How many amps?

[joel406]

I have 2 Mesa Subway D-800+ heads.

1 Epifani UL 901 (Custom tone stack).

1 Epifani UL 310 cab. A 310 cab that's living at my guitar players house. Now considered furniture.

2 Mesa Subway 212 cabs.

2 Mesa Subway 410 cabs.

 

Band is all In-ears now. So they stay home now.

[Sean]

I've got:

 

Laney Tube 400 - It's heavy and complicated, has a million buttons, sliders, knobs and a footswitch but when you eventually remember how to get it set up right, it's fantastic. It's actually way over the top and is like having a Type 45 Destroyer for going lake fishing.

 

Mesa 400+ - Awesome. This is "the one". Good enough for Macca and more than enough for me. Bought it from Beedster many many years ago and I even still have the Mesa mug he gave me to go with it. Cheers, Mate. It's my keeper and is the only amp that people ever comment on how good it sounds. It's been serviced and re valved a couple of times since I've had it.

 

Mesa Walkabout Scout 12" combo.- A very well used combo and probably the most practical rig I own. Sounds absolutely huge.

 

MJW Taranis 200w- A custom built monster that is essentially a Matamp 200 design but with custom preamp circuits and all sorts of clever switching for splitting valve and power combinations and it has 3 preamp circuits. I struggle to get it to sound how I want it most of the time and it's nowhere near as loud as I want but when it rocks it's a peach.

 

Markbass small thing (can't remember the model but it's like half of a Little Mark. - Carried as emergency backup when I'm packing one of the big valve heads. Had it for years and has saved the day a few times. Has a very characteristic and useable tone.

 

Cabs are BFs.

 

I also have a Line 6 Helix Stomp FX box that can be run through a PA when traveling light but it never feels the same even though the Mesa 400+ model in it is incredibly good.

[DGBass]

On 30/07/2023 at 21:22, jezzaboy said:

To be honest, the 4 x 8 is blooming heavy and not any good for my band on it`s own, it really needs to be paired with the 15

Ashdown on occasion come up with some super sounding cabs that seem to excel in certain circumstances. The ABM 4x8 is in my experience a tremendously good sounding cab in lower volume environments like studio and small rehearshals despite its massive power rating. It does need a bit of scooping on the low end to get the best from it or run with a second cab. Another cab that comes to mind which has an almost similar profile in my experience was the latest Rootmaster EVOII 2x10 sealed cab. Loved the sound of it, really was great for home and light studio session use but it really struggled in a live enviroment without even being driven with anywhere near the power it was designed to cope with.  Used alongisde an RM EVO II 1x15 it sort of worked for live use if the power was kept well inside spec.

[casapete]

1 minute ago, DGBass said:

Ashdown on occasion come up with some super sounding cabs that seem to excel in certain circumstances. The ABM 4x8 is in my experience a tremendously good sounding cab in lower volume environments like studio and small rehearshals despite its massive power rating. It does need a bit of scooping on the low end to get the best from it or run with a second cab. Another cab that comes to mind which has an almost similar profile in my experience was the latest Rootmaster EVOII 2x10 sealed cab. Loved the sound of it, really was great for home and light studio session use but it really struggled in a live enviroment without even being driven with anywhere near the power it was designed to cope with.  Used alongisde an RM EVO II 1x15 it sort of worked for live use if the power was kept well inside spec.

I remember trying an ABM 4x8 cab, thinking it must be worthwhile carrying something so heavy - wrong!
Farted out quite easily, and even paired with another one wasn’t that clever. Shame as they were a good looking

compact cab, rated at 600watts. Think they did an updated version with Neo speakers which presumably made

them a bit lighter.

[Lozz196]

I used one of those at a gig, for on-stage volume it was plenty though I have to admit that my sound wasn`t particularly low-end heavy, maybe that was a factor in it working well for me.

[Obrienp]

I try to keep my amp list to one combo and one (or two) decent cabs, plus a main head and compact spare (for gigs). At the moment I am in transit from valve/class D hybrid to clean class D, so I have more gear than I need.
 

I have a Peavey MiniMax 150 combo that I use for rehearsals with both bands and gigs with one. I also have an Orange Terror II 500 head and 2 x Orange 112 cabs, which I gigged with the blues band I play in but i have found that the rig is more than I need for our gigs.
 

I keep a Warwick Gnome iPro (280 watts) in the gig bag as a spare and tried it out of curiosity at one gig, only to decide that I actually prefer the cleaner sound. This has lead me on a quest to find a clean head with more EQ options. I also decided I didn’t need to be lugging 2 x 12 cabs to all gigs and bought a well used Barefaced Two10. I love the Two10 but not with the Terror head: too much old school but it is great with the Gnome.
 

I just bought a Mark Bass LM III on the market place and I am hoping it is going to pair nicely with the Two10. If it does, there is going to be a barely used Orange Terror rig on the market place.

