Double Bass Good small amp?

[TroyK]

I used a MB150 for a long time and my experience is similar to yours. Also went to AI. I would disagree with you in that the AI is not colored but too flat, for me at least. A flat sound usually has way more mids than a typical 'bass guitar' voiced amp. I stuck with it for a long time and liked it but came to the conclusion that I like a more colored amp. I don't really want to hear the pure unadulterated sound of my piezo pickup. IMO a bit of color helps shape the sound in a pleasing way.

You may be right or we may be hearing and saying the same thing, but I'm using the wrong words.

If it is "flat" with everything at 12:00, then I would expect them to sound like my bass, but they don't. And I can hear this when I go to a local show and someone is using an AI amp or I plug into one as backline. There's a house sound to it, that whatever it is feels unnaturally boxy to me and I struggle to eq it out using the AI controls. But, bypassing the preamp and going to the effects return creates what my limited understanding of frequency curves and "voicing" tells me is a much more neutral amplification. Logic tells me that bypassing the preamp gives me a "flat-er" sound. Using a separate preamp, in my case Tech21 Q\Strip, gives me the eq control to shape it as my ear wants it to sound, usually with very specific cuts to very specific frequencies. I suspect it would be even more targeted reduction if I controlled Q as well and I might consider a fully parametric eq to minimize even further what I am imposing on the sound.

But, all of this is 180-degrees what AI was marketed as and what it seems 99% of experienced doublebassists and people smarter about such things than I am claim about them, so I don't discount the fact that I may not understand what I'm hearing and maybe I'm drawing the wrong conclusions. What I know for sure, though, is that I don't personally care for voicing of AI preamps and I don't find their on-board eq's effective at reshaping it.

The quality of AI amps, is fantastic and we have them to thank for bringing the size of our rigs down considerably. I wish they and EA had survived the pandemic. I do think that some new companies and have stepped up and filled that space, but I don't have much hands on experience with them yet and of course, size and clear power is always expensive.

My sub-20lb rig is a Greenboy 1x8 cab, an AI Clarus SL, and a q\Strip. It works great, but it's a cabinet, a head, a pedal, 4 cables (power, speakon, and 2 instrument cables) and a 9v battery. That's actually a lot of stuff to carry, keep track of, and deal with, and more points of failure than I would prefer. But, it gets the job done is most rooms for jazz. Still keeping an eye out for a small combo that I could carry with my free hand, put on a stool and go. Haven't found an option yet under $28.3million that I can try before I buy.

 

[basss]

Agree with all of that. All I'm saying is when using a piezo pickup, you're not hearing your bass you're hearing the pickup, which without sauce can be unappealing.

 

[Matt Ides]

My Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 does a great job on both Upright and Electric. I also have a Walter Woods blue light which is amazing for both too. The price difference is wide,,,,,,

The shuttle combos were gold for upright and worked well for doubling. I had the 8 and 8T which was a powerful little mini stack.

 

[Fat bob]

After 2 failed attempts to grab a GK MB150 through Facebook marketplace I find myself back here trying to find a good small amp. I think a 1x10 would be ideal, so it could be versatile enough to use with quartet, but can’t stop looking at the Revsound 1x8, and the Traynor 106 1x6. Ideally a combo but I wonder if something like the Elf would cut it… I’ve kind of narrowed it down to a light 1x10 preferable 4ohm (Revsound, ea wizzy, barefaced) and strap or Velcro a small head to it… but do any have hpf? Cool news that Henriksen may be coming out with a bass amp but my guess is it’ll be a 12 and $$$
I have a couple large amps (pjb supershlepcase, Markbass 121) also a Felix, but just about all my gigs would be better with a 10” combo for sound, footprint and 1 trip in/out. I saw a thread where a barefaced 1x8 was found used, cool rig! Wonder it’d be enough. That small traynor looks cool and good for most of em, but for that price I think a bit bigger would be more versatile.
Anyone else been there and found a happy solution???

 

[turf3]

You know, I've heard some good things about the cheap Fender Rumble series. I've played upright through a Rumble 40 (with a preamp) and I thought it sounded pretty good. I have thoughts of trying the 100. The BIG BIG pro is light weight. A second one is low cost. Most of the suggestions posted here are quite a bit more expensive and some are pretty heavy. My current amp is the series 1 AI Contra (R2D2) which is really heavy, AND weirdly shaped. I grant you it's 250W and a Rumble 100 would only be 100 W, but on the other hand I don't think I've ever turned the Contra up past halfway.

Anyway for someone looking in on this thread, I think the Rumble shouldn't be discounted off hand, at least not if you have a pre amp to match impedances.

 

[Earl]

After 2 failed attempts to grab a GK MB150 through Facebook marketplace I find myself back here trying to find a good small amp. I think a 1x10 would be ideal, so it could be versatile enough to use with quartet, but can’t stop looking at the Revsound 1x8, and the Traynor 106 1x6. Ideally a combo but I wonder if something like the Elf would cut it… I’ve kind of narrowed it down to a light 1x10 preferable 4ohm (Revsound, ea wizzy, barefaced) and strap or Velcro a small head to it… but do any have hpf? Cool news that Henriksen may be coming out with a bass amp but my guess is it’ll be a 12 and $$$
I have a couple large amps (pjb supershlepcase, Markbass 121) also a Felix, but just about all my gigs would be better with a 10” combo for sound, footprint and 1 trip in/out. I saw a thread where a barefaced 1x8 was found used, cool rig! Wonder it’d be enough. That small traynor looks cool and good for most of em, but for that price I think a bit bigger would be more versatile.
Anyone else been there and found a happy solution???

