Amp for Church Worship playing mostly traditional Gospel Music

[troutbum22]

I would like to ask for your reccomendations for an amp setup to use in my church. Tried to post this last night but I must have screwed something up because it never posted. Anyway, We have a small traditional church here in the upstate of SC. The church seats around 225 and is full carpeted. The stage/chior area is approximately 4' up from the alter rail area. I just want something with a great tone for "southern gospel music". I have talked with the folks over at Carvin and the salesperson reccomended the MB115 or the new MB210. I have found a used Hartke 2.5xl cab that I can pick up for $140, and I wonder if I should buy this cab and search for a head to pair it up with and maybe expand later. I like the little BX250 amp from Carivin as well, but have no way of trying their product out. I try to support the local guys around me and use GC on when I have to. I have a Schecter bass with active pickups. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Tunaman]

Amazon has some fantastic deals on Galien Kruger 210s also eden cabs which are very pro-quality heavy but good quality. Right now u can save a ton

[dmrogers]

My experience from playing in churches is, they are either extremely muffled or have an extreme in the other direction.

With your church being carpeted it might be that you could be facing a muffled condition depending on ceiling height etc....

Make sure that your goal is a system that has the ability to eq to compensate.

I have played in auditoriums with so much carpeting, drapes, and padded pews that it was difficult to eq to a point that the bass would project.

You also need to take into consideration the number of instruments you will be sharing the stage with. It has been my experience that getting a bass guitar to sit in the mix with traditional southern gospel music (think Hinsons, Inspirations etc...) is much easier than with praise music with multiple instruments and a loud stage.


Hope this helps, good luck!

[troutbum22]

I would only be sharing the stage wih a grand piano and sometimes an organ, but mostly just the piano. The ceiling is valted. Our church was established in 1815 and we are currently in our 4th sanctuary on the same property. The walls are sheetrock with big stained glass windows. The accoustics are very good. We had a sound tech come in when we were desining/planning to build the current building. Again, any advice is GREATLY appreciated. I sing bass as well and may start singing some with a local group, so I want to make sure I purchase a piece of equipment that not only is easily transported, but something that can be used in other church buildings as well. I realize EQ is very inportant. That's one reason I like the little Carvin 250 amp.

[Jim Carr]

Budget? IMHO, a good amp is a versitile amp. It must be able to handle a variety of size gigs, acoustic conditions, ensembles, and styles. In other words, for the most part, a "good amp" is not so specialized, and different sounding "good amps" basically appeal to different bassists' tastes.

For a good quality used cabinet, I'd budget $500, and for a good used head, $400.

[Low Class]

I play a lot of church gigs where it's just me and a piano and a choir. Anything by Euphonic Audio will sound great. I have a CXL112 and an iAmp 350 that use myself and also have the same rig that stays at my church and there is nothing better in that situation. The sound is full and beautiful.

[will33]

The $140 for the hartke is a good deal assuming everything works good. You wouldn't need a very powerful amp to play the church but something with a decent amount of eq would be a good idea. The Carvin's are good deals. No, you can't try them first but they have a return policy, either 10 or 30 days. Cost you shipping to return it if you don't like it. Wouldn't make much sense to buy anything over a couple hundred watts for that situation unless you wanted it to double for bar gigs, bigger stuff.

[Low Class]

Originally Posted by troutbum22

I have found a used Hartke 2.5xl cab that I can pick up for $140, and I wonder if I should buy this cab and search for a head to pair it up with and maybe expand later.

If this cab is in good shape you should definitely consider it.

[troutbum22]

Found a Traynor TC115 cab today brand new for $269. Need to try them both both out. I'm prolly going to go with the Carvin BX250 amp and either a 210 or 115 cab. (having a hard time deciding on which cab). I don't think I'll ever need more than that. If I do, It'll be fun shopping again!

Budget for everything....$500-$600...could buy the Carvin MB115 and the Hartke 210 cab and spend less than $500....

I just thought about that number...that could be a really nice new flyrod!

[bottomzone]

Originally Posted by Low Class

I play a lot of church gigs where it's just me and a piano and a choir. Anything by Euphonic Audio will sound great. I have a CXL112 and an iAmp 350 that use myself and also have the same rig that stays at my church and there is nothing better in that situation. The sound is full and beautiful.

I concur with Euphonic Audio. I have a Micro 300 paired with a Phil Jones Bass 6B cab. No problems cutting through the mix even though I'm located close to a Leslie speaker cabinet used by the organist. Best sounding rig that I've ever had up to this point!

