Your Bass Journey - going nowhere without an amplifier!

[Saul Panzer]

Super short journey for me, both time wise and gear wise.

 

RockJam 20

Fender Rumble 15

 

 

[Steve Browning]

14 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

Hmm. This'll be a test of the memory!

 

Top 50 head + Impact 2x15 cab

Marshall Lead and Bass 50 + 2 x Sound City 4x12s (I had started to build John Deacons Acoustic and Hiwatt rig - somewhat on a budget)

Marshall Lead and Bass 50 + home made 1x15 Altec cab (only ever used this when I played bass at a trad jazz jam session on a Sunday lunchtime)

Sound City 120 + 1 x SC 4x12 = Goodmans 18 in home made reflex cab (I remember a gig using the 2 4x12s and the 1x18 and fairly sure I used two Sound city heads) - getting there on the John Deacon front!

Intermusic Bass 150 + HH 2x15

Intermusic Bass 150 + Ampeg V4 2x15 (this was when I realised that 15s were my sound)

Peterson 150 + Ampeg V4 2x15

Acoustic 220 + Peavey 1810 cab (not for long the 1810 was awful - huge bottom end, clear top but I may as well have stopped playing the notes in between!

Acoustic 220 or Orange 120 + Mesa Diesel 2x15 (I owned the 400 at this stage but struggled to make sense of the eq initially, so used the Oranges (I had 3 120s) - this would be about 1985, I reckon. The Mesa Boogie journey has started!!

2 X Orange 120 + 2 x Mesa Diesel 2x15 (about 3 months while I got to grips with the eq)

Mesa Bass 400 + 2 x Mesa Diesel 2x15 (Mesa Walkabout bought during this rig - still have one)

Mesa Bass 400 + Mesa Bass 400+ + 1 x Mesa Diesel 2x15 + Mesa Road Ready 2x18

Mesa M-Pulse 600 + Mesa Diesel 2x15 (very briefly used 2 x Barefaced Compact 1x15s)

2 x Mesa M-Pulse 600 + 2 x Mesa Subway 1x15

2 x Mesa TT800 + 2 x Mesa Subway 1x15

For complete clarity (as we're talking about gigging amps) I have done a semi acoustic ska gig with my GK MB150E but that was very much for convenience.

An addendum as I have remembered some more pre-Boogie stuff.

 

I had a Fender Bassman 10 combo.

Ampeg early 70s. portaflex and I used this at a gig, in conjunction with a Marshall mini stack - the head and 2 X 1x10 cabs, designed to look like a pair of 4x12s.

[BreadBin]

I started with a Fender Bassman 100 + the old wardrobe sized 4x12. This caught fire. 

A Laney PL100 combo was next. This expired with a pop-weeeee sound.

Then I had a couple of Ashdown Evo 300s, with a mixture of Ashdown and Bugera cabs. Still have a Bugera 2x10 but sold the rest as I didn't enjoy the sound.

Next up a TCE BG250 208, nice and light but a little gutless without an extension cab. I swapped this for a 1x15 version which is the amp I currently use the most.

I also have a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 which I run through a Taurus 4x10 if I need to get loud but this rarely happens. Am eyeing up either an all valve head to replace the Genz (Ampeg etc) or possibly something like the Purple Chili rig in the classifieds if it's still around at the end of the month.

[Ed_S]

I can't recall the full list, especially not in the right order, but the spirit of the journey in general goes..

 

Park B25 mkII practice combo to get me started.

Trace Commando 15 mkII as my first 'real' amp.

Hartke HA2000 and VX410 as my first separates rig.

SWR Workingman's 4004 as it was passively cooled and the fan on the HA2000 was irritatingly akin to a jet engine.

 

Then it all went a bit wrong as I tried to like various flavours of Ashdown MAG and ABM stuff. Big, costly mistake.

 

I chance-encountered Markbass on a trip to ElectroMusic in Doncaster, bought my LM2 (which I still have) and was happy again!

But I realised that I missed my Hartke, so I got a HA5500 which I left at the rehearsal studio with my remaining ABM410. Decent rehearsal rig.

Treated myself to a matching Markbass 104HR cab to go with my LM2 for live use, and that's really where I should have stopped.

 

Of course I didn't stop.. I got a taste for class D stuff and have bought various mini amps to try out over the years, keeping some of them and shifting others.

Barefaced cabs came on the scene so I got a Super 12 and a Midget for live use, and assigned the Markbass 104HR and an LM800 to rehearsal duties.

Everybody on here raved about the Rumble 500 combo, so I bought one to see what the fuss was about. It turned out to be pretty good so I kept that.

 

Most recently I finally got rid of the trusty old 104HR and replaced it with a pair of Barefaced One10s for rehearsals - they sound great with the LM800.

Given the success of the One10s, I'm currently musing on selling the Rumble and replacing it with a Two10 and Markbass Nano for small/medium gigs.

