need weekend warrior amp rig...

[nucnsbubba]

I'm a life long bass guy... (40 yrs)... getting back into playing some weekends with some quality friends... I need an amp rig, but I have a budget... I play a 1991 PRS 5 string... I'm a finger puller, not a slapper...

at first, I looked at the Acoustic B200, but you don't get the 200W without 2 cabs... I'd like to do just 1 cab...

amp wise, I'm really kind of sold on the new tc electronics BH500... it's finally available at $499 street price and only 4.6 lbs... here's the manual... .pdf file...

http://www.tcelectronic.com/media/BH500-US.pdf

so... I need a single cab that will fit in my backseat and my 60 yr old butt can lug around... the Fender Rumble 410 500W is just $299 (with casters), as well as the Behringer Ultrabass BB410 1200W for $299... both can be had with free shipping and no tax...

both are paper cones... both are 4ohm... the Fender is 76 lbs and comes with real casters... the Behringer has a pair of little wheels that look like my back wouldn't do well using them and is 100 lbs +... how much can those wattage ratings be trusted...?

reviews on the Fender are nonexistent... it's too new... reviews on the Behringer are mostly favorable...

would either of these cabs do for small clubs and such, or should I be looking at something else...? in the old days with a big band truck, 2 cabs would be the one... I'm trying to keep it simple... (I have a keyboard rig I have to haul around as well...)

any opinions appreciated...

(btw... what is a Speakon speaker cable...? {page 12 of the BH500 manual...} I warned you I was old school...)

[garmenteros]

I owned the behringer and it was my first cab. Its loud and mine was durable. I sold it to a guy that rents out his practice space and its stood up to five years of abuse and day to day usage. For me it was too heavy and it didn't make up for it in sound. I still use heavy cabs though. It was muddy and anything below a G on the E string would start fart city. I don't know about the fender though.

[funk generator]

this might be alittle more expensive, but a used markbass LMII and epifani 210 (or other lightweight cab) seems like a good choice.

Very nice tone and easy to manage

[pnut166]

I just got the ultimate budget rig used. A Line 6 HD750 head and a Peavey 115 cab on casters. It sounds amazing. Head $300 here on TB, cab $85 on local CL. Cab is about 60 lbs, head 22 lbs.

[will33]

I'd maybe look at some 212 bass cabs that have the speakers oriented one on top the other. Quality ones are out there. They're generally almost if not as loud as a 410. On the technical side the dispersion of sound is greatly improved, an added benefit is they're a smaller footprint and a bit taller. Benefits of that are having a speaker closer to the ear, easier to hear yourself, easier to lift/move around and can easily slide in the backseat of a compact car. The 410 has laserbeam dispersion anywhere above the lowmids, is a cube, a more awkward deadlift and may not fit through smaller doors or trunks. Things to think about.

[boogie8008]

I know you mentioned that you would prefer to have one cab but I think with keeping weight in mind you might want to consider two 2x10 cabs instead of on 4x10.

First, lifting and moving is much easier and I have found that it is easier to fit two small cabs in the back of a car than one big one. Also, these days most clubs and bars worth playing have decent house PA systems which really eliminates the need for a lot of stage volume. The TC electronics head you are getting has a D.I. out which will allow you to plug directly into the house PA and let their system do most of the work, making your stage amp more of a monitor. In most bar situations a single 2x10 cab is really all you need to hear your self on stage, bringing the second cab would only be necessary for large venues or outdoor gigs.

Just my personal opinion but if you are on a $300-$400 budget you can get a much nicer 2x10 than a 4x10 and add an additional cab later if you needed it. I have heard good things about the TC cabs. maybe consider giving one of them a try. Good luck on the gear hunt.

[will33]

Originally Posted by boogie8008

I know you mentioned that you would prefer to have one cab but I think with keeping weight in mind you might want to consider two 2x10 cabs instead of on 4x10.

First, lifting and moving is much easier and I have found that it is easier to fit two small cabs in the back of a car than one big one. Also, these days most clubs and bars worth playing have decent house PA systems which really eliminates the need for a lot of stage volume. The TC electronics head you are getting has a D.I. out which will allow you to plug directly into the house PA and let their system do most of the work, making your stage amp more of a monitor. In most bar situations a single 2x10 cab is really all you need to hear your self on stage, bringing the second cab would only be necessary for large venues or outdoor gigs.

