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Down sizing Amp

Markku

Markku

Supporting Member
Sep 22, 2015
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#1
Well I’m down sizing my rig I had 2 4-12 Aguilars cabs and a Aguilar 750. Gone are the big rock show days.
I’m doing a 3 piece prog post grunge project and running IEM. So I don’t need all the beef anymore. Aguilar has been great to me but now looking for something new.
I like passive basses playing a 6er now and fretless.
So many great options out there from boutique to the big guys.
Where to begin?
Any direction would be great. Combo or small head and cab.
Thanks guys
 
#3
plenty of good combos and small head/cab options to look at. Quilter stuff gets good reviews. Genz, Mesa, GK, and even Fender and Ampeg all make small/smaller systems that will work. What are your tone goals ? If you are an Aguilar guy, why not look at a Tonehammer 350 into an Aggie 1x12 cab, or even look at the AG preamp/DI pedal into a smaller powered cab (Wayne Jones, Accugroove, Bag End and others make them), or even a powered PA speaker like a QSC K12.2 or RFC.


Sounds like you are maybe just needing a bass stage monitor. But if you are all IEM, why do you feel you need an amp at all ?

good luck, lots of ways to go here
 
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#4
I would recommend the Quilter Bass Block v803: very light, great sounding, versatile but simple. Close to perfection IMO.

And a Barefaced cab, almost as light as GR Bass, but they sound even better and are indestructible. The Big Baby 3 is their flagship 1x12, or the Big Twin 3 if you want a 2x12. I choose the Super Compact because I don't need extended lows & highs and it's smaller than the BB3.
 
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#6
If 42 pounds is not too heavy for you, the GK Neo 115 combo deserves a test in a music store.

I own a Mesa Subway D350 with two GK Neo IV 112 cabs for versatility and ease of handling but if I was to start again and my lower back would be in better condition, the GK Neo 115 combo would be my go to.

I tried one and I was very amazed by all it can do, the power and the details it throws at you are top level. It’s also very robust and their after sale service is one of the best in the business.

To give you an idea of their quality, the connectors inside are gold plated to avoid corrosion. Looks like serious stuff to me !

And if ever you want to rock hard, you can add another cab and feed it with the combo.

Fusion Combos — Gallien-Krueger

www.gallien-krueger.com www.gallien-krueger.com
 
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#7
Just bought a used Traynor SB115 and it has plenty of volume for my needs. Only 30 lbs and a cover I had from a rumble 500 fits. Amp was a deal at a $100 on marketplace.
 

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#8
Ggaa said:
Genzler, Mesa, GK, can't miss with one of those. I'm using a Genzler Magellan and one or both GK MBE 115s for a hard rock and an Americana gig.
These cabs predate the Neos but they wail.
Click to expand...
And for backup I have a Rumble 800 head. Good tones, plenty power, light, just wouldn't want to drop it too many times.
 
#9
gtirard said:
And a Barefaced cab, almost as light as GR Bass, but they sound even better and are indestructible. The Big Baby 3 is their flagship 1x12, or the Big Twin 3 if you want a 2x12. I choose the Super Compact because I don't need extended lows & highs and it's smaller than the BB3.
Click to expand...

Playing 6ers myself, I bought a set of barefaced cabs and that pretty much closed that chapter for me. I have 2 112 cabs and that gets me at least as loud as my old Aguilar 4x12 setup.
The barefaceds are super light, super loud and super direct. Even though I have two of them and love the sound of the stack, I usually bring only one, because one is plenty.
 
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#10
The choice between combo and small head/cab is IMO incumbent on how much money you have. Personally I like the flexibility of head/cab - you could get a 210, 112, or 115 and be basically done with it - but combos come in those exact formats with a jack to add another cab and if you don't need an extra cab they're better bang for your buck and not too much weight for anybody of reasonable strength to carry with one hand and a bass in your other hand. Figuring out which one is "better" is really just coming down to, "are you willing to spend a few bucks so that you don't need to carry your whole combo in the off chance that somebody lets you use their cab?"

I've almost always had head and cab rigs, and my current rig does what I need just fine (ampeg pf500 and an old Traynor 115 with an eminence legend). But if I were starting over from scratch, and needed new, I'd just get one of the larger fender rumble or maybe hartke combos or something. I'm pretty brand agnostic, too, if you grab any of the 115 combos and can't figure out a workable (maybe not perfect but good enough) tone after a few weeks with it I'd consider that an outlier.
 
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#13
Markku said:
Well I’m down sizing my rig I had 2 4-12 Aguilars cabs and a Aguilar 750. Gone are the big rock show days.
I’m doing a 3 piece prog post grunge project and running IEM. So I don’t need all the beef anymore. Aguilar has been great to me but now looking for something new.
I like passive basses playing a 6er now and fretless.
So many great options out there from boutique to the big guys.
Where to begin?
Any direction would be great. Combo or small head and cab.
Thanks guys
Click to expand...
Don't forget the Bergantino Forte D and the HP2X. Great options, great tones, lightweight. Several cabs would work for you from Bergantino, to Acme (Low B2), to Greenboy fEARless F112, to several from Barefaced.
 
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#14
Having used for years heavy Mesa (and a few other brands) cabs myself to now gone to GK's Neo cabs I am a huge fan...my back and knees are too. I can get great tone and volume for what I need in them for a fraction of the weight and possibly bulkiness/size. Highly suggest looking into their Neo lineup. I have also found I can do what I need anymore with a single cab with DI/PA support so gone are the days of me daydreaming about a 8x10 monster rig...and worrying about loading it in and out.
 
