How many amp heads is too many?

[indiegrungesound]

This question has probably been asked on here MANY times before, but it popped into my head when I was replying to another thread.

I've got a Hartke LH500 & an Ampeg PF 350. Both good sounding heads, & neither has yet let me down live.

But what if the worse should happen & BOTH amps give up on me. Should I have ANOTHER head just in case?

Then there's the issue of different tones, cost of each amp & places to store the amps.

Please bear in mind this has been brought about by hearing a TC Electronic BG250 head a couple of weeks ago. Cheap, light & BEAUTIFUL sounding head!

So, what do you all reckon? Am I just letting potential GAS get the better of me or not?

Any thoughts are much appreciated? Cheers!

[neepheid]

Who am I to judge? What's the difference between owning multiple basses and multiple amps?

I'm a one amp guy myself. Two cabs, technically. One can take the carrying spares thing too far in my opinion - do you tow a car behind your car in case car #1 breaks down?

Edited May 17, 2013 by neepheid

[indiegrungesound]

The way my car plays up, the thought HAS crossed my mind! :-D ;-)
Good point actually! I was sort of thinking in terms of tonal differences TBH, but I'm not really in the position to be like a proper band & use ANY & EVERY amp/cab combination going.

[tonyquipment]

I have two combo amp

There really is no need for another... Unless you plan on running a multiple channel signal

[indiegrungesound]

Excellent point Tony!

Just to clarify/complicate matters, either head goes into 2 Warwick Neo Pro 12"s. I bought the Ampeg mainly for occasions where I only needed 1 of the cabs, as the Hartke could potentially overpower & blow the 12" speaker.

Edited May 17, 2013 by indiegrungesound

[stingrayPete1977]

I have a Genz 300 watt head, a Genz 600 watt head and a twin channel 900 watt Genz head (second channel setup for db), I have a 1x10 cab, a 1x12 cab and a 2x12 cab. Can't think of many gigs I can't cover with a combination of that gear and I can carry all three heads and the 2x12 in one lift!

[chris_b]

[quote name='indiegrungesound' timestamp='1368803334' post='2081771']
....what if the worse should happen & BOTH amps give up on me. Should I have ANOTHER head just in case?....
[/quote]

But what do you do if THAT amp fails?

[bassmachine2112]

Put the spare,spare head in the car you are towing and you,ll still have room for a spare bass and cab just in case.

[indiegrungesound]

[quote name='bassmachine2112' timestamp='1368807480' post='2081850']
Put the spare,spare head in the car you are towing and you,ll still have room for a spare bass and cab just in case.
[/quote]

Great idea! Now all I need is a small fortune! ;-)

Seriously though, it is just a case of wishful (over)thinking. But thanks to everyone who's replied!

[JTUK]

It depends how you have to cover the dates that you do..
I could do most of my diary..well, all of it, as it stands today.. with any of the 3 heads I own.
I have a preference and I regard on as the backup.. the other two are whims on the day, almost.

[mildmanofrock]

Why not just carry a decent bass DI, so if any or all of your amps go down, you can go through the PA? Not ideal for onstage sound purposes, but a quick fix - and cheaper and lighter than lugging extra amps around.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='mildmanofrock' timestamp='1368809124' post='2081878']
Why not just carry a decent bass DI, so if any or all of your amps go down, you can go through the PA? Not ideal for onstage sound purposes, but a quick fix - and cheaper and lighter than lugging extra amps around.
[/quote]
I used to agree with this but with new small heads not much bigger than a di box yet still equipped with one anyone if you are already going into the desk will give you power to your cabs, a used gk200 won't cost much and will fit in your gigbag, also good for practice rooms with ok cabs but crap heads.

[tonyquipment]

The small head is ok... But what if you blow your drivers? Then you are knee deep in it.

[stingrayPete1977]

Never blown a driver, had numerous amp failures.

