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Decent combo amp?
- Thread starter olddave
- Start date
Well when it comes to portable it seems almost nothing is more portable,+ wattage than Markbass.
Never owned one,but the ones I have played are super small and "seem" to get plenty of volume. On the down sound out of the 3 i've played they all sounded too "clean" to me. Like they would be great for solo play,so I have no idea how they sound in a band mix really.
Never owned one,but the ones I have played are super small and "seem" to get plenty of volume. On the down sound out of the 3 i've played they all sounded too "clean" to me. Like they would be great for solo play,so I have no idea how they sound in a band mix really.
The GK neo 112 cabinets are fantastic, compact, light and punchy - this is the Carvin BX500 head buldog5151bass mentioned as well. really nice setup. I am convinced the vertical stack is the way to go.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
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@olddave — I've owned at least a half dozen combo's and reluctantly used another 10 or so on a regular basis, including Fender rumble v.1, 2, and 3, so I have a few thoughts.
When a speaker in the combo blows or the amp fries, the whole kit is pretty much a boat anchor.
Speaking of weight, no matter how light a combo may be, a speaker-only cab of the same type will be lighter.
If you are not happy with a combo, you can't easily tell if it is the speaker cab or the amplifier, unless speaker farting is the main issue—which itself leaves you only one option besides selling it, instead of dozens of paths.
A micro head with 200-800 watts can be had with a weight of 5 lbs or less.
If the tiny head is in your gig bag on your back, you can carry the cab in the other hand and have a hand free for opening doors, waving at the girls, etc.
A light cab and a small micro head can be upgraded in stages to anything you want.
Besides getting an ext. speaker (if allowed), about the only other thing you can ever do with a combo to improve it is to sell it and start over.
Having two identical light cabs and a powerful micro head cab is a very flexible, yet still upgradable rig.
Replacing a separate head in a modular rig without selling the old head = you now have a spare head. Can you mix a "spare" combo into a nice pair of neo 112's if your micro head dies? No, not usually. IME combos make poor spares.
The perceived convenience of a combo is that you don't have to connect the head and cab. What else? You can carry it all at once in one hand? To me that is an inconvenience.
Yet, the simple choice to buy a combo removes all the other (possibly scary) choices. That makes combo amps appealing to those afraid they might make "a costly mistake." To me, the only costly mistakes I every made with bass amps was buying combos. Does having bought more than one before I cut it out show I am a slow learner?
All IMHO.
When a speaker in the combo blows or the amp fries, the whole kit is pretty much a boat anchor.
Speaking of weight, no matter how light a combo may be, a speaker-only cab of the same type will be lighter.
If you are not happy with a combo, you can't easily tell if it is the speaker cab or the amplifier, unless speaker farting is the main issue—which itself leaves you only one option besides selling it, instead of dozens of paths.
A micro head with 200-800 watts can be had with a weight of 5 lbs or less.
If the tiny head is in your gig bag on your back, you can carry the cab in the other hand and have a hand free for opening doors, waving at the girls, etc.
A light cab and a small micro head can be upgraded in stages to anything you want.
Besides getting an ext. speaker (if allowed), about the only other thing you can ever do with a combo to improve it is to sell it and start over.
Having two identical light cabs and a powerful micro head cab is a very flexible, yet still upgradable rig.
Replacing a separate head in a modular rig without selling the old head = you now have a spare head. Can you mix a "spare" combo into a nice pair of neo 112's if your micro head dies? No, not usually. IME combos make poor spares.
The perceived convenience of a combo is that you don't have to connect the head and cab. What else? You can carry it all at once in one hand? To me that is an inconvenience.
Yet, the simple choice to buy a combo removes all the other (possibly scary) choices. That makes combo amps appealing to those afraid they might make "a costly mistake." To me, the only costly mistakes I every made with bass amps was buying combos. Does having bought more than one before I cut it out show I am a slow learner?
All IMHO.
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Asked almost the exact questions couple of months before. I play jazz and blues. I went with the Rumble 500 and it is awesome! Way better than I thought. It has plenty of power, three adjustments other than the regular equalizer, etc, (the "vintage" button is my fav), and a very light 36 pounds. Played about 7-8 gigs with it and it was as close to perfect as I could want. As a bonus, it's pretty decent on my standup as well. Haven't needed the 210 that goes with it but will probably get it anyway. My 2 cents...
Why would you be less likely to have a combo repaired than a head/cab? That doesn't make sense to me.
Combos always get a lot of hate here. Consider this.
