gear guide infomercial, but Aussy/British guitar players dabbling w 5 very different amp's tone goals... Still loved it, cheers fellas! Yeah the class D part doesn't define the tone tho mates.

[@headsuplg9356]

This is awesome and hilarious, thoroughly enjoyed. More Bass videos with Bass-friendly EQ settings would be great!

[@1313warwick]

What about DNA amplification? Best one was the aguilar then the genz. Some of those amps have too much watts for that speaker.

[@Cap683]

Agreed. The Aguilar Tone Hammer sounds the most "musical" to my ears.

[@drjazz7278]

love listening to the Andertons bass guys whatever the gear. Any chance of a bass playing tut from Nathan and/or Lee ?

[@areyouastalker4591]

GK pls. It has all the features i like: It's aggresive,

[@markviereck4547]

The Tone Hammer sounds the best , then the Markbass

[@valendis]

Agreed but not by much so I would go with Markbass

[@CesarGonzalez-hw9dm]

No Ampeg?

[@kingstumble]

Where is Lee V?

[@mr_antsis]

awesome love this shootout

[@hayleycomet8029]

why not do DI out of each amp to ensure there's no coloration to its sound by the cab and mic?

[@gazzy_burns]

Genzler drive - it looks like you were maxing the internal overdrive circuit rather than the overall clean volume. Also if something smells burnt you are probably damaging a cab...

[@carlgustavjung1654]

The burnt smell in Class D amps usually stems from shitty transistors letting too much current into equally shitty capacitors. First they smell, then they pop.

[@PingPongPix]

If I win the lottery, I'd get the GK, every time!!

[@jussikaipainen]

Thank you for the Great video. If you do a similar video about tube amp, include one or two hybrid amp in it. That would be interesting comparison. I would like to see more quitar channel like content in all about the bass. Thanks you once again for great show. 🤙🙏

[@gazzy_burns]

The volumes - are they hitting an 8 ohm cab? Are they on a suitable input gain level? The Markbass amps are well known to have the rather odd design of hitting most of their max volume around 12/1 on the dial, tricking you into thinking they have lots more .. When they don't.

[@jameslewis2635]

The cut off from increasing the volume from around the half-way point is pretty typical of class D amps (which all of these are) in general. This has been stated several times before in different videos.

[@gazzy_burns]

@@jameslewis2635 definitely not the Genzler... After reading the designers comments (and knowing the Genz Benz history).

[@MrKafein]

Using a Darkglass 900 since two years, never got the volume past midway position (especially with a DG 4x10 cab), it's waaaaaay enough loud to blast my two guitarists at once.

[@paulharrison3265]

I have the 500. even with a super hard hitting drummer it's not needed to go much over 1/4 yet haha

[@SamuelSamurai2074]

Your 4x10 cab must be a 4 ohm, which would utilize all the amps wattage power. Therefore it would be crazy super loud.

[@VeitLehmann]

Nice comparison! A bit chaotic, but in the end very informative and entertaining! I'd go for the GK: Incredibly musical EQ that doesn't sound bad even when the high mids are boosted, lowest noise, and it has a great base sound and all the features to get any sound you want. And it sounds great when pushed hard! Second would be the Aguilar, also very musical, and it has something special about it. The Darkglass might be the best one for overdriven sounds, that's what they specialize in and do incredibly well. Also very flexible tone-wise. The Markbass is another very flexible little amp, but I think it's a bit overhyped. Never clicked with me at least. But considering the price, it's great. Finally, the Genzler was a bit of a disappointment for me. I expected it to be a lot more hi-fi. For my taste, it lacked a bit of character also.

[@gazzy_burns]

They sound extremely similar. The Markbass and Genzler are very clear and true to the bass, as expected. The GK is very aggressive as expected. The DG is dark and pretty boring. The Aguilar had the low mid kick.

[@thedondeluxe6941]

I'm watching this from Denmark and it just feels right.

[@carlwilson4375]

I agree with. Nathan.

[@DarkoP9.13]

Nathan is on a another level Level 42 I didnt know Respect

[@rikmcrae]

I preferred the Markbass.

