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Looking for a combo...

TheIndieKid

TheIndieKid

Feb 26, 2016
952
666
26
Birmingham, UK
#1
So I'm looking to make the move onto bigger ground from a 15 watt practice amp to a combo for gigging, and I have my eyes on the Eich XS112. 300 watt of very clean tone. Will 300 watts give more longevity through a super clean amp? Or do I need the 500 watts?
 
#3
abarson said:
Get as many watts as you can afford. But more importantly find the tone that pleases you.
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I'm not in a band yet, and to be honest, I would love to get a Mesa Boogie Walkabout 15, but I can't justify £1,500 without being in a band. I just want something that will have the longevity I need for the usual venues a bassist plays who's been playing 2 years.

I've seen a lot of people recommend 500 watt combos, which I could get for a smaller price than the XS, but I just generally like the idea of the ceramic speaker and tweeter in the XS...generally smoother sounding. 300 watts though ):
 
#11
If I were in the UK and wanted excellent portability (minimal footprint and weight) with max capability, I would be tempted to look at Barefaced cabs and perhaps a small gig bag/backpack sized class D head. I know it's not a combo, but combos are not always the best way to get max capability per pound or cubic inch of space. Just a thought to consider...
 
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#12
Stumbo said:
More speakers move more air=more volume.
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Right. Speaker area is a much bigger determinant of volume than wattage. Putting 500 watts into a single 12" speaker won't get you much more volume than 300 watts because a single 12" speaker can only move so much air. You'd get WAY more volume out of 300 watts into a pair of 12" speakers than you would out of 500 watts into a single 12".

Also, don't unnecessarily restrict yourself to combos. There are plenty of great solid-state heads out there now that weigh only a few pounds and comfortably fit in a gig bag or backpack along with your cables and such. If you're starting to gig, I'd start with something like a 2x12 cabinet with a separate 500ish-watt head. Take it from someone who started with a small combo like yours, then bought a bigger combo, then bought a still-bigger combo -- and then wound up with a basement full of unused combos after eventually having to buy a whole new rig.
 
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#13
Lobster11 said:
Right. Speaker area is a much bigger determinant of volume than wattage. Putting 500 watts into a single 12" speaker won't get you much more volume than 300 watts because a single 12" speaker can only move so much air. You'd get WAY more volume out of 300 watts into a pair of 12" speakers than you would out of 500 watts into a single 12".

Also, don't unnecessarily restrict yourself to combos. There are plenty of great solid-state heads out there now that weigh only a few pounds and comfortably fit in a gig bag or backpack along with your cables and such. If you're starting to gig, I'd start with something like a 2x12 cabinet with a separate 500ish-watt head. Take it from someone who started with a small combo like yours, then bought a bigger combo, then bought a still-bigger combo -- and then wound up with a basement full of unused combos after eventually having to buy a whole new rig.
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It'd be a great idea but a head and cabinet is a lot more than a combo, by the looks of it. What do you guys think of the Mesa Boogie Bronco? Invalid Link Removed
 
#14
TheIndieKid said:
It'd be a great idea but a headband cabinet is a lot more than a combo, by the looks of it. What do you guys think of the Mesa Boogie Bronco? Invalid Link Removed
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I've owned a Walkabout Scout 112 combo for years and it's spectacular - best combo of all time and I'm not a big fan of combos. The only downside, and it will be worse with the 115, is that it is neither light nor comfortable to carry by its handle for long distances. If you put it on a cart or use a dolly kit that I think used to be available as an accessory it helps...stairs and public transportation will still be a challenge at times.
 
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#15
TheIndieKid said:
a head and cabinet is a lot more than a combo
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Look at the Barefaced site for a One10 or Super Compact and then check out GK MB heads, Mesa Subway D-800 heads, Aguilar TH350/500, etc. You will be surprised at how much capability you can get (and future flexibility to make changes to your set-up) in some very portable sizes. There are obviously lots of options...the ones I've suggested were just to give some examples to show what some look like.
 
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#18
Commreman said:
When I need a combo for smaller gigs or tighter stages I use a Traynor SB 112. 200 very loud watts, 28 pounds. If you have FOH support, you don't need much more than that.
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I've never been disappointed with any Traynor product - excellent performance and reliability at great prices. Unfortunately they just don't seem to be as available in my part of the US anymore.
 
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#19
TheIndieKid said:
To be honest, I don't know. I'm saving up money as I go along. I'm not in the US, UK here. I would definitely be looking at a combo due to portability. The Eich combo is £799 here.
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Regarding portability, combos aren't always the best choice - and nowadays often aren't. You might want to give this some thought....

A 1x15 or 2x10 cab by itself is smaller, lighter, and cheaper than a combo of the same size. Nowadays, you can choose from 100s of heads that will fit inside a napsack. I keep a backup amp in my glove compartment. On top of that, it's a lot easier to upgrade when the time comes, without having to buy a whole new amp. When you add a speaker you also up the wattage because you're splitting the ohmage. In the amp I'm about to recommend, you go from 300 to 500 watts just adding an additional speaker.

That being said, I don't know what the prices are like overseas - but I've been through lots of combos, and combinations of amps and I couldn't be happier than I am now with Carvin. Their heads are the most versatile I ever played through, and their micro cabs are the only cabinets their size I ever used that didn't sound like toys. I currently have a BX700 with 2MB15s, but used a BX 500 for years and it was always loud enough. I only upped it to the 700 because I had one of the first BX500s to ever come out, and it had some issues.

If you buy a 300 watt combo, there might very well be some situations it's not powerful enough for. If you buy a tiny little head and a 1x15 cab, you get the same portability and can always add a cab.

OH YEAH - ALMOST FORGOT---- lots of clubs here in the US also have backlines, which for bass means they have a cabinet. You need to bring your own head. In those cases, you'd have a head to bring and wouldn't even have to deal with a cabinet.

I had an endorsement with one of the leading amp companies, and abandoned it to pay full price for my current setup. I can't recommend this stuff enough. BX Series Bass Amplifiers

The 1x155 cab is ridiculously inexpensive, too. $229, and if you sign up for email you'll get discount coupons on top of that.

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#20
Markbass Mini CMD 121P - bestseller #1 in Germany, like in [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
38 x 42,5 x 36 cm, 11,9 kg
300 W @ 8 Ohm, 500 W @ 4 Ohm (with an additional cab should you need that)
I think the same store exists in the UK - look under .co.uk in this case
 
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