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BigRoom are playing this Friday at the Dunblane Fling at the Braeport Centre. Tickets are £8.00 & we're on from 8pm. For more info: [url="http://dunblanefling.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=50"]http://dunblanefling.info/index.php?option...5&Itemid=50[/url]

[quote]And finally... our backline looks awesome and geeks love it.[/quote] I believe this may be one of the main reasons On one side of the stage we have a Blue Skinned Vox AC30 (30 watts & very loud) & the other there's a Fender Deluxe combo with my MB combo in the middle next to the drummer (poor sod!) & it looks & sounds fantastic. If you put everything into the pa with pods etc, do you think you'll get that same sound? The other reason we need so much power is some places just won't take or have PA & in a busy venue you need the volume to cut over people talking. Once they've shut up, you can turn it down a bit

[size=2][font="Lucida Console"]BigRoom & Frigorifico are playing at the Kinbuck Beer Festival today (17/05/08). Just north of Dunblane, Scotland. Doors open at 4pm & is on 'til 11:30pm. Tickets are £5 & includes 1st Glass & 1/2 (I think that'll be a spirit). if you have no plans today & want something to do then what better than Beer & Music![/font][/size]

Cheers BF, i understand what you mean now. I had assumed that as long as you made sure the ohms & wattage was ok (I was planning on an 8ohm cab at @ 300w), then it wouldn't make any difference other than the sound reproduced. But if you have had previous probs with mixing brands & if it generally isn't a good idea, then that's sound advice for me (& others hopefully) to go on. I had been looking at dimensions of cabs & noticed that all manufacturers are slightly different in width (usually just by a couple of mm's) but this wouldn't have put me off. Looks like I'll be saving for an MB cab, other than the Traveller series they're the same width as my combo.

Sorry BF, you've completely lost me. Do you mean "size" as in speaker configs or cab dimensions? With the exception of a couple of the Traveller series, arn't all MB cabs the same width? 59.4cm. The question I have is not specifically what speaker arrangement to go for, it's a bit more on what brands of cab compliment each other if at all. For example, do Ampeg 1x15's give a better depth & lower frequencies than others & would you match that with a (in my case) MB 2x10 as it has more brightness than some others, or is mixing cab brands not worth it? I dare say building an omni cab may be a good option also, but is that gonna give me good low freqs (from what I've read so far, it sounds like it's one of the best cabs available). I think I worded the original Q wrong & didn't get that part out correctly.

Hi all, Got a Q that might interest a few..... I got a MB CMD102P combo a few weeks back from that very nice chap called the Bass Merchant. I haven't gigged it yet but had a few VERY LOUD rehearsals & will be gigging it this Saturday (Kinbuck Beer Festival, if anyone's interested) & will give a review of how it does later. Now to my Q..... At a later date I want to add another cab for use at bigger gigs that may not have a PA for me to go through. What would you BCers suggest. I was thinking a 1x15 cab and as the MB is a very clear sounding piece of kit I was thinking a more wooly cab like Ashdown? Or maybe a 4x10 to effectively give me a 6x10 rig for bigger gigs?? I like the nice clear tone of the MB & twiddling the VLE knob gives a right old sound but still definitive, I want to have as much hair shaking pussy vibrating bass as can be had as well as plenty of top sweetness for solos & melodies. Should I keep in with the matching rig & go for something MB, or should I try maybe an Ampeg 410 or SWR 1x15. I don't wanna spend too much, but then I don't want a lame sounding cab with a good combo, so I'm willing to hold on to save for what is required. I'm hoping that this might give others with single cabs/ combos similar assistance so feel free to fire suggestions (as if you wouldn't feel otherwise! ). Cheers.

If you're after something light then there's plenty of more powerful options, Markbass & Genz Benz to name a few. I would recommend trying the PJB stuff as it does sound good, but from what I gather it's for the studio or gigs with PA or no drummers if you're taking it out the house. The big Dalek thing looks totally outstanding IMO, but I'm heading down the route of MB 210 combo with a cab for bigger gigs. Not sure what to get tho, so gonna try various cabs & different brands from 1x15 to 4x10 & see what I like the sound of.

