All Purpose Bass Rig

[onydag]

Hi there. I own 4 bass amps for no good reason. I'd like to thin the herd to create space in my studio, to create dosh in my wallet.

1. Phil Jones Briefcase
2. Phil Jones M-500 with 6t/9b
3. Hartke LH1000 w 4x10 HyDrive & 1x15 HyDrive
4. TC Electronic RH450 with TC 2x12 Cabinet


Best sounding amp, most fun to play, most elegant is "Phil Jones Briefcase." hands down.

M-500 Setup is also amazing and beefy, but INCREDIBLY heavy.

Hartke has 1000 watts. I was in a situation a few weeks ago where I was competing with a drummer for volume, it would have been nice to have the HARTKE instead of Phil Jones. I like the simplicity of the LH1000 head.

4. TC Electronic is not too heavy and good for small gigs. Tone preset function is awesome.


I will keep the Phil Jones Briefcase surely. The other three, I can really live without them.

I'd like the portability of the TC Electronic, The tone of the Phil Jones and the power of the Hartke all in one amp.

Is there some kind of modular solution that has power and is a tone monster like the Phil Jones?

Thanks for reading!

 

[Mystic Michael]

OK, several thoughts here:

1) My personal feeling, based on experience, is that there's no such thing as a truly "all purpose" rig - meaning that the more musical/functional territory you require it cover, the more compromise you'll likely have to make. There's simply no single rig that does everything well.

2) That said, how "all purpose" a rig is in actual practice will depend almost exclusively on the needs & expectations of the individual player. A single rig that covers all the bases - so to speak - for you, might not be versatile enough for me. Or vice versa.

3) The extremely subjective nature of this quest - and the personal judgments that are required in order to properly evaluate the options - makes it extremely difficult for one person to make useful recommendations to another.

4) Given all these factors - and not happening to have heard a Phil Jones rig yet (though I have a pretty good idea of it in my mind's ear), I suspect that your best compromise is going to be with one of the higher-powered, high-end or boutique, Class D heads - GK MB800/MB Fusion 800, Acoustic Image Clarus+, Euphonic Audio iAmp Pro, Markbass SD, Genz Benz ShuttleMAX, Ashdown ABM 1000, Glockenklang Blue Soul, Tecamp Puma, etc.

As for cabs, any of the boutique brands are worth consideration, in (2) 1x12 or (1) 2x12 format: Acme, Bergantino, Epifani, the new Accugroove, Barefaced, fEARFUL/fEARless, Euphonic Audio, Audiokinesis, etc.

MM