[@kevindickey9736]

GK, MarkBass, Aquilar Least favorite was the DarkGlass

[@39MercFlathead]

Let's add some bass musicians to the Captain's mix. The Captain meets Marcus Miller.

[@mikeortega6072]

Here in the USA, Mark Bass has a choke hold on the repairs, only a few authorized repair shops, MB does not provide schematics for Combo amps. Repairs are EXPENSIVE!

[@jacksonwrightmusic6805]

I feel like the Markbass and the GK have the most "baked-in" tone whereas all the others are very transparent. I think I like the Markbass!

[@jmunley5714]

I like rhat bass!

[@nicholasburrows5716]

Ought to be playing through a 4x10 cab or possibly a 2x12 cab

[@NukePooch1]

GK is a pleasant surprise. It'd be the one I'd look at...

[@patguay9806]

It would love to hear the same comparative test using the Aguilar cab! :-)

[@kandrkandr]

Idea for you. I purchase a Hartke tx600. I read reviews that it was low volume, and then I saw a few people saying that we are just using it wrong. You need to up the gain on this amp, they said. Well, I got it and it appears low to me. I would love to see you guys put this 600 watt amp from Hartke against other 600 watters to either prove the masses wrong, or let everyone know that the rating on this amp is off.

[@Adrin1117]

There really isn't a huge difference that I can hear. GK definitely has more high mids. The Markbass seems to be a little more focused in the lower mids and the Tone Hammer sounds a little more scooped to me...

[@georgwassner9427]

Aguilar for me please!

[@theakstonsrock]

Danish Pete:"We should have 'the star plays the reasonably priced guitar'!" Nathan King, bassist for Frost*: "...great idea..."

[@grotline]

“Are you drunk?” probably it’s after lunch, as Anderson’s like a liquid lunch!

[@gorillafunk725]

The Wayne's World of bass head shootouts. £ucking hillarious!

[@jasonstone8587]

I know The Fender Bassman Amp is very popular with Guitarist's. ....I'd like to hear one of you guys playing Bass Guitar through one....I've probably heard the sound before without knowing it....I just want to see it and hear it in isolation from outside a band environment....also I bet Pete's Farts are Musical....Jazz & Blues Fusion...with a little BROOOOWWWWN sound....sorry couldn't resist......

[@beforetheburial5605]

Damn I wish they did the distortions, that’s pretty much what defines solid state bass amps. As they said, most of these class D amps have the same sort of clean sound, with a bit of differences here and there.

[@SICMetal74]

Shout out is better than shat out

[@warrenkrywko3704]

No Trace Elliot? Used them for years.

[@216Numbskull]

Years ago Trace Elliot amps were nice amps when they were Trace Elliot (UK). Now their nothing more then a Peavey amp with a Trace sticker. Just NOT the same anymore unless you're tone-deaf then they'll still sound great to you?

[@robertrosejr1]

Aguilar and darkglass

[@kalebbrown5916]

still don't know which direction to go

[@soundknight]

No Fender Rumble??

[@runnningonempty]

Pete is great...IN GUITAR VIDS!....Bass not so much..

[@glennselwitz1377]

They all have basically the same components inside made by the same suppliers...Class D just sounds hollow to me..give me big transformers any day....

[@mikesg1776]

Class AB amps ftw!

[@stenmartens7179]

and on that bombshell it's time to end, thank you very much for watching and goodnight!

[@michakobojek2112]

They've probably burnt the tweeters :)

[@AttitudeCastle]

Definitely pushed the cab too hard, not a great demo for the heads when the cab is struggling a bit

[@glennb3231]

That cabs not struggling one bit, it's the microphone distorting.

[@TheCesWilliams]

Bring back Lee for bass videos... Pete has got no idea about the bass...

[@carlwilson4375]

I like the Aguilar the best.

[@insanerotta5332]

RIP cab

[@samiam5557]

I agree with Nath the MARK sounded best, remarkable isn't it, the lowest priced! The GK was my 2nd best pick.