[EMG456]

Interesting thread…

my view on amplification has always been that it is generally there just to reproduce faithfully the sound of your instruments to whatever volume level is required. Once I find something I’m happy with I tend to lose all interest unless something breaks so here goes. 
 

mid 70s-young and looking for a sound

Marshall 100w Solid State into two 1x15 homemade cabs- did a job but not great

Maine (remember them?) 150w? Head into two Carlsbro folded horn + tweeter bins -still not there

Acoustic 370/ 301 rig- now we’re talking! Only issue was the truncated top end- increasingly not bright enough for me

I owned a pair of Bose 802 P.A. cabs and used to run the 370 through them on small quiet gigs -great sound but limited in volume. 
 

1980s

Trace Elliot AH150, 7band preamp, power side upgraded to 300w into two Traynor full range P.A. cabs- RCF 15s and Foster Horns

This rig kept me happy for over a decade through my most prolific gigging period.

 
Mid 1990s

Down sized due to function band buying big stage monitor setup with everything going through P.A.  

Trace Elliot 1x10 Commando? Combo- the ones with the solid front with an open slot. It was awful!

Ampeg SVP pro preamp into Peavey CS800 into 2x Acme Low B2s- awesome full range rig. Pre and power amp in case   were back-breakingly heavy- this was pre widespread class D availability. 
 

2000s
PJB Briefcase for the house- started using it for small acoustic gigs

Genz Benz ShuttleMax 12.2 into the LowB2s for bigger gigs

PJB Double4 for carrying out to house rehearsals- even use it for the smallest of gigs.

 

That’s where I am- I don’t see me buying another piece of bass amplification again barring irreparable failure of something. 

[tony_m]

Been and gone:

 

Kustom keyboard combo (30W?)

Marshall BassState B30
Laney Linebacker 30 Bass

Trace Elliot BLX-80

 

Now:

 

Ashdown Perfect10 30W (just gathering dust!)

Ashdown MAG300-C210T combo

Ashdown Five Fifteen mini rig

Trace Elliot AH200 + Ashdown MAG210 Deep or Trace Elliot BLX-110

 

 

 

[Steve Browning]

1 hour ago, EMG456 said:

Interesting thread…

my view on amplification has always been that it is generally there just to reproduce faithfully the sound of your instruments to whatever volume level is required. Once I find something I’m happy with I tend to lose all interest unless something breaks so here goes. 
 

mid 70s-young and looking for a sound

Marshall 100w Solid State into two 1x15 homemade cabs- did a job but not great

Maine (remember them?) 150w? Head into two Carlsbro folded horn + tweeter bins -still not there

Acoustic 370/ 301 rig- now we’re talking! Only issue was the truncated top end- increasingly not bright enough for me

I owned a pair of Bose 802 P.A. cabs and used to run the 370 through them on small quiet gigs -great sound but limited in volume. 
 

1980s

Trace Elliot AH150, 7band preamp, power side upgraded to 300w into two Traynor full range P.A. cabs- RCF 15s and Foster Horns

This rig kept me happy for over a decade through my most prolific gigging period.

 
Mid 1990s

Down sized due to function band buying big stage monitor setup with everything going through P.A.  

Trace Elliot 1x10 Commando? Combo- the ones with the solid front with an open slot. It was awful!

Ampeg SVP pro preamp into Peavey CS800 into 2x Acme Low B2s- awesome full range rig. Pre and power amp in case   were back-breakingly heavy- this was pre widespread class D availability. 
 

2000s
PJB Briefcase for the house- started using it for small acoustic gigs

Genz Benz ShuttleMax 12.2 into the LowB2s for bigger gigs

PJB Double4 for carrying out to house rehearsals- even use it for the smallest of gigs.

 

That’s where I am- I don’t see me buying another piece of bass amplification again barring irreparable failure of something.

Interestingly, I seem to recall seeing Huey Lewis on YouTube and it did appear Mario Cipollina was using Bose pa cabs.

[EMG456]

3 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

Interestingly, I seem to recall seeing Huey Lewis on YouTube and it did appear Mario Cipollina was using Bose pa cabs.

That is interesting. Think if I’d had two pairs it would have been more viable but they were expensive in those days. Not an entirely dissimilar approach to the Phil Jones stuff. 

[lonestar]

 

Woolworths Audition 25w combo

 

FAL( 150w?) PA Aamp + huge " Custom made Orange type" 2x12 reflex cab that sounded about the right level close up, but could rearrange someone's digestive system 100 yards away.

 

HH VS Bass Amp with aforementioned cab. I had to give the cab up, much to my teenage angst, as it was damaging the roof of  my Dad's VW beetle when moved around on the roof rack.

I had to downgrade to two 1x12's which were rubbish.

 

Borrowed Trace 250 head + 4x10 and 1x15 rig, for gigs  as I got back into bass playing after a 15 year gap and a few lost years as a guitard.

 

Hartke HA2000 head Ashdown 4x!0 and 1x15 cabs

Harke HA500  plus above cabs

 

Markbass CMD102p plus Markbass Traveller 2x10 cab

 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by lonestar

[tauzero]

There's a couple missing, I think.

