Bass rig evolution

[Rich]

My first ever rig was a Custom Sound 4x12 cab with a Phoenix PHA-1 head... a 100w 2-channel hybrid thing in a really tacky plastic case. Sounded OK but the cab was huuge and weighed a ton. I've got a pic of the amp lurking somewhere, but I've looked on the net and can find now't. Anybody remember the Phoenix amps?
Thanks to brilliant parents, I moved up from this to a Laney Pro-Bass 4x10 combo, a bit of a Trace-alike unit. Got this as a 21st b'day prez and it was superb, loved it utterly. No pics to hand unfortunately.
10 years later I replaced the Laney with a Carlsboro 'Delta' rig, a big mistake as it turned out. Didn't like it much and the 1x18 cab was soooooo heavy...
Next up was a Trace GP12 preamp with a Soundtech 2x400w power amp driving a pair of Peavey 4x10s... glorious massive sound, but those cabs at 100lbs each soon got too much...
So the Peaveys went and were replaced with an SWR Triad cab (bought from CK, more years ago than I care to think about ). Wonderful cab, fantastic thing. Loved it.
The Trace pre and Soundtech power combination went, replaced with an Eden WT400 head.
[attachment=19474:rig_cainscross2005.JPG]
I used this for some time, until the 90+lb weight of the Triad began to trouble me, so very very reluctantly I sold it and replaced it with a pair of Eden Nemesis cabs, a 2x10 and a 1x15.
[attachment=19473:my_rig_1.JPG]
These and the Eden head made for a great combination, but pretty soon I was fancying a change again... oh the call of the GAS So a straight swap with Rich Bowman later, I now had an EA iAmp350 combo. I took the amp out of the combo and used it with the Nem cabs. Until yes, another change beckoned I swapped the 2x10 cab for another 1x15, and flogged the iAmp combo in favour of a Focusrite preamp and Crown power amp combination.
[attachment=19475:my_rig_08_08.JPG]
This combination actually saw very little live action as it turned out... not because I didn't like it, I hasten to add, but because at the end of last year I managed to get my hands on an amp I have lusted after for many years, an SWR SM-900. Using this with the Focusrite's simply brilliant compressor, the sound is to die for. Well I like it anyway. I reckon I finally have a keeper.
[attachment=19476:my_rig_02_09.JPG]
The only changes I can see me making now are perhaps some neo cabs -- maybe some of the new lightweight SWR ones? When I can afford it anyway. But there's nothing wrong with the sound of the Nemesis ones, so as it stands I am a happy bunny

So... anyone else got a rig life-story?

[Dubs]

I went from a Carlsbro 1x15 100W combo, to a 300W Trace Elliot 7210H, then bought a 15W practise combo when I moved to Scotland for a few months, then sold the Trace after 5 years of amazing tone/performance to upgrade to an Ampeg all valve rig (SVT-CL and SVT-410HLF) then sold that cos it was a complete f***er to shift around and went to a super lightweight Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 and Epifani UL310 rig which is where I am right now. This evolution has taken about 7 or 8 years and I’ve no doubt it will continue to evolve

[budget bassist]

I had a 10W BB blaster guitar amp (i dont have any pics of this)

Then a 15W "fat rat" bass amp


Then a 120W behringer combo


Then an ampeg BA115


And now i have my ashdown EB180 stack with MAG 115 and 210T cabs


I also got an ashdown Perfect ten for practice at my mum's house


I'm after a new head though i think...

edit for pics

Edited January 31, 2009 by budget bassist

[johnnylager]

1. - Trucker 65w 1x15 combo - blew speaker
2. - Marshall 100 valve head & 4x12 - flogged for ?
3. - Peavey MK IV head & Sunn 2x15 - flogged for food & lodgings
4. - Peavey Combo 300 - flogged for £50
5. - Ashdown ABM EVOII 500w 2x10 combo & 210cab - flogged for £500
6. - Hartke LH-1000 & new cab soon...

[Jono Bolton]

1. Washburn 35W combo to...
2. Peavey TNT 115 300W combo to...
3. Ashdown ABM EVO II 325W head and MAG 410T cab to...
4. Ashdown ABM EVO II 325W head and ABM 210T.

I reckon I'll eventaully add another 210T if I ever need extra "oomph" for bigger gigs, but I'm happy with the current set up just now.

