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Double Bass new small amp

C

Clay_Bass

Apr 10, 2006
568
6
Brooklyn NY /SUNY Purchase
#1
Ive been looking into AI EA and those small GK 112 combos. Prices for the EA and AI are really high at this point and Im cutting back on work to get ready for college auditions this winter. Anyone know what the current price on the GK upright amps is? I havent been able to find them online. Also if anyone has a reccomendation of something small that produces a good sound for say under 600 bucks Id love to see it. Im not looking for anything bigger than a 12 and definately want a combo. Thanks
 
#2
Clay_Bass said:
Ive been looking into AI EA and those small GK 112 combos. Prices for the EA and AI are really high at this point and Im cutting back on work to get ready for college auditions this winter. Anyone know what the current price on the GK upright amps is? I havent been able to find them online. Also if anyone has a reccomendation of something small that produces a good sound for say under 600 bucks Id love to see it. Im not looking for anything bigger than a 12 and definately want a combo. Thanks
Click to expand...

Check this post about my favorite combo amps at ANY price, but especially at their low prices. You must check out Yorkville!

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=262420
 
#4
TheSuzie said:
The GK amps will be publicly priced the same everywhere. I think GK probably uses the Minimum Advertised Pricing policy with their dealers. They all seem to advertise the same price. You have to contact the dealer directly to try and negotiate a discount.

Here are the current standard advertised prices.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/home/navigation?q=microbass
Click to expand...

I had a GK combo and a GK head for years. The Yorkville amps sound much warmer, not cold and brittle like the GK's. Also my Yorkville gear is tuff and has never broken down. They have a 2 year "even if you break it warranty" and are just better and are less expensive.

Can't say the same for GK. I had their smaller 150 watt head that just died at around 13 months old. Just after their warranty expired. My local repair guy couldn't fix it and GK wanted something $400 to fix it. The GK combo I had also developed an input jack prob. that was fixed and six months later broke again. Both of these amps are now just "boat anchors" in my garage. Since then any time I've used GK stuff supplied as backline many times and I always conclude that they just sound cold and brittle to my ears now. Especially for DB. Now on my rider I request not to have GK amps whenever there are alternatives.

In contrast the Yorkvilles I've tried, of my own and supplied on the road, sound better to me than Eden, SWR, Hartke (although pretty good), which were all MUCH more $ than Yorkville gear. Just my .02 from experience.
 
#6
Bofee said:
I heard a live recording of a local guy that's using a Phil Jones briefcase amp. I was amazed at the sound of the bass from such tiny speakers.
Click to expand...

I've heard they sound great, but not quite enough w/ drums in the band.
I'll bet their new Suitcase model w/ four 5" drivers (instead of two) is a great combo. They also have an extension speaker for this combo w/ 4 drivers that may look like a neat choice w/ a separate head as well.

Anybody try either w/ DB?

BTW, PJ amps are not budget. The Briefcase is about $600.

BG
 
#7
bribass said:
I've heard they sound great, but not quite enough w/ drums in the band.
I'll bet their new Suitcase model w/ four 5" drivers (instead of two) is a great combo. They also have an extension speaker for this combo w/ 4 drivers that may look like a neat choice w/ a separate head as well.

Anybody try either w/ DB?

BTW, PJ amps are not budget. The Briefcase is about $600.

BG
Click to expand...

I have a Briefcase, and recently reviewed the Suitcase for Bass Guitar Magazine. I flat out love the Briefcase on upright, and when I was playing in a small band swing outfit, the Briefcase was plenty to keep u pwith a reasonably quiet drummer. The Suitcase is gobs louder, and can be paired up with either a 4B passive extension cab or the forthcoming 4A active enclosure. One cool feature with the Suitcase is that it is a 2-channel setup, which of course is great for doubling. The impedence is also different on the active/passive settings, with a very high impedance (suitable for piezos) on the passive setting. They are both great double bass amps, IMHO.

Of course, AI and EA make some killer combos which seem to do great on both electric or upright. And of course, while not a combo amp, the Bergantino IP112 just sounds SOOOOO good with both electric and upright.

Tom.
 
#8
Clay_Bass - you may want to look at some of the Markbass stuff but it is also not too inexpensive

bribass - you should have a PM.

tombowlus - I love the sound of the Berg stuff but I am personally looking for a 20-25 pound cab. The Bergantinos are too heavy for me. I think we need to bug them to produce a lightweight cab...

