What do I need?

[Gust0o]

Some fairly basic questions, here, so please bear with me.

Up until we moved house last year I had an old Laney 100W combo, of unknown diligence. It appeared as though a tramp had once dwelled within it, but it was suitably loud to have been played throughout my teenage years - and was one of the first things to come back out of storage.

Alas, it was not long for the world; and I ended up replacing it with a small practice amp, 20W or so, which seemed more than enough to play around the house.

However, it now the band are now very much along the road to getting sorted; I struggle with volume at rehearsals; and I'd die on my arse live.

I'd previously posted about what brands I should be looking, for a stoner rock/doom vibe - and had had some good answers, around Trace Elliot, etc.

What I should have asked was, should I be looking for head, amp, cab, combo, or whatever? I don't need some Bon Jovi-esque rig, but a nice wattage would be good; the facility to run my effects; and ultimately enough to fit into York and Leeds' finest small venues.

Budget will run c.£500, borrowing a hundred from my "replace my 5-string or my spine" fund. I keep looking at our for sale section, but then am never sure what I should really be looking for beyond the branding.

Thanks in advance, and sorry to ask another basic question!

[Lozz196]

Personally I prefer amp head & cab, tho there are plenty of powerful combos out there. Its just that for £500 you could get an amp head plus a 4x10 cab, and realistically, this is likely to be all you will need, wherever you play. The sound through a 4x10 will more than likely sound "bigger" than through an equivalent costing combo at the same volume. Of course, the downside to the head & cab is weight/portability

For playing live, I`d personally be looking at 300 watts minimum, either option.

[OliverBlackman]

Its going to take time to find a brand you like, as you have to try out lots of gear. But the advantage of having head and cab instead of a combo is that if you for example like the head but want to replace the cab, just sell the cab. With a combo you would need to sell the whole thing.

I would look for an aguilar cab on here for around £300 and a 300 watt 8 ohms head

[thisnameistaken]

I'd agree with what's been said above (but not Aguilar - there are cheaper brands that will do the job). I had to get rid of my 410 because I couldn't load it in and out of my first floor flat on my own. Or rather if I did, I would've ended up face down in a pile of vertebrae at some point.

But yeah if you can shift one, a 410 would be ideal.

Edited November 4, 2010 by thisnameistaken

[derrenleepoole]

Do what some of us on here have done and have a look at the Promethean amps.

Essentially a 1x10 combo at 250 watts/500 with an extension speaker or they now do a 2x10 combo version. But, and this is the best bit, the head is removable for use with other cabs! So a very versatile amp solution for all eventualities. I find the Promethean to be a very, very good amp. Incredibly well built, superb features, great weight, great tone and superb price! They also do a range of other cab setups to match with the head. Worth considering for sure.

Edited November 4, 2010 by derrenleepoole

[Delberthot]

I was originally going to stack 2 compact Trace 2x10"s under my Gallien head for a small but potent setup until the opportunity came up to get myself 2 4x10"s.

I still think 2 cab setups are the best as you can easily use 1 if you are using a PA or if it is a really small gig and only need a second one if its a big gig or there's no PA.

An alternative would be something like a Trace 2x10" combo with a 1x15" cab under it for bigger gigs

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

When I got back into playing after a 10 year hiatus, I bought a Trace Elliot SM715 combo which sounded great but was humungus and felt like it was made of solid concrete. I replaced that with an Ashdown stack of MAG300 amp with 2x10 & 1x15 cabs. This was better. It still sounded great and was easier to carry individually, but was still hassle as the cabs were bulky & heavy and required multiple trips to the car for load in/out. I got lazy & tended to just take one cab to gigs. I got rid of that & my final upgrade was a Markbass LMII & Schroeder 1212L cab - This is much more convenient. It can get blummin' loud and still sounds great. The most important thing though is that I can now carry my entire rig, plus bass & accessories in one trip from the car. I guess the moral of the story is to work out how lazy you are & whether you'd prefer a compact lightweight rig - it costs more, but I wouldn't want to go back to the back-breaking combo. Saying that I'd still quite like a smaller single speaker neo cab for 'acoustic' gigs

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='derrenleepoole' post='1011918' date='Nov 4 2010, 12:19 PM']Do what some of us on here have done and have a look at the Promethean amps.

Essentially a 1x10 combo at 250 watts/500 with an extension speaker or they now do a 2x10 combo version. But, and this is the best bit, the head is removable for use with other cabs![/quote]

His budget is £500, so I doubt he wants to spend £600 on a 1x10 combo for doing stoner rock!

There are always dusty old 410s on eBay that go for £150 or so, that would make much more sense.

Like [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Marshall-MBC410-Bass-Cab-600W-4x10-Cabinet-/270655410915?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item3f0451d2e3"]this[/url], maybe. Or [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-410TVX-4-x-10-Bass-Cab-/200538003561?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item2eb0ff1869"]this[/url].

Edited November 4, 2010 by thisnameistaken

[RockfordStone]

i put together a cheap rig using a 450 watt behringer head and cheap 4 x 10 cab, cost me about 300 quid...... (i know... its dirty isnt it...) but it did a job for a long period and after endless tweaking actually sounded half decent, even in big venues

i upgraded it and replaced with an ampeg rig, so now its collecting dust in a corner of my parents house.

i guess it depends how serious the band is going to be as to how much you spend

Edited November 4, 2010 by RockfordStone

[derrenleepoole]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1012118' date='Nov 4 2010, 02:40 PM']His budget is £500, so I doubt he wants to spend £600 on a 1x10 combo for doing stoner rock!