[Dr.Dave]

The first amps I had were both Marshalls but after those I used Carlsboro amps for years - Cobra's , Stingray's etc with mostly home built cabs but eventually Trace Elliot's appeared and seemed to be very serious about making good quality kit for bass players. I jumped in with both feet and was very happy with Trace. I changed model a couple of times and one day - like a fool - traded my aging series 6 kit for a new , furry combo. Piece of s**t. Mistake from day one. Poor build , cheap electrics.

I tried a GK micro combo and liked the sound and that got me started on GK. That became a 400 RB amp and I'm on my third now. First was traded for an Eden rig - too Hi Fi and fiddly for me so I went back to a 400RB and got the third when the Mk4 came out.

I had 2 rigs for a while and one was powered by a Hartke 3500 which got nicked along with the massive Ashdown abm cab I'd bought only a few weeks earlier. The cab had me sold on Ashdown abm cabs though and I've used them ever since for their combination of sound , price and particularly build quality.

I'm not after a huge rig power wise. I don't like twiddling knobs to get a good sound and I hate it when stuff breaks. Personal opinion but I think many speaker cabs are hugely overpriced (maybe because amp makers know folk like to have cabs that 'match' the amp). I don't get too excited about 'black boxes' at all - they do me a job , end of. I get excited about instruments but so long as backline kit works and is unfussy I'm happy.

[WarPig]

Nothing too interesting to be honest

1. Laney HCM15b, Great lil amp, kept it for a fair few years.

2. Laney BC60/50 cant remember. Alright tone, but i didnt really know much else back then.

3. VA60 combo thing, no idea who made it, weighed a ton and never worked right. No pics of that.

4. Ashdown EB180-12. Brilliant little amp, saw me through many gigs and practices

4a. Starfire practice amp. Got this in a deal with a bass + case

5. Ashdown MAG 300H + 210T Cab. Still own this.

6. Tech 21 Landmark 300 + Alien Audio 1x15.


I was also given a Peavey microbass, which serves as my late night/headphone practice amp.

Edited January 31, 2009 by WarPig

[JakeBrownBass]

Don't have a picture of my first amp,

but it was a 30 watt Aria with a 12" speaker!

Then came the Behringer BXT300 with a Hartke VX 410,



Added the VX115 to this set up!

Sold the Behringer and bought the Hartke HA 3500 to go with it!



Then managed to get hold of a Fafner,



Now, i sold the entire Hartke set up and got myself this,



then i joined this site and got this,




Then had all of this at one point,



Then it all cut back to this,



Then the end of last year, this.



And now finally,





Jake

Edited January 31, 2009 by jake_tenfloors

[Rich]

Gotta love that Fafner

[tombboy]

First off... I fried a vintage Vox AC30!!! (sharing it with my guitar playing brother! Oops!!)
Then some 'no-name' crappy lump...
Then a Carlsbro Stingray head through a 2x12 cab.
Traynor combo.... sounded pretty good IIRC
Trace Elliot GP7 1x15 150w combo...
Trace Elliot GP7 300 SMC head, 4x10 & 1x15 cabs
Ampeg SVT II pro with 810 cab
Ampeg BA115AV for practice
Markbass LM450 with 102p and151 HR cabs.....
Then traded the head for my TA503.

[BigRedX]

When I got my first bass, for a while I used my guitar a Carlsbro Wasp - a full 10 Watts! Plenty for rehearsing and recording though.

My first rig comprised a no-name 100W transistor amp (it had a yellow front panel and I got it in a swap for a Shaftsbury resonator guitar). A huge 18" speaker cab that required 2 people to lift and a home-made 2x12 cab. This lasted me all through the 80s although after 1983 I didn't do much live bass playing having discovered the joys of synthesisers...

Come the 90s I got back into playing bass and invested in a more serious set-up. The speakers a Carlsobro 1x15 cab and a home-made (but more serious in design and construction than my previous effort) 2x8 cab. I was getting into bi-amping and used a 12 band stereo graphic into a Maplin kit 2x100watt power amp which did quite a good job of tone shaping an cross over, but the graphic was quickly replaced by a bargain-priced Trace Elliot GP-12 pre-amp. I also had a TE bright box for about 2 days but took it back because it simply wasn't my sound.

At the same time I was rack-mounting my pedals but by the time I'd got them all racked up the result was bigger than the 1x15 cab, so this got replaced by a more manageable Roland GP-8 multi-effects.

This was great, but not loud enough so the amp was replaced by a Carlsbro 300+300Watt power amp and at the same time the got a Peavy BassFX and Spectrum Filter to replace TE pre and Roland effects and added a Korg rack-tuner. This is the rig you can see in the SugarBox video, and remained unchanged until I joined my latest band in 2005, when the Peavy units were replaced with a BassPod XT Pro.