[msb]

After reading a lot of very positive comments on the Elf I’m thinking of finding one that’s lightly used. They do pop up on TB from time to time and despite the exchange shipping and duties sometimes one can find things that are simply not around locally. In the past I’ve bought quite a number of things from classifieds in the US and everything has gone well.

 

I don’t need another amp. But I’m a little nerdy about them. 

[Phil Starr]

Damn you now I have another job to do.

 

I go ampless to most gigs but have 5 amps which is a bit excessive, now I have to clear some of them out.

 

FWIW

 

Bugera Veyron (my go to)

Warwick Gnome (backup and open-mic)

Peavey Minimax (now never used, I really ought to sell it)

Hartke 3500 (probably my best sounding amp but too heavy and long in the tooth, again I ought to sell but it's worth so little)

MB Tube (currently dead) (I need to fix this or sell it on for someone else to tinker with)

[Obrienp]

1 hour ago, msb said:

After reading a lot of very positive comments on the Elf I’m thinking of finding one that’s lightly used. They do pop up on TB from time to time and despite the exchange shipping and duties sometimes one can find things that are simply not around locally. In the past I’ve bought quite a number of things from classifieds in the US and everything has gone well.

 

I don’t need another amp. But I’m a little nerdy about them. 

I like the tone of the Elf but the fan is pretty noisy and it comes on quickly. Probably not a problem in most scenarios but it was enough to swing me to the Warwick Gnome, which is also significantly cheaper.

[BlueMoon]

1 hour ago, msb said:

I don’t need another amp. But I’m a little nerdy about them.

I’m a paid up member of that club!

[msb]

Next time I see one for a good price I’ll try and snag it. They pop up fairly frequently in the US , but there’s only one I’m aware of locally.

 

I’m always looking through various classifieds , from the local kijiji site to various forums and Marketplace. And over the years have found some deals , and paid market for some , and probably too much for a few things I simply had a hankering for.

 

The loudest fan I’ve heard on a little Class D head is on the SWR HeadLite. When that thing kicks in it roars. I have a great little GK MB200 , a wonderful little head. I was giving it heavy use as a practice amp. Unfortunately the fan got gunked up and stopped working , and through over heating the power module fried. At the time I looked around and decided the MB200 was still the ideal head for that purpose for me. I’m fortunate to know a great amp tech that’s qualified to do Class D amps. It was fixed , and is still working like a charm. 
 

So these days I find it very reassuring to hear a fan come on …

Edited August 16, 2023 by msb

[gafbass02]

No amps anymore. I’d like another genz Benz contour 500 2x10 (the last amp I owned) if one came up, but I’m on IEMs now, and Headrush 112s if I’m doing a show without our engineer and don’t want to trust the in house people. 

[nilorius]

Only this combination - Tone hammer 500 + 2x SL112.

[Old Horse Murphy]

I have two amps: Mark Bass Tube 800 (my main amp) and a Mark Bass Ninja 1000 and one cab (GR Bass 212). 
 

I’ve also got a Mark Bass (can you spot a theme?) CMD121P combo but thats currently for sale as it’s not getting used. 
 

I’ve got one of the Laney Digbeth Preamp pedals that I could use as a DI if needed if one of my amps ever failed on a gig.  

[Linus27]

On 16/08/2023 at 09:32, Obrienp said:

I try to keep my amp list to one combo and one (or two) decent cabs, plus a main head and compact spare (for gigs). At the moment I am in transit from valve/class D hybrid to clean class D, so I have more gear than I need.
 

I have a Peavey MiniMax 150 combo that I use for rehearsals with both bands and gigs with one. I also have an Orange Terror II 500 head and 2 x Orange 112 cabs, which I gigged with the blues band I play in but i have found that the rig is more than I need for our gigs.
 

I keep a Warwick Gnome iPro (280 watts) in the gig bag as a spare and tried it out of curiosity at one gig, only to decide that I actually prefer the cleaner sound. This has lead me on a quest to find a clean head with more EQ options. I also decided I didn’t need to be lugging 2 x 12 cabs to all gigs and bought a well used Barefaced Two10. I love the Two10 but not with the Terror head: too much old school but it is great with the Gnome.
 

I just bought a Mark Bass LM III on the market place and I am hoping it is going to pair nicely with the Two10. If it does, there is going to be a barely used Orange Terror rig on the market place.

 

I also have a Warwick Gnome I Pro 280 and I absolutely love it with my Barefaced Two10. I've started to use it a lot more at gigs as this setup sounds so good.

 

I've also just bought a Mark Bass LM IV and it sounds alright through the Barefaced but I'm not blown away with it so I might sell it on. I did have an Ampeg PF500 and this sounded really good through my Barefaced. I also tried an Aguilar TH500 last week through a Barefaced Two10 and this setup sounded really musical. It was only in a shop so no real world comparison but the guy in the shop who was playing my bass through it was really surprised at how good it sounded.

[Quilly]

3 Amps, 2 Cabs

 

Amps:  Ashdown Little Bastard 30W, Ashdown Spyder 550W,  TE Elf (200W) - The Swiss Army Knife of amps IMO.

