The best light and loud guitar amp?

[pingu]

The Genz Benz 3.0 8T amp/speaker system seems the best bang per lbs

175 watts ... 13.5 lbs

Anything louder per pound than that ?
(yes I know watts does not equal volume but the speaker in that enclosure is a
Faital 8 PR 200 which is fairly efficient .... 98db @ 1 watt I believe)

[jzucker]

acoustic image corus is around 18lbs, 600w

[kris]

The Genz Benz 3.0 8T amp/speaker system seems the best bang per lbs

175 watts ... 13.5 lbs

Anything louder per pound than that ?
(yes I know watts does not equal volume but the speaker in that enclosure is a
Faital 8 PR 200 which is fairly efficient .... 98db @ 1 watt I believe)

is it amp for guitar or bass?

[Woody Sound]

The Genz Benz 3.0 8T amp/speaker system seems the best bang per lbs

175 watts ... 13.5 lbs

Anything louder per pound than that ?
(yes I know watts does not equal volume but the speaker in that enclosure is a
Faital 8 PR 200 which is fairly efficient .... 98db @ 1 watt I believe)

I have the guitar version, but with the optional 10" speaker. Compak 300 10T.

http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&m...id=629&cid=94#

When I was looking for a small SS clean combo, I was able to side-by-side it with the AI and Fishman. I thought the GB sounded better for guitar.

[Little Jay]

Mind you that watts isn't everything.... my 40 watt AER Aplha sounded about 3 times as loud as the 200 watt Lunchbox Acoustic I tried (side-by-side!), and that's before distortion. And my 30 watt Session Rockette:30 in turn goes louder than the AER....

[GuyBoden]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/gallien-krueger-mb200-200w-ultra-light-bass-amp-head#productDetail

Gallien Krueger MB200

200Watt at 4ohm weight is only 2lb

That's 100 watts per lb.

Is this yet another inexpensive light weight Bass amp that could be used for Jazz Guitar.

Yes I agree, "watts isn't everything."

[jzucker]

i tried the GK and found it to be nasally and the treble control was too high (10k). I thought the carvin bx500 was more clear and the graphic eq can dial in a guitar treble.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/BX500

The BX250 doesn't have the graphic unfortunately though the treble control is slightly better (8k)

[AlainJazz]

i tried the GK and found it to be nasally and the treble control was too high (10k).

Totally agree. The amp isn't very usable for my taste either.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Is this competition for heads or combos? With heads, it just gets silly with the class D bass guitar options.

With combos, watts (or decibels) per pound is not really a useful figure, apart from braggin' rights. It lets you compare a 1/10 watt cigarette pack amp to a 4x10" combo, but when would you ever need that comparison?

I think it's better to consider uses:

* solo, living room
* coffee house, no drums
* add drums
* add fusion
* big band
etc...

and set a price range, too. Go!

[kris]

The BX250 carvin-is it work good with Tele?

[GuyBoden]

i tried the GK and found it to be nasally and the treble control was too high (10k). I thought the carvin bx500 was more clear and the graphic eq can dial in a guitar treble.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/BX500

The BX250 doesn't have the graphic unfortunately though the treble control is slightly better (8k)

Totally agree. The amp isn't very usable for my taste either.

I've played through many Bass amps, my fav is the TC Electronics classic 450, but I always use a Boss EQ pedal.

I use this EQ pedal on all amps, can be used for boost and EQ.

[medblues]

The BX250 carvin-is it work good with Tele?

I have it and like what it does with all my guitars including the teles, it is very flexible with separate "contour", drive and compression (for bass but works fine for guitar). No fan makes it even more attractive for very quiet playing. It has very low noise floor.

[jzucker]

I've been using the Ethos pedal for true guitar tone controls through recording consoles or bass amps and it has a killer overdrive.

http://www.customtonesinc.com/

[kris]

I have it and like what it does with all my guitars including the teles, it is very flexible with separate "contour", drive and compression (for bass but works fine for guitar). No fan makes it even more attractive for very quiet playing. It has very low noise floor.

Interesting.
Thanks

[srs]

jzucker, do you enter the ethos into the front of a amp (like an acoustic image) or do you run it thru the effects loop?

[jads57]

Well maybe the new QuilterTone Block amp will be the happy compromise for most of us!

http://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php...tone-block-200

[jzucker]

Seems expensive when for the same money you can get something like the Carvin Bx500 with a huge array of controls, a tube preamp and a graphic eq built in....

[Klatu]

Seems expensive when for the same money you can get something like the Carvin Bx500 with a huge array of controls, a tube preamp and a graphic eq built in....

Wow, that Carvin looks impressive. How does it compare to an Acoustic Image?

[jzucker]

very similar. The tone of both are about the same. The AI has built in reverb and integrates into their cab and the corus amp/cab is a sweet combination and is extremely light and versatile (though not for rock/fusion) so it gets the nod. If carvin would put reverb in those heads it'd be a winner for guitar. I have a reverb pedal but it's just another thing to fuss with...

[Klatu]

very similar. The tone of both are about the same. The AI has built in reverb and integrates into their cab and the corus amp/cab is a sweet combination and is extremely light and versatile (though not for rock/fusion) so it gets the nod. If carvin would put reverb in those heads it'd be a winner for guitar. I have a reverb pedal but it's just another thing to fuss with...

Thanks for the reply. It's quite a bit less expensive than the AI, so I would most likely consider it should something happen to my Clarus.

[Woody Sound]

very similar. The tone of both are about the same. The AI has built in reverb and integrates into their cab and the corus amp/cab is a sweet combination and is extremely light and versatile (though not for rock/fusion) so it gets the nod. If carvin would put reverb in those heads it'd be a winner for guitar. I have a reverb pedal but it's just another thing to fuss with...

My sentiments exactly. I don't understand why these companies don't add reverb to these bass heads (with some tweaks) and market them as killer carry-and-go jazz guitar heads.

[jzucker]

My sentiments exactly. I don't understand why these companies don't add reverb to these bass heads (with some tweaks) and market them as killer carry-and-go jazz guitar heads.

probably because the amount of guys looking for a jazz guitar head is an insignificant drop in the bucket for them.

[Woody Sound]

probably because the amount of guys looking for a jazz guitar head is an insignificant drop in the bucket for them.

But if one of them did it, they would have little competition.

[Hammertone]

I guess this one doesn't win any lightweight competitions - it stays in the boardroom at my office. But next time I get booked for a stadium gig, I'm ready.

[jorgemg1984]

If it has space inside it should be easy to add a BYOC Reverb 2. I did that yo my henriksen head.

Or just rehouse a BarbEQ and a reverb pedal into one box (the ethos seems too big for this). The Ethos should include a tuner / mut switch and a nice reverb!