The Carlsbro amp was really much too heavy and the rack was definitely a two-person lift so it was replaced by a 600+600W digital amp, however at the same time changed the speakers for EBS 4x10 and 2x10 so just shifted the weight from one part of the rig to another!

Finally I replaced the amp with a Tech Soundsystems Black Cat (from warwickhunt) which results in my current rig:

6U Rack holding BassPodXT Pro, Peterson Strobo Rack Tuner, Tech Soundsystems Black Cat 1000W amp. This powers EBS pro-line 2x10 and 4x10 cabs. I love the sounds this makes but the EBS 4x10 is really far too heavy so I'm experimenting with alternatives, but still haven't found any I like enough to stop putting up with the weight.

[escholl]

Started with an Ibanez SW10.

After about a month, realized that wouldn't be enough for rehearsals, so went on to an Ibanez SW35. Really great amp, still have it but it's in the US. Wish I could find a way to get it over here though . Anyways had that for years.

Lived in the UK without a bass amp for a while, then after about a year got an Ashdown Perfect 10 Mini-rig. This did me for about a year and a half, until I sold that and got my current setup...

...a HH Bass Machine with two 15" cabs. Love it so much I can't really see myself getting rid of it ever, although the drivers are very old and I'd like to try replacing them with 3015's, as I think it might give a bit better sound/sensitivity.

Whoo HH!!

[Machines]

See if you can spot a theme .

1. Ashdown Five Fifteen 65w
2. Ashdown EB180-12
3. Ashdown MAG210T Cab
4. Ashdown ABM300 EVO II

[wotnwhy]

no amp for the first year and a half

then a Trace Elliot Commando 15 (no photo)

then a Peavey 115 closely followed by the 2x10TVX cabinet (i have photo's, but can't find them..)

followed by a Sansamp RBI pre, Gemini power and Glockenklang Double (2x12)


then over time,
RBI replaced by a mixing desk (long, boring story),
added a Schroeder 1210R to the Glock

pre/power was replaced by an EA iamp 350,
Schroeder left me, so back to just Glock (long story)

EA replaced by old mixing desk/poweramp (boring story)
Glock replaced by Schroeder 1212L
Desk/poweramp replaced by Hartke LH500

so, just incase that confused the hell out of you, this is what i have now

[thedontcarebear]

Mine was: -

Crate 100 watt 1x15 combo (don't remember the model!)
Trace Elliot 1x15 combo with 4x10 Trace Elliot Cab (again can't remember the model of the combo, but 7 band eq I think)
SWR Workingmans 4004 with above Trace Cab
SWR head from above with SWR Workingmans 4x10 cab
Mesa Boogie Basis 2000 M with above SWR cab
Mesa head from above with Hartke VX410 and VX115

Then I sold everything and started playing other instruments in bands!

Behringer BX3000 with Hartke VX410

Then again I sold it and stopped playing again (although I never used that rig in a band).

Ashdown Five Fifteen
Warwick Profet 3.2 with Warwick WCA211 pro
Same as above but also with a Warwick WCA410
SWR 750x with same Warwick Cabs
Markbass Little Mark with same cabs
Sold the 4x10!
Ashdown Superfly with the 2x10 Warwick
Markbass F1 with the 2x10 Warwick
Markbass F1 with Zoot Neo 1x12
Then back to the F1 with the 2x10 Warwick as I didn't get on with the Zoot's sound

And finally now Markbass F1 with EBS 4x10!

I think that is all correct!

Here are some pictures: -

Edited February 1, 2009 by thedontcarebear

[lee4]

Marshall 60w combo,then a Carlboro head and 1x15+horn cab,then same head but custom made 1x15+1x8 cab(which some thieving pikies nicked),then a Carlboro Delta head and a Peavey 1x15 cab(head blew up),Trace 7 band graphic head with 1x15 Peavey plus 4x10 Peavey,to Markbass LM11 plus Zoot 2x12 cab.

[peted]

1st amp was a Park (the old Marshall 'cheap' brand) 20 Watt guitar combo which was a terrible bass amp. It was open back and had two gain knobs which meant that the bass was permanently distorted and lacked all bass. Not the best start to my playing.

When my first band started to gig I bought a second hand Crate 80 Watt 1x15" combo which did me for a couple of years. Heavy as anything, and quite underpowered against two guitarists, but incredibly reliable.