Just my personal opinion but if you are on a $300-$400 budget you can get a much nicer 2x10 than a 4x10 and add an additional cab later if you needed it. I have heard good things about the TC cabs. maybe consider giving one of them a try. Good luck on the gear hunt.

All good advise here as well. Unless you're trying to play "shake the house down" hard rock, you'd be surprised how much gig a good 210 can carry. That's small enough to be another "one hand carry" piece of equipment and you can drag the second one along if you find yourself outdoors or in a big room/big stage or just plain having to play louder.

[Jazzdogg]

Please let us know what kind of music you intend to play, and how much sound you want to produce.

There are some very nice small combos out now that outproduce the rigs you and I grew up with. 500+ Watt amps that weigh 7 pounds are readily available, as are cabinets with neo magnets that can put out a lot of clean sound and weigh less than 40 pounds. Carvin and Hartke have gear that's really good, and priced to sell. It's a great that all this new, lightweight, gear is becoming available just as I'm beginning to question my ability to haul heavy gear in the years to come.

The TB search engine isn't the greatest, but there's also a Google search engine available and it's effective. Lots of good information here. There are useful "sticky" (permanent)threads in virtually every forum; they're easiest to find when you search forum by forum.

Don't forget the TalkBass classifieds, which can be a great source of used gear as long as you read the stickies, familiarize yourself with the prospective buyer, and keep your nose clean. I've never had a bad TB buying experience, but I've only bought from TBers with a track record.

Good luck in your quest, and welcome back to the brotherhood of bassists.

[nucnsbubba]

we're looking at doing 80s covers, 70s and 90s would go good as well... the girl singer is a booking agent and we have a good relationship with a one nighter agent as well... work is most important... it ain't so easy nowadays... we're tailoring the group based on where we can book it...

house PAs are not always the case in our area, and we might be doing some outdoor festivals this summer... (might have to rent subs for the PA in that case...) I need to cover the room without main PA sub help... (I'll be ok, but I think the kick drum always need some help... well, we're still in the forming stages...)

I worked with one group for 25 yrs and we did the big PA, big band truck thing with no roadies... a different state every week... that's kind of why I left the full time circuit... the people involved in the new group are talented and good on stage, but we'd all like to keep it simple equipment wise, but keep the quality up...

I just read the thread on the class D amps... a lot a controversy over there... I guess I need to go out and play some of these smaller cabs... 2-10s...? I come from the old school Acoustic 370 head with 2 301 bottoms... LOUD... I don't need the ashtrays to walk off the tables, but I want those deep tones on the bottom end of my 5 string...

[rpsands]

GK MB212 combo is how I'd roll if I was looking for an all in one rig. I would mod it, but you don't have to.

[Burke]

I'd look at a 210 for what you are gonna do. I know the Hartke 210 XL is going for $200.00 allover the place. It's a good cab. I have one. I use it for all small gigs and rehearsals. It's plenty loud and sounds pretty good IMO. I have a 115 XL to go with it for bigger gigs and outdoor stuff.

[will33]

Ya, I'd probably look for a decent quality 212, something that can sound like a "215 in a smaller package". Make use of return policies and/or go through some used gear locally, depending on where you live.

[ThisisCraigP]

Markbass Jeff Berlin. 115, 500 watts, 37 pounds, and low end that will rattle your bones. Every time I visit GC I play it.

[JimmyM]

svt/810.

hey, it'll fit in the back seat of most medium-to-large cars.

[fingerbun]

Behringer....opinions vary. I think they are ok but you can probably do better.

Hartke....I have a 210XL. I don't especially like it on it's own but paired with a paper cone 1x15 I like it a lot. Only used it with 4 string basses tho. But for what you want at your budget Hartke should be on the list.

Fender Rumble.....ok but never heard one loud enough for what you describe.

Others have mentioned Markbass. I don't personally like how they sound but they are awesome gear and you should consider them.

The other brand you should look at is Ashdown.

[Jaco who?]

both are paper cones... both are 4ohm... the Fender is 76 lbs and comes with real casters... the Behringer has a pair of little wheels that look like my back wouldn't do well using them and is 100 lbs +... how much can those wattage ratings be trusted...?

