Bottle Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Howdy All Been lurking in this section for a while, but now have need of the massive amount of expertise in here !!! Basically the church I play bass in on a Sunday have moved venues - we are now in a 400 seat auditorium with a stage, and my poor little Lowdown 110 just isn't cutting through the on-stage mix (even after being DI'ed into the PA, and having a wedge monitor mix - I blame our drummer ) What I'm looking for is a decent amp/cabinet combination, that's not too heavy (we have to set up and pack down for every service, and there's a flight of stairs involved). I have a PA power amp that says it's capable of pushing out 500w into 8Ohms in bridge mode, so I'm looking for a pre-amp only (and would welcome your input). Rack-mount and 1U preferable, although not essential!! What choices do I have for a budget of around 200-300 quid? Cab-wise I'm not sure what I'm after - I've only been playing for a year, and until now the Lowdown has been fine, but I don't feel I'm getting the most out of my Ibanez 5-string. Kind of tone I'm looking for is hard to describe, but not aggressive, just mostly clean tone, think Flea on Stadium Arcadium, if that helps. Occasionally will need to dig in, but I'm only playing finger style at the moment (pick and slap to follow!) Anyway, hope that's enough information to get started - let me know if there's anything more to be added Ta, Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Your best bet is the secondhand market as there aren't as many preamps on sale as there used to be and many of the remaining models are expensive. Look for SWR Grand Prix, BBE B-Max, Peavey Max, TE GP12, Sansamp RBI. Alternatively some FX pedals can drive power amps to full power, which could work out much cheaper. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnylager Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='487648' date='May 14 2009, 10:30 AM']Alternatively some FX pedals can drive power amps to full power, which could work out much cheaper. Alex[/quote] EBS MicroBass II, SansAmp, etc? Maybe the MXR & Hartke VXL too, but I can't comment on those. Try the for sale forums [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showforum=20"]here[/url] & [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showforum=69"]here[/url]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottle Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 Hey Chaps Thanks for the fast replies. Have been looking on the For Sale threads for a while, will keep an eye out. Cab-wise would a 4x10 be the best bet in terms of an starter/entry level cab? (I've really not had any experience with anything that size!!). I've also seen a lot of 2x10/1x15 combinations on the gear threads - how do these compare to a single 4x10? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I'd have thought a cheap used 2x10" or 1x15" will be a significant step up in loudness from your tiny 1x10" combo and thus be enough to be getting on with. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Try to find a used Warwick Quadruplet or Ampeg SVP-CL or SVP-Pro. If you're really lucky and spot an Aguilar DB659, take it! Can't go wrong with a decent valve preamp. As for cabs, look for a pair of secondhand Hartke 2x10s. You should be able to pick up a pair of the Transporter range 2x10s secondhand for not very much money at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottle Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 Cool!! I'll keep an even wider eye out on the For Sale threads Thanks for all the advice Ta, Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 [quote name='The Funk' post='487870' date='May 14 2009, 01:30 PM']Try to find a used Warwick Quadruplet or Ampeg SVP-CL or SVP-Pro. If you're really lucky and spot an Aguilar DB659, take it! Can't go wrong with a decent valve preamp.[/quote] If you spot a DB659 you'll be very lucky to get it that cheap! I'd forgotten about the Ampeg preamps, both a nice way to get that sound with more power and less money than an Ampeg head, and the Quadruplet is an amazing little beast with a real tube power amp and output transformer driving a dummy load, plus a 4-way voicing switch that totally changes the flat sound and all the EQ. All sadly discontinued... In the 2U arena there's also the Eden Navigator, various Trace Elliott preamps, the original Demeter (1.5U), and my personal favourite the Avalon U5 (which has next to no EQ so possibly a little too intimidating for a relative beginner). Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 And also keep a look out for a Phil Jones Bass Bass Buddy preamp. Slightly larger than a pedal such as the sansamp/MXR options but smaller than a 19" rack mount. Nice warm clean sound with the best 'one knob' compressor imho. Occassionally available for not very much money at all considering the quality. No valve but a nice warm clean sound (I'll stop now as I'm repeating myself!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='487977' date='May 14 2009, 03:13 PM']If you spot a DB659 you'll be very lucky to get it that cheap! [/quote] Hah, yes. Remember when the pound was worth two dollars? Ah, happy days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Line out from the Lowdown until something you want turns up. You might even like it as it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottle Posted May 15, 2009 Author Share Posted May 15, 2009 [quote name='owen' post='488393' date='May 15 2009, 12:05 AM']Line out from the Lowdown until something you want turns up. You might even like it as it is.[/quote] That's actually what I had in mind until I can get a dedicated pre. The pre-amp in the Lowdown is pretty decent; just need more volume for my on-stage sound Going to re-do the rig this weekend and try out the power-amp stage. Will let you all know how it turns out Thx, Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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