Another "First Amp" thread

[Kraken]

if you are going to keep coming back here, the Hartke are a good choice, Larry Hartke has an account here and has been known to 'take action' in the spirit of good customer service.

can't say he will always, but you never know.

I personally would recommend Ampeg, but that can be a controversial subject.

 

[Downunderwonder]

A quick update on this thread: I couldn't get the Hartke HA3500 with the VX410 cabinet, and because I've been playing in a rather serious band last couple of weeks, I decided to go search for another second hand deal. Furthermore, I've been looking for HA3500's because they seem like one of the best heads in the price range.

I found a couple of them; one's a HA3500 head (350 watts) with a 410 TP (300 watts) and a 115 TP (150 watts) stack for €450,-. Note: I assume that they're Transporter cabinets. This is the image provided with the offer: Invalid Link Removed. The main downside here is that I'll have to convince my parents, and I don't know how great the Transporter series are and if they're worth the money.
The other amplifier I found is a Hartke VX3500 (350 watts) combo. I've learned in this very thread that a stack is the way to go, but I considered this one an option because of the stack-like setup. It would cost me €300,-. The main downside here is that there's no way to plug in another cabinet, and the amp is therefore pretty limited.

What should I do? I want to use the stack with our band and I need plenty of volume in the rehearsal room there. We play over a Behringer set of 2x800 watts (however, both the channels as the main volume are halved), and the guitarist is going to play over a 100 watts Marshall stack. As far as I've read on TalkBass about Transporter cabs, the volume is lower than most cabinets, so I'm worried if it can be of use. However, if I buy this stack, I can individually upgrade the cabinets to the VX or XL series.

I'd like to hear your opinions on this. I'd like my first amp to be one going with me for a couple more years. Thanks in advance!

Thread today about guy blowing up 15 in his Ampeg rig of similar proportions.

150W doesn't really tell much, maybe it takes a full 150W without farting out or maybe not. Being rated at a mere 150W suggests it's a realistic rating perhaps? You'd almost be better off leaving the 15 at home for less to worry about.

You will kill the 15 easily if you ignore the power handling mismatch. Each cab gets same signal strength from the amp, the top is the correct location and you'd need to be listening to the 15 intently (with earplugs)

Say the rig can handle 300W worth of bass then you'll only just keep up with the Marshall providing he doesn't EQ loads of his bass in as those are your mainstay mids.

Horses for courses. I don't know what's available or pricing in the Dutch market. EbayUK usually has older Trace Elliot at mouthwatering prices when viewed from NZ. It is very honestly rated gear.

How handy are you? Building cabs with these new woofers they have these days seems to be the way to go for huge bass at least cost. They reckon you can build a fEarful for $600 in parts, what's that in Euro, 450? + amp puts you way over but you could save up.

 

[Reace George]

Read up on why mixing a 115 and a 410 cab isnt the best idea.

I read this topic on mixing speaker cabinets, and I think that, based on this topic, the best idea (if I decide to buy this particular set) is to thourougly try it out first to examine the sound of both cabinets together. Maybe they do add something up to each other, but they could as well drown each other out, as stated in that topic.

if you are going to keep coming back here, the Hartke are a good choice, Larry Hartke has an account here and has been known to 'take action' in the spirit of good customer service.

can't say he will always, but you never know.

I personally would recommend Ampeg, but that can be a controversial subject.

I've seen a couple of topics in which Larry himself has posted, and it's indeed one of the reasons why I would like to buy from them; the personal customer service is amazing.

I've looked at some of the popular rigs from Ampeg, but they're much more expensive than the ones from Hartke. I've got many more people telling me to buy Ampeg, but I just can't afford it and it's not quite easy to get second hand here.

Thread today about guy blowing up 15 in his Ampeg rig of similar proportions.

150W doesn't really tell much, maybe it takes a full 150W without farting out or maybe not. Being rated at a mere 150W suggests it's a realistic rating perhaps? You'd almost be better off leaving the 15 at home for less to worry about.

You will kill the 15 easily if you ignore the power handling mismatch. Each cab gets same signal strength from the amp, the top is the correct location and you'd need to be listening to the 15 intently (with earplugs)

Say the rig can handle 300W worth of bass then you'll only just keep up with the Marshall providing he doesn't EQ loads of his bass in as those are your mainstay mids.

Horses for courses. I don't know what's available or pricing in the Dutch market. EbayUK usually has older Trace Elliot at mouthwatering prices when viewed from NZ. It is very honestly rated gear.

How handy are you? Building cabs with these new woofers they have these days seems to be the way to go for huge bass at least cost. They reckon you can build a fEarful for $600 in parts, what's that in Euro, 450? + amp puts you way over but you could save up.

I plan to test the full rig and try it out, but maybe I could indeed leave the 115 cabinet there and just take the 410 cabinet with the amp if it doesn't sound that well.

The Dutch market for music isn't as good as the UK or US. The majority of rigs second hand come from either Hartke or some nameless brand, and if I'd go and buy something new and from another brand, I'd most likely need to look up on Thomann.de, the largest European market for music.

I've looked at those fEARful cabinets quite some time, and they look very tempting, but I can't afford one at this moment, and I've almost never worked with wood in my life. Not with projects like those, at least. If I'd go with such a cabinet, I'd try either a fEARful or maybe a Barefaced, they look very pretty too.

 

[JimmyM]

I read this topic on mixing speaker cabinets, and I think that, based on this topic, the best idea (if I decide to buy this particular set) is to thourougly try it out first to examine the sound of both cabinets together. Maybe they do add something up to each other, but they could as well drown each other out, as stated in that topic.

