Where's all the big/heavy stuff gonna end up?

[janmaat]

+1 for house backlines and practise room gear. Then we'd finally only had to carry the amp heads. Nobody will then have any more need for tiny little neo cabs while having great sound everywhere. I like the idea.

[umph]

Soon you'll be able to get big valve amps that hardly weigh anything and people will still moan about how they wont fit inside their micro cars.

The 200watt heads i'll be making will be coming in at 15 - 20kg

[4 Strings]

[quote name='wotnwhy' post='875452' date='Jun 23 2010, 02:30 PM']No-one will be able to shift big heavy speakers. The value will plummet. People will realise there is a sound difference between heavy and light. The heavy sound will become retro and cool. Price will skyrocket.[/quote]

Absolutely, we'll have people talking about the original, thin tolex letting the 'sound out' from old heads.

In reality there will always be a value for quality heavy stuff as bigger DOES sound better for bass - can't substitute volume (as in cu m) for depth and weight in sound - but only as long as its good in the first place. Just be circulating among fewer people than a couple of years ago.

I must admit, I'm always more excited when I go to see a band, even in a pub, and see a proper bass rig. This one will ALWAYS excite me!

Edited June 23, 2010 by 4 Strings

[JPJ]

Call me a luddite but big and heavy is the only thing that delivers the type of bass I like on stage.

Without bashing on, my SWR SM1500 is too heavy for me to lift onto the top of my two Goliath 4x10's on my own. The Goliaths I can just about lift on my own (one at a time!) and they fail the Warwickhunt door test miserably (just look at my knuckles after a gig if you dont believe me). But that's the downside. The upside is a big phat bass tone where ever I wander (on stage and off since I've gone wireless) and compliments from band mates and sound men about how good my bass sounds and sits in the mix.

I've tried small stuff (anybody remember the Carlsbro Delta stuff with the 8" speakers?) and for me it doesnt deliver.

[steve]

[quote name='JMT3781' post='875461' date='Jun 23 2010, 02:40 PM']So i suppose those that can deal with the weight are gonna be prone to many a GAS attack in the coming months?[/quote]

I'll be safe from amp based gas attacks for the forseeable future James, The sound from the ISP rig is well worth moving the weight.

[Pentode]

[quote name='umph' post='875586' date='Jun 23 2010, 05:10 PM']The 200watt heads i'll be making will be coming in at 15 - 20kg[/quote]

Ooooooh! May I ask what iron you'll be using Micheal? I'll be keeping an eye out for these!

[umph]

[quote name='Pentode' post='875824' date='Jun 23 2010, 08:44 PM']Ooooooh! May I ask what iron you'll be using Micheal? I'll be keeping an eye out for these![/quote]

got in touch with this chap [url="http://www.petra-toroid.ro/en/contact.html"]http://www.petra-toroid.ro/en/contact.html[/url] and got some toroids to my spec, gonna see how they perform and it's all good will be using them to keep weight down, if not will be getting a chap in nottingham to do the output transformers to partridge spec

[Marvin]

[quote name='cetera' post='875459' date='Jun 23 2010, 02:36 PM']When everyone finally realises that bijou 2x8" speakers just don't reproduce the full bass grunt and shake your booty enough, everyone will be back to buying 8x10 & 2x15's like it's a whole new idea....

It's all cyclical... [/quote]
Yep, I agree with that, although I thought you put cynical at the end to start with

[quote name='Wil' post='875524' date='Jun 23 2010, 03:59 PM']I'm weedy. Hence, I wont even consider heavy stuff these days. I even find [u][b]carting my Schroeder about a pain in the arse,[/b][/u] so I'd hate to think how much I'd resent a big Trace cab.[/quote]
Have you tried carrying it differently?

[escholl]

I love my big, heavy rig. I think the head and 2 1x15's weighs in at 180 pounds total? But it's got its own little wheeled rig it moves about in, and really it's not that tough to move at all. Stairs are a bit of a pain but not impossible, and easy if I have help.

It's not clever, cool, impressive, or stylish -- but it is gutsy, loud and sounds bloody good, just the way I like it

I think after the initial craze passes over, lightweight rigs will remain a nice alternative but won't ever replace big heavy ones entirely -- they are after all just another tool. The thing that always amazes me about the internet bass forums are how quickly things are hyped up, loved, then quickly forgotten, moved on, or even spoken ill of in favour of whatever the next big new thing is. In any case, I'm sure at some point 'heavy' will come back.

