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"Bring a small amp, there's not much space"..
- Thread starter glocke1
- Start date
I recently played a 100 seat restaurant benefit with 4 other bands and FoH was vocals only which was appropriate.
The idea was to use the same drum kit (not that small) but for some reason, 4 small guitar amps had to be left on stage.
I had my trusty 2x12 GB cabinet but was asked to use a supplied amp which was a 1x15 Polytone bass amp from ages ago. It sounded decent but not nearly enough power for 2 gtrs, keys, bass, and drums and was not that much smaller than my cabinet.
In hindsight I should have moved that PoS amp to the side and used my rig. Lesson learned and a mistake I will not make again.
The idea was to use the same drum kit (not that small) but for some reason, 4 small guitar amps had to be left on stage.
I had my trusty 2x12 GB cabinet but was asked to use a supplied amp which was a 1x15 Polytone bass amp from ages ago. It sounded decent but not nearly enough power for 2 gtrs, keys, bass, and drums and was not that much smaller than my cabinet.
In hindsight I should have moved that PoS amp to the side and used my rig. Lesson learned and a mistake I will not make again.
You're making me miss that SWR head a little bit
My rig had to go smaller when I lost access to a van that could easily schlep everything, including my 4x10 cab that wouldn't fit in the Corolla. The easy solution was a switch to a pair of 2x10's, but I started with a mediocre set of SWR Workingman's 2x10's.
Once I decided to upgrade those, I found wonderful deals on both a Goliath Jr. and an Acme Low B2 at the same time. They have functioned together just fine and they have also given me a decent bump in both sound and portability - those Wkms's 2x10's seemed to be about 10-12 lbs. more hefty than these two boxes.
I didn't start using the vertical stack with my pair of 2x10's until I got these cabs, but I'm loving this setup for what seems to be better sound projection into the space we play, the relatively small footprint on my corner of any stage, and with the top cab up closer to my ears, I'm not blowing my sound past my knees.
The Acme is a cab that has earned a fantastic reputation, but the Goliath Jr. has also been terrific for me. If for some hypothetical reason I had to use either a matched pair of the SWR's or Acme B2's, I can honestly say that I'd be happy either way. When I need to do the small rig thing, I'm entirely confident with the Goliath Jr. and my GK MB 500.
The smallest thing I have other than a Rumble 15w with it's 8" speaker is one of my Subway 115 cabinets. If I knew there was going to be FoH/PA support I might just grab my Pod Go.
As others have alluded to, it's hard to know if he means small amp or low volume. Some BLs don't have the stones to just say it.
It reminds me of an audition I held once where I talked to the guitar player for about 20 minutes, emphasized low volume, small equipment because some of the bars we played in have limited space. Also, we were playing rockabilly, traditional country and the like and didn't need a lot of volume. He ran down his BS about having a trailer load of equipment from small amps to double stacks and he'd bring something small. He showed up with a Marshall half stack. I almost told him to turn around and go home because I knew he didn't have the gig before he played a note. He exceeded my negative expectations; played too loud, not even close to the style we had spent 20 minutes discussing.
It reminds me of an audition I held once where I talked to the guitar player for about 20 minutes, emphasized low volume, small equipment because some of the bars we played in have limited space. Also, we were playing rockabilly, traditional country and the like and didn't need a lot of volume. He ran down his BS about having a trailer load of equipment from small amps to double stacks and he'd bring something small. He showed up with a Marshall half stack. I almost told him to turn around and go home because I knew he didn't have the gig before he played a note. He exceeded my negative expectations; played too loud, not even close to the style we had spent 20 minutes discussing.
As others have alluded to, it's hard to know if he means small amp or low volume. Some BLs don't have the stones to just say it.
It reminds me of an audition I held once where I talked to the guitar player for about 20 minutes, emphasized low volume, small equipment because some of the bars we played in have limited space. Also, we were playing rockabilly, traditional country and the like and didn't need a lot of volume. He ran down his BS about having a trailer load of equipment from small amps to double stacks and he'd bring something small. He showed up with a Marshall half stack. I almost told him to turn around and go home because I knew he didn't have the gig before he played a note. He exceeded my negative expectations; played too loud, not even close to the style we had spent 20 minutes discussing.
I think a lot of guitar players killed their hearing years ago and often “think” they’re not too loud.
On gigs like that I bring the Shuttle 9 and an Ashdown 1x12 cab. It does the job pretty well on 99% of the gigs I bring it to, sometimes a little closer to the drummer, sometimes a little farther away, depending on stage size, but it generally does the trick.
Bring your usual amp, but show up with a 1x8 practice amp and put that on the stage.
When BL asks what that is, say it’s the amp that meets the requirements he communicated. Then pull out your usual amp.
Passive aggressive? Yes, indeed! I hate vague requirements.
When BL asks what that is, say it’s the amp that meets the requirements he communicated. Then pull out your usual amp.
Passive aggressive? Yes, indeed! I hate vague requirements.
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I have a problem being told what equipment I should bring to a gig (especially when I believe the request is solely due to the appearance of said equip). If you don't trust my bass playing judgment, please hire someone else. It's pretty clear that most folks on this site put a lot of thought and effort into finding the right equipment.
I bring my "small rig" to nearly all my gigs. It's an Ampeg Rocketbass B100R. It's not even super small (15" combo) by comparison to modern micro-amps but it doesn't "look big" and in a ridiculously small playing area I can even sit on it, which I've done a couple times.
It seems to me that generally when folks say bring a small rig it seems they are simultaneously asking you
1-Not to take up much of the stage
2-Not visually crowd the space
3-Play quieter
I have zero problems with any of these requests. The booker/owner/leader generally knows the space, the desired look and the optimum volume level. It's my job to comply and look good doing it.
Any combo that's not much taller than my knees is likely going to fulfill #1 and #2. #3 is all about knobs and my playing style so that's covered.
It seems to me that generally when folks say bring a small rig it seems they are simultaneously asking you
1-Not to take up much of the stage
2-Not visually crowd the space
3-Play quieter
I have zero problems with any of these requests. The booker/owner/leader generally knows the space, the desired look and the optimum volume level. It's my job to comply and look good doing it.
Any combo that's not much taller than my knees is likely going to fulfill #1 and #2. #3 is all about knobs and my playing style so that's covered.
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I WOULD TAKE THE SMALLEST AMP POSSIBLE. I have a little behringer practice amp! about 2 shoe boxes small.quite laughable if seen on a gig!
but I can be a stinker at times! I could take a 2-10 on it side if needed.
I have two Ampeg 210 AV cabs that make a nice modular platform for a wide variety of situations. With my Aguilar TH500, I can stack a vertical 410 on stage in a 1 sq-ft footprint.
I’ve played some small places where the guitar amp is put on top of the bass amp, and the powered mixer for the PA is on top of that.
For me, a small amp does not mean a low wattage bedroom amp. I think every bassist needs at least one small gig setup that consists of a small high capacity cabinet, say a 1x12, and a compact class d head.
As a non-gigging bassist, I have sold off my small cabs and currently only have “big” cabs - which I use in my practice space.
My smallest cab is a DB115. Heavy sucker!
For me, a small amp does not mean a low wattage bedroom amp. I think every bassist needs at least one small gig setup that consists of a small high capacity cabinet, say a 1x12, and a compact class d head.
As a non-gigging bassist, I have sold off my small cabs and currently only have “big” cabs - which I use in my practice space.
My smallest cab is a DB115. Heavy sucker!
My profile pic is of a night where we had my head on top of my singers amp and cab on top of my 410 to save space. Called it the Stack o'Doom XD