[@Uygkuyfkutfkytfkutfv]

He’s closely affiliated with that brand. His brother has a signature MB head I think

[@grahamtinkler4562]

I'm glad I play guitar and not bass because I would never be able to choose my amp! With the exception of the Aquila (the bottom one) they all sounded the same to me...

[@andrewwhite2503]

You two should know that Genzler is American made!!

[@LukeBass1000]

I can walk into any of my local music stores and not see any of those amps. fml

[@andybaker5800]

yeeeaaahhhh........ is there a guitarist I could talk with?........

[@GaiaBuzz]

Not a bad shootout. Next time it actually helps a lot to NAME the amp head you're referring or discussing, instead of saying 'this one' or 'that one'. A bit of fun crap talk is ok, but too much takes away from what you're trying to achieve.

[@LasseHuhtala]

Where's the Fender Rumble?

[@Rick-pi9zn]

comparing these amps my measureing their noise level is like testing a car by measuring their windshield wipers. The difference is in the preamps.

[@nathaniellollis3868]

The Aguilar sounded distinctly different/better than the other heads when you were playing with your fingers (I hate seeing bassists playing with a pick!).

[@Cap683]

I love the "warmth". It doesn't sound like transistors i.e. harsh in the top end.

[@ThePatboil]

Good vid thx , lavalier pointing down tho. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Rondoggy67]

These are all class D...which means that internally they will be almost identical. The amp modules are all bought in, probably from the same company. There will be some difference in the pre-amp setup, but is that really worth £3-500?? I don't think so. It's great that class D is bringing good quality, powerful, lightweight amps to musicians. The downside is that everything is a bit vanilla, lacking in personality.

[@greatkevoski7579]

After playing a microtubes 900 v2 for awhile thinking it might have been the amp for me however I have found it to be qukte sterile, I run it through an Avatar 4x10 with eminence speakers and am not sure if perhaps it's the cab. However, this shootout is kinda showing similar signs. Should I go for an Ashdown bass head or a rumble head? I just want a fat juicy bass tone that can get growly, takes pedals well, and can play anything from r&b to Metal (think system of a down) or should I just buy a second amp and have the microtubes just do the heavier stuff

[@MrKafein]

May be it's the cab. I use head Darkglass 900 with a Darkglass 4x10 cab, sounds great with a P bass, I love it. All of this is personal taste, of course.

[@donnnick]

Stage_name_alpha word to the wise not ashdown anything you want to last.

[@eltonb8658]

Gk all day

[@szrnkabela]

It's not the Little Mark Tube 800 it's the Little Mark III that you're playing.

[@jellyfish3333]

Nice concept, but unfortunately these jokers are too busy trying to be funny to get down to the business at hand of comparing 5 nice Class D bass heads. I kept waiting for them to taper down on the "shtich", but after about 3 minutes I had to move to other, less annoying comparisons. Too bad.

[@FromTheMosh]

What happened to Nathan? Hope he's doing well, the guy could really play.

[@SabbaYT]

These guys didn't know shit about the MB800... it has two gain stages, and the second one can offer some drive if you push it enough.... It's a built-in feature, not a DIY thing

[@39MercFlathead]

Or...the Captain meets Tal Wilkenfeld.

[@danielgraham4282]

They all sound the same. But then they’re all small solid state amps. I like GK for my solid state, because they’re more affordable than some others but sound just as good. But I like to use Orange and Ampeg too, for that more vintage growl sound.

[@NhyraVirakah2]

"Extraordinary meets Average" show naaaaame. DANISH PETE DO IT.

[@jamesobrien1614]

Pete was so damn annoying. He doesn't need anymore coffee he needs a damn sedative.

[@charliewesley94]

Aguilar all day long.

[@noisemakers929]

Love this!!!!

[@Uygkuyfkutfkytfkutfv]

Nathan’s squirming at critique of the MarkBass wouldnt have anything to do with his brother being on Mark Bass’s payroll by any chance? If Pete wasn’t too drunk to maintain focus for more than six seconds this might have gotten more awkward than it already was.

[@bengo_thard]

Am I the only person thinking the name of the spot should be 'Gig with a Reasonably Priced Rig'?