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Does anybody *not* have an awesome rig?

#141
I used this set up for years:

GK800RB
Hartke 410XL
Hartke 115XL

but now I only have a few combo amps. If you're not in a band (which I am not, right now), then you don't really need a big set up.

However, one of my combo amps is the Markbass 12 Combo (cmd121 or whatever it's called) and I could easily pair that with another 12 or 15 in speaker for a nice compact set up loud enough to play gigs with a drummer.
 
#142
I started out gigging with a small practice amp. That didn't work so we bought a Crate BFX100. I used that for awhile until my drummer found a used 810 for $300. He was a gear head, as was his dad, and they had a GK 700 for awhile I could use with it. I think that only saw 1 gig though, because we kicked him out that summer... After that I used a PA amp to run it. Didn't have enough power and made the bass sound like a weird bass synth. Some folks loved it, I did not. Now I've got a GK 1001RB-II and couldn't be happier. All of this was over a 5 or 6 year period though.

Like the guys above me have said, focus on playing and the talent, the gear will com the more you play.
 
#144
I find the term ' crappy rig ' to be relative. My first bass amp back in the dinosaur days was a Traynor Bass Mate, all tube combo with a 15 inch speaker. I'm not sure if it's two El84's were even close to pushing 30 watts. It had no headroom for playing, even in a garage band, as far as bass is concerned, but for guitar my buddie's Les Paul just made that thing wail! In fact I sold it to him and used that as part of a down payment on a true bigger head and cab rig. I do still own some big rig stuff, but to tell you the truth I prefer to bring as little as I have to to a gig these days. I also make a lot of use out of a small Peavey Basic 40 combo amp for the small gigs. I slap a Sansamp Bass driver on it, and it sounds much huger than what it really is. I also have a larger Ampeg Combo. I drag out the bigger stuff only when I really have to.

To be honest your Crate ain't all that bad of a combo amp. I say go ahead and work towards getting your first true big amp rig but hang on to that combo for the small gigs that may come your way. At my age if I can get by with just a preamp /DI into a p.a. with a good monitor system and a soundman who aint' afraid to let me hear myself, I'll go for it. A big rig can be fun to play, but I hate schlepping the stuff around anymore.
 
#147
Let's see...so far I've had a '63 Ampeg B15N, an '04 Ampeg B100R, a Music Man HD-130 with a Hartke 410XL, and my current setup, a Hartke HA2500 and a 115TP cab.

I guess awesome's not the word, unless you think my Toyota Matrix is awesome.

Maybe "practical." When I gigged with a band, I ran a line out to the PA. Why carry two sets of subwoofers? Now that I'm retired, an "awesome" rig would look ridiculous in the places I play -- church, folkie venues, theatre productions etc.
 
#148
I started out playing an old Ibanez through mt dads little 15watt Roland guitar amp.

Next step after I wrecked that was borrowing my uncles 30watt SS guitar amp. Blew the speaker repeatedly in that before
I realised that I needed a bass amp.

Used a really, incredibly bad PA for early high school band practices.

Then things took a turn for the better... I got an SWR LA15 100watt combo. It sounded pretty good but had some real reliability issues. Had it replaced under warranty after it died and promptly sold it.

With the money from that and a loan from my parents, I bought a Yorkville XS400 15" combo. This was my first really nice amp. Loved the tone but wanted something bigger for bigger gigs.

Sold the Yorkville and bought an Ashdown 410 and powered 15 stack and a Traynor YBA-200 head to power it.

This year, I have sold the Ashdown cabs and bought a Bergantino NV610. I also sold the YBA-200 and replaced it with a GK Fusion 550.

It's been a long path with basses too but the idea is to do a lot of research before buying new gear. Make sure that you only buy gear that you have played and love or that gets great reviews from people who know what they're talking about.

I remember it being frustrating being 15 and having very little money for good gear but things will change!
 
#149
Mine before I got a job was a 15W Johnson combo. With missing rubber on the handle so every time I picked it up I risked cutting myself. It has medical gauze on it now. I still use it occasionally, but it distorts pretty quickly.

Now I have a Bag End D10BX-D and am using my band's PA head until I decide on a good head (and get another job- I refuse to buy anything big until I have a job, no matter how much money I have saved)
 
#150
Don't feel bad bro - my rig sucks ...
Not really, it's totally kickass!!

Waspinators said:
It seems everytime I see people post their amps on the site, I always see amazing rigs that I can't help drooling at. Ampegs, high-end GK's, Bergs, Marshalls, Edens, Epifanis, Markbass, and the list goes on. Well, I'm a 16 year old high school junior with no job (hopefully that will change soon) with this whopping powerhouse as a rig:

Crate 50W BT50 combo

Yep, painfully puny compared to the big rigs that are the norm at TB. So this is a thread where I want to see people post their crappy, small amps. No good rigs allowed. Post away. :D
Click to expand...
 
#153
I started out with a Crate BFX-50...

After that was an Ampeg BA-210SP. Good amp but really had to push it hard to keep up with two full stacks...

Now, I have a 1976 Sunn Concert Bass amp, running into an older Eden 4x10, and an older Bag End 1x18 pa cab. On top of that, when my drummers Earth Sound Research head gets fixed, I'm going to run the pre-amp output of my Sunn head into the Earth which will be running 1 or 2 2x15's. :hiding:
 
#156
At 16, I was playing through a Fender BXR 300C. Plenty of power - horrible tone. Sad part is, my inherited brand loyalty got the best of me, and I actually saved up an entire summer's wages to buy that thing brand new. Cool thing is though, if it says Fender on it, someone will buy it :D

Then it was onto my next disappointment: an Ampeg BA115!
 
#158
Only read the first page. I'll read the rest later.

I am 16 and play through a 20 watt Peavey Max 110 which i bought of a (sort of) ex-bassist friend for about 20-30 pound less then RRP. Second hand of course.

Although for a little bedrrom rig thats fine, only 'gigs' I play are through college and they let us use their amps because we play in their show room. There loud, which is good, although with these amps I've heard the speaker blows easily, but I'm not a gear snob and am fine with admitting I like the tone of the college 120W behringer and ???W Torgue (maybe misspelt)
 

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