 

Laney DP150 and Ohm 1x15 cab

GK 200MB (the combo predecessor to the MB150)

TE 4x10 combo (serious mistake, weighed as much as my car)

Another Laney DP150 and home-made 2x10

TE AH250 head with the home-made 2x10

Tech Soundsystems 4x10

EA iAmp 500

EA iAmp 800

Ashdown Superfly

Ashdown Superduperfly

Tecamp Puma 900

Barefaced Big Baby 2

GR Bass AT800 Cube combo

 

Still have the last two, and a BC micro cab, plus a BC 112 still under construction.

[casapete]

Probably best do this while I can still remember them - okay, most of them….

 

Selmer TnB croc skin 50 watt head & matching 1x18 cab ( mate of mine’s really).

Fender Bassman 135 head and matching 2x15 cab ( disappointing )

Peavey 400B mk3 and then a MK4 - great amps. Can’t remember which cab.

Acoustic 120 head into a 2x15 EV cab ( big improvement on the Bassman)

Ampeg early 80’s SVT 300 watt valve head and matching 8x10 cab - huge sound, but huge.

Trace AH500 into a Peavey 410TX - great amp and surprisingly great cab. Both hefty though.

Trace AH250 ( because the AH500 weighed a ton)

Early-ish Ashdown ABM500 into an Ashdown ABM410. Used this for quite a while, ok.

Ampeg SVT 3PRO head.
GK 800RB into a Loud Inc 410. Wonderful amp into a very underrated cab. Still got both!

GK 700RB into an early Barefaced Compact, bought after trying the demo cab that toured the UK.

Mark Bass LM2 - handy little amp but a bit ‘meh’. Size appealed more than the noise it made.

GK MB800 - my current small rig, into the BF Compact. Used for all my function/pub gigs.

GK 1001RB into a GK Neo 410 ( my current main big rig for theatres etc, with a GK Backline 600

as a spare - never used!)

Fender Rumble 100 V3. Brilliant sounding lightweight combo for acoustic / quiet-ish duo gigs.

 

Those are the ones I kept and used for a reasonable length of time. Notable mentions must also go

to one or two Hartke HA3500s (which I liked a lot but for strange reasons traded for some of the above)

along with a Delta ( Carlsbro) 600, and some others that elude me so can’t have liked them.

Been happy with my GK stuff for 20 odd years now, and probably won’t stop using them. Always

keep an eye on what’s around though, fancied an Aguilar for a long time along with maybe a newer

Barefaced cab. The BF stuff came out just at the right time for me, and has enabled me to carry

on working when I thought I might have had to slow down. Great cabs from a great company.

 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by casapete

[LeftyJ]

Bold = still in possession:

 

The Animal AB20/08 practice amp

EBS 300 Gorm 2x10

Ashdown ABM300 EVO II C210T + ABM115 Compact

Line 6 Lowdown Studio 110 (for home practice and recording)

EBS HD350 + EBS Proline 410

EBS NeoDrome 12-150 (mostly used at home, the big rig and the preamps reside in my rehearsal space. Plenty loud for rehearsals, small gigs or as a monitor though)

EBS MicroBass II

Ampeg SVP-CL

Ampeg SVP-PRO

SWR Grand Prix

[scalpy]

First amp was my folks record player which required an unfeasibly complicated set of crocodile clips to play through it. Naturally I blew the speakers. Suitably chastened, my folks were good enough to buy me a BCRich 110 combo as I persuaded them ‘I really need it’. For capital, as I sold it almost immediately to buy something way bigger and therefore much better- a HH 215 cab and laney linebacker 100. Still have the head, the cab died being used on a gig in Nottingham by a support band. Sold the remaining functioning speaker and skipped it. Promoted myself to a 410XL Hartke, which proved magnificent, and has lived in my classroom for 20 years being thrashed by students and it still laps it up. Powered by a 1400 hartke head, that hasn’t survived so well. Got fed up with being told I was too loud before I’d even plugged in so went for a lmt500 head and two Aguilar DB112s in boss tweed (that makes them sound better) and even after being on BC for 10 plus years that’s my main rig. Also have two 110 cabs from DB as a modular pit rig. I have access to a tube Veyron as well which is fun. Main source of sound sculpting now is a MarkBass Vintage Pre as my main gig is in-ears.

Edited March 10, 2023 by scalpy
Missing word

[TimR]

Since 1987.

 

McKenzie Qmax 100. A 15" 100watt 15" combo.

Trace Elliot GP7 SM 300. 300watt 15" combo.

Warwick ProFet 5.1. 500watt head with 2x 2x10" 210pro cabs.

 

 

[TorturedSaints]

Since 2005:

Shine 10W practice amp

Fender Rumble 100 combo (sent it back and got a refund!)

Laney RB5 1x15 165W combo and Warwick WCA410 extension cab

Eden WT-405 amp and Peavey 410TVX cab

GK MB500 and Barefaced Super Twin

Quilter BB800 and Barefaced One10

Edited March 11, 2023 by TorturedSaints