New rig advice - long post.

[gdthomas]

Looking for advice on a new rig. Posting all relevant details. The band I am jamming with now out scales my current equipment. The previous bands I have been in have been lower volume than the metal band I am currently jamming with. We play in D standard, with some songs in Drop C. I am using an ESP LTD B-254 with a pick and limited finger style right now. I do have allot of freedom in the low end as the guitar players run more of a mid range sound, so I do not have to compete with them hogging all the lower range.

I will be competing with a Mesa single rectifier half stack and a Peavey 5150 half stack. In practice the guitar amps never go above 5 master volume, and they have an Acoustic 370 head that I have been using, so far the volume on it has not been higher than 5 also. Not sure how long I will have access to the Acoustic head.

So my dilemma is that the only thing I can reuse out of my current rig is a 4 ohm 350w 15 inch cab, And I am stuck between the choices of get something to get by and risk throwing money into a slightly adequate rig because of short notice budget or holding off and waiting until I have more cash to throw at the problem.

What power range should I be looking at to be realistic? If you are playing in a similar situation what equipment are you using?

Thanks for the help.

[lowendfriend]

Don't play metal (blues and rock) but do so in pretty good size venues with 3 guitars and a killer drummer and three horns.

I use a GK 700RB-II with a GK Neo 212-II. Works fine, lasts a long time.

The 12's will sit up in the mix a bit more than a 15 inch.

Lots of air movin' with the 2 12's. I run outdoors or in big ballrooms with and without PA support.

If you really want to crank, move up to the 1001RB-II and get the Neo 412.

You might could even stay with the 700RB if you got the 412 (or better 2 MBE 212's for weight and venue control.)

[Burlington]

You can go a million different ways and a million different people will tell you a million different things.

For my deathmetal band, my setup of a Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0, SWR 6x10, and BBE Maxcom works great. YMMV.

[gdthomas]

yeah, this basically dropped into my lap and got me looking at buying something sooner than I expected to.

[RickenBoogie]

Basic set up would be 300-500 watt head, (many choices), and the most important thing is good speakers, and enough of them. That's where your volume will come from. A 4x10 would be considered the absolute MINIMUM, or a pair of 2x12's, a pair of 4x10's, or for a single large cab, a 2x15, 6x10, 8x10, or 4x12.

[JimmyM]

right. it's all about air, and you'll need more than a single 115 to do it right at those volumes. get something in the 300-500w range.

edit: sorry, didn't see you had a 4 ohm 115. you might consider another cab under those circumstances.

[bassplayerbob]

For a head I would check out the Hartke LH1000. I own the LH500 and use it with a 4 ohm single 15. Since you mention that your cab is also 4 ohms, the 1000 would be a better choice if you want to add another cab. you can run two 4 ohm cabs in parallel mode. The 500 is 4 ohm minimum. What kind of cab do you have now?

[jeff7bass]

and don't look back.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/product...ct=B2000-10.4N

[JimiLL]

Yeah youre gonna need speakers.... the more the better.

I wouldnt personally go into that garage with less than 500 watts and and 8x10

[Bmorefoozler]

If you are trying to use your current cab, then this thread could be called 2ohms on a budget. Sounds to me like the Carvin bx500, and an additional cab. Perhaps another of whatever you have.

The issue, is that your current cab is a little odd, and may be hard to work around. Most half-stack sized cabs are 8 ohms with larger cabs being 4. That coincidentally works best as most SS Heads are 4 ohm minimums and more speakers beats more power in nearly every instance.

You need more speaker first, which gives you a fork in the road. You will have much more choice if you plan to offload your current cab .

[tom once dead]

If you want to use that 15" cab, I'd suggest getting something like an SVT 2 Pro. Maybe try and find one used and find another cab as well a 410 or another 15.