Amp & Cab Suggestions

[MikeBC]

I may be joining a group and gigging again soon. Like me, my amp, cab, and axe are old. I would appreciate suggestions, thoughts on a new rig.

Will be playing mostly Americana, but have played rock, blues, folk, jazz, fusion, and classical, and hope to do some of those again as well.

When I left the scene some time ago, I kept a Traynor BassMaster head w/ a Traynor 2x15 cab. It is underpowered, lacks headroom, and speakers are no longer crisp. It was fine for practice.

So I am looking for something with power-headroom and handles all frequencies well. The Traynor did not do my axe's range justice so would like to address that.

Lighter weight would be good but I am willing to deal with weight if the sound is worth it.

I am open to combos, also to tubes, solid state, or combo of both.

Currently not using any pedals.

Feedback, unless it was wanted, was not an issue with my semi-hollow body. Have read some threads here about that and what I presume are the newer rigs.

Thanks!

Mike

[JetBlackJazz]

Try Acoustic amps...fit your bill pretty snug

[bassgod0dmw]

There's a whole bunch of stuff out there to try that's pretty light weight. Markbass, Genz Benz, GK, etc. I'd head on down to a few music stores with your bass and just start plying through them all.

What's Americana?

[MikeBC]

Originally Posted by JetBlackJazz

Try Acoustic amps...fit your bill pretty snug

Thanks.

Those are certainly tried and true. Will check it out the latest.

Snazzy handle btw.

[MikeBC]

Originally Posted by bassgod0dmw

There's a whole bunch of stuff out there to try that's pretty light weight. Markbass, Genz Benz, GK, etc. I'd head on down to a few music stores with your bass and just start plying through them all.

What's Americana?

Yeah I have done a bit of that. Some music stores in my immediate area are limited in selection. Was hoping to narrow it down a bit and then find some stores w/in a 30-50 mlle radius that carry those brands.

Say, I used to have a bunch of cousins in N. White Plains.

Americana? Good question. Probably deserves a thread of its own.

I think it may have started out as a reaction to what has become the slick Nashville sound. The category now seems to include a lot os stuff, including "roots" music. So it covers country, bluegrass-newgrass, early rock 'n' roll, blues, and even some stuff by Tom Waits, Dylan, and the Grateful Dead. Go figure!

A radio station, KNBT, in the area in which I now find myself residing claims to be the first station to go to an all Americana format. If you are interested you can listen to it streaming.

[bassgod0dmw]

Well, if you've got any Guitar Center's around they'll more than likely have a good amount of Markbass. They've usually got some GK and Ampeg as well as a few others too.

Small world! I live in NWP, right near the dam.

[JimmyM]

If you're playing Americana, do you really want a tweeter and high end up to 15K? Most of the ones I hear sound like they don't use high freqs past 4 or 5k at all. A lot of those Americana guys would love to have your old Traynor, albeit after rehabbing it.

Anyway, you wouldn't want any help picking out a wife, and the same goes for bass rigs. There are literally so many choices out there that it can make your head spin. So go play as many as you can lay your hands on, and decide from there. Some stuff won't be readily available to try out, but I've found that Youtube vids and sound clips are limited in their value, but they're a good way to at least decide what you want to look at and eliminate choices you're sure you don't want.

[Thelowestoflow]

try either acoustic image stuff, or the GK MB series heads are great sounding. Much better than Markbass in my opinion. For a cab, check out the new Ampeg heads. They are made out of these new speakers that aren't magnetic (can't remember the name) that make the cab light weight.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Thelowestoflow

try either acoustic image stuff, or the GK MB series heads are great sounding. Much better than Markbass in my opinion. For a cab, check out the new Ampeg heads. They are made out of these new speakers that aren't magnetic (can't remember the name) that make the cab light weight.

Neodymium, but it's a magnet. It's just a very powerful magnet that's very small.

[MikeBC]

Originally Posted by bassgod0dmw

Small world! I live in NWP, right near the dam.

Ah yes, I remember the dam well.

[MikeBC]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

If you're playing Americana, do you really want a tweeter and high end up to 15K? Most of the ones I hear sound like they don't use high freqs past 4 or 5k at all. A lot of those Americana guys would love to have your old Traynor, albeit after rehabbing it.

Anyway, you wouldn't want any help picking out a wife, and the same goes for bass rigs. .

Good one! If I ever get married again, that poor woman is going to be thoroughly vetted. Besides I tend to view my axe as my old lady.

I am hoping TBers will warn about performance and repair issues.

Good point about the high end but I may try to do a few different things, even when playing Americana. We will probably be doing some Red Dirt too.

I am going to hold on to the Traynor rig for now. Might refurbish it or use in special situations.

[MikeBC]

Originally Posted by Thelowestoflow

try either acoustic image stuff, or the GK MB series heads are great sounding. Much better than Markbass in my opinion. For a cab, check out the new Ampeg heads. They are made out of these new speakers that aren't magnetic (can't remember the name) that make the cab light weight.

Thanks, have received some private recommendations for GK and Ampeg. Will try to check those out too.