I tried the Briefcase in GuitarGuitar about a year ago & wasn't really impressed, which was a disappointment as I think they look really sleek. Found at low volume it sounded lovely using a Sandberg bass, but when I turned it up a bit it sounded a bit farty & I was wondering if the thing was meant just for low volume or if this one had a fault. Defo try one before you buy IMO. From reading below, I actually think it was the Suitcase I tried. It was a 4x5 combo.

On a more serious note, I'd recommend trying Markbass stuff. I haven't gigged mine as of yet, but in rehearsals it sounds amazing & cuts through fine, & where we rehearse we probably play louder than any gigs we do & have no trouble with one noisy bloody guitarist that only has a loud button, a vocalist who's synth guitar is always a bit on the overpowering side & a drummer who can deafen you even when using brushes! The singer say's "It's nice to hear the bass and can now play off of it". I used to just hire stuff for gigs. We have a gig on the 17th of May at Kinbuck (It's a beer festival, so good reason to go), so after we do that I'll let all know how it does & maybe give a review of it. But like rslaing says, go & try some stuff to see what you like. I however bought my MB blind but read loads about it & knew I didn't want the sound of an Ashdown or Ampeg combo (tried them & was tooooo Wooooooooooooooooooly, but I am toying with the idea of adding an Ashdown cab as it may compliment the MB sound.

And I'd recommend a Vox Venue 30 Bass with a 12" pioneer car sub popped in it. Doesn't go very loud & weighs only slightly heavier than the car it came out of.

How much are these? I have an sr1000 4 string which I've had since 1990 & love the sound of it & looking for a 5 or 6 stringer in a few months but don't wanna spend loads as I have other things I need to buy.

My shout goes with the Markbass stuff. It weighs next to nothing & sounds great. I know you don't want carpeted, but have a look at their combos & buy catboots I have the 210 combo & it's loud. Will give it a review once it's been gigged on May 17th (Mini beer festival at Kinbuck?!?!).

The Markbass CMD 102P can be had for less than £800. Shop around on tinterweb. I know the Ampegs are about £700 for the 300 watt combos.

I see you have no responses yet so I gather that no one has tried one! When I was looking at getting a combo this too was on my list, but from what I've read in several forums Ampeg SS amps ain't so hot (though I never got to try one, so I don't know for definite). If you have a look at my post (what combo for £6-700) you'll see I had quite a list to narrow down. I ended up splashing that little extra on a Markbass combo from the Bass Merchant. I had not tried any MB stuff before, but had heard them in the Guitar Centre in Vegas & was impressed so decided to take a chance & just buy without trying & to be honest, I love this combo so far. I can get just about any tone I want just with 2 dials! I haven't touched the EQ dials yet. Have used it a couple of times at rehearsals & is plenty loud enough for that (was the first time I have ever been asked to turn it down by a guitarist!!!). And this thing weighs less than my wee Vox 1x12 combo but about 4 times the size. My advice here is have a go of the MB combos & see if one of them would suit you. They're light, excellent quality & loud (300 watts on their own & 500 with a cab attached). If you get a shot of an Ampeg BA300 let us know what it's like.

I don't know how different the F1 is (I think it has just 1 input), but I have the CMD 102P combo which is basically an LMII head. I think plugging into the fx return breaks the signal path, but I don't know if you can change jumper settings for this. If you can get a mixer (small mic mixer might do here) with an XLR out, then you can plug it into the balanced input socket on the front. I have heard of a few bassists plugging a mic straight into this & putting their bass through it at the same time. The LMK has two input channels, but not sure if they can be used separately. Worth an investigation maybe.

My advice is if they are anything like they are in Glasgow or Dundee for service, go elsewhere. I've been to the Jamaica street store in Glasgow & the Dundee store quite a few times with every intention of making a purchase & each time walked out empty handed due to the staff being totally uninterested, uninformative & just plain ignorant. SC was good in the 90's too.

