Double Bass Amp for both DB and BG

[Ric Vice]

I do too but some band mates thought it was too polite (I have the Coda combo) so I have to use an external cabinet for that situation. Now with my Charlie Hunter type Hybrid bass/guitar - The Coda is a blessing because I bring one amp for that where I need 2 different gain structures, while also capable of amplifying my upright or Cello. I have carried, upright (1/2 size)- hybrid guitar, pedals and the AI Contra in one shot from car to stage.

Color me very impressed. Theses days, I try to get it under three pieces total. The Bass, The Preamp/Amp and a collapsible stool.

 

[logdrum]

Color me very impressed. Theses days, I try to get it under three pieces total. The Bass, The Preamp/Amp and a collapsible stool.

I am 54 now. Smallish guy but I have horses and just feeding them means I carry heavy stuff every day (65 to 120 lb hay bales, 50 lb feed bags, muck and poop, water and controlling horses when doing ground work ). Most horse people unless they can afford to pay helpers have to have some strength that you just get and maintain if you keep on having them ) . They are old and will die some day and by then if I am still alive, my strength will be gone in a month.

My bass bag is set so I can backpack the bass and so is my guitar bag. So 30 lbs or less for the bass and bag and stuff, 20 for the AI amp combo and bag with 2 pedals cables and pre-amp and less than 15 for the hybrid bass , so 65 lbs max and max 30 yards walk. Compact Sedan or wagon

 

[oren]

Those are interesting choices as neither amp has two channels. Do they use some kind of Preamp to insert the DB into the effects loop?

I use the CMD121P. I rarely have gigs (could just stop there now) where I double on the same gig - most gigs are either upright or electric. But on the rare occasion where I do take both, I put the upright pickup into an old Fishman preamp that has four band EQ. The output from the preamp and the output from the electric go into a Whirlwind Selector A/B switch. I EQ the amp mostly for the electric and then adjust the preamp for the upright. Works fine for my mostly low key live gigs. Definitely not a rig for the studio!

 

[Gdeak]

I echo others in cautioning you against the Rumble. If you're on a budget and just messing around they're fine. I keep one as a practice amp in my office. But when they break they become a big paperweight - not worth fixing; the board design is disposable. More important, they're not at a high level sound-wise. They sound better than you expect trying them out in the store, but even a Rumble 100 can't stand up in a jazz quartet or rock trio. It's beginner gear. I'd never put my DB *or* BG through my Rumble at an actual gig. A Markbass combo (CMD12 or other portable model) is great, if you can find one used for a decent price - but avoid the Guitar Center "budget" line (with the oval emblem) - those are second-rate, very meh.
Genzler, Genz Benz, both are good. If you can find a used one (good luck) the Mesa Boogie Subway is AMAZING - IMO about the best-sounding solid-state portable head on the market for under $1000, and sounds good with upright (but you have to tweak the settings). I did a shootout at Pitbull with my fretless against comparable Aguilar, Eden, and Ampeg heads, and the Subway blew them away. It wasn't even close (well, the Tonehammer was not bad - respectable 2nd place). Those things are fantastic. I've owned or used a bunch of other brands: various Ampeg, GK, Hartke, Trace Elliot, Eden...none of them offer anything better than Mesa, Markbass, or Genz/Genzler, IMO. Most had notable deficits of one kind or another. Sure, Ampeg SVTs are really nice, but expensive and *heavy* and not ideal for DB. Of course Bergantino, Demeter, Epifani, EA, have really nice amps too, but those are $$$.
I also second the suggestion of a preamp like the Bassbone V2, if you can snag a used one at a good price - I use it on my big pedalboard, to switch between fretless and fretted. Really nice toolkit. A comparable alternative the EBS Microbass; I have a Mb II on my small board and it also has a lot of functionality; now that the III has come out you might be able to find a cheap MbII - very useful piece of gear; good sound and versatile. There are other great preamps for upright - the Fishman Platinum is high on my wish list - but the Bassbone and Microbass both have 2 inputs so you can switch between DB and BG easily, and both have lots of features and good sound. I've gigged a fair bit with both of them; never any problems.

 

[jj.833]

If you plan to travel with mass transport or on foot, consider separate head and cab(s). Even the smallest combos are hard to carry with bass on other shoulder, mostly because they are too 'thick', so you need to hold your arm too far from your body. Amp and cab separated, the amp (<2kg) can be carried in a backpack and the cab can be had very small and thin enough to be held comfortably. With most heads, you can also have one cab for double bass (which can't be amplified too much for feedback troubles) and two cabs for bass guitar (which wants more 'artificial' boom). And, you can change any part of your gear later, cheaper than changing the combo. With amps, people mostly change them quite often, looking for the best sound.