A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

[troutbum22]

Our organ cabs are mounted inside the wall behind the choir. When we have our old fashioned camp meetings, we currently don't even use the organ. No Drummer and ni guitarist in the church. Cant wait to hear the bass line in the church for some Cathedrals covers! I think I'm gonna order me a Carvin MB115 and pick the Hartke 210 up if its still there when I get my Christmas bonus next week.

[Jim Carr]

I advise against mixing 115 and 210. Yes, it was conventional wisdom to do it. But no, 15's don't go deeper, and 115 x 2 or 210 x 2 almost always is superior for loudness and ease of EQ. Those two factors mean you will probably get better tone and more control over it.

[agent77]

If it's anything like the church I play at you don't need an amp; and someone will still probably complain that it's too loud.

[troutbum22]

Thanks to all for the dreat advice. Gotta weight and make sure my Christmas bonus is more than the Jelly of the Month club.

Thinking now that I might just save up a little more and go all out. The Carvin BX500-210N package is on sale for $759 or the BX250-210N is $669.00 (plus shipping as always) This will be all the amp that I will ever need and something I can build on if I need to.

[jefff100]

250 watt should be adequate for your current needs, but do consider if you are looking to play out(side), I.E. you mentioned playing outside the church, or perhaps outdoor services, or if styles / venues change....you may be wanting more power.

Its easier to buy more power now and turn the volume pot down when you don't need it; and its also easy to overdrive a 250 watt amp if you start playing outdoor gigs where you need more power, or if your group of musicians changes and you pick up a drummer & guitar.

I play in a similar sized church, high ceiling, stained glass windows etc. (with carpeting). I use a Ampeg SVT3 to drive an Epifani 210 cab. I use a bass drum mic to run a balanced signal to the mixing board. House mains are 500watt driving a pair of PA speakers hung in the rafters. This proivdes sound reinforcment for the praise band as well as audio for the service etc.

My amp is adequate for the church service applications; however when we do play out, I can feel I'm pushing the limits of the rig as its currently set up. Seperate rack & cab will give you flexibility. Some combo amps arent really set up for you to drive an extension cab. Personally I'd avise you to go with a 210 cab over the 115. 210s will move more air and are more efficient than a single 15" driver. If you want more power, pick up a 2nd matching 210 cab to let the amp run to a 4 ohm load for more power.

Before I bought my Epifani I looked at Hartke 210; however I didn't care for the tone of the metal drivers. Thats just my personal preference, but if you're doing old school gospel, then you may not get that nice warm thump you're looking for.

Something else to consdier - EQ on your amp is only one aspect of the equation. Whos running the soundboard? (do you have a soundboard?). You can set things up so they sound great on a rehersal in the church on a Saturday morning, then when you filll that sanctuary with parishioners, it completely changes the dynamics of the live sound experience.

best of luck to you

jeff

[troutbum22]

I guess that I should have clarified but playing outside the church. I meant in other buildings/venues other than my home church. I have decided to buy a serperate amp and cab. I just feel it gives me more freedom to change up in the future if I need more. I started reading last night about Eden amps and really like what I see and hear on the web/youtube. Wish there was a dealer around for me to try one out.

FYI, We have a middle of the road sound system at our church with a decent mixing board.

[troutbum22]

I would be interested to know how the Eden WTX264 stacks up against the Carvin BX250 both played on a 210 neo cab. If I had more $$$'s it would be a neat experiment.

[Sav'nBass]

You might consider some used genz Benz gear as well as far as an amp goes .. Their heads are great. Light weight and very versatile to use and they often go up for sale here on the TB classifieds. I have used the 6.0 (375W @ 8 ohms, 600W@4 ohms) and the 9.0 (500w@8 ohms 900W@4ohms) and both are excellent heads and can usually be had here used around $450-$550. I currently use the 9.0 .. I sold my 6.0 to the other bass player at my church and both amps get te job done nicely.

[troutbum22]

I just decided and called and bought me the Carvin MB115 Micro/combo amp. If it aint enough, I'll ad the 115MB extension cab and roll with it. Its hard to beat for the $$'s

[kraigo]

Big +1 on the quote below. You should definitely pick that up. It's a nice cab if it's in working order and not hacked to death.

KO

Originally Posted by will33

The $140 for the hartke is a good deal assuming everything works good.