Cabs:  TE 300W 1x10, Barefaced Two10

 

I play in an acoustic covers band , elf set up ideal for that. Sometimes I sub in in a 10 piece jazz band, surprisingly the elf+110 can manage, though I prefer to use the Elf amp and BF cab for that when no PA support (warmer sound). For the indie rock band I play in, has to be the Spyder and two 10, though I've had good results with Elf / Two10 also for this application.  

LB-30 for home use mostly, love the tone from that amp thro the BF 210.   Never been in a situation where the Spyder and BF 210 weren't loud enough. 

[asingardenof]

1 hour ago, Quilly said:

3 Amps, 2 Cabs

 

Amps:  Ashdown Little Bastard 30W, Ashdown Spyder 550W,  TE Elf (200W) - The Swiss Army Knife of amps IMO.

Cabs:  TE 300W 1x10, Barefaced Two10

 

I play in an acoustic covers band , elf set up ideal for that. Sometimes I sub in in a 10 piece jazz band, surprisingly the elf+110 can manage, though I prefer to use the Elf amp and BF cab for that when no PA support (warmer sound). For the indie rock band I play in, has to be the Spyder and two 10, though I've had good results with Elf / Two10 also for this application.  

LB-30 for home use mostly, love the tone from that amp thro the BF 210.   Never been in a situation where the Spyder and BF 210 weren't loud enough. 

 

I've been really pleasantly surprised by how well my Elf and Two10S pair together, and have had some nice comments from audience members on my tone. My ABM is definitely the preferred solution if circumstances allow though.

[Quilly]

1 minute ago, asingardenof said:

 

I've been really pleasantly surprised by how well my Elf and Two10S pair together, and have had some nice comments from audience members on my tone. My ABM is definitely the preferred solution if circumstances allow though.

I've toyed with the idea of selling the Spyder and getting a small hi power class D amp, but these amps are kind of rare now (twin valve preamp) and for some reason don't have great resale values though they sound great and a re built like tanks, (a 'lo-fi' version AMB-600). I'm always afraid these small class D amps will go pop in the middle of a gig (happened me a few times), so far the elf hasn't missed a beat.   

[Obrienp]

51 minutes ago, Quilly said:

 I'm always afraid these small class D amps will go pop in the middle of a gig (happened me a few times), so far the elf hasn't missed a beat.   

That’s why I have my Gnome perched on top of the Markbass LM III, at gigs. It’s the just in case, hot stand by. I also have a pre-amp pedal with DI out in case the cabinet goes faulty (hoping the PA is up to it).Fortunately, it’s never happened to me but there is always a first time!

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, Quilly said:

I've toyed with the idea of selling the Spyder and getting a small hi power class D amp, but these amps are kind of rare now (twin valve preamp) and for some reason don't have great resale values though they sound great and a re built like tanks, (a 'lo-fi' version AMB-600). I'm always afraid these small class D amps will go pop in the middle of a gig (happened me a few times), so far the elf hasn't missed a beat.   

I have done hundreds of gigs with class D heads and they have never missed a beat. The only reason I have returned an amp was to get a fan mod done. It did not fail but was very noisy in my practice room. 

[sky]

just 1 (maybe overly large) amp, an old sound city b120 that i got as a spares and repairs sale and fixed up. put it through a laney guitar cab hopefully the speakers dont blow...

[Chienmortbb]

Little Mark on top of a Gnome?

 

 

I found a picture of Little Mark on a Gnome's shoulders!

 

[lemmywinks]

I use IEMs live but still own a little TC BH250 head for home use and rehearsals. I like it because I'm very lazy and it has a tuner, mute switch, aux in and compression (via Toneprint) built in which means I don't have to set my preamp pedal up at practice. I also modified it with a Speakon combo jack, again out of laziness so I can take a single cable and use whatever cabs are at the rehearsal room.

[redbandit599]

I have 3 :-

 

Ashdown ABM600 iv, GK MB Fusion 500 and the TE Elf. I use either one or both of my Berg 1x12s (the ceramic ones.)

 

I love the sound of the ABM and two cabs, but for smaller gigs I find that it chokes out a bit at low volumes. So, it only gets run out for bigger, noisy gigs now.  We usually end up taking me out of the PA.

I'm finding that the other amps work well with one cab and are plenty loud enough (I angle the one cab set up) so given we always run either our 'big' pa or 'small' pa and both have subs - it's mostly the smaller amps and 1 cab that gets loaded.

 

Weirdly, when rehearsing (we are a bit loud) the smaller rigs seem to struggle a bit, which they don't do live - probably because we are all in small box, or because I'm standing closer - still fine of course.

 

[martin8708]

Bigger gigs - use a Little Mark Tube 800 into a Vanderkley 210MNT 

Smaller gigs - use a Momark 250 into a EA Whizzy cab .

Home noodling - Markbass 601 combo .

I do have an Ashdown Stubby which I haven’t really used much , but that’s just down to lack of time / being lazy .