Input on selecting a gigging bass amp/rig

[Ted Mowery]

I have the Kestrel. Its great. But, not enough mids or high end to stand out in a metal band. The kingfisher would probably be a lot better for you than the kestrel. But, it sure does look good though. Still, a PJ bass would most likely be your best bet with hard rock.View attachment 3819680 View attachment 3819678 View attachment 3819679

^DROOL^ Oops, sorry about that!

Honestly, given my budgetary situation, if I buy up $ on amp, I'll have to "settle" for one of the Yamaha 5 strings or stay with my PawnShop Jag and play the first half of the neck.

If I go lowest $ on the amps, I'll up the ante on the bass and most likely get a Kingfisher and add a rack mount EQ to try to pull some more punch out of it, or upgrade it's bridge pickup down the road to pull brighter tones out of it in that position.

Upping the bass would let me shed this Pawnshop Squier Jag, it has a few issues, but is good enough for practice, garage or a punk band

My guitar is a heavily modded PRS Standard SE 24, so going from the quality of that to the Squier is noticeable. For what I paid for it, the Squier Jag was a GREAT buy.

 

[TigerInATrance]

If it were me with those choices, I'd do the Genz Benz head with the SWR 4x10. The 4x10 because it's going to move a good bit of air (the SWR because it fits the budget, but the GK Neo is better IMO.) Then, the GB head because I've never played through one that I didn't really enjoy the sound of (including guitar amps actually...)

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Thanks for suggestion, but I hate Peavey with an undying passion (My first large bass amp + head was a Peavey with 2 15's, I swear it weighed 150 pounds! I was so glad when I sold or traded it in on a tube head and the Paradise 4x12 cabinet). I don't think I've ever had any Peavey gear I liked. I see where a lot of people are using them now, perhaps they've changed their ways, but man they used to suck. Fiercely.

Honestly, being that I can probably get the Bugera for $285 plus tax, I'm tempted to go that route first. I've looked at probably 80 reviews for it and found 1 bad one and 1 mediocre one. Everyone else has liked them or raved about them, despite the egregious fact they claim their peak 1000w output instead of their likely constant ~300W power. That's a lot of volume and tone for ~45 pounds.

I'm 53 now, and not a small guy, so I *could* lug a bigger/heavier cabinet, it wouldn't be my first choice if I can get enough volume and good tone from a solid smaller combo or cabinet - Hartke makes a high-wattage 2x10 HyDrive that runs $300 new, but no one's selling theirs secondhand! lol

I just remember lugging huge 4x12 and 2x15 cabs up flights of stairs ALONE, and the idea of doing that now... whew

Yeah, I had the the standard bugera 15 combo. Its a great sounding little combo with enough decibels to hear yourself with a drummer. The A version will be brighter, but much thinner sounding. So...louder, but not as full.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

^DROOL^ Oops, sorry about that!

Honestly, given my budgetary situation, if I buy up $ on amp, I'll have to "settle" for one of the Yamaha 5 strings or stay with my PawnShop Jag and play the first half of the neck.

If I go lowest $ on the amps, I'll up the ante on the bass and most likely get a Kingfisher and add a rack mount EQ to try to pull some more punch out of it, or upgrade it's bridge pickup down the road to pull brighter tones out of it in that position.

Upping the bass would let me shed this Pawnshop Squier Jag, it has a few issues, but is good enough for practice, garage or a punk band

My guitar is a heavily modded PRS Standard SE 24, so going from the quality of that to the Squier is noticeable. For what I paid for it, the Squier Jag was a GREAT buy.

PRS, in any series they make, are great instruments. Looks, feel, quality. Just great. But, my talman sounds better for my music. I play funk, rock, punk, metal, worship, country, ska, and reggea. Reggae and ska are the only times my PRS gets play time. Which is great for her at the moment cause I just joined another reggae group. Well, kinda reggae. More like rockgae/experimental hip hop. The kestrel is just a much more mellow tone. Great for that. For everything else, Talman wins by a long shot.

