• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Getting a new rig

Slaphound

Slaphound

Jun 16, 2003
2,988
1,235
59
Staten Island, NY
#1
Hey folks. Im looking at new rigs for myself. I play in a band that practices once a week on my basement. We cover alot of Allman Brothers and we also do alot of Rockabilly with an upright bass. We dont gig much and now not at all thanks to Covid. I currently own a Markbass LMII head, Fender Rumble 350 head only and a Rumble 500 head only. I've two cabs. A Rumble 115 and a TC Electronic RS 210.

I can spend up to 2 to 2.5 grand if i want or spend a bit less and get a new bass too which i dont really have gas for.

So im looking at Ampeg. Ive thought about an all tube amp but for some reason im not that inerested in a big heavy amp head. Its just for enjoyment yes and i prefer a small head to gig out with but Im interested in the PF 500 and the 50T and a portaflex 115 cab.
Do you all think that the Ampeg PF series of heads and cabs are quality? I get the tone thing of Ampeg off of Youtube vids but can anyone say that this rig im considering would be a nice offset to my current stock or should i be looking elsewhere to add some diversity to what i have.
For mor perspective i play my Vintera 70s jazz bass mostly followed by a G&L L2K, a Classic series (mexican) p bass and a Sterling by Musicman Ray 34 CA.
 
  • Like
Reactions: shadven
#2
Slaphound said:
Hey folks. Im looking at new rigs for myself. I play in a band that practices once a week on my basement. We cover alot of Allman Brothers and we also do alot of Rockabilly with an upright bass. We dont gig much and now not at all thanks to Covid. I currently own a Markbass LMII head, Fender Rumble 350 head only and a Rumble 500 head only. I've two cabs. A Rumble 115 and a TC Electronic RS 210.

I can spend up to 2 to 2.5 grand if i want or spend a bit less and get a new bass too which i dont really have gas for.

So im looking at Ampeg. Ive thought about an all tube amp but for some reason im not that inerested in a big heavy amp head. Its just for enjoyment yes and i prefer a small head to gig out with but Im interested in the PF 500 and the 50T and a portaflex 115 cab.
Do you all think that the Ampeg PF series of heads and cabs are quality? I get the tone thing of Ampeg off of Youtube vids but can anyone say that this rig im considering would be a nice offset to my current stock or should i be looking elsewhere to add some diversity to what i have.
For mor perspective i play my Vintera 70s jazz bass mostly followed by a G&L L2K, a Classic series (mexican) p bass and a Sterling by Musicman Ray 34 CA.
Click to expand...
Pf500 is problematic. Still.
115he - amazing
50T - amazing
Pf350 - great little head
Pf800 - I've never had an issue


Although, a V4-B and a 410he combo is in your price range still. Just throwing that out there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bassface69, Zbysek and Slaphound
#3
Slaphound said:
Hey folks. Im looking at new rigs for myself. I play in a band that practices once a week on my basement. We cover alot of Allman Brothers and we also do alot of Rockabilly with an upright bass. We dont gig much and now not at all thanks to Covid. I currently own a Markbass LMII head, Fender Rumble 350 head only and a Rumble 500 head only. I've two cabs. A Rumble 115 and a TC Electronic RS 210.

I can spend up to 2 to 2.5 grand if i want or spend a bit less and get a new bass too which i dont really have gas for.

So im looking at Ampeg. Ive thought about an all tube amp but for some reason im not that inerested in a big heavy amp head. Its just for enjoyment yes and i prefer a small head to gig out with but Im interested in the PF 500 and the 50T and a portaflex 115 cab.
Do you all think that the Ampeg PF series of heads and cabs are quality? I get the tone thing of Ampeg off of Youtube vids but can anyone say that this rig im considering would be a nice offset to my current stock or should i be looking elsewhere to add some diversity to what i have.
For mor perspective i play my Vintera 70s jazz bass mostly followed by a G&L L2K, a Classic series (mexican) p bass and a Sterling by Musicman Ray 34 CA.
Click to expand...
How loud do you need to be? Cause the 50T will keep up with a drummer, but chances are that it won't be enough to stay clean with a whole band if you don't have PA support. In that case, you'll need two 15s. The V4-B is a great amp, but it doesn't fit on the portaflex cabs. In that case, a 212av or 410he would be your best friend. 212av gets deeper, looks better, and is very loud, but the 410he sounds better all the way around. The 3pro is probably the best non AB amp head they've ever made. Followed closely by the 4 and 6. They'll push anything, are very reliable, and will definitely fit on a portaflex cab.
 
