Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Small or micro combos


andybassdoyle
 Share

Recommended Posts

Ive just picked up an Ashdown After 8 second hand in good condition for £25.

Im proper surprised at how loud it is. Cant get it anywhere near a quarter/half volume without it being too loud for the house.

Nice compact combo. The deep switch makes a nce low end.

Worth a try if you can pick one up cheap, then if its not loud enough - sell it for what you got it for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Promethean 3110 covers all your basses! :) (I think the 5110 has been discontinued...)

MB CMD 121P is a quality upgrade from the Promethean 3110 and still amazingly compact. But starting to get into serious money territory...the FS section has some coming up from time to time at more reasonable prices.

Both these amps churn out 300W by themselves (and 500W with an extension cab in the case of the MB) so they should both should give you plenty of headroom for the jamming with a full band.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PJB gear is very good quality and transparent sounding. Debatable if the Double 4 (75w) or Cub (100w) would have the volume to compete with a guitar amp or drums. I have a Double 4 and it is surprisingly loud for the size, it's stupidly small. Sounds great too. Not the cheapest of options though but suits me for home use perfectly...... At the moment :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so far. It is a bit of a challenge, the pjb gear eg cub is definitely the size and weight I'm after but I do have the sense that it may not be loud enough. This seems to be the gist of most feedback I can find.
Really interested in this so please keep your thoughts coming.
The other option of course is micro head and cab. Perhaps not quite as convenient but probably the answer to the volume?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i have a cheap and cheerful Peavey microbass i got for less than £20 its only 20watt and tiny in size but i use it at home with under a quarter volume, and have taken it out and about for acoustic gigs. its not the loudest so depending on what your doing it might not be the best but i love the sound of it with a bit of overdrive from a pedal

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First choice Promethean P5110 if you can find one used, closed seconds are the equivalent RedSub and Harley Benton, all made by Beta-Alvin.

If that fails then you have the Fender Rumble 1x12"/1x15", GK 1x10"/1X12" or used GK MB150, Hartke HyDrive 1x12", Markbass CMD121P, and the price starts to rise from here on up to the likes of Phill Jones and AER.

There are lots of old used and cheap combos that will do the job like the Trace Elliot Commandos, Peavey TNT150, Behringer Ultrabass BX1200, etc. but they're heavy to move.



EDIT: all the listed combos will be able to cope with a drum set if your drummer isn't Lars...

Edited by Ghost_Bass
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not strictly a combo, but a BF midget + GK MB200 head will give you something small and light and loud enough to rehearse with drummer. If you go used, it's doable for around £450 for cab and head. Use some power grip tape to fix the head to the cab and it'll have the convenience of a combo but with more flexibility should you need it.

I've also got a pjb bass cub, lovely piece of kit, small and light, and dual channels are useful for rehearsing with a guitarist. However it doesn't go anywhere near as loud as the midget and, understandably, the tone sounds a bit boxed in compared to a bigger unit.

A 10 inch active PA such as the Yamaha Dbr10 also makes a good lightweight 'combo' but you miss out on tone shaping and headphone socket etc.

I've played through a promethean at a jam night and it packed a fair bit of punch for its size.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1494366969' post='3295488']
PJB gear is very good quality and transparent sounding. Debatable if the Double 4 (75w) or Cub (100w) would have the volume to compete with a guitar amp or drums. I have a Double 4 and it is surprisingly loud for the size, it's stupidly small. Sounds great too. Not the cheapest of options though but suits me for home use perfectly...... At the moment :lol:
[/quote]

You'd need to add a power amp and more speakers to a Cub or Double 4 to do that. My Flightcase (twice the size) didn't complete with drums and guitar. Lovely sound, but not enough wellie. I sold it and got a couple of PJB C4s, which are fine with a suitable head.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1494496316' post='3296449']
TCE 208. Super small and loud for the size. If you do the speaker mods, mentioned on a thread on BC, you get the full power output without using an extension cab. Then it really is loud.
[/quote]

+1 for TC BG250-208. I think that could be a really good shout and also seems to tick all the boxes for what you're after? Tonally you pays your money...so the Promethean 3110 (I use one for band rehearsals - it is the most compact 300W amp in its price range) and TC gear (I previously had the 115 version of the BG250) are not going to be in the same league as some of the more expensive gear e.g. the Markbass CMD 121P.

Obviously the AERs suggested on this thread are going to be wonderful amps, but £1,000+ seems a lot for what you're looking to use it for? However you may have just won the lottery, in which case go for it... :)

Edited by Al Krow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just recently had this quandary. I ended up getting a carvin mb10. 200 quid 2nd hand. But I went this way as on its own is perfect for home and general jam use. But adding an ext cabinet (whilst still using the internal speaker) will make it a perfectly good gigging rig. Best of both worlds.


Sounds great too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[size=4][quote name='Andytre' timestamp='1494407987' post='3295649'][/size]
i have a cheap and cheerful Peavey microbass i got for less than £20 its only 20watt and tiny in size but i use it at home with under a quarter volume, and have taken it out and about for acoustic gigs. its not the loudest so depending on what your doing it might not be the best but i love the sound of it with a bit of overdrive from a pedal
[/quote]

I'd highly recommend the PJB Briefcase and I've used that on a few small gigs where the band are using acoustic guitars and light touch drummer and vocals and it has been fine even with a 5 string active bass. Another I found to be really good is a Peavy Micro bass combo which also sounds great with electric guitar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='sk8' timestamp='1494407767' post='3295646']
AER Amp One
[/quote] I've just splashed out on an aer amp3.yes,it's a big outlay but my first impressions are this thing is unbelievable!! First gig with it tomorrow night,it's real quality sound and has some proper heft behind the notes.i can't see myself having to buy any other amp or cab soon .if your budget allows....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='tubbybloke68' timestamp='1494601685' post='3297297']
I've just splashed out on an aer amp3.yes,it's a big outlay but my first impressions are this thing is unbelievable!! First gig with it tomorrow night,it's real quality sound and has some proper heft behind the notes.i can't see myself having to buy any other amp or cab soon .if your budget allows....
[/quote]

My one can happily cover pub gigs without breaking a sweat. It's nuts!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='tubbybloke68' timestamp='1494601685' post='3297297']
I've just splashed out on an aer amp3.yes,it's a big outlay but my first impressions are this thing is unbelievable!! First gig with it tomorrow night,it's real quality sound and has some proper heft behind the notes.i can't see myself having to buy any other amp or cab soon .if your budget allows....
[/quote]

Congratulations! (And I'm definitely a little bit envious! :)) I think a number of folk of got the AER Amp One, but Amp Three seems to be a rarer commodity. If you get time to post a few pics (perhaps on an new "AER" thread) and do a detailed review that would be fantastic.

Edited by Al Krow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1494605732' post='3297337']
Congratulations! (And I'm definitely a little bit envious! :)) I think a number of folk of got the AER Amp One, but Amp Three seems to be a rarer commodity. If you get time to post a few pics (perhaps on an new "AER" thread) and do a detailed review that would be fantastic.
[/quote]

Those are both really amazing amps but the AER Amp Two is the daddy, and a real rarity. It can be clean or gritty and it can get really loud. It's a marvelous sounding combo. I've covered some fairly big gigs with it without PA backing.

Sadly, mine is getting little use now as I seem to use the Barefaced One10/ GK MB200 or Barefaced Super Midget/EBS Reidmar 750 these days. If you prefer a combo, the AER Amp Two is just about as good as it gets. :)

Frank.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...