Alright, I hope this thread title brings in some interest into a small dilemma I'm having.
After owning a lot of heavy equipment over the years, I'm thinking of trying out a lightweight rig. That heavy equipment meaning Eden Cabs. Yeah, that good old almost 100lbs 410XLT (owned two of them) and even had a 210XLT and 115XLT which wasn't too bad, but not light cabs.
This year, after discovering Mesa Boogie, I sold / traded away all of my Eden equipment. I've really come to like the Mesa sound. The problem is the weight. I've even had the chance of owning a couple of Ampeg rigs that I bought used for fun, but I've been slowly selling the Ampegs off recently, digging the Mesa's a little more.
The PR-810 is exactly what people say about, sounds fantastic, needs a lot of power to sound good.....but is down right a BEAR of a cabinet at 212lbs. Even my Mesa 8x10 at 172 isn't a one person cabinet.....but I seemed to fine managing the slightly slimmer Ampeg 810E's at 140 lbs on a few stairs just by flipping it end over end. The Mesa however, doesn't work out so well.
Along with the Mesa 8x10, I've got a couple of 4x10's and 2x12's. Glad I went modular.....easier to deal with....but it seems with the Mesa 4x10's....I'm right back where I started with the Eden's! Hahaha. Mind you, the 2x12's are really nice weight at 68lbs with the Neo Mesa drivers.
Alright, after explaining the sound I tend to like, let me get to what I'm looking for......a lighter and flatter responding sounding rig. The names Epifani, Tecamp, and TC Electronics seem to come mind. Good part is, I've played a UL902C and DIST 410 and really liked it. Not a rock and roll rig, but it sounded great to my ears since I like a flatter response. I've got a chance to pick up a used UL2 410 that was made in the Brooklyn shop, so it is a little older.
I tested out a Tecamp L410 and Puma 900 at George Furlanetto's shop a few weeks back. I was very impressed. Very loud, great sound. Now, TC Electronics is available at my local Long and McQuade (Canada's music giant), had the chance of playing a TC Electronics Blacksmith with a Mesa 412......that was a real treat. I liked it. Not sure if it will be all that reliable though.....I worry a little about too many digitized components. Maybe one day the tuner will fail and the stored eq will stop working......makes my Titan V12 look more promising.
Now comes a further question, which of the lighter weight rigs seem to cut through the mix live?
I can definitely admit that the Mesa cabs I have aren't truly flat sounding. The 4x10's tend to have a bit of a midrange scoop to them.....with lots of low end. The 2x12's will likely cut a little more being very midrange....great for a fingerstyle. Now, playing my 2x12's and 4x10's together with two separate amps......is just amazing. I can thank Justin Chancellor for inspiring me with this rig as well as a cool TB'er named Toolmybass.
The unfortunate thing is, I'm playing out too much anymore, so I'm relying a bit on the help of my fellow talkbass members here. I think the Epifani has become a tried and true name for a while now. Tecamp and TC are a little new to the game. Maybe there's other's I should look at it? Oh yeah, I did try GK.....they sound good too, but I'm not always so into their stuff. Worried about reliability.
In fact, I've heard Epifani amps aren't that reliable either.
Any comments will be appreciated. Thanks for reading!
After owning a lot of heavy equipment over the years, I'm thinking of trying out a lightweight rig. That heavy equipment meaning Eden Cabs. Yeah, that good old almost 100lbs 410XLT (owned two of them) and even had a 210XLT and 115XLT which wasn't too bad, but not light cabs.
This year, after discovering Mesa Boogie, I sold / traded away all of my Eden equipment. I've really come to like the Mesa sound. The problem is the weight. I've even had the chance of owning a couple of Ampeg rigs that I bought used for fun, but I've been slowly selling the Ampegs off recently, digging the Mesa's a little more.
The PR-810 is exactly what people say about, sounds fantastic, needs a lot of power to sound good.....but is down right a BEAR of a cabinet at 212lbs. Even my Mesa 8x10 at 172 isn't a one person cabinet.....but I seemed to fine managing the slightly slimmer Ampeg 810E's at 140 lbs on a few stairs just by flipping it end over end. The Mesa however, doesn't work out so well.
Along with the Mesa 8x10, I've got a couple of 4x10's and 2x12's. Glad I went modular.....easier to deal with....but it seems with the Mesa 4x10's....I'm right back where I started with the Eden's! Hahaha. Mind you, the 2x12's are really nice weight at 68lbs with the Neo Mesa drivers.
Alright, after explaining the sound I tend to like, let me get to what I'm looking for......a lighter and flatter responding sounding rig. The names Epifani, Tecamp, and TC Electronics seem to come mind. Good part is, I've played a UL902C and DIST 410 and really liked it. Not a rock and roll rig, but it sounded great to my ears since I like a flatter response. I've got a chance to pick up a used UL2 410 that was made in the Brooklyn shop, so it is a little older.
I tested out a Tecamp L410 and Puma 900 at George Furlanetto's shop a few weeks back. I was very impressed. Very loud, great sound. Now, TC Electronics is available at my local Long and McQuade (Canada's music giant), had the chance of playing a TC Electronics Blacksmith with a Mesa 412......that was a real treat. I liked it. Not sure if it will be all that reliable though.....I worry a little about too many digitized components. Maybe one day the tuner will fail and the stored eq will stop working......makes my Titan V12 look more promising.
Now comes a further question, which of the lighter weight rigs seem to cut through the mix live?
I can definitely admit that the Mesa cabs I have aren't truly flat sounding. The 4x10's tend to have a bit of a midrange scoop to them.....with lots of low end. The 2x12's will likely cut a little more being very midrange....great for a fingerstyle. Now, playing my 2x12's and 4x10's together with two separate amps......is just amazing. I can thank Justin Chancellor for inspiring me with this rig as well as a cool TB'er named Toolmybass.
The unfortunate thing is, I'm playing out too much anymore, so I'm relying a bit on the help of my fellow talkbass members here. I think the Epifani has become a tried and true name for a while now. Tecamp and TC are a little new to the game. Maybe there's other's I should look at it? Oh yeah, I did try GK.....they sound good too, but I'm not always so into their stuff. Worried about reliability.
In fact, I've heard Epifani amps aren't that reliable either.
Any comments will be appreciated. Thanks for reading!
