Iheartreverb Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 thanks for looking in guys, yeah, it's another one of those threads. I am well aware that the volume is dictated as much by the cab (size/ amount of speakers) as it is by the wattage of your head. Thing is, I just don't know what I "need". Every single practice rooms we have ever used has a 300/500 watt head running (reduced into an 8ohm) 8x10 cab. So I have never played with anything other than an 8x10! I've never seen a band play live with less than a 4x10 even in tiny venues. This will for now at least be going into our own practice space and eventually (not much of concern now but I'd prefer not buy more later) gigging. I'm looking at something like an ampeg PF head, maybe an Orange bass terror, but that sort of ball park. Should I be looking at 2x10, 1x15, 4x10? We are a pretty loud band and one of the guitarist is using a Fender Twin. Usually I'm running my volume just less than half on an Ashdown mag 300 that I'm borrowing. I just don't want to buy a cab that won't hold up or need to add another later. There's a really complimentary thread on the new Fender rumble 500 which I like aesthetically but not sure if it's more of a practice amp than something serious. Any and all help appreciated Any questions, fire away Cheers all.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 (edited) You're probably going to get as many different answers as there are members, but my 2p is that a good 2X12 (or two 1X12s) will do you. Edited May 18, 2015 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Well, that's two of us saying the same thing! Plus a 500 watt amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadgie Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 watching with interest:) I was thinking the same thing. Thinking of changing my PJB set up of Flightcase and ext powered cab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 In my opinion, 4x10 are the best. I'd use one if I could be bothered to cart it around! If it's just for a rehearsal room, you can't go wrong with an old Peavey, Ashdown or Trace 4x10 and a proper solid state head. If you won't need to transport it around all the time, you may aswell go heavy and cheap! Peavey Firebass 700's and Max700's turn up all the time on eBay for around £100 and they're great amps. I picked up a Hughes and Kettner 410B last year for £112, and a Peavey TVX 410 for £90 a few months ago too. Hartke VX range cabs are pretty good too. Amp wise, I think someone's selling an Ashdown MAG 500w on here for around £250. They're worth it because of all the EQing options available on them. Increase your budget a bit, and there's an SWR SM400 for sale on here which is an awesome amp! Little and lightweight's fine, but if it's for a rehearsal room you might as well get bang for your buck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 2x12 is what I'd go with too, though I never struggled to get a good sound & be heard with a good 2x10. If you want height, you could go for 2 2x10/2x12s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Yeah as above really, I'd say 212 or 2x112 is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 go with what ever makes most sense from the great replies you will get here. my two bits of advice. 1. don't assume that because it sounds great in a shop / bass chat members house, that it is going to work in your band context. if you can do a try before you buy from your local music shop / other friendly local bass players and see what it's like that may save you from making a mistake. 2. give your band enough time to adjust from not hearing you out of an 8x10 before your 1st gig. if they've only ever heard you from an 8x10 the difference may take a few practices to get used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 In my latest band there seems to be a 'louder is better' ethos going on in rehearsals. Not sure why but I wear ear plugs and don't mind The drummer is the loudest I have played with and guitarist, who I have played with before, is just loud. I have recently changed my rig to a single cab - Barefaced Super Compact. So a 1x12 8ohm cab. Amp used for this band is a TC Electronic RH750. Last week was my first outing with this set up and I was told to turn it up from my default amp setting of around 10 o'clock on the master, so put the volume up at 12 o'clock. I think this is the loudest I have played during a rehearsal and probably louder than I have played at most gigs! I'm not sure what it going to happen when we play at the Dog and Duck but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Anyway my point is not endorsing the particular cab or amp, just to say that I found in my loud rock covers band that an 8ohm 1x12 cab is entirely sufficient if the amp is powerful enough and the cab can take it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 another vote for a 500W head and 2x12 cab (or 2 1x12 cabs) I've yet to run out of volume with my rig and my bandmates are noisy so-and-so's! I quite like the modular approach with 2 1x12", I use one for rehearsals and smaller venues and then the pair in bigger places, if I get to the point where I don't have enough from my rig then I'd be expecting a decent PA to DI into and my cabs will be for stage monitoring only. I've played 2 gigs now where I took both cabs and forgot to plug the bottom one in, only realise when I check my rig before the second set. the modern 12" cabs are streets ahead of the old 4x10's. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I`d second the 500 watt head, 212 cab theory. I`ve more volume with that set-up than I could ever need, if I were in a band that needed all of that - or more - I`d leave as it would damage my hearing permanently. 410s also worth a look, as are two 112s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 2x12 barefaced does me perfect with an Ampeg SVT 2 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairychris Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Tried out the lightweight solution for the first time with my noisy buggers on Saturday... GK MB800 into Barefaced Gen 2 Compact, which works out around 500w in to 1x15 at 8 ohms. It was satisfyingly loud, but maybe not the cheapest solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyquipment Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 8x15 Why not You are on bass forums We want BASS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 (edited) With the performance of modern gear few people really [i]need[/i] anything more than 2 10's or 1 or 2 12's, anything beyond that is for vanity and posing (not that I'm averse to a bit of vanity and posing myself ...). I've been know to rock with 2 compacts, stupidly overkill for just about everything - but fun. Checkout the thread on peavey 4x10s - very decent cabs but there are single 12 drivers these days that can achieve comparable air displacement to an entire 4x10/1x15 peavey stack of old (and I'm not making that up - I've looked at the driver specs). Edited May 18, 2015 by bassman7755 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
largo Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 In my gigging experience with 4 & 5-piece Rock/pop covers bands I've never found a 2x10 to be enough. 2x12 are fine. I've tried 15s that claim to sound like 4x10s, 12s that claim to sound like 4x10s and guess what I'm back to using? 4x10 or more like two 2x10s. You can't go wrong with a 4x10 in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 There's a reason why the advice varies, speakers in particular will vary hugely in their ability to turn electrical power into sound with bigger speakers generally (but not always) needing less power than small ones. More important still is the sound you are after. Boosting the bass needs a lot more power. 6dB of bass boost will need you to get an amp which is 4x as powerful for example, with most amps this is with the bass less than halfway up! Add in an octaver and the demands go up even higher, 10x the power wouldn't be unreasonable. My advice is simple, if not straightforward in practice. Aim to match the drummer in volume. If your rig will comfortably keep up with the drummer then it is loud enough. If you go louder then the drummer would need to be miked up and when this happens all the band should be going through the PA or you will sound worse than the alternatives, and you will be damaging your hearing. 100W through a reasonably sensitive 2x10 would do this, just about. 200W or bigger more efficient speakers will give you some limited headroom. Anything this size or bigger should be enough but this all assumes you have the eq set flat. This covers the amp, the next problem are the speakers. Many budget speakers have limited excursion, they can handle lots of power in the upper mids and highs but with deep bass (octavers and 5'ers) they overload at much less than their rated power. You'll need more cone area with budget speakers to avoid this . A modern alternative is to use long throw drivers (a single long throw 12 might well be able to match a drummer with the eq flat). Generally these speakers are less efficient as only part of the long coils are being driven at any one point. You'll probably want a bigger amp to get the best out of one of these. The advice here is all pretty sensible seen in this context. A 200W 2x10 combo is going to cover 50% of most people's needs and 2x12's or a few more watts will take you a bit further. The rest is down to knowing your own sound and that of your band mates. There's a few more techie details here, easily understood I hope http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/gear_maintenance/making_it_loud.