Last edited:
#4
How can i say it.. not really that loud. I think i can get away with a rumble 100 combo for most of the gigs ive played over the last year or so. We are not a loud band. Like i said. Mostly Allmans, blues, a bit of jazz. No metal and not 'trying' to be loud. I think it'd be mostly for practice because amything too heavy i will not gig with. Pain in the ass to transport.
 
#5
I'm an Ampeg fanboy . I use a PF800 and love the tone . A PF800 and a 212 AV cab would do just about anything you could want .

That being said I think the Markbass LMII is a great sounding head . What don't you like about it ? You could just get a great sounding 212 cab like a Mesa Subway or a Genzler and have a killer rig and lightweight too .
The last videos of the Allmans I've seen were with Oteil playing through Epiphani gear and sounding just right . It's not the gear so much as the player to me .
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: alembicbones, Barry Vestal, Slaphound and 1 other person
#6
With a strong budget like you have shared, have you thought about some Mesa gear? I just got the TT800 and it does classic Ampeg surprisingly well, along with a host of other tones. Also, you could get the Subway 215 cab (or save a few hundo and get the 212) which pretty much kills anything Ampeg makes these days.

You could get those new for right at the top of your budget and lay waste to just about anything else out there, while saving your back when live gigs return. The 800w 212 weighs 52 lbs, and the 215 weighs 60 lbs. The TT800 head is just over 7 lbs. I have a 115/210 stack and it is simply the best rig I have plugged in to in my 25 or so years of playing.

Best of luck with your search!
20210203_120638.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kukulkan61, DeepHz, pingvuiini and 9 others
#7
Blues Bass 2 said:
I'm an Ampeg fanboy . I use a PF800 and love the tone . A PF800 and a 212 AV cab would do just about anything you could want .

That being said I think the Markbass LMII is a great sounding head . What don't you like about it ? You could just get a great sounding 212 cab like a Mesa Subway or a Genzler and have a killer rig and lightweight too .
The last videos of the Allmans I've seen were with Oteil playing through Epiphani gear and sounding just right . It's not the gear so much as the player to me .
Click to expand...

I actually have the same question... A pair of Genzler 12-3 Bass Array cabs with the LMII would sound amazing! Or, throw an Ampeg SCR-DI in front of your signal chain and you get the Ampeg sound.
 
#9
Slaphound said:
Hey folks. Im looking at new rigs for myself. I play in a band that practices once a week on my basement. We cover alot of Allman Brothers and we also do alot of Rockabilly with an upright bass. We dont gig much and now not at all thanks to Covid. I currently own a Markbass LMII head, Fender Rumble 350 head only and a Rumble 500 head only. I've two cabs. A Rumble 115 and a TC Electronic RS 210.

I can spend up to 2 to 2.5 grand if i want or spend a bit less and get a new bass too which i dont really have gas for.

So im looking at Ampeg. Ive thought about an all tube amp but for some reason im not that inerested in a big heavy amp head. Its just for enjoyment yes and i prefer a small head to gig out with but Im interested in the PF 500 and the 50T and a portaflex 115 cab.
Do you all think that the Ampeg PF series of heads and cabs are quality? I get the tone thing of Ampeg off of Youtube vids but can anyone say that this rig im considering would be a nice offset to my current stock or should i be looking elsewhere to add some diversity to what i have.
For mor perspective i play my Vintera 70s jazz bass mostly followed by a G&L L2K, a Classic series (mexican) p bass and a Sterling by Musicman Ray 34 CA.
Click to expand...

I'd suggest you look at the DNA products, since I'm a member of the DNA Endorsing Artists group. I personally own two of their cabs, both the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. DNA is the company that David Nordschow founded in 2010 after he sold and left Eden, which he's founded in 1976. His alias was "David Eden". His new gear is nothing short of amazing. I bought his DNS-410 in 2015 after drooling over it for 5-years.

