Help choosing amp and cab

What's your max budget?

 

You want to carry the band with no PA support? Then you need to keep up with the drums and everyone has to stay under the vocals in the vocal PA.

A couple of 210's stacked vertically does a pretty good dispersion so long as you don't stand right in front of it. Turn off the tweeters for more vintage.

Being Canadian you could get some good deals on used Traynor. YBA200 amp and whatever cabs would be a good start.

 

Probably about the same, as it still comes down to being able to hear yourself over the drums well enough. The rule of thumb that I've long subscribed to is: 4 10"s (@Downunderwonder 's recommendation of a vertical stack of 210s satisfies this), 2 12"s, or 2 15"s... driven by 300+ watts.

There are many, many, exceptions to this rule of thumb, my personal rig included, but it should give you a pretty good idea of what will be able to keep up with a loud drummer. With your style of music, and a less intense drummer you may be able to get by with much less, but it's hard to say for certain.

Test out a few rigs, and find something that you like the sound of in that league, and you'll probably be set for anything outside of large shows with no PA support. Just my 2c, YMMV.

 

While there are many great amp. and cab.combinations to choose from,Ampeg and Fender are two names that made that vintage sound so sought after,so I think that's a good place to start. Its easy to get overwhelmed by so many options,it's good to have a reference point. Stick with what you like. Good hunting!

 

For vintage tone I use a Broughton LPF to dial off the upper highs. We didn't have any tweeters in the 70's.

 

I'd get an old late sixties Kustom 215. Tuck n roll. They sound great and look the part for everything you mentioned above.

Shouldn't cost too much either.

 

I like similar sounds and play either an Ampeg PF800 through 2x15" or a Tech21 VT500 through 2x12".
Both sound old school, are easy to carry and are relatively cheap.

 

$1000 Canadian, go pick up a Traynor YBA-200 Head on Kijiji (4-600) and a 4X10 cab of some sorts.

 

The obvious answer to vintage sound is a vintage amp.
Ampeg, Fender or Traynor come to mind.
Sunn, Acoustic, Kustom even Peavey are also flavors of
real vintage sound.

 

This. Aguilar is pretty vintage, but out of your price range. Fender has it's true believers, as does Ampeg. Consider a few things:

1. Look used to get more bang for buck.
2. Consider getting head and one cab, then a second matching cab when you have more money.
3. Lots of good, heavy used 410s out there,from people who moved to lighter, newer stuff.

 

As someone already mentioned, I would look into Traynor's offerings first. High quality. great tone, good long standing reputation.

 

Go onto Kijiji, and start looking at anything and everything with at least 100 watts. Traynor is a great name, so is peavey. Sure, fender and Ampeg are good names, but a grand CAD won't get you as much new as many would like. Maybe enough for a pf-500 or the traynor equivalent and a cab, with change left over for cords and such. That honestly wouldn't be a bad rig, but I'd look into what's available to you locally and used first. Check out pawn shops, and Kijiji, and negotiate every price. If you want new, shiny gear, I can understand that, but saving a few bucks and learning to negotiate are both with considering. Chances are, somebody's got an old Yorkville or peavey 115 combo that is built like a tank and twice as heavy, and rips for like $200 CAD, and night let it go for 100-150 if you just asked. Of course, some markets are less good than others for used gear, especially outside of Southern Ontario, where most places are pretty rural.

With regards to your search for a specific tone, to be honest, most amps will get you into a useable territory for what you're after IMO. Some may be better than others, but it's all about a compromise between tone, budget, and availability - resale kinda matters for me.

 

Traynor.
Used.
Done.

 

Ampeg PF500/PF800 or Fender Rumble 500 head with a pair of 15's. Use cab for smaller gigs and both for bigger.
I played in an oldies show band a couple of years ago and I used a PF500 -> an old Sunn Sorado 2x15 loaded with vintage EVM-B's. I got nothing but compliments on my tone. Now I'm in a 3 pc and we play 60's rock and country. I'm using a single 15 (3015) with either the PF500 or the Rumble. Both heads can easily get that vintage sound, the Rumble even has a vintage pre-set.

 

I don't know about Canada,but there are lots of Fender and Ampegs for sale in most of theUS,vintage and newer models as well. Also,not to muddy the water, a large part of vintage tone are the strings you us e,as well as your bass, playing style(fingers or pick).You can allways research the players that you are wanting to sound like and see what they were using. A lot of good info in this thread,good people with A lot of knowledge to share.

 

The newer Mesa/Boogie D-800 or D-800+ cabs with a good quality cab will do the trick.

 

Just in case you're wondering why so many folks are yelling "Traynor! Traynor!":



Yummy.