Small Amp Suggestions for L2K?

[Bassmore]

Dear G&L Bass Guru's,

Perhaps some of you have had to deal with a somewhat similar undesirable circumstance. A few years back I was basiically forced to "minimize" my gears' footprint in order to move into an apartment. This forced me to trade in a Carvin PB500 Head with a 4 x 10 and 1 x15 cabinet and mutate my rig into to a Hartke KickBack 12 Not totally the end of the world though as the band I was with had started to fade and my priorities were shifting more to a "Family Guy"/Married with Children" type o deal. Well, I'm happy to say the family's doing great, I'm back in a house and although I still have to keep it small, amp wise, (gotta share the Love y'all....and the space...eergh) I've got to believe that there's something a little bit better out there for me than the Hartke KB 12. It's really a good little amp but my problem (it always just seems to be me) comes in (which is most of the limited practice time I have) when I'm playing through a decent set of headphones (Siennheisser or Koss). It tends to prematurely distort/clip in the head phones (where it should let me blow my ears off if I'm stupid enough) and also, maybe it's just me but after a few minutes, I think perhaps because of some of the amps tone shaping processors or whatever it tends to sound oddly out of tune when I know that it's not. Is this a common headphone thing? I dunno. So here's my question finally. Within the next year I plan to be the proud owner of a new MOFA (Made On Fender Ave.) L2K!!!. I need to find an amp that will make her proud to play through and serve her well. By the way the Hartke KB12 almost crapped it's 12 inch aluminum coned bed when I plugged in my 71 EB-0 and turned it up to like 4! Oopps! Note to self...DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!!! I was home alone one day. I'm looking for any experienced suggestions for a good combo unit, something less than 60 lbs., 120 to 300 Watts RMS, Effects loop, don't care about any on board effects and most importantly a really well designed Headphone out. I saw an Eden Nemesis Silver Series that looked like it might do well but was unable to try one out. Any help on this would be great.

Thanks again,


PS, Someday the stack WILL comeback!

PSS, before that day I'll be making a donation here, you all have been very helpful!!!

[Rob L]

I have a SWR Super Redhead 2x10 combo and love jamming on it. I basically use it at home and have had it for many years. The amp is awesome and it has a great tone (my opinoin) and others can chime in also.

I also had a Hartke kickback 12. I really liked the sound of that bass amp. The Redhead has much more gusto and the tens sound great.

I never really try out other gear though. Once I find stuff I like I stick with it for quite sometime.

Good Luck,
Rob

[mainsail]

I'm using an SWR Workingman 12, which is now the Workingman Pro12. It handles both my L2k and my L2500 quite nicely.

This is my practice amp at home and for gigs periodically. My main amp at church, is the Genz Benz ML200-210T. It actually weighs around 60lbs. The SWR is around 50. The new model SWR claim to be under 50lbs.


So, you might check out the SWR or the Genz Benz with the 12 configuration if you don't want to go larger for now.

HTH.

Larry

Originally Posted by Bassmore

Dear G&L Bass Guru's,

Perhaps some of you have had to deal with a somewhat similar undesirable circumstance. A few years back I was basiically forced to "minimize" my gears' footprint in order to move into an apartment. This forced me to trade in a Carvin PB500 Head with a 4 x 10 and 1 x15 cabinet and mutate my rig into to a Harke KickBack 12 Not totally the end of the world though as the band I was with had started to fade and my priorities were shifting more to a "Family Guy"/Married with Children" type o deal. Well, I'm happy to say the family's doing great, I'm back in a house and although I still have to keep it small, amp wise, (gotta share the Love y'all....and the space...eergh) I've got to believe that there's something a little bit better out there for me than the Harke KB 12. It's really a good little amp but my problem (it always just seems to be me) comes in (which is most of the limited practice time I have) when I'm playing through a decent set of headphones (Siennheisser or Koss). It tends to prematurely distort/clip in the head phones (where it should let me blow my ears off if I'm stupid enough) and also, maybe it's just me but after a few minutes, I think perhaps because of some of the amps tone shaping processors or whatever it tends to sound oddly out of tune when I know that it's not. Is this a common headphone thing? I dunno. So here's my question finally. Within the next year I plan to be the proud owner of a new MOFA (Made On Fender Ave.) L2K!!!. I need to find an amp that will make her proud to play through and serve her well. By the way the Harke KB12 almost crapped it's 12 inch aluminum coned bed when I plugged in my 71 EB-0 and turned it up to like 4! Oopps! Note to self...DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!!! I was home alone one day. I'm looking for any experienced suggestions for a good combo unit, something less than 60 lbs., 120 to 300 Watts RMS, Effects loop, don't care about any on board effects and most importantly a really well designed Headphone out. I saw an Eden Nemesis Silver Series that looked like it might do well but was unable to try one out. Any help on this would be great.

