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How loud is good with some space?

A

ajota_di

Dec 5, 2009
83
0
Chicago
withoursunkenship.com
#1
Hey everyone!

I'm a young bassist, and I've decided to build my first rig. I need some more power, and after some pondering, i've decided not to go with a little combo and to find a cheap head and build it up from there.

I'll be using tb and craigslist for thisone, but I don't know how hardcore of a head I should get.
Obviously you can't hear our bands practices, but I can give you some good bg info.

Here goes:
2 women vocalists, put through a Samson mixer (if it matters) and into two 600 watt 12" berringers. We ALSO put
2 synthesizers through it, one micro korg, one yamaha.
After that we've got my lead guitarist. He is going to be put through a Marshall halfstack, but for now he's in my peavey 100-200 watt (can't remember) combo.
Our other guitar goes through a smaller 70-80 watt fender tube amp, and we can't hear her. At all.
My drummer has dropped a good 3gs on his set, and he gets loud. The occasional double bass on a 24" drum, two snares, and several cymbals.
And then there's me. Yeah. I play bass.

So what do I start with? How loud is loud enough? I was thinking of getting a nice, $300 head and slowly building up with more and more bigger, better cabs.
I'd like this to stay under 400$... 500$ max out.

Thanks in advance,
AJ
 
#2
You're gonna have to buy used. As well as craigslist, you will want to check out the for sale listings here on TalkBass. I have had nothing but good results with stuff I bought from fellow TalkBass members.

IMHO and IME you're gonna need at least 300 solid state watts or at least 100 tube watts to keep up with a full band - especially if you are not depending on the PA for your primary front of house volume. And considering the other stuff you are running through those Behringers I assume you will not be using the PA for your bass - especially at rehearsal. And don't let the guy with the Marshall half stack get carried away - those are hella loud when they're cranked. Your lead player will drown out you, the drums and everyone else if you let him - SO DON'T!

Bass heads by Peavey, Carvin, SWR and (sometimes) Galien Krueger can be found at the lower price levels. Acoustic heads have been getting some good reviews, too. But they are relatively new so you might not find many of them available on the used market. Very few people in this forum (including me) have anything good to say about Behringer bass gear. I would recommend that you avoid that brand. And more watts is almost always a good thing - especially in your price range.

Your cabinet should move some air. It should also be rated for at least as many watts as your head. It should probably be rated even higher than your head if you are using a 100 watt tube amp. Many (including me) have found that a single 12" cab or a 2x10 cab won't quite cut it in front of a full band. A good 1x15, 2x12 or 4x10 will be OK. There are so many different brands of cabinets that it is pointless to recommend one or two - especially since the price of used cabs is less predictable than the price of used heads. Again, IMHO, stay away from Behringer. As you buy more cabs, you can use them together with your head as long as you watch the impedance. A good place to start is with an 8 ohm cabinet and a head that will drive 8 ohms or 4 ohms. Then, if you add a second 8 ohm cabinet, the total impedance of the speaker cabinets will be 4 ohms and your head will still be able to drive it.

Good luck finding a rig for $400 - $500. It can be done, but you will have to find some serious good deals to make it happen. Also, welcome to TalkBass!
 
#8
I've been seeing Eden D410XLTs (which are the old touring standard) on Craigslist near me for $300. Those cabs will move some serious air and handle ~700W.

That'd be my choice for a cheap used cab, as people are basically throwing them out these days for some reason.

nineteen said:
Ha! That gave me a good laugh. But those tube stacks get unnecessarily LOUD. If he cranked it I'm sure he would just bury everyone.
Click to expand...

Yup, and quite a lot of them don't ever really notice or care. My guitarist had that problem with a 4x10 Super Reverb until his girlfriend yelled at him to turn it down, hah.
 

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