In a gigantic bind, what should I do Talkbass?

[theduke1]

Buy a Behringer BXH 300 for$150 from Sweetwater. with your 2 cabs you push 300watts. It's a 2 channel amp with great features. I have one as my practice rig.
It will serve you well

 

[basslust]

See if you can get a deal on the Rumble 500 head at GC. $400 full price, hopefully should be able to get a deal though. Great amp that won't be a compromise.

 

[AngelsBassBall]

I would beg, borrow or steal to snag that SVT II. That is a GREAT price. You will very likely never want for an amp again.

Agreed..talk about thunderous!

If you have PayPal credit it's zero percent interest for 6 months if the buyer would agree to that form of payment.

There has got to be a backline company in your area you could rent from as previously suggested.

There are some killer heads in he classifieds here for under $300.

Best of luck...but consider this, at least this happened before and not during your big show!

 

[DWBass]

If you can swing another $100 get the Hartke LH1000

 

[BobKos]

$350 will get you a Carvin BX 500 on their site right now with the holiday discount or close to it through their eBay store.

 

[Lo-E]

Give Bob Bruno a call at Bruno Bros Music in Brunswick - only about 20 miles south of CLE off of I71.

He rents all sorts of gear. He may have a bass head that he could help you with.

This seems like a pretty good approach to me. It costs you nothing to call him up and ask. If he can hook you up for the gig then you can take your time and look for a head you're happy with after the gig's done and the pressure's off.

Another option: if there are other bands playing at the big gig, see if you can contact one of the other bass players and explain your situation. They might let you use their rig for your set. If they do, BE SURE to offer to compensate them. They may decline and say not to worry about it - or not - but they'll certainly appreciate the offer. At very least, make sure they don't pay for their beer that night. There are plenty of musicians who won't even consider letting anyone use their gear, but there are just as many who are more generous in spirit.

As far as the guy who sold you the blown-up amp is concerned, I would hope he'd be big enough to help you out under the circumstances. It can't hurt to ask. If he says no, then you definitely know what kind of friend he is.

 

[rodl2005]

If you can swing by my place here in Tasmania . ....
Seriously. ...you've been given PLENTY of great options . ..
I'd be going the Sweetwater route if that's possible and buying a GOOD NEW amp with a payment plan AND a good return policy AND a VERY GOOD WARRANTY.
Good luck and best of luck with yr gig.

 

[AMachine]

If your not sure on pulling the trigger on buying something so quickly and decided to rent absolutely look for a backline. I work for a company that provides backline and in general a head is 60 to 100 depending on what you pick and if it breaks they will give you a replacement. I found [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] in kent about a hour out but Im not to familiar with the area.

 

[Ric5]

So I bought an amp off of a friend of mine, he got it secondhand from someone on Craigslist,
sold me the head (Ampeg SVT4 Pro) and two 8 ohm cabs for 1200$. Thought it was a great deal until two shows later, it blows up on me and I take it to get it repaired. Turns out whoever tinkered with it last totally shaged the repair, burned holes in the PCB, didn't properly ground wires, didn't properly seat tracing on PCB board, and a mess of other problems that provoked it to blow. Whelp, tech estimates that it would cost too much for this to be worth it, not to mention that it might not even work very well after the fact; the worst he's ever seen, he says. Here comes the problem, I have a show in a week, probably one of the biggest shows me and my band has ever played and on top of being broke, I'm totally ampless. I still have the cabs, but I need something to run it through. Do you guys have ANY recommendations on what the best thing to do in this scenario is? Buy an amp from guitar center and just return it after the show? Risk Craigslist again? Just buy a cheap amp and use it permanently? I've never had this problem before and am a bit frantic as to what would be the best course of action. I have about 400$ to my name atm in emergency money, but I feel like that's not even enough for an amp.

So the cabs are fine and the head is hosed ... right? ... so you need another bass head ...

There are a lot of bass heads that can drive your 2 bass cabs

Go to your local music go round and see what kind of used bass heads they have ... they should have a few good bass heads under $200. Get one and you are in business. Then somewhere down the road get a good bass head and the cheap one becomes your backup.

 

[cb56]

Fender Rumble 500 500-Watt Bass Head
Hartke TX600 - 600W Lightweight Bass Head
Hartke HA3500C 350-Watt Tube Preamp Bass Head

 

[rufus.K]

I feel for ya, if you were local I'd totally lend you a rig.

 

[Nev375]

Those return policies are there for a reason. It's smart to demo new gear in a gig situation.

The immorality angle only applies if you have zero interest in purchasing the gear.

If I were in your shoes I'd buy a GK MB200 since the thought of a tiny amp that fits in a case/gigbag is attractive to me.
If it does well at the gig, I'd keep it! If it's not everything I hoped, I'd return it and not feel bad about it at all.

 

[mmbongo]

$350 will get you a Carvin BX 500 on their site right now with the holiday discount or close to it through their eBay store.

Yep, I'd go this route if you want a new $400 amp. Carvin has 15% off on their site right now. If you ask me this is a much better amp than the Fender Rumble, which is made in China or wherever and does not even have a Speakon output. The Carvin is made in the USA, sounds fantastic, and has a ton of features.

 

[japhy4529]

That was exactly what I was going to post .

Was going to then suggest finding an inexpensive head at musiciansfriend, as they're currently offering 17% off, and if the OPs credit is good buy it on 36 month same as cash payment. Would cost a few dollars a month.

And if the OP's credit isn't good he can still get an amp on a payment plan through AMS (Americanmusicalsupply.com). They're currently running a 4-payment deal for the holidays with no credit check (it's usually 3-payments). Anything between $89-$1500 will qualify. Don't pay attention to the default payment plan listed in the search results. Add what you want to your cart and select 4-payment plan from there. They have a ton of amp heads in stock, including Ampeg. Unlike Sweetwater and the like, you don't need to sign up for a line of credit with AMS. You can use your debit or credit card. It's essentially a reverse layaway (e.g. you get the gear up front and make monthly payments until it's paid up). NO affiliation. Just experience. Zzounds.com has a similar deal.

 

[agedhorse]

Was just thinking that the OP might want to verify that the cabinets really are in good operating condition and have original manufacturers drivers.

 

[bolophonic]

There is a guy on Bass Players United who just posted three GK heads in your budget on FB.

 

[NortyFiner]

If you were in my area, I'd lend you my GK MB212-II. Oh well.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Those return policies are there for a reason. It's smart to demo new gear in a gig situation.

The immorality angle only applies if you have zero interest in purchasing the gear.

If I were in your shoes I'd buy a GK MB200 since the thought of a tiny amp that fits in a case/gigbag is attractive to me.
If it does well at the gig, I'd keep it! If it's not everything I hoped, I'd return it and not feel bad about it at all.

No, it comes down to whether you honestly are considering buying it, or just using them for a free rental.

I hate this "wink wink nudge nudge" mentality.

 

[kbakerde]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

That's a freaking steal!!!

 

[bikeplate]

Rent one for the show.