Ashdown Studio 15 is only 25 lb. I’m 71, had back surgery four years ago and double bypass almost two years ago. I like downsizing, even light, powered PA speakers these days.
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Light-weight combo recommendations for small gigs
- Thread starter Bass Momma
- Start date
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
The OP and I are about the same age. These days, all of my old gear is stored in the music room upstairs in our barn - ready if I ever need it.
When I gig, I use two Crazy cabs, a Crazy8 (11 lbs), and a Crazy88 ,(20 lbs) powered by an Acoustic Image Focus. Everything lives in two padded cajon bags. I use a cart when I take both cabinets. I don't know who makes composite cabs these days. Mike Arnopol made mine, but he quit working with composites shortly after he built mine (working with composites made him ill).
Good luck in your quest!
When I gig, I use two Crazy cabs, a Crazy8 (11 lbs), and a Crazy88 ,(20 lbs) powered by an Acoustic Image Focus. Everything lives in two padded cajon bags. I use a cart when I take both cabinets. I don't know who makes composite cabs these days. Mike Arnopol made mine, but he quit working with composites shortly after he built mine (working with composites made him ill).
Good luck in your quest!
I have both now....the 6.0 210T at home and the 6.0 12T at rehearsal. The best of both worlds IMHO!!
My suggestion... sell the Ampeg cans, plenty of folks actually like them.
Keep your Quilter, and look into a RevSound 2x8, or 110.
I had no idea these existed! This looks like a dream combo to me...300 watts, 25# with a 15" speaker....I'm sold!
I'm 72, and I changed to light gear some time ago.
The Fender Rumble 100 V3 (make sure it's the V3, there are earlier, heavier models) has great sound and tone, is as light as you can get for the power, and extremely reliable. It's my go-to amp at 23.3 pounds. It's also enough for most of my gigs.
You can play this amp at any Guitar Center - it's one of the biggest sellers in the country.
For larger gigs, I have a Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.2 on a 12T speaker cab. The combination is about 35 pounds, and peaks around 300 Watts so it has plenty of power. (This combo was mentioned on the first page of this thread as well, but you'll have to find it used if you want this setup.)
I wish you luck. For moderate power and great sound, I don't think you can do better at lower weight than the Rumble.
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So Anyway, the Hartke Kickbacks are lightweight and can cover a lot of area.
I've got an older PBJ Cub that's OK for the right gig/room, but can't hang with a loud drummer.
Good Luck with your decision.
I've got an older PBJ Cub that's OK for the right gig/room, but can't hang with a loud drummer.
Good Luck with your decision.
I am 72 Y/O. *Everything* hurts. I play traditional jazz almost exclusively with piano, horns and drums. I use and can highly recommend Fender Rumble 40 or Rumble 100. I bought mine used but even new they are a bargain. Another choice I have and use is Traynor SB 112. There is more than enough quality sound coming from these. Very easy transport and storage. You will not be under powered or disappointed in any of these.
The "everything hurts" - yes! Hey ho. I figure as long as I keep playing, it's all good.
Below is the set-up I use for small venues. This is at a small brewpub where we played over 40 Fridays a year hosting an Open Mic Night from 7 to 10PM until Covid hit. The amp is an Eden TN226, which is a 4.7-lb class D amp putting out up to 226-watts rms into 4Ω. For EQ it has Bass and Treble EQ shelving controls and two semi-parametric controls - low-mid for 30Hz to 300Hz and hi-mid for 200 to 2KHz. It also has the Enhance knob which boosts bass and treble while scooping the low mids. It has a really nice sound that is just as warm as my big Eden amp with its hybrid preamp.
Another really nice feature is its auto-compressor that is night and day better than the auto-compressor on my big Eden WT500/800 amp. I had to use it once at that small brewpub when our 5-pc group got too loud and my power clipping light started flashing, which means "fix me NOW". Rather than turn it down, I turned on the auto-compressor and it stopped the clipping without killing my attack or dynamics - it sounded really good.
It really makes more sense to get the 500-watt version of that amp, the TN-501, because it is much more versatile. But I got a good deal on it used from a friend of mine, and I use my DNA Gear (DNA-800 amp, DNS-210 and DNS-410 cabs) at all my other venues so this 225-watt version made sense for me.