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#16
For a small head hard to beat the mighty mouse GK MB200. I just got a new one and it slams--surprising little beast. Used ones can be found all over, quite cheap.
As for combo vs. head, I'm off the combo wagon now - I was rocking a GK MB112ii for a few years and loved it, but it recently bit it. I now prefer having the lightweight head and the flexibility of using different cabs (or no cab).
 
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#17
Markku said:
Well I’m down sizing my rig I had 2 4-12 Aguilars cabs and a Aguilar 750. Gone are the big rock show days.
I’m doing a 3 piece prog post grunge project and running IEM. So I don’t need all the beef anymore. Aguilar has been great to me but now looking for something new.
I like passive basses playing a 6er now and fretless.
So many great options out there from boutique to the big guys.
Where to begin?
Any direction would be great. Combo or small head and cab.
Thanks guys
Click to expand...
After years (decades) of occasionally trying various Fender bass amps, I was really surprised to hear the great tones out of the Rumble 500 Combo amp. It is 350 Watts, so don't let that name or even Fender's advertising fool you. It is only 500 Watts with an extension cab. Anyway, after years of Fender bass amps making the basses sound like the AMP like those old BXR units, I feel this amp with it's fairly even EQ and sound lets the BASSES SOUND LIKE THE BASSES. A Jazz Bass sounds like it should. Precision Basses sound like they should. Stingrays sound like they should. I own all of these. It is a fairly transparent bass amp sound, relative to previous Fender units, and needs no further disclaimers.

The Rumble 500 is a 2X10 with tweeter (with on/off switch) and weighs only 38 pounds. You're using IEMS now, but in every situation you might encounter, that's not guaranteed. This amp is small enough, light enough, powerful enough, I don't worry about volume or headroom in the kinds of situations I encounter, which are greatly varied.

Also, it's about $650. You can spend more on higher-end, or more near-boutique, or boutique amps, but after 4 years, and ability to buy those things and gig with them, I see no reason to buy anything else, and my Bag End/Alembic/Crest Audio boutique stuff (unfortunately) literally sits in a closet right now as it has for years. And also I don't have to move that 150 pounds of gear, period. Compared to this rig, the Fender certainly qualifies as "small". I know bass amp tone, and my Fender is not only "good enough" I'd say it is very good, and it makes me want to play more. My gigging life as a bass player has become SO much easier.

If you don't end up buying the Fender I recommend, I'd be interested in seeing if what you bought was in any way lighter, sounds better and is less expensive. I can't imagine or have any marketplace product knowledge of any one thing beating this Fender on all three purchasing requirements. I guess I should watch this space and check about in a few weeks or a month.
 
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#18
Thunderthumbs73 said:
After years (decades) of occasionally trying various Fender bass amps, I was really surprised to hear the great tones out of the Rumble 500 Combo amp. It is 350 Watts, so don't let that name or even Fender's advertising fool you. It is only 500 Watts with an extension cab. Anyway, after years of Fender bass amps making the basses sound like the AMP like those old BXR units, I feel this amp with it's fairly even EQ and sound lets the BASSES SOUND LIKE THE BASSES. A Jazz Bass sounds like it should. Precision Basses sound like they should. Stingrays sound like they should. I own all of these. It is a fairly transparent bass amp sound, relative to previous Fender units, and needs no further disclaimers.

The Rumble 500 is a 2X10 with tweeter (with on/off switch) and weighs only 38 pounds. You're using IEMS now, but in every situation you might encounter, that's not guaranteed. This amp is small enough, light enough, powerful enough, I don't worry about volume or headroom in the kinds of situations I encounter, which are greatly varied.

Also, it's about $650. You can spend more on higher-end, or more near-boutique, or boutique amps, but after 4 years, and ability to buy those things and gig with them, I see no reason to buy anything else, and my Bag End/Alembic/Crest Audio boutique stuff (unfortunately) literally sits in a closet right now as it has for years. And also I don't have to move that 150 pounds of gear, period. Compared to this rig, the Fender certainly qualifies as "small". I know bass amp tone, and my Fender is not only "good enough" I'd say it is very good, and it makes me want to play more. My gigging life as a bass player has become SO much easier.

If you don't end up buying the Fender I recommend, I'd be interested in seeing if what you bought was in any way lighter, sounds better and is less expensive. I can't imagine or have any marketplace product knowledge of any one thing beating this Fender on all three purchasing requirements. I guess I should watch this space and check about in a few weeks or a month.
Click to expand...
Funny to see you consider Fender Rumble amps as the best amps in the whole universe.

I mean, I'm glad for you if it ticks all your boxes. But the way you talk about it is a little too assertive and authoritarian, like if there was a universally best product, like if there was a truth and you knew it.

I'm here to say that Fender Rumble amps may offer a great bang for the buck, but they're not for everyone. When I've had to use them in rehearsal studios, I've never been able to get them to sound right. And believe me, I've tried. They always sound muddy, whatever I do. What's the point bying an amp that offers a great "bang for the buck" if one doesn't like its tone?

Again, happy for you if you like them, and OP may like them too, but I would recommend to try them before buying.
 
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#19
Awesome it’s like trying to order from the Cheesecake Factory. My adhd just kicked in over drive so many cool choices to pick from. Oh where to start. I guess the music store.
 

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