I figured it was the last cab I'd need because I could play it everywhere. No more hauling around my 410+115 stack! It will handle 1400-watts rms and has a max SPL of 137db, which is crazy loud. It is the clearest, most articulate and loudest cab with a very tight and focused low bottom end that I have ever played through or heard. I get told to turn down at outdoor Music Festivals if I run the master on my 800-watt amp more than a smidgen above 10 o'clock. If I hit 10:30 with my master, I get told to turn down. Normal outdoor venues I run it at 9:30. So no need for an 810 cabinet. Cost me $1,000 in 2015 and I believe they are $1,149 now.

Bad news is that is scares small venues. prior to Covid-19 we hosted an open mic night at a local brew pub on Friday nights about 40 to 45 times a year. We'd play an hour before starting the open mic and about an hour after everyone had a chance to play. Owner insisted I use his small 112 combo. Then in 2019 when I was accepted into the DNA Endorsing Artists, I bought a DNS-210 because it has the same sonic characteristics as my DNS410 and nobody looks twice at a bass player bringing in a 210 cab.

This 210 though is exceptional. It handles 700-watts rms (1/2 the power of the 410) and has a max SPL of 134db with that. After gigging this I realized it was all I needed for any indoor venue, so I reserved my DNS-410 for outdoors and festivals. I've seen the street price as low as $749 on it though more typically it's $799 to $849 and if Neo speakers are available goes up to about $969.

For the amp, the DNA-800 is a great choice. It's an 800-watt rms class D amp that weighs only 4.8-lbs, sounds sweet and has a lot of nice features including a built-in compressor with threshold and ratio controls. Below is a video from Bass Musician Magazine .com reviewing it. I've cued it up to the part where he's going through the amp and he's playing it through a DNS-210 cab, so you can hear what they sound like together. Street price is $799. So you should be able to get either cab and this amp for just under $2,000

 
  • Like
Reactions: Slaphound
#11
I confess I do not play an upright, but I always thought those had a few different requirements compared to a regular electric bass. (I could be wrong) I have seen people play a Greenboy fEARless or other speakers with more elaborate x-overs & and more robust woofers.....You may look at some of those threads.
 
#12
It’s not really my place to say since I don’t have direct experience with anything mentioned so far, but I don’t see any upgrading in your plans. You have some pretty nice gear right now.
I would think Mesa or Genzler as previously mentioned would be upgrades. You did say “offset” the gear you have now, so maybe “upgrading” is not your goal.
Since you play rockabilly with your upright, it may not be beneficial to look at cabs that tend to be directed at upright players; like certain offerings from MAS or AudioKinesis, but it still wouldn’t hurt to explore something like that. There are a ton of “doubling” guys making use of those, or other boutique type cabs.
If you’re going to spend that kind of money, do a lot of looking and testing. You already did the “asking”, so that’s good.
 
#14
I have the PF 500 and ported cab. I play jazz. for me it has all the options covered. It represents the tone I have heard in my head all these years. As far as quality, I would say it is top notch. You will see reviews claiming that this amp cuts out, but they are setting the gain wrong. If you set it correctly, it never cuts out.
 
#15
Blues Bass 2 said:
I'm an Ampeg fanboy . I use a PF800 and love the tone . A PF800 and a 212 AV cab would do just about anything you could want .

That being said I think the Markbass LMII is a great sounding head . What don't you like about it ? You could just get a great sounding 212 cab like a Mesa Subway or a Genzler and have a killer rig and lightweight too .
The last videos of the Allmans I've seen were with Oteil playing through Epiphani gear and sounding just right . It's not the gear so much as the player to me .
Click to expand...
The LMII is fine. Its a love hate relationship. Y'know. Sometimes I dig it and other times it annoys me. I do like the LMII into the Rumble but maybe that is because the LM pairs with the RS 120 mostly. I'm not looking to unload as much as just treating myself to something nice. I've not considered 212's much. I feel like I've been through a couple of 12s, Schroeder, Epifani and a Peavy combo at first but right now I'm into the 15's and I'm not so sure that is where I need to be. This is why I ask these questions. To open my mind.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back