I'm a semi-beginner (playing less than a year) and I've never bought a seperate cab and head. I know which cab I'm buying (a 200W Galien Kruger 2x10 http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gallien-Krueger-210BLX-II-Bass-Cabinet-103056024-i1152922.gc ) but I don't know what kind of head I'll need. Do I need to match the watts? Do I match something else? Is it ok to buy a different brand? Any help is appreciated.

funkster:

By all means, you need to match your cabinet to a head that won't blow it up! The cabinet you're looking at is rated at 8 ohms, which means you need a head that won't put out more than 200 watts into 8 ohms. In most cases -- especially with bass -- manufacturers design their cabinets to work best with their own heads, but a decent quality head of any name brand should work well. If you want to stick with GK, you might like the Backline 600 head, which puts out 180 watts into 8 ohms and seems like a good match for the 210-BLX-II. Since you're already looking at Guitar Center, they have it for $299, which is comparable to other online dealers. There are other reputable heads available, but none is in that price range. I favor Genz-Benz, but their Shuttle 3.0, which is the closet think to the Backline 400, would set you back about $550. I haven't used GK equipment in years, but they have a great rep and are used by a good many players. If you're in relatively low-volume situations or can run a line out to the PA for larger gigs,the 400/210 setup should be fine. If you absolutely need more sound later, you can add an 8-ohm extension cabinet, which will increase the head's power to 280 watts.

Thanks a lot. I appreciate the help.

Glad to help! There are so many choices these days that it's easy to get confused. Stop by any time!