 

[Ted Mowery]

If it were me with those choices, I'd do the Genz Benz head with the SWR 4x10. The 4x10 because it's going to move a good bit of air (the SWR because it fits the budget, but the GK Neo is better IMO.) Then, the GB head because I've never played through one that I didn't really enjoy the sound of (including guitar amps actually...)

I was leaning towards the bugera, but wirh everyone voting against the A mkdel (the non aluminum cone model is gonna run me over 410+tax), i can get the GB head and rhe SWR cab for about 70-80 less than the paper cone bugera, and put that $ towards getting one of the Yamahas (and get a PRS down the road someday at next amp/bass iteration when budget is not so constrained).

Part of me feels the swr plus GB was probably best mixed combo in the list, apart from maybe the GB 2x10 cab.

(I'm imagining the seismic cabs sounding like farts lol even new)

I dont even wanna ask what the Talman bass posted on this thread costs, im guessing its in the American jazz or p bass territory cost-wise...

Thanks to all for the suggestions and advice, just finished a nice practice session on the squier jag and the hartke b60 hernia box. Both bare bones budget pieces, but great, deep tone with nice punch when i push the attack.

 

[Ted Mowery]

To keep life interesting, a friend of mine just tipped me off about 2 Peavey (argh) cabs:

410TVX
Max Power 700W Program (? <*** is that)
350W RMS
4 Ohms
1 input
an HF Level control dial from 1-10?

1810 Bass Enclosure 200w 4ohms, crossover 500hz
2 normal full-range inputs + bi-amp: hi, low inputs

$150 for both. <<NOT A MISPRINT.

*The 18 has a dent in the center silver cone of the 18, the other 10's speakers all look great.

My back hurts just looking at these two lol (*I do have an appliance dolly)

But... since these are both 4ohms, can they be connected independently to the 2 outs on the GBE400 (and be at 2ohms) or do they have to be connected in daisy chain (what order) to get them to be at 2ohms?

The GBE400 is 450w at 2ohms, 330 @ 4 Ohms, and 200-something at 8.

I read the thread more than once today on here about cabs and impedance, and yeah it makes sense, but id doesn't help when you're trying to figure out which of these inputs I should connect to. This looks like a cheap way to theoretically push the full 450w of the GB, however I'd question the sound quality of these cabs vs the SWR cab...

Anyone have experience with either of these brontosaur cabs?

I'd be at a total $300 for the rig (not counting speaker cables) if I went with the evil Peaveys... damn you peavey!! lol

 

[jshinal]

For some odd reason the Genz-Benz Focus 410T cabinet is often available used at reasonable prices around $400. It is about 63 pounds and actually has very good low frequency performance. Very high efficiency gets the most from your amp watts. I consider it an outstanding value in gigging 410 cabinets.

I carry mine in the back of a compact Subaru Impreza. Amps 300w and up will handle most rooms.

Start busting your drummer's ass over his lousy dynamics. Really.

 

[JW56789]

From what I've read (and since you asked):

First, IF you have competent repairman where you live, have that Squier evaluated, fixed if it's minor. Got to have a bass to do anything, and if it's a write-off, you're going to need a bass before anything else.

In the same vein as my suggestion about the bass, I would be leery of buying Genz-Benz(unless you're in America where our friend @agedhorse oversees service on the remaining fleet) or SWR. These are both gone to the dust of history, and as above, unless you're around competent amp service, they could be dead-ends if they die and can't be fixed. The Rumbles are well regarded here, if you buy new, or a barely-used Rumble rig could really be a budget saver. To make it easier to move, I'd get separate head and cab(s).

The best way to save on the spend is to carefully buy used if possible. I'd lean toward a separate head and two cabs (or one now and another when possible): Breaks down into smaller, lighter pieces, and you can add the second cab when you need more steam in those loud situations.

Best of Luck !

 

[ezstep]

Talman is about $200 new. I have heard really good things about them.

Now, based on your list I would pick GB head and SWR cab. I once owned the Peavey 1820. No, thanks. Very muddy. Now, the Peavey VTX is pretty decent.

 

[crankypants]

Get a GK head and cab instead of a combo because some venues might have cabs but they're BYO head.

I like the romantic idea of an SWR, but practically, get a GK.

