Need some Cab/Head advice!

[mintondm]

Hey guys, first off, awesome forum! I'm a 29 yo music lover that just recently converted from guitar to bass, and I'm loving the change! And I love the community you guys have going here!

One problem I'm having since my switch has been finding the best amp and head options. When I first started, I was using a small Hartke combo to learn on. Since then when I started gigging, I went to a GK Backline 600 Head and GK GLX 4x10 Cab.

What I've noticed is that while I get great mids and highs, I'm having a great amount of vibration out of the cones on my lows which makes for a crappy rumble as the cones are maxed out. I've spent weeks trying to find the right combination of settings to get the jaw-clentching chest pain bass that I want without going ridiculously overboard on the rattles and popping and ear piercing highs that I get with increasing the volume. The only thing I can think of is to incorporate a larger cone setup to get that sever low end. But I would also like to split-channel to the GK cab as well since I love the mids and highs it gives me.

So basically, I guess I'm asking, what setup would you guys suggest (preferably staying with GK) to augment my current small stack? I know I'll need to change out the head since it's near max on power availability with just the 4x10 box. Are there any heads on the market that cater to multiple box setups that would allow me to move the levels around? Again, I've been shopping and researching, but I think I may be asking for too much without going up into the thousands of dollars worth of gear options...

Thanks in advance guys!



Oh, also, my over all equipment is:

Traben Array Attack 4-string (On board EQ)
GK 4x10 Gold Cab, Backline 600 Head
Zoom Effects, Fender Tuners, Samson Wireless System, Custom Pedal Setup

 

[Jaco who?]

Your Goldline cab is your weak link. Check out RMC audio, they have good prices on GK gear. I'd consider eventually upgrading to a 700RBII head with a pair of 2x12 neo cabs, or any of the others that will allow the horn management feature to be used. That allows you can control the tweeter volume from the head instead of using just the L-pad control from the back of the cab.

 

[mintondm]

Your Goldline cab is your weak link. Check out RMC audio, they have good prices on GK gear. I'd consider eventually upgrading to a 700RBII head with a pair of 2x12 neo cabs, or any of the others that will allow the horn management feature to be used. That allows you can control the tweeter volume from the head instead of using just the L-pad control from the back of the cab.

Thanks for the response Jaco! Yeah, that was the head that I was gonna swap to anyway, once I had the money lol. I've been looking for a 115GLX Cab to augment the 410 for now to save money, and just get the 1001RB-II Head right away and swap out the cabs later. But I do like that series knowing that they have the split amp control. VERY nice feature!


Either way it's going to be fairly expensive I assume... Went from doing cover stuff where PA support was available at all my shows to doing Orig shows where I need my own power... guess I'm not gonna have a choice!

Thanks again!

 

[RickenBoogie]

Forget about adding a 15 to your rig, as it is. Another 410 would make so much more sense. the 15 will NOT give you the bottom you crave, but rather limit the entire rig to whatever that one speaker is capable of. Instead, think foward. Get another cab, (like the Neo 212) to add to what you've got, and then eventually, dump the 410 for another matching Neo 212. Last, get the better amp.

 

[mintondm]

Forget about adding a 15 to your rig, as it is. Another 410 would make so much more sense. the 15 will NOT give you the bottom you crave, but rather limit the entire rig to whatever that one speaker is capable of. Instead, think foward. Get another cab, (like the Neo 212) to add to what you've got, and then eventually, dump the 410 for another matching Neo 212. Last, get the better amp.

Ok, cool, sounds like a plan, no sense in buying-backward! Didn't really think about it that way... lol.

Thanks for the advice guys! Not saving me a lot of money though lol. Then again, no music endevour really saves you money I suppose... lol. Anyway, thanks a lot guys!

 

[jg919]

Hi Mintomdm!

Ah, glad you decided to stay with GK. Yes, I would deffinately suggest any GK head (maybe more the rb series than the Backline though). I run mine through an Ashdown 650w cab (the higher-range model), and it is absolutely astounding!
I have heard that the GK Neo bass cabs are quite spectacular as well.
Plus, it is good to employ compression as well - it's the equivalent of distortion to guitar in many respects in that it makes your sound much more audible and keeps the sound spectrum (dynamic range) even and smooth.
All the best!
JOHN.

 

[lbwdog]

IMO, swapping cabs will give you a noticeable improvement. Avatar 4x10 or 2x12 are comparatively inexpensive if you can't afford a G-K Neo 2x12.

Actually, G-K gear is priced more reasonable than most of it's direct, pro-line competition. The BL600 is said to have the same circuit as an 800RB, so you may be happy with just a speaker upgrade for now.

 

[Kwesi]

I think the cab is the weak point here but you may want a completely different rig for what you want. Not saying that GK is bad by any means but it sounds like your looking for powerful low-mids (100-300Hz) which is not something GK is particularly well known for. If I had to pick one I'd say Markbass amps and cabs are the king of that arena but there more reasonably price options out there as well. You could try picking up a Markbass LMII/III, Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.0 or Ibanez Promethean and pair it with Epifani PS cabs, Hartke HyDrive cabs, or as someone else mention Avatar cabs and I believe a combination of either would get you what your after.

Look at the cab first but if you're still not getting what you're after maybe you're after something different altogether?