Hi, newbie with some advice needed please

[Andy J]

Hello Basschatters

First post so be kind please.😁 it's a long one I'm afraid (something I've never had to say to the wife alas...).

After many years on the dark path I've moved from 6 string onto bass. And great fun it is, wished I'd done it sooner.

I'm looking at buying my first bass rig. I think I've just about understood Ohms and parallel etc. I'd be grateful for some tips on what would work for me

Ideally I want to get a something I can add to if needed. Therefore I'm thinking head and cabs rather than combo. If gigs are ever allowed again, realistically the venues we'd play would be small to medium so would 500w head be enough?

I've looked aroubd and like the look of the Orange Bass Terror or Little Bass Thing (at the very top of my price range), Ampeg Portaflex Pf 500 and the Ashdown Rootmaster 500.  Cab wise I was thinking of starting off with an Ashdown 1 12 and then adding a 2 10 when more cash is available (ie. when I shift some of my guitar gear).  The Orange 1 12s are out of my price range.

The current band I'm in is sort of fuzzy, roomy heavy rock. But I have quite a wide taste in music so would like something versatile. I also have a fair few pedals and want a rig that will take pedals well.

As well as trying to keep the cost down I also need something I can lift.  I'm now at the dodgy back and knees stage 😪. The Rootmaster stuff looks ideal for that.

If I've understood correctly the heads I've mentioned would give me 250W (Orange) or 300W (Ampeg and Ashdown) with 1 8Ohm cab and then the full 500W with 2 8Ohm cabs or 1 4Ohm cab.  Is that right?

The Ampeg has only got 1 speaker out. Would I therefore have to connect the 2 cabs to each other and then 1 cab back to the head?. Is that safe? 

Thanks for bearing with me. Any recommendations, ideas gratefully received.

All the best

Andy

[SpondonBassed]

Welcome Andy.

[Richard R]

Welcome aboard!

I will be honest,  I have absolutely no idea about how to answer your question because all I own is a 60W practice amp and only ever play through that or the church PA. 😧

However,  there are lots of real bass players here who do know what they are talking about,  so I would head over to the Amps and Cabs section and ask there. 😁

 

[Dad3353]

Good evening, Andy, and ...

Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

[skankdelvar]

Hi Andy and welcome to the forum.

The introductions section is a good place to say Hi but it doesn't get an enormous amount of traffic so to achieve the largest possible number of responses I'd suggest re-posting your query in the Amps and Cabs section here ↓

https://www.basschat.co.uk/forum/5-amps-and-cabs/

You'll also find some fairly detailed threads there about the amps and cabs you mentioned (which IIRC are popular choices among forum members). 

Enjoy 

[Richard R]

But the traffic it gets is high quality,  especially when @skankdelvar deigns to put down the Bollinger and grace us with his presence. 😉

[Beedster]

Welcome Andy

Only thing that matters with bass amplification is the size of the boxes, the bigger the better, it's all about stage presence, making the guitarist's rig look pathetically small, and whenever possible, completely obscuring the drummist. Don't listen to anyone here who starts talking about 'tone' or 'frequency response' or 'dispersion' or any similar nonsense; only thing that matters biggest box that will fit in the van. If you find a box that's too big, get a bigger van  

[Teebs]

Hiya Andy 

[Geek99]

On 27/10/2020 at 19:40, Beedster said:

Welcome Andy

Only thing that matters with bass amplification is the size of the boxes, the bigger the better, it's all about stage presence, making the guitarist's rig look pathetically small, and whenever possible, completely obscuring the drummist. Don't listen to anyone here who starts talking about 'tone' or 'frequency response' or 'dispersion' or any similar nonsense; only thing that matters biggest box that will fit in the van. If you find a box that's too big, get a bigger van  

Or a smaller guitarist and a midget drummer. Then you can use relative size perception to fool the audience into thinking that you have a rig to rival Stonehenge in its scale 

[police squad]

ampeg or RM will be perfect. I have both.

I use a 1x15 cab mainly but for bigger gigs add a 2x10. I mostly di into the pa too

There is a cracking RM combo and can for sale in the classifieds @AndyTravis

[Frank Blank]

Welcome @Andy J

[AndyTravis]

1 hour ago, police squad said:

ampeg or RM will be perfect. I have both.

I use a 1x15 cab mainly but for bigger gigs add a 2x10. I mostly di into the pa too

There is a cracking RM combo and can for sale in the classifieds @AndyTravis

Now sold unfortunately 😉 

[ricksterphil]

On 27/10/2020 at 19:40, Beedster said:

Welcome Andy

Only thing that matters with bass amplification is the size of the boxes, the bigger the better, it's all about stage presence, making the guitarist's rig look pathetically small, and whenever possible, completely obscuring the drummist. Don't listen to anyone here who starts talking about 'tone' or 'frequency response' or 'dispersion' or any similar nonsense; only thing that matters biggest box that will fit in the van. If you find a box that's too big, get a bigger van  

Nailed it!

Barefaced cabs are great btw