 

[Ted Mowery]

From what I've read (and since you asked):

First, IF you have competent repairman where you live, have that Squier evaluated, fixed if it's minor. Got to have a bass to do anything, and if it's a write-off, you're going to need a bass before anything else.

In the same vein as my suggestion about the bass, I would be leery of buying Genz-Benz(unless you're in America where our friend @agedhorse oversees service on the remaining fleet) or SWR. These are both gone to the dust of history, and as above, unless you're around competent amp service, they could be dead-ends if they die and can't be fixed. The Rumbles are well regarded here, if you buy new, or a barely-used Rumble rig could really be a budget saver. To make it easier to move, I'd get separate head and cab(s).

The best way to save on the spend is to carefully buy used if possible. I'd lean toward a separate head and two cabs (or one now and another when possible): Breaks down into smaller, lighter pieces, and you can add the second cab when you need more steam in those loud situations.

Best of Luck !

I am in America, fortunately and thanks for the tip on @agedhorse for GB repair. I'll add him into my music notebook.

You think a GK or Hartke cab would pair well with the GB? I only ask down in the budget range bc Hartke head/cab pairs ($450-550) and and Rumble head/cab pairs ($600) are gonna exceed what I've got budgeted for the amp. Hence, me looking at the Bugera 15 combo and other lower-end gear for the garage and early gigging phases next 6-12 mos...

The core issue with the Squier is this: When I bought it from the Pawn Shop the neck was badly warped on the E string side, so I adjusted the truss rod and fixed 90-95% of that (Some still there).

Next, came intonation - First part with that turned out to be pickup height, so I fixed that first. Next, G and D would intone perfectly, E and A wouldn't. Lurking on here, I learned often old or bad strings - so, new Ernie Ball strings. Now, G, D are perfectly intoned, A is near-perfect (a shim, so not a biggie), E will not intone for the life of me. I've spent 3-4 hours f-ing with it throughout its entire range of available adjustment, over 3 separate patient, careful attempts, and both times, reviewed professional luthier video and written guides on the adjustment (even though I have experience adjusting intonation with instruments in normal condition) beforehand. Also has a slight neck or fret crown issue with buzzing at 9th/10th fret on G, could probably file that quickly to fix it (I figured out how to play around it).

Given that it's just a pawn shop bass, and I paid <$140 for it, I can probably sell it as-is and recover that towards one of the Yamahas I mentioned (used RBX375 ~250, TRBX305 new ~$305+tax).

The intonation is not that far off - but it bugs me, despite it having a great tone on the first 12 frets. I have been playing long enough (~38 years), that I just play where it's accurate at, or down a half fret and bend up, but I don't want to have to do that in 6 months *on every note above 12th fret* when I've recovered my playing to (where I'm comfortable) garage band/gigging levels.

The Yamahas would be a nice interim compromise, I owned an RBX375 before and it's a really good bass for it's price range. The TRBX305, as I understand it is an updated version of the 375, albeit a bit lower-end mfring.

Looking at the PRS' because they came on my radar after I bought the (*heavily modded) PRS Std SE 24 guitar and was blown away by it's build quality.

For the money I'd spend on labor trying to fix the Squier (or replace it's bent/warped neck), my concern is that would be better spent toward the Yamaha or the PRS bass' I've identified as good upgrade candidates.

I love the Squier, I just don't want to spend any more $ on it after fixing the things I found wrong with it myself. Am more of a mind to cut and run on it.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

To keep life interesting, a friend of mine just tipped me off about 2 Peavey (argh) cabs:

410TVX
Max Power 700W Program (? <*** is that)
350W RMS
4 Ohms
1 input
an HF Level control dial from 1-10?

1810 Bass Enclosure 200w 4ohms, crossover 500hz
2 normal full-range inputs + bi-amp: hi, low inputs

$150 for both. <<NOT A MISPRINT.

*The 18 has a dent in the center silver cone of the 18, the other 10's speakers all look great.

My back hurts just looking at these two lol (*I do have an appliance dolly)

But... since these are both 4ohms, can they be connected independently to the 2 outs on the GBE400 (and be at 2ohms) or do they have to be connected in daisy chain (what order) to get them to be at 2ohms?

