Chasing that headroom, but what amp/speaker size/wattage???

[matt82]

Ok so I’m running a fender p bass, and want a decently powerful combo amp for my own personal use at home. I know I don’t *need* a powerful practice amp, but I want that headroom and power for my own enjoyment.
So the question is, 10”, 12”, or 15”? Single speaker or double, or even 4x?? Wattage???
Currently looking at GK Legacy 112, 115, 212, but I’m tired of guessing. I had an orange 112 that I liked in sound, but it just lacked the power I wanted. I usually play finger style, warm clean, and I just don’t want to screw up again on the wrong amp.

Also, I’m not necessarily opposed to a head/cab setup, but that’s an entire set of other questions.

Appreciate any advice!!

 

[SJan3]

Ok so I’m running a fender p bass, and want a decently powerful combo amp for my own personal use at home. I know I don’t *need* a powerful practice amp, but I want that headroom and power for my own enjoyment.
So the question is, 10”, 12”, or 15”? Single speaker or double, or even 4x?? Wattage???
Currently looking at GK Legacy 112, 115, 212, but I’m tired of guessing. I had an orange 112 that I liked in sound, but it just lacked the power I wanted. I usually play finger style, warm clean, and I just don’t want to screw up again on the wrong amp.

Also, I’m not necessarily opposed to a head/cab setup, but that’s an entire set of other questions.

Appreciate any advice!!

"Running"? And you'll likely screw up on your amp a few times like we all have.
But, for your needs I'd say Ampeg Rocket 112. Plenty of amp for home.

 

[Minimalist]

What's your budget?

 

[DJ Bebop]

It is this for me.

WD 800, 800 watts at 4 and 2 ohms. 400 watts at 8 ohms in this configuration with this 8 ohm 400 watts 15.

 

[75Ric]

The Mesa gear is terrific. Mesa's Subway 115 is the best 15" cab I've ever heard. Totally overkill for home use, but if you want the power ... Pair with a WD (as above) or the TT for tube-driven tones or the D for a solid state head. Divine.

 

[FugaziBomb]

I know I don’t *need* a powerful practice amp, but I want that headroom and power for my own enjoyment.

You don't need a ton of headroom to feel like you have a ton of headroom at lower volume. I don't think you'll need a lot of power to scratch that itch

So the question is, 10”, 12”, or 15”? Single speaker or double, or even 4x??

2x10 maybe? Your goal should be to get some decent volume with the gain knob pretty low on the dial. I think a 4x10 would be way too over-the-top.

Wattage???

...can be deceptive. What you really want to find is something that's louder than needed to achieve your headroom goals, and loudness isn't a function of wattage. You can make a few ballpark assumptions based on wattage, but it's sort of akin to judging a car's top speed by only looking at it's horse power - it's not the whole story.

Currently looking at GK Legacy 112, 115, 212, but I’m tired of guessing.

Maybe the 212, but that seems like a lot of amp for sitting at home. I guess that's kinda the goal, though, right?

I had an orange 112 that I liked in sound, but it just lacked the power I wanted.

Not surprising. Orange amps typically go for the vintage pushed tube amp vibe, which is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the big headroom sound.

I usually play finger style, warm clean, and I just don’t want to screw up again on the wrong amp.

Yeah, it's a tough one. I'd start by looking for amps that seem ridiculously over spec'd for a livingroom. That'll help you narrow down your choices.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Ok so I’m running a fender p bass, and want a decently powerful combo amp for my own personal use at home. I know I don’t *need* a powerful practice amp, but I want that headroom and power for my own enjoyment.
So the question is, 10”, 12”, or 15”? Single speaker or double, or even 4x?? Wattage???
Currently looking at GK Legacy 112, 115, 212, but I’m tired of guessing. I had an orange 112 that I liked in sound, but it just lacked the power I wanted. I usually play finger style, warm clean, and I just don’t want to screw up again on the wrong amp.