There are always dusty old 410s on eBay that go for £150 or so, that would make much more sense.

Like [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Marshall-MBC410-Bass-Cab-600W-4x10-Cabinet-/270655410915?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item3f0451d2e3"]this[/url], maybe. Or [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-410TVX-4-x-10-Bass-Cab-/200538003561?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item2eb0ff1869"]this[/url].[/quote]

Actually, they're under £500 quid now

But yeah, you're right, not quite right for the material he's doing! Didn't read that bit

[spinynorman]

Does "replace my 5-string or my spine" suggest some back problems? If so, Marshall or Peavey 4x10s aren't going to help, unless you have a live-in roadie.

[ThomBassmonkey]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=98869"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=98869[/url]

That'll do you for as long as you need it, if you need to add to it, get a nice 2 or 4x10 and you can run both, then later get a head and upgrade in stages.

£275 would then leave you £225 to put back into your bass fund and get a nicer bass.

Also, iirc those amps have wheels and a handle, so you can roll them around pretty easily (until you get to some stairs at least).

[xgsjx]

I'd look to getting something like a LMII (they're now between £300-£350 s/h) & go for a couple of cheapish 2X10s (such as Ashdown MAGs) or build your own cabs.

[charic]

Amp and cab tbh, its hard to justify the money to upgrade to separates once you have a combo (and then you can't seem to sell the sodding thing!). Separates are easier to upgrade.

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='RockfordStone' post='1012134' date='Nov 4 2010, 02:54 PM']i put together a cheap rig using a 450 watt behringer head and cheap 4 x 10 cab[/quote]
I had this set up in the rehearsal studio last night & was blown away by my tone

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1012659' date='Nov 4 2010, 10:12 PM']I had this set up in the rehearsal studio last night & was blown away by my tone[/quote]

I used one of these...



... into a home-made 1x12 cab at a festival last summer and it sounded effing brilliant on stage.

[Big_Stu]

Eeee, I can remember t' days you could gig with one of these!
[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Marshall-100-Watt-Lead-and-Bass-Amp-Model-2195-1976-/230545001215?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item35ad8d8aff"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Marshall-100-Watt-Le...=item35ad8d8aff[/url]

Though it worked better with two cabs. Last one I had I bought for £35, had Marshall service it for £17 & the bassist in my son's band now uses it as his emergency backup.
There's another one on ebay just now on BIN for £400 they must be tripping!

[i]No connection with either seller btw.[/i]

[charic]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1012659' date='Nov 4 2010, 10:12 PM']I had this set up in the rehearsal studio last night & was scared away by my tone[/quote]

Fixed

[Kraken]

In my opinion you are looking for a 300 - 500 Watt Head with a 4x10 Cab or 2 2x10's.

not necessarilly the easiest to cart around but if you end up playing gigs with other bands, being able to share a cab and everyone run their head through it will make you friends with sound engineers on tight stages.

[Wylie]

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1011908' date='Nov 4 2010, 07:13 AM']Personally I prefer amp head & cab, tho there are plenty of powerful combos out there. Its just that for £500 you could get an amp head plus a 4x10 cab, and realistically, this is likely to be all you will need, wherever you play. The sound through a 4x10 will more than likely sound "bigger" than through an equivalent costing combo at the same volume. Of course, the downside to the head & cab is weight/portability

For playing live, I`d personally be looking at 300 watts minimum, either option.[/quote]


+1, and you can spend a little more and get lightweight components.

[Colledge]

for the heavy stuff, 15's can work quite well. I used to use a trace elliot 2x15 and that thing just asked for it.
but yeah, separates ftw and 300w as a benchmark, although it depends on the amp. some manufacturers (trace elliot) used to put out amps that look way underpowered on paper but punch way above their weight in practice.

[mep]

Flexibility is the key, so go for amp and cab. You can mix & match and aim for 2 cabs.

I have a Trace Series 6 AH200 head, and 2 custom cabs, a 1x15 and a 1x12 which has a horn. All in all £400. The Trace head is always loud enough for anything, and there is still the PA.

There is always some quality gear out there.

[icastle]

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1011865' date='Nov 4 2010, 11:48 AM']What I should have asked was, should I be looking for head, amp, cab, combo, or whatever? I don't need some Bon Jovi-esque rig, but a nice wattage would be good; the facility to run my effects; and ultimately enough to fit into York and Leeds' finest small venues.[/quote]

I've used combos in the past but have always gone back to seperates in the end.

[b]SPEAKERS:[/b]
I chose a 1x15 and a 2x10 -
2x10 for practices and small gigs.
1x15 for gigs where I'm using an EUB or know that I'm going to need some more bottom end.
1x15 and 2x10 together if I need to push some extra power out.

If you want something between those sort of scenarios then perhaps look at a 2x12?
That'd give you the compromise of portability but with a bit more bottom end than a 2x10...

I've never been a fan of SH cabs though - anything that moves is going to wear out eventually and movement is what makes speakers work.
I'm sure bargains can be found though if you are prepared to take the gamble.

[b]AMPLIFIER:[/b]
Assuming you are working with a drummer and at least one guitarist, you probably need about 300W as a starting point - no scientific basis to that figure - it just seems about right.
There are loads to choose from new ranging from about £270 up to £get a mortgage, so looking at the SH market for this might save you some money and get a real bargain.

[b]EFFECTS:[/b]
Don't worry about your effects - whatever you choose will be able to run your effects.