The Traynor SB106 can get pretty loud for it's size, and the SB110 and SB112 sound great and are light as well.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I had two old amps I used with my upright as I was trying to get away from using a B-15. One was an Ampeg B-100 like this…

20 watts rms, 1x10 speaker.

Then this, Carvin ProBass 100

100 watts rms, 1x10 speaker.

They both sounded good for their size and weight. The Carvin had a touch more umph in the low end and a little more tone shaping, but the mids and highs were about the same on both.

I sold the Ampeg, the Carvin broke down do to a fall.

I have kinda gone full circle in that I’m back to a 1x15 combo somewhat like the B-15 only lighter. A Mesa WD 800 and a SW 115. Still thinking of fixing the Carvin for some grab and go things.

 

[WG Plum]

Not sure what 'small' is, but I use a Bergantino NXT210 and the Berg Forte HP. Sounds phenomenal with an Empress Bass Para EQ and a dual element Yamahiko. Well, it sounds phenomenal when the bass is in the hands of someone who can actually play.

 

[Fat bob]

I think small = can carry (with bass on wheel) over a block.

 

[Ric Vice]

Depending on your budget, there are a lot of options. Traynor Amps are portable, sound great, and can be repaired. Fender Rumbles are less expensive
they sound decent and are lightweight. GR Bass are incredibly light, sound exceptional. Just my take however. The MBS is heavier than any of these amps.

 

[bassically_eli]

The ridiculous thing about the GK MBS/MBE is that the head weighs almost as much as the 1x12" cab. I never understood why GK kept it around for so long without updating it from class a/b to class D. Seems silly to go through the trouble of designing and building such a lightweight cab just to stick a heavy amp head on top.

 

[ejnachtrab]

I have a Markbass Micromark that I use with both upright and electric bass. It’s frigging great. Very light and small but surprisingly powerful for what it is. I’ve even taken it on tour for the gigs with no backline and it hasn’t let me down. I use a Fishman pre amp with the upright. It has its obvious limitations, but for a versatile small amp it’s great.

 

[Povl Carstensen]

The ridiculous thing about the GK MBS/MBE is that the head weighs almost as much as the 1x12" cab. I never understood why GK kept it around for so long without updating it from class a/b to class D. Seems silly to go through the trouble of designing and building such a lightweight cab just to stick a heavy amp head on top.

Perhaps because the a/b amp was part of the explanation for their iconic sound? Just wondering/speculating..

 

[Oli S]

You know, I've heard some good things about the cheap Fender Rumble series. I've played upright through a Rumble 40 (with a preamp) and I thought it sounded pretty good ...

I use one for small rooms where I need a little bit of reinforcement and it's fine for the purpose. Line out is post-master volume, which actually works well for sending to PA on a small gig with no sound tech. They're very light.

My other small amp is an older Little Mark combo, which is a great doubling amp all around imho.

 

[Ric Vice]

The ridiculous thing about the GK MBS/MBE is that the head weighs almost as much as the 1x12" cab. I never understood why GK kept it around for so long without updating it from class a/b to class D. Seems silly to go through the trouble of designing and building such a lightweight cab just to stick a heavy amp head on top.

The MBS/MBE (I acquired one recently) is neither a class A|B nor is it a class D. It’s a rail switching power supply. ( Class H)

 

[flatback]

Hey Rick I've been peeking around locally for a 150MBE for old times sake. I am curious what it sounds like with a Redeye or a Felix out front....

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

Hey Rick I've been peeking around locally for a 150MBE for old times sake. I am curious what it sounds like with a Redeye or a Felix out front....

Nostalgia for amplifiers I used to own has been consistently disappointing

- Steve

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

Yeah I just dug one of those GK's out of a friends closet. Sounds like a bad Hartke. I forgot how tinny they are...and that horrible sound when you blow out the low notes.

I thought mine sounded good at lower volumes, but I never thought it did a great job of projection the sound out into the room. Mine also had some technical issues and I could never use the XLR out without an attenuator to tame the hot signal.

- Steve

 

[koricancowboy]

After seeing another local bassist playing his double bass through a SWR Super readhead, I was sold.
I then started using a SWR super redheads 25+years ago for my electric stand up bass. In my opinion it gets a great tone and provides the articulation of the notes. Again, just my opinion.

That’s a big boy

 

[koricancowboy]

I had my entire rig die all at the same time. AI Focus, into an LDS 1x8. I loved this rig and used it for a long time.

With the demise of my rig I tried out a Genzler and a GR. I didn’t care for the Genzler but I did like the GR. Unfortunately there was serious quality control issues and the warranty wasn’t honored. The customer service from the manufacturer was awful as they tried to gaslight me into believing it was my fault. My retailer was great.

Anyhow, I settled on a Grace Felix into a GSS Sumo into a Barefaced Super Mini T. I’m super glad the GR AT Cube didn’t work because this rig wipes the floor with it.

Not as light to be sure but 100,000x the tone. Super clean and with headroom to spare. I would say that 75-80% of the time I just go direct so I bring just the Felix but when I need to have my own amp, this is the best setup I’ve ever used. The price is not for the faint of heart but holy Arco or pizz this is an amazing rig. YMMV.