Help me, new member with amp and cab questions.

[Redneck_Bassist]

Just joined talk bass for the first time, been playing bass for little under a year. I signed up for talk bass because I have many tech questions google can't answer. Right now I have a peavey 240 standard head, which I assume is from the late 60s or early 70s because I can't find a single spec of information about it and for my cabs I have a peavey 1x15 and from what I could find (which is not much) it is supposed to be paired with an acoustic bass head and my second cab is a peavey 410tvx which has been wired from 4 ohm to 8 ohm to match the 8 ohm rated head and had 3 speakers replaced because they were blown as well as the tweeter being blown which I haven't replaced. Recently I have had a problem of having to crank the amp to max to just be able to hear it in the very loud environments I play in, which is making it extremely distorted and raunchy sounding. I talked to one of my dad's friends who used to do audio for a living, and he said that the amp is underpowered for the cabinets I'm pushing and the whole setup is kind of janky, which isnt surprising for a setup under $350. I am looking to maybe get a bigger more powerful setup, I found a laney stack as in the other picture below, which would be perfect, but I need a head to match them and if I pay the full $600 for them I won't have much buget left for a head, so I need a cheap 8 ohm, around 300w rms (which is what i think that laney stack is rated for), soild state head that can handle an active bass. I was looking at a peavey firebass 700 on gc's website, but im not sure it would be a good match. Please give me advice on what i should do and recommendations for a good, inexpensive head (like under $350) that would match the laney stack.

Thanks for any help!


Laney stack i want \/

My setup \/

 

[gtirard]

Are both Laney cabs 8 ohm? If so, almost any modern amp will do (with a total impedance of 4 ohm).

I would get a Warwick Gnome i Pro V2 for example if I were you (although I've never tried it to be honest, but from what I've read it's a great sounding amp, affordable).

If each cabs have an impedance of 4 ohm, you need a 2 ohm capable amp, and that's almost impossible under $350.

 

[6thplanet]

I'd suspect there's an issue with the 4/10. You said you replaced three of the 10's and rewired it from 4 to 8 ohm. What three 10's did you use, they don't look the same as the fourth one.

You can't make 8 ohms out of drivers originally wired for 4 ohms....so what's going on there?

 

[AncientNoob]

Thought about a newer combo? I use an Ampeg RB210 for full band rehearsal and small venues. Plenty of volume, and can take an extension cab if I need more. There's also the Fender Rumble combos that are very similar. The Rumble 500 is almost identical to my Ampeg spec wise. There's also a Rumble 800 that should be able to keep up with just about any gig that doesn't require PA support. They're all relatively affordable and light weight. The Fender tone stack gives a different flavor than the Ampeg, so should try them before you buy to make sure you get the right one for you, but they should both be readily available to demo at almost any GC.

 

[SJan3]

Welcome to talkbass!
You went cheap and the results are not good. If you go cheap again, you'll likely get poor results again. @AncientNoob makes a good argument for a stout combo like the Ampeg or Fender. Don't buy inefficient gear from the 60s or 70s. Today's bass gear is so much better in every way. For appx $700 you can get the Ampeg or Fender NEW with 4x10s and plenty of power plus the capacity to add an extension cabinet should the 4x10s not be enough.
Good luck with your choice.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

Welcome to Talkbass and the learning curve! As others have mentioned - new gear is typically way better bang for the buck. Features, power, serviceability, weight. Black Friday is near and lots of stuff will be available and better than usual prices. I regularly use a Fender Rumble 500 combo, sometimes with a 1x15 extension cab. Cuts it in any genre I play from ballads to metal. Not everyone's cuppa tea but pretty powerful and in your price range. I also have a Warwick Gnome which I use with the 1x15 and sounds great, IMO. I know it can be hard to simply say lesson learned and start from scratch but given what you've told us I think pursuing a course of trying to cobble something together would be throwing good money after bad. If you're able to test drive gear within your budget at local music stores I highly recommend you do so. Good luck!

BBB

 

[CascadeBass]

I agree OP should walk away from this rig and start over. I like the suggested Gnome i Pro and some used 410 or 210 something.

 

[JimChjones]

Like the man above I suspect that your 4x10 has gone sick, and that isn't altogether surprising as there's a whole heap of things that can go wrong when replacing drivers in a 4x10 unless you are replacing like for like.

The Laney stack looks neat, but there are a couple of caveats. The first is I had a look and can't find a picture of those exact cabinets on line with any kind of specifications. That means we don't know for sure the impedance of the cabs, which means that we don't know what options there are to drive them. This is critical. If the impedance is wrong then you can destroy amplifiers
The second is that a 4x10 and a 1x`15 do not usually make a great partnership. The trouble is that roughly speaking two 10s and one 15 are equivalent, so if you have four 10s and one 15 the 15 is liable to get overloaded whilst the 10s are still well within capacity. Not going to be much of an issue if you only have a 120W amp, but potentially big issues if you get more power.

I think what you need to do now is get photos of the back of the Laney cabs, with all the writing legible so we can figure out exactly what specification they are - it should say. With that information we can give you some more informed opinions about whether they are suitable for you.

You don't need to worry too much about "underpowering". There's a lot of nonsense written about it on line. I've found an on line sale ad for a Peavey Amp like yours which suggests its 120W. That's not a whole heap of power, but you can't divorce power from speakers - 50W into eight 10s is theoretically roughly equivalent to 400W into one 10!

 

[ahbradot]

Welcome and I'm sure you find this TB forum very helpful.
Please share pix of the all the cool basses you come across.