Take the Rumble 500 combo since it seems to be the most popular big combo and it also comes as a head/cab.
Rumble 500 combo - $550 - 36.5 lb
Rumble 500 head & 210 cab $750 - 44 lb (210 cab alone 39 lb ????)
And having it as one piece should be somewhat more convenient.
BTW: My main amp is not a combo.
Had the same Sunn 200s and 2x15 JBL D140's for years and same genre of music as you. To my 63 year old ears (and back) I've settled on the GK MB200 and Eden EX112 cab. Also own the Fender Rumble 100 V3 for messin' around at home. If I want more power I'd probably go with the GK MB500 and bigger or extra cab, or, just the Fender Rumble 500 V3. Light and powerful stuff that sounds great.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I think it's more convenient. Again, get 2 1x12s. Keep one cab at the rehearsal site, one cab at home to practice. This way, you only have to show up with a bass and cab. Also easier if you want to change your rig.
Very pleased with my 31 lb. Traynor SB115. 15" driver, 200 watts, made in Canada. Sounds wonderful. Perfect for small or (larger) medium gigs. Easy, peasy to transport.
I'm a huge fan of the Markbass Mini CMD 121P combo. Here's mine with a ukulele bass for scale:
Enough power for solid stage volume (300 watts on it's own; 500 watts with 8 ohm extension cab). It's got a natural bump in the low-mids, which gives you a punchy, vintage-style bass tone. The lows are there, but not overly heavy to the point of uncontrolled rumble at high volumes. The highs are slightly soft; pretty much the opposite of the '90s clanky top-end type of sound. I love it.
It's a 16" cube that's under 30 pounds. I bought mind brand new for $600 a couple of weeks ago when Guitar Center had a promotion. Unbeatable for the price.
Enough power for solid stage volume (300 watts on it's own; 500 watts with 8 ohm extension cab). It's got a natural bump in the low-mids, which gives you a punchy, vintage-style bass tone. The lows are there, but not overly heavy to the point of uncontrolled rumble at high volumes. The highs are slightly soft; pretty much the opposite of the '90s clanky top-end type of sound. I love it.
It's a 16" cube that's under 30 pounds. I bought mind brand new for $600 a couple of weeks ago when Guitar Center had a promotion. Unbeatable for the price.
I've had mine for about three years and LOVE it! U.S. made, plywood cab (not press-wood, particle board, or MDF), and less expensive than nearly all of its competition. You can even custom order the color of the covering(!) All that aside, it sounds great, very light weight, and you can add an extension cab if desired. I also plug straight into the amp, & there is an XLR that runs to the board. Totally worth considering
Good luck with your search!
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I can carry my berg CN112 with one hand (easily, at 25 lbs) and my Genz Benz shuttle 6.2 in my gig bag - that leaves a hand for my coffee/beer/girlfriend.
I don't like combo amps - consider separate light gear.
I don't like combo amps - consider separate light gear.
The 2 combos in my stable are a 1999 swr workingmans 10 and matching extension cabinet, and a fender rumble 200. The thing to consider with the class d amps such as most discussed so far, is the power sections tend to compress at higher volumes rather than distort (yes I know distortion/clipping is a form of compression as well). So a gk 400 will sound nothing like an mb series if you liked that "hitting the rails" tone, the mb does not do that as well.
The mb is very limited in controls and is essentially a clean amp, very modern sounding. For a little less money even, the rumbles have much more tonal options, I chose the rumble over the mb200 amps myself. The overdrive is excellent and footswitchable, and many love the vintage button, though I personally rarely use it. It is good for that motown sound if you like that.
Rumbles do lack some pro features, such as a tuner out or a pre/post switch for the direct out, and the loop is serial only and there is no level control for the aux in. Other than that they really kick butt.
Compared to my workingmans, which is just volume, aural enhancer, bass mid treb, and effects blend, the workingmans needs to be cranked to get that breakup sound, but it does it well, being quality usa solid state. The weight is about the same maybe a couple pounds more than the rumble despite being smaller. The construction of the cabinet is more high end with thicker wood, and the magnet on the speaker is huge, the bulk of the weight compared to the lighter ceramic magnets in the rumbles. The effects return can be used as an aux in with the blend knob serving as a volume, essentially another amp channel with no eq, handy for plugging in a keyboard or jamming with an electric drummee. It is only 80w but puts out 100w with an ext cab. I have used it with either a 115 or 112 pa monitor when I played loud with a drummer, prior to the more recent acquisition of the matching cabinet (which is really nice mini stack). Side by side with the similarly rated ampeg micro cl the swr was clearly a deeper fundamental despite both being 210 and 100w. The micro VR is another story, but the cabinet design of the swr is superior. The micro vr would still be another option for you at a conservatively rated 200w mosfet, and if you didnt like the 210av matching cabinets you could go with neo or eden ect...