Hearing stuff for yourself is always best, and be sure to try each cab with a second identical cab if you can, too. Any time you add a speaker to other speakers you'll get a bit of tonal improvement because that's simple physics, but if you don't compare it to a stack with matching cabs, you'll never know the real story.

 

[Reace George]

Hearing stuff for yourself is always best, and be sure to try each cab with a second identical cab if you can, too. Any time you add a speaker to other speakers you'll get a bit of tonal improvement because that's simple physics, but if you don't compare it to a stack with matching cabs, you'll never know the real story.

I understand what you're saying, but if I do buy this set, then I'm buying it from someone who may or may not own other cabinets. He states in his offer that he's aiming for the new HyDrive set, so I think there'd be some other cabinets, but the chance that this is the only set he owns so far is still there too. If I want to compare this with other cabinets, I'd need to buy the set first and then buy new cabinets, which I may need te return if I don't like them.

 

[JimmyM]

Oh gee, well then I would totally understand if you didn't try them in all the combinations. Well go with your gut, bro.

 

[dukeorock]

The Barefaced stuff is pretty dang awesome...I guess there aren't any authorized fEARful builders in or near NL yet, but you'd prolly be able to find a good woodworker/cabinet maker to help you...just a thought!

 

[JimmyM]

Hey Mark, you should make a fEarful done up like your new Blast Cult bass.

 

[dukeorock]

Hey Mark, you should make a fEarful done up like your new Blast Cult bass.

You're reading my mind, Jimmy! We're currently building a 1515/66/1, two 15/6/1's (one reverse baffled) and a 15sub this weekend. We bought a good amount of Baltic Birch, so there'll be enough wood left to build an additional few boxes, just to compare stuff. Maybe a 1212/6/1 and a Dually/bassic as well...really looking forward to getting into these!

 

[Reace George]

Just a quick update on this thread:
I received two bass combo's from my dad, which he formerly used for his synthesizers (Korg MS-10 and the like). They are both Roland Spirit Bass 50's, and I connect them to each other using the preout en the high input. It's pretty useful, for I can now easily adjust the tone on both amps differently. I have the upper combo set with more treble, and the lower combo with more bass and mids.

It works for our rehearsal room and I can get a really nice tone out of it. With this, it should take a while before I need to get a new bass amp, so I can easily wait and get money for a new amp. When I've thought that out and I get more money, I'll come back to find the best amp. What do you guys think as an useful amount of money?

 

[degroove]

Read up on why mixing a 115 and a 410 cab isnt the best idea.

I disagree. I just saw a concert (Reggae) with the Wailers and Aston Family Man Barett was playing a Eden 410 with 115 and it sounded killer! I also play with a 210 and 115 with no ill effects.

So, I say go for the 115! It will give make up for any issues with the low end response of your 410 cabinet.

That is my experience and opinion.

 

[chadds]

I disagree. I just saw a concert (Reggae) with the Wailers and Aston Family Man Barett was playing a Eden 410 with 115 and it sounded killer! I also play with a 210 and 115 with no ill effects.

So, I say go for the 115! It will give make up for any issues with the low end response of your 410 cabinet.

That is my experience and opinion.

He'd sound good through a box of pampers.
Again it's not that it didn't sound good to you. It's that in a room some people will hear different qualities of too lean or too much bass. Not the same issue with a big PA all things mic'd and monitored. Yet two of the same cab is better. You won't know til you try. The belief that 15"s are better for lows than 10"s is a myth.

 

[CL400Peavey]

He'd sound good through a box of pampers.
Again it's not that it didn't sound good to you. It's that in a room some people will hear different qualities of too lean or too much bass. Not the same issue with a big PA all things mic'd and monitored. Yet two of the same cab is better. You won't know til you try. The belief that 15"s are better for lows than 10"s is a myth.

+ 1,000

 

[ghandee]

You might wanna check out these guys:
Musical instruments at Session Music

They offer lower postage charges for EU

 

[Reace George]

I've quite recently set my eye on the Ampeg Portaflex series. If I can manage to save up to the point where I've got around €500,-, I could buy (with some support from my parents) an Ampeg PF-500 with PF115-HE, which I assume would be a pretty nice rig. I'm planning to add a second PF115-HE later on (instead of the PF210-HE, as there's not very much difference between the 115 and the 210, except for the fact that the 115 goes lower and the 210 is more expensive), when I got some more money. Is this advisable and good enough for a first (real) rig? I like how the Portaflex series are lightweight and easily portable, and the power and tone (Ampeg!) are great. It's also easily upgradable if needed, but I think that I'd be pretty content with this for now.

 

[Downunderwonder]

It's a good plan, but for 500e and a kick in from the olds you should be able to get a good used rig.

 

[Reace George]

Yeah, I'd like to save up €500,- myself and with another €300,- from my parents I could buy this ministack. It's indeed quite a lot of money for such a small halfstack, but there aren't that great deals here in the Netherlands. Fifty percent of the market is either Hartke or Behringer, and while I do like quite some stuff from Hartke, I think it's better to go with something a tad more powerful. This might sound like a heck of a lot of ******** to you, but it's just my opinion.

PS: I'm also afraid of buying used rigs in case of damage and stuff :c

 

[spaz21387]

if you go through it well you shouldnt have a problem with used gear... All my bass cabs have been used. be sure to crank them and listen for rattles and weird noises. Then go buy a new head. I love my hartke lh500 500 watts and only 300$ american shipped about a year ago.

 

[Reace George]

I just saw a PF-500 head for only €300,- instead of the usual €440,-, which is being placed as new. Sounds like a pretty nice deal to me.

I assume a PF-500 can be used without any cabs? It's a solidstate amp after all.