Help me Pick a Bass Amp Rig

Okay, I hijacked the "Show Us Your Guitars" thread enough. I'll start a new one for this question.

My Rumble 40 is straining to keep up with band rehearsal. Want upgraded amp for that and option for playing smaller gigs. I figure now is going to be a good time to take advantage of Black Friday deals.

Need: Roughly 150-300 watts with 2x10, 1x12, or 1x15

Wants:

• An additional ~100-200 watts to add an extension later if needed (i.e. a 300-500 watt amp)
• Lightweight/portable
• Clean, flexible tone, but maybe with a touch of subtle character
• Reliable
• Onboard compression is nice

Budget for amp and cab #1 (or a combo):
Would love to spend ~$500. Fine spending up to say $800. I am thinking of taking advantage of Black Friday deals.

Regarding used equipment, my understanding is that getting used amps can be risky, but used cabs are generally pretty safe? Mixing cabs with different speaker sizes (e.g. a 2x10 and a 1x15) may or may not cause problems, but two similar cabs of different manufacture should be fine? (Assuming same Ohms).

I think my ideal rig would be ~350watt lightweight head with two 1x12 cabinets. Then one can live in my bassment and the other in the garage when I can grab it for rehearsal, and have both if necessary.

Options I’m looking at available locally.

Heads:
Markbass Little Mark IV, 500w, new at GC, $420
Ampeg Venture V3, 300w, new at GC, $400
Here is what is available at the 2 local Music Go Rounds, Standouts:
TC BH250, 250w, $200 (small, limited effects modeling)
GK Backline 600, (unclear if 300w, or 2x 300x), $200
Ampeg B2R, 300w, $200 (rack mount with reputedly good tone)
Peavey Megabass, 400w, $140 (cheap workhorse)

Kinda torn on all of the above. I believe in “Buy once. Cry once.” That Markbass is a good deal.

My concern with the Markbass or another 500w head is that I’m seeing a lot of 200watt rated cabs that fit my needs, but not many 300 watt (I expect ~300w @ 8ohms). Potential to overpower a 200w cab. Would I be safer with a 300w amp to pair with two 200w cabs? Or just be careful not to crank up the amp (which I probably wouldn't, anyway).

Cabs: here is what is currently available at MGR.
Lots of options here and quite a few on FB-Market, from a $350 Mega Bougie (Mesa Boogie) to $50 Crate.

Not many 1x12s. Lots of 2x10 and 1x15. More options for 300w in 1x15 than 2x10.

Not sure the feasibility of pairing 2x10 with 1x15.

Also open to combos.
Fender Rumble 500 would do the trick. Seeing on Musician’s Friend for ~$400-$500 shipped.
Boss Katana 210 would be sweet… but it’s not extendable (plugging in external amp turns off the internal 2x10) and kinda heavy to lug up from the bassment every week, and I already have a Zoom B1x for modeling.

I've read the title several times. I know what it says. And I still see it as Big Ass Amp every time.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

It's the same thing. 

I'm not a musician but I have a couple of these Altec 16" 421-8H bass guitar speakers in my home-made-by-others home stereo speakers. They make every bass player on Youtube sound great. A little out of your price range though.

Rever.com: Altec Lansing 421-8H Bass Musical Instrument Speakers, 2x15" $1,200

I'm always a fan of Ampeg for bass stuff. 

But I realize an SVT head and SVT 8x10 cabinet is a bit more than what you're asking for. 

But still, always liked Ampeg stuff for bass vs all the Marshall stuff my dad has also had over the years. 

In reply to z31maniac :

I'm pretty well decided to stick to a solid-state head. Ampeg has continued to dub things "SVT" even when they stopped having tubes.

That said, one of the used amps available is an Ampeg SVT-200T. Lower power, but a lot of people say good things about the tone. The Ampeg Venture comes with modelers of the SVT and the B15. I've seen a lot of things saying you can get as good or better a tone using a valve modeler pedal.

Oh E36 M3... I thought the 200T was 200 watts... but it's 200w @8ohm and 350w @4ohm. Hmm... I gotta try that out. It might just be the answer...

Most likely I'll go by Guitar Center and test drive the Little Mark and the Venture, than head over to Music Go Round and try out what they have.

Markbass makes some REALLY nice stuff. My nephew picked up a Little Mark combo that absolutely rips. They can be pricey, but if you have that on your list, definitely check that out. Pair it with a decent cab and you'll have enough headroom for a while. 

In reply to Tony Sestito :

That is the reputation I've heard, and what most tempts me to go a bit higher on my budget. That Little Mark IV is normally $650, but it's discount by 1/3 for Black Friday. $420 for that is a good price.

I feel like that or the Ampeg SVT-200T for $240 are the leading contenders.

I'm a tad concerned about pairing a 200w rated cab with a 500w head (300w @8ohm), but I can just be more selective and be sure I get a 300w cab, or be careful with volume.

The answer is usually ampeg and the more you hate your bandmates, the bigger it should be. 

In reply to Tony Sestito :

Okay. Went by Guitar Center today. They didn't have the heads unboxed to test out, but I tried a Little Mark Combo and an Ampeg Rocket. So both 2x10s. If not exactly the same amps as the heads I was looking at, I'd assume similar enough that tone should be comparable.

The Markbass was the overall winner. It could just get cleaner, and gave me more options to work with. The Ampeg started growly and just got dirtier. I can take the the Markbass and dirty it up for grunge, punk, or metal much easier than I can try to clean up the sound of the Ampeg for funk, R&B, or new wave.

I'll check out the used Ampegs, and see how they sound. Maybe they're warmer rather than gritty.

There is also a used Orange Little Bass Thing on FBM. They're asking $375, but I'm sure I could talk them down. I like that it has a built in compressor circuit, but I don't like that the line out is tied to the volume knob.