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Double Bass Amp (only the head) recommendations on a budget?

zeytoun

zeytoun

Dec 19, 2008
478
12
Portland, Oregon
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#1
I'm currently using a bassmax, with an fdeck hpf, fed into a PA head and monitor.

It sounds nice but is unwieldy, and overkill for what I do (which is turn it up just barely, to add a little heft to the bottom end).

A friend is *generously* building me a 12 inch small cabinet, similar to the 12 inch speaker on fdeck's page.

So I'll need a head for it. I'll be using it for upright only, a mix of jazz, folk, nothing too loud. Pizz/Arco 75/25.

Any budget recommendations? I'm sure at some point in the future I'll upgrade to an AI or EA setup, but just want something very simple to tide me over, and I know very little about amps/electronics. Any tips? I've tried searching the forum, but don't have good ideas about search terms, so if there's already a thread that would be great too!
 
#5
Budget recommendations? Yeah, stay within yours.
My Tip: Though you were specific about your musical needs, be more specific about your budget so people here can better help you. A tight budget for you might be $100 while $500 is tight for someone else.

So what is your budget? Are you willing to buy used? What Ohm-rating is the speaker in the cab your friend is building and how many watts can it handle? Perhaps consider making it a powered cabinet and run straight in from the HPF-Pre?

TB Classifrieds, eBile, Craig'sLisp, Loco classiflied newspaper linings...

Sorry I can't offer any ideas on amp heads, I'm not experienced/knowledgeable enough about them. Good Luck!
 
#6
Budget. Below $500. Lower is better (for now). I'm looking for a short-term hold-over solution. Totally willing to buy used, just not sure what to look for.

I think it's 5.04 ohms, and it looks like fdeck is using his with a 300 watt GK. (I'm searching the threads about the GK's, which show up on craigslist more often).

My friend mentioned something about it being a powered cabinet. Does that mean I can get away (at least temporarily, on small gigs) with running it directly? I imagine that the drawbacks are going to be about performance, and little/no EQing? If the tone happens to be ok, and I'm using it for quiet gigs? So far, with my PA monitor, I just have the volume on very low, EQ flat, reinforcing me a bit.

On anything bigger, I can bring the PA monitor/head.
 
#8
zeytoun said:
Budget. Below $500. Lower is better (for now). I'm looking for a short-term hold-over solution. Totally willing to buy used, just not sure what to look for.

I think it's 5.04 ohms, and it looks like fdeck is using his with a 300 watt GK. (I'm searching the threads about the GK's, which show up on craigslist more often).

My friend mentioned something about it being a powered cabinet. Does that mean I can get away (at least temporarily, on small gigs) with running it directly? I imagine that the drawbacks are going to be about performance, and little/no EQing? If the tone happens to be ok, and I'm using it for quiet gigs? So far, with my PA monitor, I just have the volume on very low, EQ flat, reinforcing me a bit.

On anything bigger, I can bring the PA monitor/head.
Click to expand...

Zeytoun,
I think the best bet would be for you to find a used GK MBS or MBE head, if that's actually possible, or the new MB 200 head. Otherwise, you could just buy a used MBS or MBE combo and use the 12 cabinet as an extension, as long as it's 8 Ohms.

Ric
 
#9
I have built two of those cabinets and have used one with DB almost exclusively for maybe 3-4 years. There was a Wizzy 10 in there for awhile and as nice as the little 10 is, Fdeck's design sounds better and will take more power before it hits the wall.

It has been used with two different AI heads, an Eden WTX260, as an extension for a GK MB150 and for the last year a Markbass LMII. I compared the LMII to my AI Focus 2R and immediately sold the Focus. The fact that I pocketed a few benjamins in the process was nice as well.

Fdeck might give you his thoughts on pairing it with an EA micro.

BTW, his little wonderbox is stuck to the LMII with velcro. The combination works well for me.
 
#10
I just picked up a carvin pro bass 150 for a 100 and I turned my ampeg BA115T into a cab because the power section went out and its my new favorite amp I get plenty of power with or without a preamp even enough for larger stages. its a nice portable rig and it doesnt feedback unless you are right in front of the speaker which is a common problem for upright players. long story short if you can find these carvin heads they are extremely cheap and reliable.
 

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