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hey small head manufacturers: mini rant coming

nostatic

nostatic

Jun 18, 2004
13,870
16,971
central coast
nostatic.com
Disclosures
Endorsing Artist: FEA Labs
#1
Apologies to JimmyM for copping his style. But why not borrow from the best...

I'm one of the first to admit that the new wave of small/mini/micro/whatever-you-want-to-call-them heads are awesome. My back thanks you. As a player who schleps his own gear usually a couple times a week, and often between multiple gigs in a day, having a small 5-7lb head instead of 30+lbs makes a big difference.

BUT...with that shrinkage comes an ugly downside that few manufacturers seem to want to address. When you mount a knob to a pot that is directly on the PC board, any whack that knob takes has a decent likelyhood of screwing up the amp. With the smaller heads, frankly it seems a lot easier for them to be dropped, slide off a cab, or bump off a cart while hauling. And with the knobs completely exposed - well, it is like a variation on Payn's Law (which states, "If a piece of buttered toast falls, it will land face down."). Ok, so now we have the nostatic law: "if a micro head falls, odds are it will land on the knobs. And the odds increase with the price of the head."

So what's a poor bass player to do? Well, you could put the head in a manufacturer-designed carrying bag! That should solve it. Then again...maybe/probably not.

OK, so what's the real solution? Well, GK evidently thought about this, and designed "handles" onto the MB series that also serve as protection for the knobs. Yes, you could still whack them, but it goes a long way towards saving the day:

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What's another solution? How about a carry bag that has the face recessed a bit with decent protection around the front? And be advised that quarter inch thick cheap foam sewn between two sheets of nylon is not "decent protection." And please don't suggest a full size rack box. That defeats the purpose of small and light. You shouldn't need to carry an ATA case to protect a 7lb head. (editors note: I am not directly familiar with all brand's bags, so some may be better than others)

I know that some carry their heads in their gig bag, and if it fits then that can be good, but for now I'm happy that one company has addressed this, and hope that others have a solution (*cough* a decent bag design). Then again, maybe I'm just clumsy/unlucky...
 
#4
PCB-mounted pots/jacks/etc is not limited to micro-heads and is certainly a less than ideal means of connection but probably easiest for production.

As far as a case, I tried to find it but I couldn't but I used to use a little aluminum briefcase type thing with a removable lid as a pedal board (the lid was the board) and I think that would probably be a great thing to consider for these heads. Put a little extra foam in the there and you have a super light but sturdy little hard case for your head.
 
#8
After carrying around a MB F1 for a couple years now, I have never had a problem with it falling off anything, or getting damaged in the gig bag. I have racked it ( which is another can of worms, I know, but, I sometimes use it with a power amp ), and so, that takes care of it getting damaged, but really, I have not read anywhere on this forum of 5 lb heads falling on the knobs at all. In fact, the only problem I have had with the knobs is the gold paint line wearing off and not being able to see where I've got things set on dark stages. Other than that, I don't see a problem. Protect the head as you see fit.
 
#9
jnewmark said:
After carrying around a MB F1 for a couple years now, I have never had a problem with it falling off anything, or getting damaged in the gig bag.
Click to expand...

Well, maybe you're lucky or I'm unlucky. My head, in its carry bag, fell off my cart when I hit a bump. Fell about 2 feet - and evidently landed right on one of the knobs. If that had happened with my new GK MB Fusion head, the metal hoop likely would have taken the hit, not the knob.
 
#10
nostatic said:
Well, maybe you're lucky or I'm unlucky. My head, in its carry bag, fell off my cart when I hit a bump. Fell about 2 feet - and evidently landed right on one of the knobs. If that had happened with my new GK MB Fusion head, the metal hoop likely would have taken the hit, not the knob.
Click to expand...

I know KJung uses an F1 and he keeps it in the MB bag for it, and uses a two wheel cart to carry everything but his bass. Maybe check out one of those Magna Carts, or whatever they are, he swears by them.
 
#11
I wrap my micro head in a foam pad and stick it in a milk crate with all my cables. Works great. :)

It goes bass, pedalboard, cab, with milk crate on the cab, on my cart. Bungee cables to hold the milk crate against the bass case, and around the front of the cab.
 
#13
Hit your local Salvation Army or Goodwill resale shops.
They usually have lots of small cases and carry bags for cheap.
I picked up a small case for $1.00 at a Salvation Army store that was perfect for my GK MB2-500 head!
 
#15
Any piece of gear that you pay good money for should be protected during transportation and use. I don't have a micro, maybe mini would be more appropriate for the Carvin BX1500. Mine is in a standard rack case for protection.

Quite truthfully I don't really see the point in the micro amps. Yes it's nice to have something light to carry rather than a lead sled, but I think they've gone too far. When you have to worry about the weight of your power and speaker cables pulling the amp off a cabinet I think that's silly. Add to that the size of the markings on the panel and my eyes are in trouble.
 
#19
DWBass said:
Why buy a carry bag if you're not gonna 'carry' it? My bag always goes over my shoulder.
Click to expand...

Well, some bags "carry" better than others. Also, I try to do a single trip from car to where I'm playing and have gone to an R6 cart. My bass gets carried (gig bag using the backpack straps), all the amp stuff goes on the cart. For some gigs I'm also bringing a small PA setup so that goes on the cart as well. When you're playing three different locations in an afternoon, that ends up being a lot of packing/hauling/setup/etc. Keeping things small/light/durable is a definite goal.

Evidently I'm just unlucky, but I do applaud GK for their design decision.
 
#20
someone here once postulated that the manufacturers get together and come up with a standard for micro amp/equip dimensions, so they could be mounted in a 'micro-rack.' I think that would go a long way toward full-blown acceptance by gigging musicians. I mean the living room guys can still have their rubber feet, and the world tour guys could have theirs mounted in a small rack to toss in the back of a C130...
 

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