Light Amp for Gigging

[JackBruceFan]

Just about to get gigging again after laying off for a lot of years and playing in studios most recently.

Looking for something that will be good for gigging in bars and such... In a band with two guitars, drums playing blues rock..

I have a lousy back and am looking for something light but sounds really good..

Thanks for your suggestions. Cheers

[hodgy]

My fave light rig is Ampeg's Micro VR stack. Add another 2x10 for bigger gigs and you're set.

[Yango]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm going to say get yourself a Mesa Boogie Walkabout 12" combo. 300 watts, 39 lbs and it sounds hugely amazing!

[GRAHAM SG1]

Genz Benz Streamliner is a great amp and very light, Barefaced or similar cabs would be good, I recommend a Barefaced super twelve for the 900 but the compact is also rated highly and possibly better for the 600 .

[Smallmouth_Bass]

There are a lot of options for lightweight amps these days. Check out the following brands, which seem to be popular:

MarkBass
Gallien-Krueger
Genz Benz
Aguilar

Most brands offer lightweight heads and neodymium cabs now. Check out the classifieds here too as there is lots of good stuff to be had.

[nostatic]

The amp is the least of your worries - tons of great 2-7lb heads out there that can tear paint off a wall. Cabinets otoh...depends on what kind of tone you like, how much stage you have to work with, size of your vehicle, etc. I've gigged everything from 1-10 to 8-10 and in between.

[gjbassist]

Genz Benz Shuttle series is nice. Also check out the GK MB500 or the Carvin BX500.

[soulman969]

The door of choices is wide open on that one. You can look at GK combos or heads with Neo cabs or tc electronics amps and combos of the same. I play both brands and I like their stuff.

[iualum]

Agreed that the cab is the chore. If you want new, lots of great choices, but I'd suggest giving Don Oatman @ LDS a ring. Even if you choose something else, it's worth giving him a shout.

www.LowDownSound.com

And for the smallest, lightest, loudest, most bang for the buck cab, I believe a 15/6 with an Eminence Kappa Lite 3015 L(ow)F(requency) & an 18Sound 6ND410 midrange is the ticket.

http://www.usspeaker.com/Kappa%20Lite-3015lf-1.htm

http://www.usspeaker.com/eighteensound-6ND410-1.htm

A 215 is also a great choice (& my fave). Still a pretty small & light box. For one of these, I'd do Eminence Kappa Lite 3015s (non-LF), Faital Pro 15PR400s, or to save about $150-200(?), Eminence Delta Lite II 2515s. The 2515s are sill great drivers (& the ones used in many/most top "name brand" 15" boxes), they're just not the 3015s or 15PR400s.

http://www.usspeaker.com/Kappa%20Lite-3015-1.htm

http://www.usspeaker.com/faital%20pro%2015PR400-1.htm

http://www.usspeaker.com/delta%20lite2515II-1.htm

I'd wager you'd be pleasantly surprised by the shipped price on any of these cabinets. Even when compared to used prices, new LDSs are very tempting.

[Frankjohnson]

I am using a genz shuttle 6.0 and a couple of different cabs in your exact scenario -
based on the room, and the sound setup - I have been using -
- Schroeder mini 12 in a lot of small rooms, where we really try to keep the volume throttled back
- Avatar SB112 in small rooms, where we can open it a little, and some med rooms, with PA support
- Avatar Neo 410 in bigger venues, outside gigs, where you might need a little more -
Have used the Ampeg PF500- in the same capacity, and it was fine

I also have on reserve - Sansamp RBI and QSC power amp just in case

If I had a nice Neo 2-10 or 1-15 I would absolutely consider them too - this is just what I have on hand

[Hilton Marsh]

Markbass combo is definitely my pick. Goes anywhere, fits in the boot of my car easily, is light and I have plenty of output.

[NYCbassist]

Originally Posted by gjbassist

Genz Benz Shuttle series is nice. Also check out the GK MB500 or the Carvin BX500.

+1 on BX500. I run mine through an Avatar Neo 1x15 and Neo 2x10 Both $ ohm Cabinets. It's good down to 2 Ohms and tons of Headroom. It has ton's of EQ options so you can get your favourite tone after about an hour of tweaking. I can carry one Cab in each hand then just one more trip back to the Jetta for my Bass & BX500 & Backpack.

[tsunami1052]

Blues Rock.


Aguilar TH350 or TH500
Ampeg SVT-210AV Cabs(2)

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by hodgy

My fave light rig is Ampeg's Micro VR stack. Add another 2x10 for bigger gigs and you're set.

This has been my light rig of choice for the past couple years, although I will often use a PF350 for the head instead because it has more clean headroom.

[bassgod0dmw]

Originally Posted by Yango

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm going to say get yourself a Mesa Boogie Walkabout 12" combo. 300 watts, 39 lbs and it sounds hugely amazing!

IIRC, the cab without the head mounted is 39 lbs. It's closer to 50 lbs total. In any case, I concur. It's an awesome amp.

[jeffbass]

I like my GK MB210. 350 watts, 33 pounds.

[howlin]

Haven't gotten a chance to demo one yet but the TC Electronics BG-250 looks very appealing in this class of amps. The TonePrint option looks very interesting.

[Russell L]

A Markbass Little Mark III head (6+ lbs.) and two Markbass Traveler 151P cabs (1x15 each, 45.75 lbs. each) are what I'm shaking the walls with these days. Many gigs only require one cab. But, I want a Barefaced Compact and Midget cab set-up. Much easier to schlep.

[CamMcIntyre]

Aguilar Tone Hammer 350 or 500 (I use the 500, haven't turned it up past 10 o'clock). I like it because I can add just a hint of grit around the edges while keeping the modern sound that I like. The sound guy and I did a test where he let me hear my sound via the board with headphones on (cab turned off)-I love it.

One of the bands I play in is blue rock with 2 guitars, harmonic/sax, drums, and myself. I run the Tone Hammer into a 1X15 (SWR), and have an Aguilar GS112 on the way. If the 1X12 can handle it-I'd much rather just run that.

Will you have PA support at the bars or no? Unless if you are playing massive places with no PA support, I think you'd be fine with a 1X12 or 2X10 cab.

Find a quality cab that fits your price range that isn't too heavy. It seems like there are lots out there under 50 pounds.

[jlepre]

Budget? Type of music? We need more info.