Also, I’m not necessarily opposed to a head/cab setup, but that’s an entire set of other questions.

Appreciate any advice!!

Well...more speakers, more sound

 

[DJ Bebop]

The Mesa gear is terrific. Mesa's Subway 115 is the best 15" cab I've ever heard. Totally overkill for home use, but if you want the power ... Pair with a WD (as above) or the TT for tube-driven tones or the D for a solid state head. Divine.

Yup
The WD is also tube-driven. The TT is more so

I can still get a tighter sound out of it as needed though. A fantastic variable head.

These days I am more of a home player but I still get out and gig and play house parties and stuff. In those applications, I'm glad I went a little overboard on a home rig

 

[gtirard]

I don't know about the Orange 1x12, but a good 1x12 should be able to shake your walls. In fact even a good 1x10 is more than enough for super loud home practice.

 

[pyrat56host]

I found a wonderful solution...FOR ME. I have 1 2x12 in my office w/ the Quilter Interbass (33w@8ohm/45@4ohm) and 1 2x12 w/ the Quilter BB802 in a larger room where my wife's drum kit also lives. Both do low volume beautifully, both do high volume perfectly...and when I really wanna test the structural elements of our home...I can run the Interbass into the line in OR

into the front end for ultimate sonic bliss!

 

[DJ Bebop]

I don't know about the Orange 1x12, but a good 1x12 should be able to shake your walls.

Agree

Old school super 12, Aguilar GS 112

 

[Nuisance]

Speaker size doesn't matter. Speaker surface areas does though. More speaker surface = more air being pushed.

Quality also matters. A good head like a Mesa D800 and a Mesa cab would be the way I would go. It's reasonably priced and can go down to 2 ohm operation (4 8ohm cabs).

GK is also a solid "bang for your buck" choice.

I would stay away from combos tbh. They really aren't any easier to move, and they are more difficult to upgrade.

Also, I'm not a huge Markbass fan (although I haven't owned any MB gear from the newer Italian made line). There's only one Markbass repair facility in the US (VST) and from personal experience I can tell you their response time isn't great.

Edit: Grammar.

 

[gtirard]

Even a Barefaced One10 can shake the walls. I would never dare going above 10 o'clock on the BB800's master volume, I guess you can call that headroom.

 

[matt82]

What's your budget?

Budget is around $2k, maybe a bit over but not very much

 

[Sid the Kid]

You will receive nothing but a list of people’s personal favorites with your question, which likely won’t be too helpful. Your best bet is to get some hands on experience before buying a very expensive GK combo. Head to your nearest Guitar Center and check out their Markbass, Ampeg, and Fender combos. The GK combos are nice but the heads inside aren’t what I’d consider warm, but I do love their presence in a band situation.

Also when you get your combo, since you have the budget, get the matching extension cabinet. That’s really what you’re missing, more air movement. I bet you’d be thrilled with a 2x15 Markbass combo stack, or a Fender Rumble 500 atop a matching 2x10.

 

[Minimalist]

Budget is around $2k, maybe a bit over but not very much

With this budget, you should definitely find a solution. The only way of eliminating the guess work, is to try those amps. Or compile a list of YouTube reviews that accurately portray what the amp/speaker sounds like. That's a challenge, though, and will still get you only in the ballpark.

Here are two that IMO are pretty decent:

Markbass cabs

Mesa Boogie Subway cabs

The advantage of the cab/head combo is, that you can always get an additional cab or head to add a different flavor.

 

[matt82]

You don't need a ton of headroom to feel like you have a ton of headroom at lower volume. I don't think you'll need a lot of power to scratch that itch



2x10 maybe? Your goal should be to get some decent volume with the gain knob pretty low on the dial. I think a 4x10 would be way too over-the-top.