Wattage ratings tell how much heat the voice coils can tolerate before they stop working. Depending on the x-max of a particular driver, they can start to make farty noises at less than half that amount, the more bass heavy EQ the more likely...

For around $300, no more, I'd consider a used Peavey TVX or TXF 410, just as heavy but a heck of a lot more durable, or spend another $200 and get one of the new Avatar TB153 15" three way cabs. It's not a particularly cutting edge design, but it's Kappalite 3015LF's Xmax will handle anything your TC head could put out and then some.

[mikeddd]

Just to answer his question about Speakon cables. Speakons are relatively new (a few years now) connectors that carry more current than the ubiquitous 1/4" speaker cable and are "touch proof." Meaning that all the metal contacts are inside the plug. Unless you drop the end in water, it's almost impossible to short one out. Here's what the connectors look like. The front black part inserts into the jack, you twist the connector about a 1/2" and the gray collar snaps forward, locking the connector in. They are the perfect connector IMO. You must pull the gray collar backwards and twist the connector to remove it. Not to confuse you, but just for educational purposes: There are different kinds of Speakon connectors. Some have up to 8 contacts inside (4 pairs) so that you can run a biamp/triampable speaker with just one cable that has 2/3/4 pairs of wires inside. The cable below has just one pair of wires inside (the + and - of the usual "speaker connection")

[lookiel]

Not certain if this was mentioned but the TC head you referred to in the OP isn't 4.6 pounds, it's more like 29 pounds.

[countrybass007]

A bit pricey, but the Orange Isobaric cabs are light, small, and put out a powerful sound.

[shoot-r]

Originally Posted by nucnsbubba

I'm a life long bass guy... (40 yrs)... getting back into playing some weekends with some quality friends... I need an amp rig, but I have a budget... I play a 1991 PRS 5 string... I'm a finger puller, not a slapper...

at first, I looked at the Acoustic B200, but you don't get the 200W without 2 cabs... I'd like to do just 1 cab...

amp wise, I'm really kind of sold on the new tc electronics BH500... it's finally available at $499 street price and only 4.6 lbs... here's the manual... .pdf file...

http://www.tcelectronic.com/media/BH500-US.pdf

so... I need a single cab that will fit in my backseat and my 60 yr old butt can lug around... the Fender Rumble 410 500W is just $299 (with casters), as well as the Behringer Ultrabass BB410 1200W for $299... both can be had with free shipping and no tax...

both are paper cones... both are 4ohm... the Fender is 76 lbs and comes with real casters... the Behringer has a pair of little wheels that look like my back wouldn't do well using them and is 100 lbs +... how much can those wattage ratings be trusted...?

reviews on the Fender are nonexistent... it's too new... reviews on the Behringer are mostly favorable...

would either of these cabs do for small clubs and such, or should I be looking at something else...? in the old days with a big band truck, 2 cabs would be the one... I'm trying to keep it simple... (I have a keyboard rig I have to haul around as well...)

any opinions appreciated...

(btw... what is a Speakon speaker cable...? {page 12 of the BH500 manual...} I warned you I was old school...)

Been at it for 40+ years also...
About a year ago I put a rig together to meet pretty much the same requirements you've set.
I'm running a GK MB2-500 head, (350 watts at 8 ohms - 500 watts at 4 ohms - 3.8 lbs. - $499.00 new), into one or two Avatar 210 Neo cabinets, ( 8 ohms each - 500 watts cap. each - 42 lbs. each - $319.00 each new).
I stack the two 210's as a vertical 410.
I use one 210 at rehearsals/small gigs, both cabinets when more volume and coverage is needed.
The whole rig will fit either in my car's back seat or trunk and the whole rig weighs less than the SVT tube head I used to drag around!
Total price might be alittle more than what you were budgeting, the whole set-up, head and two cabinets came in at slightly over $1100.00.
I'm with a "LOUD", 6 pcs., country/rock group with FOH maybe 50% of the time.
This rig cuts through on stage great.
Recently I've been using just one Avatar 210 Neo cabinet at alot of jobs with very good results.
www.avatarspeakers.com