Well folks, I went for the....... MarkBass CMD 102P. Just took delivery of it & got it from the Bass Merchant (Darren's a very nice person to talk & do business with). What can I say? Only tried it for @ 30 mins in the house, but what a sound! I can't wait til Monday just to get it wapped up & see what it's like at decent volumes (I did turn it up a bit in here to about the 10 O'clock position with the gain at about 1/2 & had to turn it down). Here's a pic of it & will let you know how it is in a louder situation later. [attachment=7872:DSC00077.JPG] Back to work for me now

Been playing an Ibanez SR1000 since 1990 & love the sound it makes. Before that I was playing a Vox with a surfboard for a neck and a body made of lead. Still got it but haven't played it for years. Planning on looking for a nice 5 string towards the end of the year.

I was thinking of doing this last year, so had a bit of a look into it. One thing to check, how many hertz it is. I think the US is 50 cycles & the UK is 60 cycles. If you can get a head that runs at 50-60 then you'll have an easy time with the voltage, but if it's just 50 then it's a big job. I would double check this to make sure my findings are correct, but if you get something that runs 50 cycles & run it on 60 it damages components. The Aguilar & Eden sound like safe bets (as well as being quality kit).

I tried a PJB Suitcase in GuitarGuitar & it did have a lovely tone but when I tried turning it up a bit it seemed to sound a little farty. Not sure if this was a faulty combo but it kinda put me off em. As for the Ashdown, I do agree it has a nice sound but the one I tried just didn't suit my style of playing. Just didn't seem versatile enough if you know what I mean (no disrespect there intended). I've used an old trace combo a couple of times, but I don't wanna go 2nd hand & heard that the new ones ain't so great (although I haven't tried one). That's good to know about the GK that I could get away with using just a similar one on it's own til I save for a cab at a later date (you know when that time is near I'll start a similar thread! lol). Thanks for all the good advice, it's been much appreciated.

Adding more cabs (eg: already having a 410 & then adding another 410 or 115) doesn't double the volume. Depending on the cab & amount of speakers decides on the amount of volume you will get. 600 watt X2 does not give you X2 volume & watts are incorrectly chosen as how loud an amp is. for example.. A 200 watt Valve head (Orange etc) with 2 400 watt 8 ohm cabs could sound a lot louder than a 5oo watt solid state head with a 410 and a 115.

Kinda narrowed it a bit better now. Either gonna be the Markbass 102P or the GK 1001 210 combo. Anybody know if the MB is any good for slap & tapping? I use a variety of styles & as far as I understand, the MB is more than capable of getting lows out (tho I know I may need a decent ext cab for larger gigs). At present I'm leaning towards the MB but definitely have not ruled the GK out. & keep thinking about the GK 700 210 combo & a cab at the same time, but I'd rather spend the bit extra on one of the others & add a cab at a later date as the gigs coming up wouldn't need it (fairly small halls & pubs). I really don't wanna go down the 2nd hand route, tho the Super Redhead is a nice bit of kit & I can't stretch my budget as it's been stretched already. Cheers for all so far, your advice has helped loads.

Goodpoint about the weight JJ. But the GK combo has wheels & pull out handle so you only need to lift it out the car (unless you have steps). Other option is the Markbass 210 combo. I haven't tried them yet but hear great things about them. Apparently very light & very loud & have bucket loads of quality tones. You could add the MB 410 or similar later which is also supposed to be very light. If you have a MB dealer near you then maybe give em a try & see what you think?

I'v got kind of an answer that's a question & it will help me decide too...... What about a GK 700RBII 210 combo (or the 1001RBII combo) and adding either a GK (or whatever) cab that suited? eg: add that GK 410 cab to make a 610 for example. Is there really any difference between buying the 700RBII head & GK 210 cab and the caombo other than the fact that the amp is built in to a slightly larger cab & saves a bit of money? I know you're then stuck with them 2 10's, but if you're happy to sound similar to Flea (which isn't a bad thing IMO) then is this not a good option? This is what I'm considering getting (maybe the MB 102P) & to try different cabs with it to see what I like. I'll probably get told to f@*k off and get a proper rig! lol

The Omni 10 cab idea sounds like a good plan, I'll look into that. Pikefloyd, what size gigs do you use the GK 700RBII-210 without PA assistance & do you use a cab with it? This very combo was what I was originally looking at but then found a little extra funds to stretch to the 1001 210 combo or the MB CMD 102P (which I keep hearing wonderful things about) & then if needs be add a cab, maybe that would be to build a Bill Fitzmaurice cab.