...can be deceptive. What you really want to find is something that's louder than needed to achieve your headroom goals, and loudness isn't a function of wattage. You can make a few ballpark assumptions based on wattage, but it's sort of akin to judging a car's top speed by only looking at it's horse power - it's not the whole story.



Maybe the 212, but that seems like a lot of amp for sitting at home. I guess that's kinda the goal, though, right?



Not surprising. Orange amps typically go for the vintage pushed tube amp vibe, which is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the big headroom sound.



Yeah, it's a tough one. I'd start by looking for amps that seem ridiculously over spec'd for a livingroom. That'll help you narrow down your choices.

Yes, I know what I’m looking for will be overkill when it’s turned up, but the headroom at even low volume would be a big part of it.

I’ve wondered if headroom is part of a stereo effect from amps with more than one speaker. I’ve had a 2x10 once that just fell short, so I’d thought a 2x12 should do.

The Orange was great sounding, but only 50 watts when most 1x12s I see are at least 100

Ridiculously over spec’d seems right lol, but One question I have is about 15s. I’ve seen a lot of people say they can just be too muddy and 12 is the best “in between”

 

[DJ Bebop]

Yes, I know what I’m looking for will be overkill when it’s turned up, but the headroom at even low volume would be a big part of it.

I’ve wondered if headroom is part of a stereo effect from amps with more than one speaker. I’ve had a 2x10 once that just fell short, so I’d thought a 2x12 should do.

The Orange was great sounding, but only 50 watts when most 1x12s I see are at least 100

Ridiculously over spec’d seems right lol, but One question I have is about 15s. I’ve seen a lot of people say they can just be too muddy and 12 is the best “in between”

The Mesa Subway 115 breaks all the stereotypes of what a 15 sounds like. These are not the muddy tubby 15s of yesteryear. These are articulate, evenly voiced from highs to lows. Almost FRFR in nature. This 15 is more like what people turned to in the super 12s instead of the old world 15s.

The Subway 15 has the clarity and punch of the 12s yet still retains the low-end fullness that some of the 12 lack at times.

 

[Clark Westfield]

I run a 210 at home for practice and it is overkill for my 300 sq. ft. studio I built during Covid.

I plug my 212 in before gigs to dial in my sound. That too is just way too much.

Control it with the gain and volume knobs.

The 410 lately is being used as a riser for the heads.

 

[FugaziBomb]

Yes, I know what I’m looking for will be overkill when it’s turned up, but the headroom at even low volume would be a big part of it.

Headroom is only a ratio of volume/power. Part of my gig rig is two 18" subs getting 900 watts. I rarely ever have to turn them up half way. That's a lot of headroom, which was my goal for the lows.

I’ve wondered if headroom is part of a stereo effect from amps with more than one speaker. I’ve had a 2x10 once that just fell short, so I’d thought a 2x12 should do.

Nah, like I said before; headroom is just volume/power (it's probably more complex than that, but for our purposes it's a good concept). Adding an additional identical speaker gets you ~3db of volume. Adding a speaker can help, but like most things, theory vs practice can sometimes vary.

The Orange was great sounding, but only 50 watts when most 1x12s I see are at least 100

50 watts can certainly do the trick, though. I've got a 5 watt tube head in my basement that sounds just as big at the necessary volume as my monster rig on a stage. It wouldn't hang with a drummer, but it holds it's own against a backing track when I'm just sitting around noodling. I run it though a Peavey 2x10 and it can rattle the dishes up stairs.

Ridiculously over spec’d seems right lol, but One question I have is about 15s. I’ve seen a lot of people say they can just be too muddy and 12 is the best “in between”

Speaker size doesn't correlate to any specific tone. 15s aren't inherently more or less of anything than 10s or 12s. The speaker cabinet itself can be attributed to a lot of the "tone" you're hearing based on its construction and porting. There's a few users on here that really know the numbers/math on it way better than I do.

I once sat down with a PJB monster array of 6" speakers and I can tell you that thing put out a dangerous amount of low end.