Aside from the ampeg micro derail, I like both of my amps, and recently sold my micro cl because the tried and true swr cube stack is a much better 100w 210 rig.
The rumble 200 or 500 is probably a better all in one solution, light enough, yet powerful enough for most any gig with mucho tone options. I kinda wish I got the 500, but my original plan was the 200 head, and circumstances forced me to up $100 more for the combo. Another $100 (at the time, $150 now) was and still is cost prohibitive for me. Since budget is not an issue for you, the $550 rumble 500 (210 combo) would be ideal and there are 210 and 112 cabs that match the footprint available, as pictured earlier. You cant go far on here without rumble fans chiming in. There is good reason for that.
If you prefer 15s then the $399 200 is actually surprisingly loud and tight for only 140w or 200 with extension. I used both the 110 swr cab, and 210 ampeg cabs with it, great results, but I no longer have the ampeg. Reports from users of the 200 with the new 112 underneath have been positive. $700 before any sales or promotions are applied for the whole rig.
LIGHT did anyone mention they are very light?
The mb is very limited in controls and is essentially a clean amp, very modern sounding. For a little less money even, the rumbles have much more tonal options, I chose the rumble over the mb200 amps myself. The overdrive is excellent and footswitchable, and many love the vintage button, though I personally rarely use it. It is good for that motown sound if you like that.
Rumbles do lack some pro features, such as a tuner out or a pre/post switch for the direct out, and the loop is serial only and there is no level control for the aux in. Other than that they really kick butt.
Compared to my workingmans, which is just volume, aural enhancer, bass mid treb, and effects blend, the workingmans needs to be cranked to get that breakup sound, but it does it well, being quality usa solid state. The weight is about the same maybe a couple pounds more than the rumble despite being smaller. The construction of the cabinet is more high end with thicker wood, and the magnet on the speaker is huge, the bulk of the weight compared to the lighter ceramic magnets in the rumbles. The effects return can be used as an aux in with the blend knob serving as a volume, essentially another amp channel with no eq, handy for plugging in a keyboard or jamming with an electric drummee. It is only 80w but puts out 100w with an ext cab. I have used it with either a 115 or 112 pa monitor when I played loud with a drummer, prior to the more recent acquisition of the matching cabinet (which is really nice mini stack). Side by side with the similarly rated ampeg micro cl the swr was clearly a deeper fundamental despite both being 210 and 100w. The micro VR is another story, but the cabinet design of the swr is superior. The micro vr would still be another option for you at a conservatively rated 200w mosfet, and if you didnt like the 210av matching cabinets you could go with neo or eden ect...
Aside from the ampeg micro derail, I like both of my amps, and recently sold my micro cl because the tried and true swr cube stack is a much better 100w 210 rig.
The rumble 200 or 500 is probably a better all in one solution, light enough, yet powerful enough for most any gig with mucho tone options. I kinda wish I got the 500, but my original plan was the 200 head, and circumstances forced me to up $100 more for the combo. Another $100 (at the time, $150 now) was and still is cost prohibitive for me. Since budget is not an issue for you, the $550 rumble 500 (210 combo) would be ideal and there are 210 and 112 cabs that match the footprint available, as pictured earlier. You cant go far on here without rumble fans chiming in. There is good reason for that.
If you prefer 15s then the $399 200 is actually surprisingly loud and tight for only 140w or 200 with extension. I used both the 110 swr cab, and 210 ampeg cabs with it, great results, but I no longer have the ampeg. Reports from users of the 200 with the new 112 underneath have been positive. $700 before any sales or promotions are applied for the whole rig.
LIGHT did anyone mention they are very light?
Aguilar Tonehammer 500 with dual DB 112NT's
I've tried a few different Class D heads and Neo cabs, and I was most impressed with this setup.
I've tried a few different Class D heads and Neo cabs, and I was most impressed with this setup.
When any part of a combo is broken, the entire unit is down. If my amp fails, my speaker cabs are still viable with another amp, or vice versa.
- Oct 18, 2012
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I have an Ampeg BA500 with two 10s. Sounds great. I also have an Ashdown MAG300 210 which is lighter than the Ampeg and also has a good sound, but seems a little underpowered.
