Need a smaller amp for University

[ToadWarrior]

Made a thread like this a while ago when I wasnt very knowledgeable -_-.

Anyway Im moving into a dorm in the fall and I have got to get rid of my 4x10 rig.

I need something that will be relatively loud though, enough to keep up in jams with other people at the university.

Ill be using A Fender MiM Jazz (For now, dead spots are driving me nuts) and a sansamp bass driver for a little tone colouration.

I was looking the EA micro head and their little 10" or 12" Wizzy cab, Ill probably be playing classic/prog rock type stuff.

So, any recommendations, Max price range is about $1000, but preferably I only want to spend like 500 bucks, not sure how much I can get for my Hartke VX Cab and HA3500 head.

Thanks!

[PaulNYC]

what about a Ibanez Promethean Combo?

[marchisgonebass]

try looking at some of the markbass stuff.

http://www.markbass.it/

im moving into a dorm as well and im looking into getting the Markbass Little Mark III and New York 151 Bass Stack. its incredibly light and compact and perfectly loud enough for jamming and playing out.

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend....ack?sku=430767

[MNAirHead]

I'd plop $40 in either a Vox Amplug or 4 channel recording mixer.. then spend under $400 on some used kicback DI option 100 watt amp.

Then put $560 into books and beer

[Bassman Bender]

Try a Fender Bassman 150. A single 12-inch speaker, 150 watts. I've used mine in small clubs and church gigs. They cost around $400.

[Gearhead17]

Are you sure you really can't bring your 410? I had a single dorm (lucky me) and I was able to have an Ampeg 810e in my dorm room. If I wanted another person in my room, there was just enouhg room. The footprint of space the 810e took up was not that large and nearly the same as most 410's. Going from a 410 to single 10 or 12", could spell death when you try to jam with a drummer. If it is Jazz or lighter type stuff, it could work. Otherwise, check out that floor plan again and find a place to put that 410.

I did not look at it this way, but you could always just buy a few single 10's or something.

[Day]

I've been doing a lot of research recently on upgrading from my Acoustic B100 to something similar in space size but with more power so I can kind of tell you whats out there. I can't really give you any experience information with them, but at least I can give you an idea of whats in your price/size range.

GK MB210 is a nice looking combo at around 600.00. You can add an extension cab to this one. Very light from what I understand. They also make a MB212 combo but no ext. cab option, I believe its around $700. Tallboybass swears by the 2x12 combo, check out the MB210 vs MB212 thread here for more info on those.

Promethean combo as Paul mentioned is something I looked long and hard at. MF shows the 210 combo due in 7/14. $900 combo has removable 500W head (Head is $500 on it's own). Not a lot of people have experience with the 2x10 yet so it's hard to tell much about it. Obviously it's very similar to the TC RH450 210 combo, but about 600 bucks cheaper. You can find info on the 1x10 and amp head with their other cabs to kind of give you an idea... most of that is in the Promethean thread here.

Markbass has some options at around $1000 or a little over. Berlin Combo is a 15 combo 350W I think, with ext cab amp goes up to 500W. The 210 combo with tilt (102p) is also nice looking and gets pretty good reviews. Both have a combo amp version of the LMII head. I also read a lot of nice things about the 121H combo (1x12), its just under $1000.

There are some others a little over your price range that stood out to me like the Genz Benz shuttle/cab combos on MF, and the TC Electronics RH450 2x10 combo, think there were a couple ampeg combos.

I plan on going to GC and trying out all of these I can, but right now I'm leaning towards a markbass 1x15 rig that I can add another 15 cab to later.

I'm sure you'll get plenty more insight from the pros here, but those are some of the current options that stood out to me while looking into a very similar setup. (This was way longer than I ever intended it to be)

[ToadWarrior]

I should have said, it's not really a space issue, it's more a "I dont want to haul the 410 around" issue. It's a single room so it should be fine space wise.

[Gearhead17]

Ah! Now I get it! Sorry I can't help you on this one, I live in the "haul around heavy cabs because the tone is worth it" camp. My 2 92lb Mesa 410's are proof! These small/light Neodymium loaded cabs don't have the midrange tone of ceramic speakers - at least the models I have tried. Good luck and play as many models as you can!

[ToadWarrior]

Thanks guys, I kind of agree with the "haul around heavy cabs because the tone is worth it", I have never really owned any top-grade stuff though =). But I think I would have to haul it up/down three flights of stairs, several times a week probably.