[cetera]

[quote name='escholl' post='875942' date='Jun 23 2010, 10:35 PM']The thing that always amazes me about the internet bass forums are how quickly things are hyped up, loved, then quickly forgotten, moved on, or even spoken ill of in favour of whatever the next big new thing is. In any case, I'm sure at some point 'heavy' will come back.[/quote]

Yep, agreed.....it's all Markbass at the moment..... and before that it was EBS....something else will be along soon....

I still have a large early 90's EV-loaded 600W MesaBoogie 2x15. Why? Because it's solid, powerful and shakes the room with low end while still pubching tight in the mids and sparkly in the highs..... and it's hugely reliable!

[51m0n]

[quote name='cetera' post='876243' date='Jun 24 2010, 11:18 AM']Yep, agreed.....it's all Markbass at the moment..... and before that it was EBS....something else will be along soon.... [/quote]

To be fair its been Markbass (wrt lightweight amp heads) for a long time (when did the LMII first start to get noticed, 2 or 3 years ago?), they broke through with the first really brilliantly received model in this format that was a [price point, power level,tone] package that couldn't be argued with. Loads have followed suit (everyone of note?) with GB Shuttle, Orange, TecAmp, SWR etc etc etc and still MB seem to have the most love, they just absolutely got that amp right.

I dont think we'll see another step forward from an obscure company into real sustained dominance in a field for a good long while.

[chris_b]

One part of me wishes I had the strength to lift my Mesa Boogie cabs. If I could I'd still be using them today, but as I put my back out twice they had to go! The old heavy stuff will gravitate towards the kids, because the price will be low and they've still got mates who want to help! The other part of me knows that if you play good lightweight gear is sounds just as good as the heavy stuff.

20 years ago my old Vox Foundation cab went to the dump. I couldn't even give it away!!

[machinehead]

If you listened to a rig with your eyes closed, could you tell its weight?

Frank

[Conan]

[quote name='machinehead' post='876517' date='Jun 24 2010, 03:42 PM']If you listened to a rig with your eyes closed, could you tell its weight?

Frank[/quote]

Heh heh! Can you tell it's tone from simply picking it up?

[Mr. Foxen]

A special effort would have to be made to make a cab both heavy and flexible.

[Earbrass]

[quote name='machinehead' post='876517' date='Jun 24 2010, 03:42 PM']If you listened to a rig with your eyes closed, could you tell its weight?[/quote]

Sounds like an idea for a tombola-style stall at the next Bass Bash. Bit like guessing how many pennies are in the jar.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Wil' post='875524' date='Jun 23 2010, 03:59 PM']I'm weedy. Hence, I wont even consider heavy stuff these days. I even find carting my Schroeder about a pain in the arse, so I'd hate to think how much I'd resent a big Trace cab.[/quote]

I'm surprised at how many people are actively pursuing that awful, blubby, bloated Small Rock Venue Bass Sound(tm). I always thought it was the sound guy's fault that all bass players in small bands sounded like sh*t, I didn't realise it was an aspiration.

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='witterth' post='875500' date='Jun 23 2010, 03:24 PM']I gave away a trace 2x18 not long ago. it had lain unused for ages,Think is being used now (hope so ,cos thats agood home)[/quote]

I know a guy who auditioned a Hiwatt 400 with one of those and a Trace 4 x 12", you could have heard it in the next town before it was half volume.
BUT it did need two pairs of hands to get the head on top of the stack.

[bassbloke]

[quote name='JPJ' post='875638' date='Jun 23 2010, 05:43 PM']Call me a luddite but big and heavy is the only thing that delivers the type of bass I like on stage.[/quote]

+1 My own rig is a very light 4x10 and reasonably hefty 600 Watt head. I think it sounds great, but it doesn't produce the same effect as an Ampeg 8x10. I'd love to own a quality 8x10 rig, but simply couldn't justify the hassle, especially as I used to own a Peavey 810TX.

Savvy bass players may opt for lightweight gear to make their lives easier, but anyone playing reasonable sized venues will find an 810 provided.

[Kongo]

[quote name='wotnwhy' post='875452' date='Jun 23 2010, 02:30 PM']No-one will be able to shift big heavy speakers. The value will plummet. People will realise there is a sound difference between heavy and light. The heavy sound will become retro and cool. Price will skyrocket.[/quote]

+1 on this, everything comes around, but not everyone is done with their heavy stuff.
I'd take the sound of my Trace Elliot 4x10" over the Markbass ones, but am yet to test drive other lightweight cabs.
TBH once it's down it's down, the floor holds it, so it's sound I want.

I believe guitarists once thought they would no longer need valves when transistor amps could deliver...oddly, Valve that is ULTRA dated, is the wanted sound to most.

Edited June 29, 2010 by Kongo