• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

need amp advice : big clear thump

Pale Rider

Pale Rider

Sep 26, 2015
10
3
53
Cleveland, OH
#1
hey!
longtime guitarist/occasional bass player for quite awhile-
want to add a nice sounding combo or head/cab to the home studio-
would use it live as well, so at least 100W-

I love the sound of 15s for guitar as well, so i'm leaning that way-
I used to have an Ampeg B15N portaflex in the late 90s-
kind of leaning to find that nice tube sound-so I can record it well,
but I'd need an amp that could keep up with loud drums and guitars as well-
intrigued by the new Orange OB1 300s as well

any suggestions?
Thanks!
 
#3
great question-

not sure-
not more than $1,500, and I'd rather keep it to $800-1,000 total (just a combo or head/cab)
don't want anything larger than a standard 4 X12" cab, or really a nice 1 X 15" cab-
(I have a great Emporer 1 X 15" guitar cab)-was thinking maybe the Orange OB1 300 with an Atlas 1 X 15" or an Orange 1 X 15"
or maybe a nice old Acoustic head?

but I'd love some ideas as I don't pay attention to bass trends-I like to buy once and buy well-
 
#5
If you are going solid state and plan on live use you probably want at least 300w. Depends how loud your gigs and genre is. If things are loud, I'd be looking at 600w or greater and larger cabs- 4x10, 2x12 and beyond.

Ampeg B100R - A 1x15 combo but especially sweet sounding (search around on it, highly regarded and relatively inexpensive- IMO gets loud enough for rehearsal and most stage situations)
Ampeg PF line
Any Mesa/Boogie

With bass the overall cabinet design may impact things more than just speaker size (you can have a 10's cab with tons of low end, etc). Lighter weight modular rigs (neo 1x12/ 2 1x12) are kind of in as are 12's in general.
 
#6
Our band touches on fuzzy pop, shoe shoegazey stuff, and Unwound.
But we really dig the Muscle Shoals/Motown sounds, I love metal, OM, etc...

I know you can get some major low-end from 10s- always been amazed by that -
My 15" cab is ported and sounds beautiful, for guitar-
I'll see if there's an Ampeg combo locally to check out-

Love any other ideas
 
#7
For a 1 cab solution I would go either Ampeg 212 or GK 410 either at 4 ohms. Then I would add either a GK MB500 or
Ampeg PF500 depending on taste. You should be able to get both for under $1500 and you will have 500 watts on tap. The downfall is you wouldn't be able to add another cab. However that should be able to handle most situations. Anything bigger and you should probably be through the PA anyway
 
#8
I take it no one is down with or has tried the new Orange OB1 series?

I'm definitely into a lighter smaller package to haul around- I guess I might end up doing 4 x10s or 2x12s & a 1x15 eventually live - do something similar live with guitar -

I like the idea and lightness of solid state but worry it'll be sterile-
I use a Model T live for guitar
 
#13
Pale Rider said:
I take it no one is down with or has tried the new Orange OB1 series?
Click to expand...

Orange always struck me as asking for a lot of money for what you get. And they're hard to find in order to demo. But if you like the Orange vibe and sound...

FWIW, I generally love their guitar amps. But I don't hear anything that distinctive in their bass heads to justify the premium. At least not the ones I've gotten a crack at.

Their OBC-212 Isobaric Bass Cab, which retails for around $750 (street) last I looked, is another story. That thing is amazing.

But overall, when it comes to Orange bass rigs, I think there are better deals available from Ampeg and GK.

(Disclosure: I'm a long-time Ampeg user and admirer. I have an old B-15N that's still going strong after 40+ years of use by me. You just can't get that little amp's mojo and creamy sound out of anything else but another B-15 IMO. But that's me.)
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back