The head/cab, combo minefield

[swill1971]

Can anyone help me through this minefield ?? 

Relatively inexperienced as a bass player and struggling to make decisions on a new amp. I play in a 5 piece covers band and I have been using the Fender 100 rumble combo. Seemed to be coping well at first, especially going through the PA, since then guitarists have upgraded their gear and feel my amp is struggling with the might of their Marshalls . We play decent sized pubs/clubs on the small to medium size.

Its easy , I'll upgrade my equipment, or so I thought.......... another better Combo or start to build myself a decent bass rig ?? 

Hence the minefield .... 300w ? 500w? what Cab would be suitable ?? Looking at a budget of maybe £400-£600

If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated 

[Mickeyboro]

You'll get lots of different advice, but mine would be to buy a decent cab and experiment. I got hold of a Barefaced SuperCompact (12-inch, no tweeter) and have tried three different heads with it before deciding on the MarkBass LM800. If my needs change I can change the head and keep the cab, which seems to be able to cope with anything thrown at it. 

[bassjim]

Lots to choose from so IMO this is going for a safe bet.

There is a second hand markbass rig for sale in the ad section here for £800.00  Also there is a MB 4 X 10 cab for about £400.00 Find a 3-500 watt MB head and you are good to go.

As its a relatively new thing to you, there is an easy to sell option if it doesn't work out for  but pretty much this is the sort of thing to look for.

You will get the volume and heft needed for gigging. Once you progress to the "I just need to get my exact tone"  hell, you can start worrying about this at night and start checking out all the other stuff. 

I'm not a MB user myself but have been in the past, and its all good stuff. It will give you what you need and you may even come to prefer it over other things.  I'm suggesting this because I know it works and its reasonably cheap and within your reach price wise. 

If you go too cheap in the quality you may never get anything that continues to inspire you to keep going with any enthusiasm. Some of the MB stuff when it was brand new was very expensive but now its just not in "Bass Fashion" anymore as its not the latest thing out. 

 

Of course there are other brands that will do the same thing so I'm only suggesting this rather than saying this is the only or better way.

 

 

 

[SamPlaysBass]

3 minutes ago, bassjim said:

Some of the MB stuff when it was brand new was very expensive but now its just not in "Bass Fashion" anymore as its not the latest thing out. 

Completely agree. There are many players on Basschat that swap and change to the latest technology when they can afford it and the stuff they sell on has been well cared for. I’d start in the for sale section here. 

Head and cab are easier to upgrade than a combo, so I’d vouch for that as a start. 

I recently bought a Markbass LM3 for £300. I’d really recommend it; reliable, loud enough for nearly any scenario and just going out of fashion (the key ingredient!). There’s plenty about for the same money, which leaves you with £300 for a cab. Again, based on your needs (will it fit in my car? Will I need to cart it up three flights of stairs after every gig? Will I be worried about leaving it for hours unattended etc.), there’s plenty of choice on Basschat. I’d say a 4x10 is capable of nearly any scenario. There are plenty around for £300, and most will serve you well. Again, it’s based on your needs. I’ve played through a Hartke HyDrive 4x10 and was asked to turn down in a loud rock band scenario. Wheels are always handy on a 4x10! 

The Fender Rumble stuff seems to be well liked in most instances, if you are happy or don’t fancy a change, look up the range for more power and speakers. If you aren’t getting the results you want, sell up and move on.

I’d wholeheartedly recommend buying from this site if you can. 

 

[Japhet]

I'd always go for a head and cab (4 ohm) or 2 1x12 cabs (8 ohm) so you draw full power from your amp. Having said that, you could probably pick up a used Fender Rumble 500 for £350 which would keep up with most stuff.

[fleabag]

1 hour ago, swill1971 said:

Hence the minefield .... 300w ? 500w? what Cab would be suitable ?? Looking at a budget of maybe £400-£600

 

Dont fret over 300 watt or 500 watt. You'll barely hear the difference, all things being equal. 

[swill1971]

Thanks for all your advice, really really helpful.

Did fancy the Ashdown series but very mixed reviews, leaning to the MB range to be honest , thanks again

Spoiler

 

 

[pbasspecial]

MarkBass through a barefaced cab is a winning combination

[Lozz196]

4 hours ago, pbasspecial said:

MarkBass through a barefaced cab is a winning combination

It is a very nice combination. A tad more than budget quoted, but in some situations buy once is a better option than buy cheap buy twice. Just make sure you like the Markbass sound, if you do, well imo Barefaced pair really well with MB amps.

[prowla]

If it's going through the PA, then the amp is just for monitoring.

Would angling the cab do the trick?

[MrDaveTheBass]

Definitely go second hand - it's a buyer's market for cabs especially, and there are some great bargains to be had if you're able to travel in person and pick them up.

I would also go for the separate head/cab approach - that way you can upgrade more easily as and when funds allow. I would recommend Genz Benz Focus cabs as cheap but good, and still fairly lightweight. Markbass LM3s are solid, reliable and powerful, and I like their transparent sound, but if you like any grit or dirt in your sound, you'll need a separate overdrive pedal too.

[Al Krow]

If you like the quality of Markbass and enjoy the convenience of a combo then £600 will go a long way to getting an excellent combo, particularly second hand:

• CMD121P (wonderfully compact and if you ever need extra ooomph you can easily add an extension cab down the line);
• Alain Caron AC 121 Lite (has done me proud for pub and club gigs for the past 4 years, and never skipped a beat, although I will have done on many occasions!)
• and actually there's a lot of love for the Fender Rumble 500 2x10 - seems to me you could do far worse than the big brother of the combo you already have, particularly if you like the sound it's delivering?

Separate heads and cabs, well there's some fantastic gear out there, but I think you may struggle to get something within your budget that is noticeably better than the three combos I've listed e.g. my DG M900 and VK 210 rig is approximately double the price of my Markbass Combo on a directly comparable (new or second hand) basis; yes they're overall better for sure, but you'd kinda hope / expect that to be the case given the price differential.

Happy hunting!

[Dan Dare]

3 hours ago, MrDaveTheBass said:

Definitely go second hand - it's a buyer's market for cabs especially, and there are some great bargains to be had if you're able to travel in person and pick them up.

I would also go for the separate head/cab approach - that way you can upgrade more easily as and when funds allow. I would recommend Genz Benz Focus cabs as cheap but good, and still fairly lightweight. Markbass LM3s are solid, reliable and powerful, and I like their transparent sound, but if you like any grit or dirt in your sound, you'll need a separate overdrive pedal too.

+1 for a separate head and cab. Apart from easier upgrading, if something goes wrong (which will usually be to do with the amp), it's easier to connect another to your cab and carry on, rather than have to take the whole lot to the repair shop and be without a rig. Heads are generally small/light these days, so there is no real "convenience" to having a combo. The separates approach is also scalable. You can take out only what you need for the job.

[pbasspecial]

And if you fancy a combo, the new Blackstar Unity range is worth a look too