looking for a portable

[JKT]

That being said; I don't think that there is such a thing as a decent portable combo. Any combo I have ever seen or used, if it has enough power to gig with, you need two men and a boy to carry it. Someday there will be soon, one thats lite enough, but as of yet I don't think you'll find one. One 15" inch cab and a small head, still is the best combo going IMHO.

Depends on what everyone means by "portable" The OP is asking for something that is really on the edge of practicality.
A small enough combo to rehearse, small gig with, and take on a bus or train? Doesn't seem like such a big deal until you add in the drummer.

My GK 1001RBII 115 is heavy yes, but it has built in wheels and a tow handle. I drive it everywhere. For me, I think it is very portable for what it is capable of. And it's capable of a great deal. Except riding on a bus. Maybe towed behind?

JKT

 

[Lync]

Line 6 LD150 has a built-in tuner, and I must say, it's really neat, easy to tune your bass anytime during the gig. --Kent

Ooh-I forgot about Line 6. Do you need the pedal board to make the tuner work?

 

[ksandvik]

Ooh-I forgot about Line 6. Do you need the pedal board to make the tuner work?

It's built into the amp, so you don't need it. The lighted buttons function as indicators, and it takes seconds to learn how it works by reading the manual.

The pedal board shows chromatic keys in an LED display, so that's a nice addition. I could still tune my D-G-C-F tuning with the amp itself, with the exception of the high F string. There I just hit the G to tune this string, too. Works really well.

I really recommend other amp manufacturers to include such a feature into their amps, should not be hard, and it's a very good thing to have. One less box to worry about, batteries, chain insertion and so on --Kent

 

[Lync]

How does it sound overall-seems to be right up the alley of what I use with a bit more (I use the kickback for places where I am right on top of my amp and my Ampeg V4BH/610 at larger shows).

Is the weight balanced evenly? 50+ pounds with just a top handle can really suck.

 

[ksandvik]

How does it sound overall-seems to be right up the alley of what I use with a bit more (I use the kickback for places where I am right on top of my amp and my Ampeg V4BH/610 at larger shows).

Is the weight balanced evenly? 50+ pounds with just a top handle can really suck.

You get a little bit more, 150W. But you would still need a PA for very loud bands.

I could manage dragging the LD150 to sessions, mostly as I put it on a nice cart I got from Office Max for $20, recommend that for anyone dragging combos and other stuff around. Then I just lift it up into my Honda CR-V, no problems.

The other option is to save money and look at the forthcoming lightweight amp + cab combination from GK/Greg Benz/MarkBass et rest. I suspect that will be the story for bass gear for the next five years or so, and the prices will drop along the way. But even with those light-weight boxes, you still need to drag the amp and especially the cab around, and I don't see a good story of making decent 2x12 cabs for example below 40lbs. Single-cone cabs could be light-weight, though.

--Kent