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Amp GAS

Scottkarch

Scottkarch

Sep 11, 2012
1,646
1,013
58
Chicago
jenneratorband.com
#1
So. After picking up the bass again after 23 years. I got bass GAS all last year while finding what I liked best. Funny enough my 2 go to basses are 81 ibanez roadsters. Fretted and fretless, the occasional 8 and 12 string songs and my new Stagg EUB. The only bass GAS I have is a Waterstone TP8 or TP12 but it's not bad.

But I have moved on to amp GAS. Never expected it. I have a great TCE BG250-115 and find myself jonesing for a 110 or 208 combo for practice and tiny pubs.... And/or something bigger for bigger gigs the 115 can't quite handle. Maybe 250-1000 watts and 1x210 neo cabs so I can move them

Anyone else switch from bass to amp GAS. Never thought I'd need anything but 1 amp. Now I see how it can help. Specialized amps like my specialized basses.
 
#3
If you plan on playing restaurants with a jazz trio and your only amp is an SVT/810, you're likely not going to get asked back, even if you keep the volume down ;) I consider it a necessity to have at least one small rig if you gig.
 
#5
23 years - man, a whole lot has changed. Amps / cabs are lighter & better than ever.
Let me think... 23 years ago I was running an SWR SM900 with two SWR triad cabs. Never loved that setup (I guess that's why I sold it!). It weighed a ton and just didn't sound that great.

So yes, you can get some really cool lightweight gear now that sounds great. Don't bother shopping at GC, though, unless you are on a really tight budget.
 
#6
Hey Scott, I think we've talked about how similarly situated we are. My time away is about the same as yours but I got back in a couple of years before you. I think we play similar music and types of gigs.

GAS is GAS, and there's no getting around that (other than simply not having the money to feed it…my current state, ha). You can't really reason with it.

But to try to reason with it anyway…you like your BG250, and you want to "add" to it to build an amp stable. Where do you go from there?

IMO, one way of looking at it leads to the conclusion that you really don't "need" a smaller and bigger rig at all. At the small end of your GAS fueled wants (a 110 or 2x8 for practice and tiny pubs), your BG250 can and will work just fine. You can control the volume, and it's really not *that* big or heavy. Given that you like it, it will likely sound "better" (i.e. richer and deeper) than any 1x10 or 2x8 combo, which are going to have a lower ceiling of sounding good. There simply is no chance of that happening if you have your BG250 with you.

One the bigger end of your wants, a 2x10 and more powerful amp is only going to be marginally different (if at all) than the regularly realized capabilities that you have with the BG250. I don't know every situation that you face, but as with the other end of the spectrum, if you have to get louder, the BG250 can still work as your amp. It has DI, so you're through FOH, right?

I think that the other way of viewing it (that your GAS is based on reasonable wants) leads to the conclusion that there's little reason to keep the BG250. Having small, medium, and big rigs, especially where you're talking about the "big" one as a higher power 210 or 410 setup means a lot of crossover in downward capability.

My experience on the same path led to the BG250 being squeezed out as loved, but likely to go unused. I ended up with a Carvin MB115 extension cabinet as the base for my small rig. It is super-compact and relatively light. I got a 212 (Schroeder PL 1,000 watt - 38 lbs) cabinet as the max I believe I'll need in place of my 410. I have an RH750, Crest Prolite 2.0, and Zoom B3. I'm seeing less and less reason to keep the Crest.

If you must give in to the GAS, my unsolicited suggestions would be a 500-800 watt head (several to choose from) and two cabinets to run with it as small and bigger rigs; (1) a quality 1x10 cabinet for practice and pubs and (2) a quality, light-weight 2x12 cabinet for everything else (or possibly a compact, light-weight 4x10 or 2x15 - there's some options around 50 lbs) - or - a 500-800 watt head a two light-weight 1x12 cabinets…go modular, use one or both of the cabs as called for.
 
#7
My amp GAS has stopped.

It was cured by couple of big giant tablets of Demeter and Bergantino brand antacid.

It was not a cheap pill, but it seems to have worked.... so far.
 
#8
DrPepper. You sound like a very wise man. :). I can't refute anything you said. Right on the nose. Thanks.

Part of it is just plain GAS. Something like a RH750 or similar, a 110 cab for small things and a 212 cab for bigger places. Maybe 2 RS112s. One for small places , two for larger.

Or just stay with the BG250. You were right on about DI and FOH for bigger bars. Hmm. Maybe I need a looper.... :)
 
#10
Amp GAS? Never heard of it.

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