Peace,
S
 
#9
tombowlus said:
I have a Briefcase, and recently reviewed the Suitcase for Bass Guitar Magazine. I flat out love the Briefcase on upright, and when I was playing in a small band swing outfit, the Briefcase was plenty to keep u pwith a reasonably quiet drummer. The Suitcase is gobs louder, and can be paired up with either a 4B passive extension cab or the forthcoming 4A active enclosure. One cool feature with the Suitcase is that it is a 2-channel setup, which of course is great for doubling. The impedence is also different on the active/passive settings, with a very high impedance (suitable for piezos) on the passive setting. They are both great double bass amps, IMHO.

Of course, AI and EA make some killer combos which seem to do great on both electric or upright. And of course, while not a combo amp, the Bergantino IP112 just sounds SOOOOO good with both electric and upright.

Tom.
Click to expand...

Hey Tom, I've been wondering what that passive 4B would sound like w/ a Focus 2R III powering it. What do ya think?

My Whizzy-M is already on it's way from ALL HAIL! Bob G. :hyper:
I've always been a buy, hold and "use to death" kinda guy when it comes to gear, but I'm gonna end up a Gassy gear hound as well if I stay TB much longer;)

Bri
 
#10
bribass said:
Hey Tom, I've been wondering what that passive 4B would sound like w/ a Focus 2R III powering it. What do ya think?
Click to expand...

I am not sure. The Phil Jones cabs I have tried are very demanding on the amp. Not having a Focus on hand, I have not been able to try this combination.

Tom.
 
#11
The thing about those Phil Jones *case boxes is the weight. The footprint is great but the weight is nuts. For example instead of the Briefcase you can team a Focus 2 with a UL110 and have more power and volume in a lighter package (albeit a bigger footprint).

The 4B also is damn heavy for what it is. For that weight you might as well be carrying a VL208.
 
#12
Adrian Cho said:
The thing about those Phil Jones *case boxes is the weight. The footprint is great but the weight is nuts. For example instead of the Briefcase you can team a Focus 2 with a UL110 and have more power and volume in a lighter package (albeit a bigger footprint).

The 4B also is damn heavy for what it is. For that weight you might as well be carrying a VL208.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the weight thing. That's why I ordered a Wizzy-M. I think they're about 32-33 lbs. Supposed to have great lows, but lighter than my Aguilar 112 or the PJ 4B.

Quote:
I am not sure. The Phil Jones cabs I have tried are very demanding on the amp. Not having a Focus on hand, I have not been able to try this combination.

Tom.

What do you mean by demanding, exacltly? The Focus should have enough juice for it.
 
#13
bribass said:
Tom.

What do you mean by demanding, exacltly? The Focus should have enough juice for it.
Click to expand...

Well, perhaps finnickey is a better word. They need an amp with a very stout low end to get the bass to open up down low. The Focus might indeed be able to do this, but I don't have one on hand to try.

Tom.
 
#14
Okay, I need to revise my earlier comments a bit. Since Phil had mentioned to me that the 4B is roughly equivalent to a 1x10 (if it were possible to have a 1x10 with a 4" voice coil), I thought I would try it against a couple 1x10's. And since this would be a "small rig", I used a "small amp" - my iAMP 200.

First observation, the 4B is a highly viable alternative to a 1x10. It has perhaps the best midrange I have heard in a box of that size. Super balanced, very articulate, narry a "hole" or "scoop" to be found (and no obvious "humps", either). The high end is amazing, considering that there is no tweeter. It is very smooth, too (no harshness or fatigue). The lows on PJB cabs are extremely clear and have a unique attack to them, but they are not as full, round or "big" sounding. All of this combines to make the 4B a potentially great cab for double bass. I didn't break the old Kay out, but I think it would sound great through this cab, and I also think that if you have a particularly "big" sounding bass - and/or find yourself monkeying with high pass filters and the like to control boom - you would really appreciate the more controlled low end from this cab. But again, the mids are really great on this cab.

Second observation, the 4B, at least, doesn't need a monster amp driving it (as I feel my 6T and 9B do - at least when used together). The iAMP 200 sounded just great with this cab. Plenty of perceived headroom, and very capable of dialing in a huge tone. In fact, it is an excellent matchup, I think.

At any rate, I felt that my recent "discovery" ran somewhat contrary to what I had posted before regarding amps to match up with Phil Jones cabs, so I wanted to set the clarify my earlier remarks.

Later, Tom.
 

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