The GBE400 is 450w at 2ohms, 330 @ 4 Ohms, and 200-something at 8.

I read the thread more than once today on here about cabs and impedance, and yeah it makes sense, but id doesn't help when you're trying to figure out which of these inputs I should connect to. This looks like a cheap way to theoretically push the full 450w of the GB, however I'd question the sound quality of these cabs vs the SWR cab...

Anyone have experience with either of these brontosaur cabs?

I'd be at a total $300 for the rig (not counting speaker cables) if I went with the evil Peaveys... damn you peavey!! lol

Hahaha, that suckers bad huh? Thats my 600. It looked like this before I added a little McNuggles

They were 600 bucks. But alas, models is discontinued. The replacement for the tmb600 is the 550. Same electronics (nordy cnd pickups, passive/active) different wood and neck. They're all right. Mines ash with blocks. Dope

 

[Ted Mowery]

Hahaha, that suckers bad huh? Thats my 600. It looked like this before I added a little McNuggles

View attachment 3819885 View attachment 3819886

They were 600 bucks. But alas, models is discontinued. The replacement for the tmb600 is the 550. Same electronics (nordy cnd pickups, passive/active) different wood and neck. They're all right. Mines ash with blocks. Dope

Jamming demos on your page!!

Here's a clip of mine (90's, me on everything but drums in studio) - if this helps with amps, cabs or instrument suggestions.
***And don't blame me, I didn't mix that nightmare or get a ton of input at the time, wouldn't work with the studio again. Fortunately, they're not in business anymore!

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[Killing Floor]

Mesa Subway cabs or BBC (Boom Bass Cabinets). Light, loud, handle whatever you can shove into it and will fit in your car.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

I like the SWR head and SWR cab. That stuff was top shelf when new and still sounds good to me. At 59 I remember when seeing bands with it on stage you knew the bass would be well represented. Power and speaker array should take care of anything you might need. Tax free and lightly used . A little heavy still but you seem up to the task.

 

[Thumpin6string]

After over 20 heads and several cabs, I ended up with this setup and couldn't be happier.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Jamming demos on your page!!

Here's a clip of mine (90's, me on everything but drums in studio) - if this helps with amps, cabs or instrument suggestions.
***And don't blame me, I didn't mix that nightmare or get a ton of input at the time, wouldn't work with the studio again. Fortunately, they're not in business anymore!

Invalid Link Removed

Oh schnapp, found me on BandMix. Hahaha. Awesome! Yeah, I recorded those. Played everything myself too, on all but Skullery. Just bass in my metal band. But, I do it all. I like everything. I can't stand only playing one style. It just gets so monotonous. Know what I mean?

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Jamming demos on your page!!

Here's a clip of mine (90's, me on everything but drums in studio) - if this helps with amps, cabs or instrument suggestions.
***And don't blame me, I didn't mix that nightmare or get a ton of input at the time, wouldn't work with the studio again. Fortunately, they're not in business anymore!

Invalid Link Removed

Oh wait, you were talking about our band camp huh? Hahaha ha. I'm also on bandmix.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Rip Van Dan]

basses: Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar
(*Potential later bass upgrades
PRS Kingfisher or Kestrel
Yamaha RBX375 or Trbx305)

(Have been playing on and off for 38 years)

I've been lurking the threads here for a bit and am currently using an older Hartke B60 hernia box that I use as a practice amp. Have been on a tight budget but that's about to open up enough to permit the following (albeit budget) rigs for garage jams and eventual gigging:

Numbers in parentheses represent cost in US dollars I've found pieces in usable condition.

I realize some people on here have brand hatred, so donning flame-retardant suit.

***When I was younger, i did own a paradise 4x12 cabinet and a heavy tube head, so the idea of lugging an 80 or 100 pound cab doesn't exactly thrill me to my core, hence why I'm not looking at 6x10 or 8x10 cabs...