Thanks again,


PS, Someday the stack WILL comeback!

PSS, before that day I'll be making a donation here, you all have been very helpful!!!

[Jimtoonz]

Take a look at the Fender Rumble 100/210. I use one as a practice amp and really like it. $349 out the door at most music retailers. I compared it against some higher-priced gear at the local GC and it stacked up very well. It gets plenty loud, stays clean up to higher volume levels, has an effects loop and headphone jack, and even does a decent job with a low B. IMO it's very hard to beat for the price. It does not come in under your 60lb. spec, but is not too far off at 62lbs.

[earlgray]

I use an Ampeg BA-115 as my practice amp at home. Its great for practice or gigs, although mine never leaves the practice room.

There are a number of variations on this amp, but this model is a 100w combo with a 15" speaker. New, they're around $400 and the best amp I've found for the money. Dunno about your area, but they are common items on my Raleigh, NC, Craigslist for about $200-$300 range. (I bought mine used and its fine.)

For small gigs, I have a G-K MB-150E that totally kicks ass. Its a LOT more expensive, but its a great amp for 26 lbs that I carry in a shoulder bag. My bass-playing friends enjoy seeing me show up for a gig with everything in the passenger seat of a Miata.

Another great amp that I've tried is an Eden amp with a small separate cabinet -- awesome and small like a combo, but way more expensive, more like the G-K. I've heard a couple guys from NYC play thru Ashdown combos and they sounded really good, but I've never played one myself.

I have a Hartke Kickback also and its not a very good amp. Nowhere as good as the Ampeg in quality or sound. I've played a Fender Rumble 15 in the backline for a gig and I thought it was crap too -- not much better than the Hartke.

hth.

[quickervicar]

I have a Nemesis 210 and I love it. It gets 90% of the Eden tone for 50% of the weight and $$. It can do any style very well and has kept up with both big-band ensembles and smaller rock shows. The unit has served me well for 10 years without a hiccup.

If you can afford it, the Eden Metro combo would be my choice in an ultimate small rig (with a lot of potential for expansion).

[Nedmundo]

My Roland Cube Bass 100 sounds fantastic with my G&L L-1500 and SB-2. It's only 100 watts, but it's very loud for its 1x12" configuration and power rating. The headphone output is very good. Unfortunately, no effects loop, and the on-board effects are useless apart from experimenting. You should try it though -- tone wise it blows away the Eden Silver Series 1x12 combo and Fender Bassman 150. I tested them back to back in the shop, and it wasn't even close.

Otherwise, I think the SWR WorkingPro combos are excellent, and represent solid value. With Ampeg combos, I'd move up to the 220 watt versions.

[ljazz]

This may be a bit more than you're willing to spend, but for a small footprint, yet totally gigable (and expandable) rig, I've got to recommend the GK400RB and the GK 112Neo (separates... not combo). I don't think you're looking at much more than about 50 lbs. here, yet you'll end up with a great big sound. Add another 112Neo or a 115Neo later, and you can do most clubs. And, since it's not a combo, you can split it up if you want to change something.

For the headphone thing, try a Korg Pandora.... or better yet, a MAudio Fast-track so you can practice through your 'puter.

