Double Bass Backline Amp for Smallish Jazz Room

[dylanjohnson]

I have the opportunity to make an amp recommendation for a local club near me. It's a wide but shallow room that holds 62 people.
What smallish DB amp would you want to see when you go into a club? Preferably a combo, I'm thinking.

 

[AGCurry]

Traynor SB112 or SB110.

 

[Ross Kratter]

Phil Jones Suitcase Compact with the C4 extension cab or a Phil Jones Super Flightcase.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Ross, while those are nice amps it’s unlikely that a club is going to invest that kind of bread. You don’t see those in the top level NYC clubs, it’s mostly MarkBass.

 

[dylanjohnson]

Thanks. I'm able to do the gig with a GK 200mb but it's pretty much maxed out to make it work. Might need something a little bigger than the Flightcase. I'm not familiar with those Traynor amps. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Ross Kratter]

Ross, while those are nice amps it’s unlikely that a club is going to invest that kind of bread. You don’t see those in the top level NYC clubs, it’s mostly MarkBass.

Ed, I'm well aware; however, Zinc has a Super Flightcase, and several clubs have Aguilar, Markbass, or GK. I don't think it's that much of a stretch.

 

[dylanjohnson]

Ross, while those are nice amps it’s unlikely that a club is going to invest that kind of bread. You don’t see those in the top level NYC clubs, it’s mostly MarkBass.

There is a unique situation here. The guy who tunes the piano in there (Chicks former keyboard tech/road manager) wants to buy the club an amp as a gift. Not sure what the budget would be?

 

[dylanjohnson]

Seems like the standards are Markbass and Aguilar these days.

 

[66 Fender Jazz]

Acoustic Image Coda S4 Plus. Down-firing 10" woofer, 5" mid-range, 2 channels, feature-rich , 23#s.

 

[66 Fender Jazz]

Picture of AI combo

 

[Sean Riddle]

The Blue Whale had the Markbass 12 inch combo with an extension cab as its back line. It was a pretty solid setup with a lot of head room the one time I got to play there.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Ross, while those are nice amps it’s unlikely that a club is going to invest that kind of bread. You don’t see those in the top level NYC clubs, it’s mostly MarkBass.

Green Mill in Chi has Aquilar head and MAS 46. A few other clubs have Workingman 12's or GK, not great. People that sub for me use my AI Focus/EA CXL112 setup.

 

[bassically_eli]

Not a true combo and not cheap, but I was going to suggest an Acoustic Image DoubleShot combo, or just the DoubleShot cab with another head.

If Euphonic Audio was still around, that would be great too, but sadly they are not.

 

[dylanjohnson]

The Blue Whale had the Markbass 12 inch combo with an extension cab as its back line. It was a pretty solid setup with a lot of head room the one time I got to play there.

I'm thinking that the Markbass might be the easiest route for this room. Probably wouldn't need the extension cab here. The GK isn't made anymore, and I think their newer combos don't sound great for DB. This club has a monstrous Steinway D that came from the LA Phil and roars in the low end so a GK MB150 wouldn't cut it anyway.

Aguilar would be cool, but that would require a separate cab and would get pretty expensive quickly. Acoustic Image would be cool, but I'm not sure it would sound great in this room. The Doubleshot combo looks to be pretty expensive.

Anyone know what the Markbass combo is called? I always forget. We have a couple in our music dept. at the college where I teach. I can always get a sound out of it.

@Sean Riddle I heard you played a NYE gig with my pal Karl up my way. Nice!

@Eric Hochberg- Thanks for the Chicago lowdown!

 

[dylanjohnson]

Picture of AI comboView attachment 4991610 View attachment 4991610

I have a feeling the downfiring woofer would be a boomy mess in this club. These aren't sold new any longer, right?

 

[66 Fender Jazz]

I have a feeling the downfiring woofer would be a boomy mess in this club. These aren't sold new any longer, right?

This model no longer sold new. Amp has a tilt-back feature that uncouples the woofer from the floor. Significantly cuts the 'boom factor'.

 

[Earl]

Either of those Traynors or Fender Rumble 100 or 200.

 

[sean_on_bass]

Does this have to work for electric bass too? I say go bigger than what most are suggesting, got an Aguilar Tone Hammer head and some sort of 2x10 cab.

 

[Sean Riddle]

I'm thinking that the Markbass might be the easiest route for this room. Probably wouldn't need the extension cab here. The GK isn't made anymore, and I think their newer combos don't sound great for DB. This club has a monstrous Steinway D that came from the LA Phil and roars in the low end so a GK MB150 wouldn't cut it anyway.

Aguilar would be cool, but that would require a separate cab and would get pretty expensive quickly. Acoustic Image would be cool, but I'm not sure it would sound great in this room. The Doubleshot combo looks to be pretty expensive.

Anyone know what the Markbass combo is called? I always forget. We have a couple in our music dept. at the college where I teach. I can always get a sound out of it.

@Sean Riddle I heard you played a NYE gig with my pal Karl up my way. Nice!

@Eric Hochberg- Thanks for the Chicago lowdown!

The model name of the Markbass combo is the CMD 121p. I used one for a while and it was pretty solid. Maybe not the most elegant amp for double bass, but it will get the job done and has a lot of head room to match that Steinway D. Is this gonna be for Vibrato up in Paso? I want to make a trip up sometime to check out that club before I move out east.

Karl is such a great player and sweet guy to boot. I met him on a wedding gig we were on in Los Alamos last October and was very impressed by his playing. It was great to play with him again, and he was able to get my girlfriend's dinner comped by the club that night which was really nice of him. You guys in SLO are lucky to have him!

 

[DoubleMIDI]

The Markbass CMD 121P is also at the Jazzschmiede in Düsseldorf, Germany for all DB and electric players for session and concert.
A lot of international jazz musicians play there and use it.

It is not my cup of tea, primarily because of the two proprietary controls (VLE and ?). But once I have been able to get an acceptable to good sound out of it with my bass.
Turn proprietary controls down for a start.

It is at least powerful enough for that room, even with BG. The Jazzschmiede is about 100 to 150 seats and it always fills the room.