[tonyquipment]

Running your amps too hot. Need a bigger amp to drive the cabs

[stingrayPete1977]

Nope Ashdown combo with matching extension cab and a Peavey TNT combo before that, its also why I only run separates these days.

[BassTractor]

Me, I'm sick and tired of towing, but this thread let me see the dark:

Two motorhomes/campervans, filled to the rim with gear.
Band logo spread over the full size of the sides - half of the logo on each motorhome. Imagine: 20 yards of logo!
Motorhome 1 driven by present wife / future ex.
Motorhome 2 driven by present lover / future wife.
Me practising.
Perfec.


Seriously though, if I were to gig intensively enough, I'd always take an extra class D amp, and make sure that one of my two cabs could do the job by itself in a rut.

Whilst not gigging at all, and merely attempting to learn to play the bass, I still invest in all kinds of amps. Had seven, currently have six, and will end up with one or two as soon as I understand what they do, and I know what I want.


best,
bert

[indiegrungesound]

Tony, I have no fear about pushing the cab drivers too hard. The 2 Warwicks linked up together have a headroom of 600 watts @ 4 ohms. This means I've got 100 watts of headroom spare with the LH500 & 250 watts headroom using the PF 350. The limiters on each head are always on too. It should also be noted, although I'm contradicting one of my earlier posts in this thread, that I even got away with using the LH500 with just 1 of the Warwick cabs when I was in a recording session in February. This pleasantly surprised me, as @ 8 ohms, the LH500's exceeds the Warwick's headroom by 50 watts(The use of the limiter & a lowish volume probably helped though.).
Bert, would you mind telling us what make each of your amp heads are?

[machinehead]

I've been gigging for almost 40 years and I've had only one amp failure in that time. Fortunately it was on the last song of the night.

Since that incident I always take two amps to a gig. One is left in the car and I hope I never need to go and get it.

Frank.

[BassTractor]

Don't mind telling, but I'm afraid it will not be too interesting, as there is little plan in it as of yet. Most gear was bought when a sudden possibility appeared, like a half price offer or a used one. Also, some of it was bought purely to get a friend started, so there's even less plan there.

Orange Terror Bass - hybrid
Beta Aivin BT250H - discrete
Ashdown Little Bastard - valve
Orange Micro Terror - hybrid (IMS)

I realised too late that some are combos whilst your thread is about heads, but here goes:
Harley Benton CB-110X
Beta Aivin BP35

Just ask if you wanna know more.

best,
bert

[mcgraham]

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1368833223' post='2082206']
I've been gigging for almost 40 years and I've had only one amp failure in that time. Fortunately it was on the last song of the night.

Since that incident I always take two amps to a gig. One is left in the car and I hope I never need to go and get it.

Frank.
[/quote]
My experience is pretty similar. Gigging for 15, on bass and guitar, only really have one amp for each, never had an amp fail.

Also never had call for a backup bass or guitar either.

[graham1945]

[quote name='mcgraham' timestamp='1368853286' post='2082255']

My experience is pretty similar. Gigging for 15, on bass and guitar, only really have one amp for each, never had an amp fail.

Also never had call for a backup bass or guitar either.
[/quote]Same here machinehead and mcgraham, but it's been fifty years of fairly regular gigging for me. One blown 18 inch speaker in that time, blown by a support band bass player using my gear! However I have just ordered an Ampeg PF800 which I will use from now on and keep the SVT 450 in the van "just in case".

[thebassman]

I've been gigging for 25+ years, in that time I've had a blown power valve and a valve state amp give up on me mid gig, luckily I limped my way through the pa to finish the set. It's the worst feeling you can get, letting down the band, and of course the paying punters.

I always take a spare now, that's the beauty of the new micro amps, they are so light and small you don't really notice the extra hassle involved.

Cheers
Thebassman

[fretmeister]

Now I have some good Berg cabs I have real gas for lots of amp heads!

I have 2 Genz heads. Now I want a Terror Bass, a LM3 and anything else that makes a noise!

More the better!