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesBass Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 [quote name='Iheartreverb' timestamp='1431901586' post='2776119'] thanks for looking in guys, yeah, it's another one of those threads. I am well aware that the volume is dictated as much by the cab (size/ amount of speakers) as it is by the wattage of your head. Thing is, I just don't know what I "need". Every single practice rooms we have ever used has a 300/500 watt head running (reduced into an 8ohm) 8x10 cab. So I have never played with anything other than an 8x10! I've never seen a band play live with less than a 4x10 even in tiny venues. This will for now at least be going into our own practice space and eventually (not much of concern now but I'd prefer not buy more later) gigging. I'm looking at something like an ampeg PF head, maybe an Orange bass terror, but that sort of ball park. Should I be looking at 2x10, 1x15, 4x10? We are a pretty loud band and one of the guitarist is using a Fender Twin. Usually I'm running my volume just less than half on an Ashdown mag 300 that I'm borrowing. I just don't want to buy a cab that won't hold up or need to add another later. There's a really complimentary thread on the new Fender rumble 500 which I like aesthetically but not sure if it's more of a practice amp than something serious. Any and all help appreciated Any questions, fire away Cheers all.... [/quote] Where abouts are you based. If you're near either Twyford/Reading area get yourself to BassGear, they stock TKS cabs, which are super lightweight and super loud and sensitive, plus they looks AWESOME! If you're nearer Brighton contact Barefaced Bass as they again are stupidly light and stupidly loud! Both have exceptional reputations on here among even the busiest of us. I'm currently torn between going for a TKS or a Barefaced! Doesn't help I'm not certain on which amp I'm after yet either haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iheartreverb Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 [quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1432025831' post='2777291'] Where abouts are you based. If you're near either Twyford/Reading area get yourself to BassGear, they stock TKS cabs, which are super lightweight and super loud and sensitive, plus they looks AWESOME! If you're nearer Brighton contact Barefaced Bass as they again are stupidly light and stupidly loud! Both have exceptional reputations on here among even the busiest of us. I'm currently torn between going for a TKS or a Barefaced! Doesn't help I'm not certain on which amp I'm after yet either haha! [/quote] I'm in Glasgow. And we have plenty of music shops but I find it hard to try stuff out at the volumes needed and get a gauge of if it works without a band context. Thanks for some quality answers everyone. I think I might just save for a good 4x10 and that way I would never want anything else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 (edited) I wouldn't describe the Rumble 500 combo as a practice amp Try one - you'll be surprised at the sonic weight it delivers Edit: It's also very competitively priced Edited May 21, 2015 by Norris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 [quote name='Iheartreverb' timestamp='1432063297' post='2777821']...[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I think I might just save for a good 4x10 and that way I [/font][/color]would never [s]want[/s] need anything else [/quote] Fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japhet Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 If you go for a single cab (2x12 4x10 or whatever) I'd advise going for a 4 Ohm one to get full power from your amp. You probably won't be able to add another cab but I doubt you would need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 410s are great, BUT, I found lugging the one I had around became incredibly tedious very quickly. Mine had castors but that doesn't get it off the ground and into the boot of your car. It's not even the weight so much as the fact they're so awkward to lift due to their size. I'd be looking at a good 212, if you've got a loud guitarist, (but then I'd be telling him to turn it down) probably second hand. There was a lovely Genz Benz 212 on a for sale page on Facebook a couple of days ago. In perfect condition with padded cover for £400. There's good stuff out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 [quote name='Norris' timestamp='1432195009' post='2778986'] I wouldn't describe the Rumble 500 combo as a practice amp Try one - you'll be surprised at the sonic weight it delivers Edit: It's also very competitively priced [/quote] At one point I had a Gallien 1001RB II running into a Trace 4x12" and 2x15" but it was just silly and far too much for every gig I ever did. I have been using a Fender Rumble 500 combo since the start of the year. I also have my Laney NX115 cab in case I need to use it for larger gigs. If you look at my sig the Laney cab is for sale - The Fender is plenty loud enough and I'm not even close to pushing it. BTW I stand right next to our guitarist on stage who plays through a Blackstar head into a 2x12" I don't think that this amp is the be all and end all but it works perfectly with my Yamaha BB425 (and soon to be BB1025) playing the kind of disco, dance etc music that I play with the wedding band. With a P with Chromes it sounded rather flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 [quote name='tonyquipment' timestamp='1431969945' post='2776772'] 8x15 Why not You are on bass forums We want BASS [/quote] Finally, someone gets it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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