I run this into a very compact Eden EX-112 cab, which I bought for $269 new. It handles 300-watts rms. I was highly skeptical of buying it because it uses a whizzer cone (cone within a cone) for the high mids and highs instead of having a separate tweeter horn, and is $600 less than Edens D112XST cab. But another friend, Paul from the UK, has used them for years and sings their praises. The first night I played through it I found out why and promptly bought a second one so I could use two for mid-size venues (before I bought my DNS-210). It's a great sounding cab that has a Neo speaker and weighs just 31-lbs. So the amp with with the cab weighs in at just a little over 35-lbs. I carry my amp in its shoulder bag over one shoulder, my gig bag over the other, my bass in one hand and my cab by its handle in the other hand and load-in or out is easy. And I'm 71 by the way, at least until next month. See how nicely that fits in a chair!
I’m in the 70 y.o. and getting tired of lugging heavy stuff around also! I have’ve been considering a Peavey Max 150, does anyone have any experience with these?
by the way, I too have an Eden EX-112, great little cab, you should definitely look at one.
by the way, I too have an Eden EX-112, great little cab, you should definitely look at one.
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For what little rehearsing and gigging I have done in the past two years I have been very happy with my Quilter BB800 and GR Bass Aerotech 212 Slim cabinet. Very light and huge clear sound. But eventually I found that having a separate head and cab added 24.7 seconds to my setup time (compared to my long gone Markbass 2x10 combo). Unacceptable. So I am having a custom GR Bass 212 Slim combo made and I have been told it is finally on the way to the US from Italy after months of waiting. I look forward to the grab and go functionality of the combo, and the whole thing is so light that weight is no longer really a factor anymore. The modular concept of having two 1x12 cabs for me is kinda obsolete and so I will have two 12 speakers all the time and just turn down if I need to.
That looks very good. I think having a second to double up if necessary is a great idea.
Here are a couple of small, lightweight rigs I have used a lot.
The Genzler Magellan 350 combo sounds terrific for a 1x10, and it is very easy to use. It is bolted together with thumbscrews, so you can detach the head, or detach the metal cradle as well. The cab is only 21 pounds but it is about as awkward as you can get. It is a sweaty PITA to carry the combo because the center of gravity is further out than usual. Three and one/half pounds for the head, 21 for the cab, 24 1/2 for the combo.
The Acoustic Image Clarus SL-R (2 pounds 10 ounces) perched on top of an AI DoubleShot (15 pounds) sounds pretty full, and goes pretty deep. 18 pounds for the whole rig, and it packs in a padded tom-tom bag that is an easy one-handed carry..
It is not going too loud, but it can be set up so you get decent coverage in oddly shaped settings. We played a lot of house parties through the pandemic, and this rig seemed to adapt to that very easily, with less hot spots.
It was hard to dial in with some music. Jazz and acoustic music was fine, but pop and rock were hard to get sounding right, for me.
Here are a couple of small, lightweight rigs I have used a lot.
The Genzler Magellan 350 combo sounds terrific for a 1x10, and it is very easy to use. It is bolted together with thumbscrews, so you can detach the head, or detach the metal cradle as well. The cab is only 21 pounds but it is about as awkward as you can get. It is a sweaty PITA to carry the combo because the center of gravity is further out than usual. Three and one/half pounds for the head, 21 for the cab, 24 1/2 for the combo.
The Acoustic Image Clarus SL-R (2 pounds 10 ounces) perched on top of an AI DoubleShot (15 pounds) sounds pretty full, and goes pretty deep. 18 pounds for the whole rig, and it packs in a padded tom-tom bag that is an easy one-handed carry..
It is not going too loud, but it can be set up so you get decent coverage in oddly shaped settings. We played a lot of house parties through the pandemic, and this rig seemed to adapt to that very easily, with less hot spots.
It was hard to dial in with some music. Jazz and acoustic music was fine, but pop and rock were hard to get sounding right, for me.
That AI Doubleshot is seriously funky! The saving grace is that we’re doing jazz, which I think will be more forgiving of not having the Marshall stack. Thanks.
Also setting myself up with the barefaced one10 with the quilter or clarus. It all goes in a meinle cajun bag for over the shoulder carry at at 20 lbs
I saw a RockaBilly group yesterday and the bass player was playing an upright through a Rumble 100. I was impressed!
Gollihur Music is a store with a strong online presence that caters to primarily upright bass players. As a result they have a bunch of light weight amplifiers and speakers; quite a few of these are electric bass friendly. (I am not related to the store.)
Amplifiers and Preamps - Amps and Speakers - Page 1 - Gollihur Music
Amplifiers and Preamps - Amps and Speakers - Page 1 - Gollihur Music
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