Combos:
1. BUGERA BXD15A 1000-Watt 2-Channel Bass Amp (~300) - prob 350w output
2. Hartke hd500 (450)
3. Fender Rumble 500 (550)

Heads
1. Genz Benz GBE 400 (450w @2ohm, 330w@4ohm) Head (<200)
2. Behringer Ultrabass 4500h (~200)
3. SWR Workingmans 4004 Bass Amplifier Head (~250)

Cabinets
1. SWR 4x10 cab (<200) 4O
2. Seismic Audio - 1x15 & 2x10 BASS (~315) 4O
3. GK410GLX 400w cab (~180)
4. Schroeder 2010s MN (250)
5. GB 210t cabinet (200)
6. Acoustic B115c (180)
7. GK Neo cab 4x10 (500)

Looking for real-world input from people with gigging and jam sessions with LOUD @$$ drummers - you know the drill - I usually play hard rock, metal (not drop-tuned) and blues.

Not currently on a 5 string, have owned 2, may get another. Probably wont ever go to 6 string.

Ultimately, ideally, I'd try to buy one rig for a few years at least, comprised of some of the gear above.

TLDR: Using gear listed above, pick what you think is likely to be most effective gear a few years of gigging/jams with loud ass hard rock and metal drummers.

Thanks in advance for advice.

If I could expand your choices a bit, I'd suggest you get a DNA-800 amp - 800-watts at 4 ohms, weighs only 4.8-lbs has all the bells and whistles including an studio-quality compressor with adjustable threshold and ratio, Mute button, dead-quiet Di, etc. Street price is $799. If you're not familiar with DNA, that stands for David Nordschow Amplification. David founded Eden back in 1976, sold Eden in 2008, and left to start up his new company in 2009. He came out with all newly designed cabs in 2010 and a monster 1350-watt class D amp call the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. He brought the DNA-800 out about 4 or 5-years later. Sound quality is amazing.

Also, I'd suggest a DNS-210 cab for any indoor venues. It will do fine on its own for pretty much anything except outdoor festivals. It handles 700-watts rms (both thermally and mechanically) and I power mine with an 800-watt Eden amp that I bought directly from David in 2010. The cab is very clear, articulate (hear every note distinctly even in bass chords), and LOUD. Max SPL is 134db. Street price isn't cheap. I've seen them go from as low as $849 up to $969. Saw a $799 price once. But it is a killer cab. I got mine because I freaked out the owner of a small brew pub the first time I rolled in my DNS-410. Was forced to run through a Peavey 112 combo for about a year. I finally ended up getting an Eden EX112 cab and an Eden TN226 (225-watt class D amp) specifically for playing at this particular brew pub. They have no problem with me bringing in my DNS-210 though, so that's what I do now. Here's my 800-watt amp with my DNS-210

If you want to get one cab that will handle absolutely everywhere you'll play, then get the DNS-410. you won't ever need an 810 if you have this cab. It will handle 1400-watts rms (both thermally and mechanically) is every bit as clear and articulate as the DNS-210 but louder yet (max SPL=137db). Since I now have the DNS-210 for all my indoor gigs, I use my DNS-410 for wide open outdoor gigs and for outdoor festivals. I can actually turn the master on my 800-watt amp up to 10 o'clock outdoors - indoors, 9:30 is the max. Turned it up to 10:30 once at an outdoor festival and got told to turn down. So there is no need to haul around a 610 or 810 with this guy. Street price on the DNS-410 is typically $1,049. I bought mine in 21015 and got it for $999 at the time. It also sounds great when played softly but can scare owners of small venues. Here's my DNS-410 rig:

I actually had them stacked together for the first gig I played after I received my DNS-210. We were playing a venue that was almost a large club...so a big medium-sized club. Not knowing whether the 210 would be enough for this space, I also brought my 410 with me and put the 210 on top of that. I only had the DNS-210 plugged into the amp, but if it wasn't enough for the room I could unplug it and plug in the DNS-410 in a matter of a few seconds. Nothing is too big for the 410 to handle. Well, the 210 was more than enough for the place and my 410 just ended up being an expensive amp stand - looked really cool though!

 

[DeadheadSteve]

Suggestion out of left field for you - maybe have a look at the Peavey MiniMega. It's probably one of the best sounding budget heads I've had the luck to play/own, and puts out a cool 1000w @ 4ohm with great EQ + output options. $508 American brand new.