 

[jthisdell]

Is the tweeter/horn from your 410 missing? From the picture it looks like there is a hole in the middle of the cab where the tweeter should be. If so, try sealing the hole. If there is an extra hole there then the porting on the cab is all wrong and the cab and speakers won't work right. (I'm assuming that the speakers themselves work properly.)

I would also try the Peavy head with each of the cabs separately to see how that sounds. I suspect the 410 is the issue having been "rewired" and had "speakers replaced". Common back in the 70's to replace speakers with whatever was available but generally frowned upon now as a cab is designed to work with the speakers as a unit. Also, if you do shop for new gear the 410/115 stack has largely gone out of favor. The idea (back in the day) was that a 115 would add lows but that may or may not be the case. What tends to happen is the 115 will handle far less power and fart out or blow before you hear it suffering.

Pics of the backs of the Peavy cabs (input jack panels) would be helpful to identify the cabs. Also picks of the back input panels of the Laney's would be helpful as well.

 

[brianrost]

I have had a problem of having to crank the amp to max to just be able to hear it in the very loud environments I play in, which is making it extremely distorted and raunchy sounding.

Please tell us more about these "environments"

1. Are you actually out performing or are you just jamming with friends or perhaps rehearsing with a band trying to start performing?

2. What other instrumentation are in use…specifically what amps are being used by the other players.

What's your overall budget for a new rig?

 

[agedhorse]

Ugh...

Are those foam edge replacement drivers in the Peavey cabinet?

You can't change the nominal impedance in a 410 by rewiring but you CAN screw things up really badly by trying.

I think a big part of the problem is user created.

 

[Wesley R]

Ugh...

Are those foam edge replacement drivers in the Peavey cabinet?

You can't change the nominal impedance in a 410 by rewiring but you CAN screw things up really badly by trying.

I think a big part of the problem is user created.

Bingo!

 

[Medicine Man]

Hey Red, welcome to TB. Many people use janky rigs, but it's hard to put a good one together if you don't have expertise. I believe the peavey 240 is voiced for guitar in addition to your cabinet issues. I also recommend a commercial bass combo for getting started. Something with like 300 watts with a 2x10 or 1x15 speaker setup, ideally that can support an extension cab if you need one down the road. It will be simpler to use, easier to transport, and most likely sound better. It will also keep up with a drummer and a couple guitars unless you play stupid loud metal or punk, at which point you buy said extension cab.

 

[Redneck_Bassist]

I'd suspect there's an issue with the 4/10. You said you replaced three of the 10's and rewired it from 4 to 8 ohm. What three 10's did you use, they don't look the same as the fourth one.

You can't make 8 ohms out of drivers originally wired for 4 ohms....so what's going on there?

Originally the 410 had 3 8ohms and 1 4ohm, I have no idea what the original ohms were, probably like 5-6 ohms, but I just plugged in the amp and played, which is probably why the speakers were blown. I replaced 3 of the speakers and left the 1 4ohm that wasn't blown and that's why 1 doesn't match the others.

 

[Redneck_Bassist]

The first is I had a look and can't find a picture of those exact cabinets on line with any kind of specifications. That means we don't know for sure the impedance of the cabs, which means that we don't know what options there are to drive them.

They are 8ohms each, can be put together to get 4ohms and are rated 750w max, which probably when combined could easily take like 350w rms.

 

[Redneck_Bassist]

Hey Red, welcome to TB. Many people use janky rigs, but it's hard to put a good one together if you don't have expertise. I believe the peavey 240 is voiced for guitar in addition to your cabinet issues. I also recommend a commercial bass combo for getting started. Something with like 300 watts with a 2x10 or 1x15 speaker setup, ideally that can support an extension cab if you need one down the road. It will be simpler to use, easier to transport, and most likely sound better. It will also keep up with a drummer and a couple guitars unless you play stupid loud metal or punk, at which point you buy said extension cab.

Yeah, I guessed it was for guitar.

 

[Redneck_Bassist]

Please tell us more about these "environments"

1. Are you actually out performing or are you just jamming with friends or perhaps rehearsing with a band trying to start performing?

2. What other instrumentation are in use…specifically what amps are being used by the other players.

What's your overall budget for a new rig?

I play solo in a large open area/stadium with tons of people cheering and yelling which is why I need tons of volume.

 

[CascadeBass]

What city/state area are you in? We will help with shopping things.

EDIT: LOL on your last comment.

 

[Redneck_Bassist]

Is the tweeter/horn from your 410 missing? From the picture it looks like there is a hole in the middle of the cab where the tweeter should be. If so, try sealing the hole. If there is an extra hole there then the porting on the cab is all wrong and the cab and speakers won't work right. (I'm assuming that the speakers themselves work properly.)

I would also try the Peavy head with each of the cabs separately to see how that sounds. I suspect the 410 is the issue having been "rewired" and had "speakers replaced". Common back in the 70's to replace speakers with whatever was available but generally frowned upon now as a cab is designed to work with the speakers as a unit. Also, if you do shop for new gear the 410/115 stack has largely gone out of favor. The idea (back in the day) was that a 115 would add lows but that may or may not be the case. What tends to happen is the 115 will handle far less power and fart out or blow before you hear it suffering.

Pics of the backs of the Peavy cabs (input jack panels) would be helpful to identify the cabs. Also picks of the back input panels of the Laney's would be helpful as well.

The tweeter is in it, but is blown and I can't find a replacement but it is screwed into the center of the cab. The 115 cab has nothing on the back for the specs except a model number that says the impedance, but nothing else. I will put a picture of the back of the 410 though.