Im thinking ill just get a 210 cab, and upgrade to a better/smaller head later on down the road, and I'll hang on to my 410 for gigs and metal jams.

So any recc's on 2x10s?

[Alex1984]

A small 2x10 + a micro head would be nice. Also, if you stood up a 2x10 vertically, it can reduce footprint. BTW, has any company made vertical-standing 210 combos?

Of course you can always get a WalkAbout if you want to be fancy.

[PaulNYC]

Check out the BFM Jack. I love the tone on mine with the Promethean head. I you have free time it is a fun build, and has outsized volume.

[GrooveWarrior]

My rig is small and portable, but brings the thunder.

Phil Jones Bass Buddy into a Stewart World 1.2 power amp into a Euphonic Audio CXL210 cabinet.

If you go with a pre (even your SansAmp), power amp, and cabinet, you can always just add to it later on in life.

Here's my pitch for the Stewart World 1.2. It's 1 rackspace, weighs 11 pounds, and when you bridge it (with one cabinet) it will give you 1000 watts into 4 ohms and 700 watts into 8 ohms!!!!!!!!!! You can pick them up used for anywhere from $275 to $350. I gig with mine all the time, and it hasn't let me down yet.

Here's my pitch for the Bass Buddy. It is a great preamp, but it is also the best practice amp in the world. 1/8" aux in to run your ipod into it with separate volume control, headphone out, XLR out, 1/4" line out, and a speaker out that will power an 8 ohm speaker up to about 20 watts, 5 band graphic EQ, compressor, and can run on 2 nine volt batteries. That all adds up to a great unit to have in a dorm room, and it fits in your gig bag if you want it to. You can get these new for under $400, used for around $250.

So, for $1000 you can get a rig that you can take anywhere with you and blow the doors off the place!!!

[GrooveWarrior]

Oh, the other cool thing about the Bass Buddy is that the only place the iPod (aux input) is output is through the headphone out. What makes that cool is that you can use it as a "more me" type of unit where in a recording situation you can run the monitor input into it and then adjust it how you like to get more or less bass. Very cool.

[a01020201]

this looks sexy to me lol

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ampeg-Mi...01-i1470017.gc

when i went to college i had a half stack, as well as 2 15' pa speakers in my room lol
best of luck, but a lot of people seem to be recomending the gb shuttle amps as well

[hachi kid]

+1 for the MarkBass combos. I played through a 1x12 combo with a drummer in the local Guitar Center, and that thing KICKED! really nice amp. this looks like something you may like better, though.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Markbass...35-i1395932.gc

I actually played through the mini stacks (Ampeg and Acoustic) and while I liked the Acoustic better, the MarkBass 1x12 combo had a lot better bottom end.

here's that, btw:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Markbass...34-i1395927.gc


also, www.craiglook.com can be your best friend. ^_^

[fdeck]

Ah, the great college downsize.

My advice: Do nothing until you get there and check out the scene. You are wise to note that finding space for the 4x10 is the least of your worries. Depending on where you go to school, it may be remarkably difficult to get around. If you bring a car, they'll give you a parking space in the next county, and there might be literally nowhere to park in the student neighborhoods or in town on gig nights. I live in a university town, and I dread going anywhere near the campus with my car.

I would go so far as to recommend something like a nice 12" combo that will let you jam at sane volume levels, but is small enough to pull behind you on a cart. Many combos are powerful enough that they would make a lot of noise through your 4x10 should you ever get into a gigging band situation.

[bertbassplayer]

My vote would be for a small Schroeder cab. I have a 15+L that's pretty small, light (30 lbs), and can get really loud. Paired with a Shuttle/Markbass/GK MB that'd work great as both a small/medium gig rig and a bedroom rig.

When I was in college I had an apartment... I had a Ampeg 8x10 that sat in the middle of my living room.

[Stumbo]

Here are a few links to check out:
The ultimate custom built combo?
Opinions/experiences-great small combo amps
Mini-rigs of doom

I suggest looking at an LDS vertical long-throw 2x8 cab. With a micro 500w head, you'll do fine.
Possibly look for used equipment in TB's classified or on Craigslist.

The BFM cabs with a couple hundred watts would do you fine also.

Another thing to think about is that, depending on your major, you may not have much time to gig and party. Spending a bunch of cash may not be the best thing to do before you leave. Think about fDeck's advice. You also may live upstairs at some point so getting a "one trip" load in type system might be something to take a look at.

[The Ethanator]

i got a gallien-krueger mb115 combo to replace my halfstack for college. it just came today...