Then bought a second-hand Hartke 3500 head and hired cabs for gigs.

Put the Hartke in a 6U rack with a Samson stereo compressor.

Then bought a second-hand 2x10" cab made in Norfolk by someone I knew, and paired it with a 1x15" I had made for me at the same time by the same bloke. Gigged this rig a couple of times but found myself between bands (typical! First proper rig to call my own and no band to play it with!).

Sold the Samson compressor as I preferred to control the dynamics of my sound with my fingers.

Then sold all the cabs for give-away prices and bought a Hartke PRO 2200 2x12" cab. Still own this and love it. I've gigged this loads with my old covers band. Fits in the boot of my Fiesta and can fill any size venue with great tone. It's a keeper.

My wife bought me a Line6 Lowdown Studio for home practice. A great little combo with sounds that inspire me to practice. I'd recommend this amp to anyone looking for a little combo.

Last summer I decided to build a BFM Omni10. As I'm between bands again I haven't been able to test it in anger, but at home practice levels this does sound like a very promising cab.

So, final rig is: Hartke 3500 into either a Hartke PRO 2200, or a BFM Omni10. A Line6 Lowdown Studio for home practice and practice with a quiet/well-behaved band.

[Rayman]

I've gone from this:



To this:



and finally to this:



3 great amps. The Roland was superb in every respect, I just fancied some more power. The Trace sounded superb, I just fancied less weight, and the Fender is a happy medium between the two.

[niceguyhomer]

I started with a Trace Elliott 150 watt 1x15 combo - I couldn't hear it 'round my knees to then I got a Trace Elliott AH300 + a TE 4x10 cab. Nice rig but weighed a frigging ton, so I bought a Little Mark II and used that with the 4x10 for a while and sold that to buy two new Aggie GS112s - a rig that I was entirely happy with.

Then I saw an Epifani UL310 for sale - had to have it so I sold the Aggies and bought that (still using the LMII) A mate of mine and ex-forum member mikeh wanted to try the UL310 with his GK1001RBII so I let him and it sounded great so....guess what I old the LMII and bought a GK1001RBII.

I fancied trying the GK neo cabs thinking they'd go well with the GK head so I foolishly sold my EpiUL310 and bought a GK 212 neo adding a 1x12 a little later - big mistake. I hated the sound so I sold the bloody lot and bought my first pre/power rig - an EBS Classic Pre / QSC 3100 power amp and an Epifani NYC 212 cab - a truly monstrous rig........er that was very heavy. about a month later, I swapped the cab for 2 Bergantino 112s with the previous owner cos he missed the NYC212.

I got fed up with the faff of a pre/power unit so I sold it and went back to a LMII - a nice rig with my 2 Bergies....but GAS struck again when a Genz Benz 212 NEOX came up for sale so I bought that and sold the Bergies.

Then I bought a Genz Benz GBE 750 when one came up to go with the NEOX 212 and so arrived at my present rig (below) and I can say with fear of contraception that it's easily the best rig I've had so far.

Somewhere in amongst that lot I had a Schroeder 410R but I'm fooked if I can remember where it came in the order but it was a superb cab that weighed far too much for my fragile back I sold it.

Edited February 2, 2009 by niceguyhomer

[OutToPlayJazz]

1. Laney 30w practice amp.
2. Some old Laney 100 head and the biggest homemade 4x10 cab you've ever seen!
3. Trace Elliott BLX 80
4. Trace Elliott GPSM 7 band 15" combo with 4x5" bright box.
5. Trace Elliott BLX 130
6. Trace Elliott GPSM 12 band 15" combo with 4x5" bright box.
7. Marshall B65 (lovely little rig for jazz jobs!)
8. Ashdown EB180 Electric Blue 1x12 combo
9. (Current) Markbass mini cmd 15 combo & 2x10 traveller cab / Ashdown Mag Evo II 15 combo & 15 cab / Roland Bass Cube 100

[Merton]

Will have to dig out pics. In order:

[color="#000080"]in[/color] Vox Escort Bass (2nd hand, my first bass amp!) - 1993
in Trace Elliot Commando 15 (still got this as a practice amp) - 1996
in 2nd Trace Commando linked to the first - 2000
in Trace Elliot AH300-12 with Ashdown MAG410T - 2002
out the 2nd Trace Commando - 2002
in Trace 1153 cab - 2005
in Trace V-Type head - 2005
out Ashdown MAG410T - 2006
in Trace 2103H cab - 2006
out Trace Elliot V-Type head - 2006
in Trace Elliot V-Type 1x15 combo - 2006
out Trace Elliot AH300-12 - 2007
in Eden Nemesis NA320 - 2007
out Trace 2103H - 2008
out Nemesis NA320 - 2008
in Trace Elliot V-Type 4x8 combo and 4x8 cab - 2008
out Trace Elliot 1153 - 2008
out Trace Elliot V-Type 4x8 combo - 2008
in Hartke LH500 - 2008
out Trace V-Type 1x15 combo - 2009
in Trace Elliot 1518 cab - 2009

So I still have the Hartke LH500, Trace 4x8 cab, Trace 1x15 cab and Trace Commando combo....

