Starting over - but where to start?

[Ba55me15ter]

Markbass with a Tech 21 VT pedal in front would work very nicely!

[Cuzzie]

It's true there is nothing wrong with Hartke kit.
I have an LH1000 which is a great solid amp. I was running it through HyDrive 410s and did like the sound very much, however we have just subtly altered our sound and based on advice from Alex and a friend I have gone for a super twin, and I have to say I am really happy and it works for me very well.
This is not to say one is better than the other, it's just to reinforce the fact that you should trust your ears and then weigh up cash etc. For your purchase

[Phil Starr]

[quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1478680527' post='3170785']
This is key to me. I'm in two bands at the moment. I play mostly fretless in one, with tight precise drum sound, acoustic guitar, piano and not much distortion on the electric guitar. Here I need a clean and clear sound. The other band has two incredibly powerful female singers, fiddle, organ, furious hand percussion (no kit) and a very saturated heavy guitar sound. They were very specific about wanting 'rock' bass - and that means grit. A Stingray and a slightly overdriven preamp got the thumbs up. The BassDirect pitch was that if you need to adjust your tone on the amp away from flat, you have the wrong bass. The sound I was hearing from a MarkBass 2 x 12 setup was extremely HiFi - like plugging straight into a desk. This is not what I had in mind at all. I want to preserve the character of the bass, but most of the amps I've liked in the past have definitely coloured the sound in some pleasing way. The best live sound I've ever had (for my taste) was with Ampeg - in no way a neutral sound - and the biggest surprise was how much impact an old PortaFlex could have. It was a small cellar bar, but I wasn't mic-ed up. The amp's owner - who was standing right at the back of the room for the whole show - had never heard it from the audience's viewpoint commented after the show on how clear and full it had sounded (he'd been going through a bit of buyers remorse, thinking he should have got something bigger). I could hear - and feel - every note too.

This may be heretical, but I think that the trend for ultra compact gear has parallels in the HiFi world. The principal design consideration for domestic loudspeakers is footprint, the the sound is engineered to that constraint. People don't want big boxes in their homes. OTOH, I still use huge 1970s Tannoy studio monitors with 15" coaxial drivers, weighing 50 Kg each. I understand why not everyone wants to lug an SVT around, but I'm pretty sure that even a Mini can transport a 15 and 2 x 10. I'm looking at Hartke gear as a probable route (I used it once in the past and it did the job fine). Single 2 x 10 cab for practice room and add a 15 for live. It won't break the bank either.
[/quote]

OK that post is a bit of a game changer. You know what you like and you are already playing in two bands. There's nothing wrong with Hartke (I've a HA3500 as well as the MB Tube) or go for the Portaflex if you like that. You are absolutely right to choose on the basis of how it sounds.

The lightweight gear thing isn't just fashion though, it's changing technology. Speakers use different construction/materials meaning they can handle hundreds of watts rather than the tens of years gone by and the price of amplifier watts has fallen so it makes sense to carry smaller speaker cabs and a bigger amp for a similar result. The current state of play is that a couple of 12's are about where the sweet spot is without going too esoteric.

BTW I built a couple of cabs with the old 15 Tannoy Gold concentrics back in the 70's, lovely things.

Glad to see you have a clearer idea of where you are going, good luck.

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1478680527' post='3170785']
The sound I was hearing from a MarkBass 2 x 12 setup was extremely HiFi - like plugging straight into a desk. This is not what I had in mind at all. I want to preserve the character of the bass, but most of the amps I've liked in the past have definitely coloured the sound in some pleasing way. The best live sound I've ever had (for my taste) was with Ampeg -
[/quote]

If you want ampeggy drive sound then I would suggest looking at amps like TC RH series, tech 21 VT bass, or the recent darkglass amp.

[radiophonic]

Well I've taken the plunge and gone for a Hartke LH500 and a 2 x 10 XL cab. That should get me through the weekend (2 days of recording*, one practice and a small gig). After that, I can look at getting a s/h 1 x 15 or a second 2 x 10. The amp head [i]is[/i] heavy, but even with a second cab, will easily fit in the back of my small car and, even at new price, came in at less than the lightweight 1 x 12 combo I was being punted. It's not compact, but it's compact enough. It's not like I've got an 8 x 10 + SVT blocking the front door. I also just remembered that there is a very nice studio quality 1U rack-mount compressor, lurking in my cellar, so the 500 might be getting some company to supersede the inbuilt limiter.

[size=2]* 25 minutes of recording plus 16 hours of sitting around listening to guitarists argue about overdubs.[/size]

[Cuzzie]

Solid gear

You won't go wrong.

[radiophonic]

Just to follow up on this. I've settled on an LH500 and 2 x 2 x 10 XL cabs. Single cab for practice sessions / smaller gigs and both cabs when needed. Fairly portable - although the amp is a bit of a brute - and the whole lot fits in a mini provided I only take one bass out. I used the single cab at a Rough Trade in-store and it just about coped when the idiot sound guy refused to DI me. That was just about the limit of what it could do though. Adding a second cab adds a whole lot more low end and I've had to dial back the volume knob considerably. It's hard to imagine a situation where this rig won't cope (idiot sound guys notwithstanding). I'd certainly recommend Hartke gear based on the handful of gigs I've put it through so far, especially for the price. I'd have preferred the HyDrive cabs, but I couldn't afford 2 of them.

[Cuzzie]

Sounds like it's all good for you. Every time I look at another smaller new amp, my LH1000 just keeps blasting away and they are built like tanks

I know space is tight but do you think you could fit in a double gig bag and could then take 2 basses?

I have one from Fusion, a UK based company and awesome to deal with. Those bags are built like tanks also

[chris_b]

Good choice with the 2 210's. I used 2 210s a few years ago for my big rig and they really rocked out.

I spent most of the 80's and 90's with 15's (EV's) and they sounded pretty exceptional but since using modern cabs with 10's and 12's I can't see me using 15's again. You can make informed decisions between old and new amps (valve vs D class) but for me there's no contest, modern cabs beat the cabs of yesteryear every time. The only exception I'd make is the Fridge. They'll probably go on forever.