If you shop a bit, you can do this whole thing for well under a $1000, yet still be in a gigable and expandable position.

Ljazz

[thumbplucker]

Originally Posted by quickervicar

I have a Nemesis 210 and I love it. It gets 90% of the Eden tone for 50% of the weight and $$. It can do any style very well and has kept up with both big-band ensembles and smaller rock shows. The unit has served me well for 10 years without a hiccup.

If you can afford it, the Eden Metro combo would be my choice in an ultimate small rig (with a lot of potential for expansion).

+1 on the Eden Nemisis..
I got the 1x15 combo.. around 45 pounds and plenty loud

[spideyjg]

You may want to wait a bit. Genz-Benz has an itty bitty combo called the Shuttle that is getting lots of interest and GK showed an itty btty amp called the MB-500 at NAMM.

The Genz is shipping now and the GK maybe September.

Either of these size wise is gonna smoke older stuff.

I have an Eden Nemesis 1X12, 45 lbs, but would haul my Carvin B-800 head an Epifani UL-1X12 over it any day.

Jim

[Nedmundo]

Originally Posted by ljazz

This may be a bit more than you're willing to spend, but for a small footprint, yet totally gigable (and expandable) rig, I've got to recommend the GK400RB and the GK 112Neo (separates... not combo). I don't think you're looking at much more than about 50 lbs. here, yet you'll end up with a great big sound. Add another 112Neo or a 115Neo later, and you can do most clubs. And, since it's not a combo, you can split it up if you want to change something.

For the headphone thing, try a Korg Pandora.... or better yet, a MAudio Fast-track so you can practice through your 'puter.

If you shop a bit, you can do this whole thing for well under a $1000, yet still be in a gigable and expandable position.

Ljazz

Yeah, if you really want a gig-worthy setup, this is an excellent choice, and you can use something else for headphones. I use a 700RB-II/Neo112 rig for most gigs, and it's great. When I got the Neo112, I was apprehensive about how much volume I'd get, but it's a beast. This setup is available as a combo, which I've seen for blowout prices at Guitar Center. As a bonus, it sounds wonderful at low home practice volume.

But if you start down the lightweight head/cab path, you have loads of choices, with new ones becoming available all the time. Genz-Benz, MarkBass, Eden, Epifani, etc. A Genz-Benz Neo-Pak with NeoX 112 seems like an especially appealing option. The Neo-Pak head is much lighter than the G-K heads, and apparently that NeoX 112 has heavy lows. Genz also makes a NeoX 112 combo, which is worth a look.

[ljazz]

I agree, the GB stuff is nice (the NeoPak is just a bit bright and brittle to my ear), but price wise, you can't beat the deals RMC does on the GK stuff. And the resale is ridiculous. Guys are selling GK stuff on the bay for almost as much as you can buy brand new from RMC. And I'll take the extra few pounds in the head just for the sound and reliability of the GK stuff (not that the GB is not reliable)

If memory serves correctly, I think you can pick up the 400 and the 112 from RMC for well under 800 bucks. (dang, now I've got myself gassin' for this little rig.)

Like Ned, I have the GK700rb, but I'm running the 212. All of my G&L's luv the GK stuff. Maybe its a G thing??? (sorry... poor joke)

Ljazz

[quickervicar]

Originally Posted by spideyjg

I have an Eden Nemesis 1X12, 45 lbs, but would haul my Carvin B-800 head an Epifani UL-1X12 over it any day.

I know what you mean. A good friend of mine had their 1x12. There is no comparison. The 2x10 and 1x15 are much fuller & punchier. The 1x12 might be good for jazz though.

I would also look for a used SWR Redhead as an alternative to the Eden Metro. The new SWR stuff seems to be having a fair amount of quality issues.

[Chef]

Mesa Walkabout Scout; 'taint cheap, but it's a great lil amp for both 'lectric, and DB...

Had an older swr super redhead; great studio unit; not really loud or deep enuff (for me) for even medium gigs.
Metro Combo: bigger, heaaavy; very nice.