Christ Joined BC (or BW as it was then) in 2006, had lurked in 2005. I blame you lot for it all!!!

Edited February 10, 2009 by Merton

[RussFM]

I'm sure I've got pics of them all somewhere, but not on this laptop. Anyway...

1) Trace Elliot AH300 + Peavey 4x10 + Peavey 1x15. Blew the amp, and wanted to downsize, so...
2) Ampeg B2R & B410HLF. Wasn't the sound I wanted, cheaply made and too heavy, so...
3) GK 1001RB-II and Neo212. Perfect. Just need a 112 to go with it!

[EdwardHimself]

Mine is very simple.

20w Thomann in house special 2005
No Bass amp, i just played through my guitar amp quietly of course 2005-2006
Peavey Basic 112 2006-2007
1986 SWR SS180+Goliath 1 2007-

[Dan_Nailed]

Start with a Peavey Bandit guitar combo, not mine but on loan from the sister's boyfriend:



Then bought a Peavey Combo 115 after realising I couldn't do anything with a guitar amp:



This combo was HEAVY and not very loud. I ran a Behringer Ultrafex on it and it sounded OK, but the Behringer was junk.

Then I bought my first proper rig in a big splurge, which I don't have any kind of photos of, but was:
Hartke HA5000
Peavey 410TVX
Peavey 115BXBW
Samson PB11 Power Conditioner

I used this for a while until I got a huge Tech 21 boner and bought a Sansamp PSA-1 as a pre, which I ran into the Hartke. This was late 2004, and I joined Nailed in early 2005. Swapped the Hartke for a QSC RMX1450. Not a bad rig this but I didn't and still don't think the PSA-1 cuts it as a bass preamp on it's own. So next I PX'ed my cabs and bought..

AN AMPEG 8x10"! It's the law!

This sounded better but still my tone wasn't there, so I got rid of the PSA-1 for an SVP-PRO, and bought a dbx166XL and an Aphex Aural Exciter, and ended up with this rig:



This was much more like it, can't recommend the SVP-Pro enough if you like Ampeg. I put JJ's in it and it was awesome. I soon ditched the Aphex though as it was pointless for that rig, and moved to this rack setup:



I used the money from the Aphex to fund the tuner and PLX upgrade after selling the RMX. I kept this for about 2 years before I start disliking doing gigs due to the 8x10" and weight of my rack. I decided to stop drooling on the Mesa site and take a positive step towards my dream rig, which I got. Head off Ebay, cab off basschat, sold everything else except the tuner to fund this:



And that's where I am today. My effects history is even more convoluted...

Edited February 12, 2009 by Dan_Nailed

[51m0n]

Crickey, memory wracking on full power (owww)
Piccies - you must be joking, we used crayons when I started...

Crap Carlsbro 115 combo to start with (I think) - totally underpowered though (not more than 100w IIRC, and that was some kind of printing error in the manual IMO)
Moved to HH bass head (2 u sized thing - utter rubbish) into some old Carlsbro 15 cab.
Moved to a Carlsbro Stingray head (I think: had a semiparametric eq) into an HH 2x15 (unbelievably heavy - still have to see an osteopath every 3 months due to an accident with it in a doorway!)
Moved on to a Laney G300 stereo head into 2 Laney 410 cabs - massive improvement, I loved it very very dearly and wore it out completely in the end.
Added a Crown DC300 lab amp and 2 HH 115 PA cabs for maximum clout - ridiculously heavy and big rig, incredible volume though - loved it!
Added a Digitech BP8 for all things weird and wonderful.

Fairly long break ensued whilst I downsized several times until eventually replacing the last bits and pieces with my current rig:-

Korg DTR2000 tuner, Focusrite compounder compressor, Markbass sa450, Bergantino ae410.

Which is smaller, lighter and louder (I think) than my old big rig. And sounds about a million times better too