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old school tone, but portable

#41
The Mesa Walkabout is a highly portable, honest 300w into either a 12 or a 15 with an adjustable crossover. It will do 500w into a 2ohm load. Sweet tube pre driving a mosfet power section does old school perfectly .. can do a powered up fliptop sound with ease, but has a ton of tonal options from clean to snarly and everything else in between. (other than the super hi-fi, zingy SS thing).

Also, does not have the Markbass issue with stand out colors ;)

Go check one out, even if you don't get one, you will walk away impressed by the package.

good luck
 
#42
jeremynyc said:
The head issue is more or less solved...maybe a shuttle, maybe a walkabout.

I could always get two cabs: a smaller 112 and something larger (2 12s?) for bigger gigs.

Of course...that's more $$, too. :)
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I did just that and I play classic rock and blues. Check out my very light and flexible rig. It gives my SVT5pro anf 410HLF a real run for it's money in the tones department. It actualy has more bottom. The entire rig weighs only 63.75 pounds! I actually put the amp and cords in the front pocket of my gig bag!:smug:

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#43
pedro said:
In terms of cabs you might want to consider a 1x15 from Flite.

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Just a thought.
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I have one of those and really like it. I have no idea what wattage it's rated for (I got it used, and it's listed nowhere). It is extremely light - I'd carry it up 3 flights with one hand.

I use it for swing style upright and it does the job just fine.
 
#44
Aguilar GS112 x 2. Cabs 42 pounds each. Can use one or two as needed. Tons of nice round warm low end.
Markbass LMII 6 1/2 pounds 500 watts. Very warm sounding solid state.
I've used this rig for classic rock, blues and country with great results.
familyphoto2008.jpg
 
#46
As they say:
Small, efficient, low frequency response you can have 2 of the 3.
If small, light and fairly deep response (50hz) are the main factors The Bag End S15-d is hard to beat. The 15" speaker gains you a response down to 50hz (not super deep but deep enough for satisfying 4 string traditional tone) while maintaining a high (103db) sensitivity in a small box.It was designed to do what you are asking.They sound great and are cheap and easy to find used.
The only question is, is it bigger than you want to carry? I have one and have carried it for blocks on a crowded street and while doeable it was not fun. Short carries up stairs however are not painful. You can always rig up a small dolly to carry the cabinet amp and misc stuff and only lift when absolutely necessary.
A single 12" speaker or 10" trying to do this job is fighting the laws of physics more than a 15" is.
If your cabinet does have enough low end extension to begin with the maximum useable stage volume can always be increased by rolling off the speaker killing, watt eating low end from 40 - 80 hz possibly at the expense of your desired tone.
There's a good argument to be made that as volume increases you should start rolling off the low end on stage anyway assuming you have a line out to the house system. Let the sound man handle those troublesome frequencies which will help you hear better on stage. I think that the traditional Ampeg SVT 8x10 sealed cabs roll off at about 60 hz.
Buzz
 
#50
Thanks for all the responses guys. Very helpful!

So it looks like a choice head-wise between the mesa walkabout and the GB shuttle.

The cab is the trickier choice as I do have those darn 3 flights to deal with.

The Bag End S15 is small, but at 45 lbs that's still a lot to lug...but sometimes you have to suffer for your art!

My guess is that a 112 is only going to cover the smaller situations..

Keep the ideas coming if you have, and I'll keep you posted on what I go with.
 
#51
I own both and would have to lean towads the Walkabout. The Shuttle is brighter and more Hi-Fi to me. You may want to check out the new Berg HT112er/Ex112er stack. If you don't need/want a teewter you can go with 2 of the EX112ers. I think they have plenty of high end for a more traditional sound.
 
#54
Rhythm5 said:
I own both and would have to lean towads the Walkabout. The Shuttle is brighter and more Hi-Fi to me. You may want to check out the new Berg HT112er/Ex112er stack. If you don't need/want a teeweter you can go with 2 of the EX112ers. I think they have plenty of high end for a more traditional sound.
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The walkabout is looking more and more intriguing.

Anyone have the Scout combo (112)?

How heavy/awkward is it to carry around? About 50lbs, right? And, can you put casters on it?

50lbs is a lot, but if it's not too deep it could be manageable. What are the dimensions of the combo?
 
#55
jeremynyc said:
Thanks for all the responses guys. Very helpful!

So it looks like a choice head-wise between the mesa walkabout and the GB shuttle.

The cab is the trickier choice as I do have those darn 3 flights to deal with.

The Bag End S15 is small, but at 45 lbs that's still a lot to lug...but sometimes you have to suffer for your art!

My guess is that a 112 is only going to cover the smaller situations...
Click to expand...
You'd be surprised, bro. I play music similar to what you do, and I use a Markbass 12" combo sometimes, and I have never wanted for volume. As a matter of fact, I usually can't turn it past 10 o'clock. You will definitely not get the same feeling behind you as you do from your SVT cab, but it can go pretty doggone loud before it's too much for it.

One caveat, though...single 12"s don't quite have the depth of tone that your average single 15" cab has. I usually use a 15" B-15N cab along with my combo to give it some more depth. But if you mic it or DI it into the PA, the depth issue becomes irrelevant except for onstage.
 
#57
jeremynyc said:
I tried looking at the website, but I couldn't find any product info...could you send another link?
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Flite sound has stopped regular production of their product line. I think the owner will still make you something on special order if you contact him at the number on that link.

It's too bad as he had a few really nice and light cabinets.

The Walkabout combo, at 50 lbs, is a bit much to haul up 3 flights of stairs. However, that 1x12 is louder than just about any other 1x12 cabinet I've heard. The other 1x12s don't compare volume wise.

I was able to handle some pretty loud gigs with mine. Anything louder and I brought an extension cab or did a D.I. to the PA. The Walkabout head is the tubiest sounding of all the ones suggested above.
 
#58
jeremynyc said:
The walkabout is looking more and more intriguing.

Anyone have the Scout combo (112)?

How heavy/awkward is it to carry around? About 50lbs, right? And, can you put casters on it?

50lbs is a lot, but if it's not too deep it could be manageable. What are the dimensions of the combo?
Click to expand...

I have used a Walkabout 12 combo for over a year. It's no issue to move around, but then again, I don't have to schlep mine up and down 3 flights of steps. You could put casters on it I suppose, and Mesa also sells a fairly cool attachable luggage rack thing (Tone Luggage) for the Walkabout. I have this rig, and it works well for me. I can do a one trip load-in/out with the Walkabout, 2 basses and a small gig bag.

Walkabout 12 dimensions (in inches) are: H:20 1/8 W:16 1/2 D: 15 51lbs (although mine weighs 47lbs).

It fits in the front or backseat of my fairly small (definitely not a gig wagon ;) ) Infiniti G35 coupe no problem.
 
#59
pfschim said:
I have used a Walkabout 12 combo for over a year. It's no issue to move around, but then again, I don't have to schlep mine up and down 3 flights of steps. You could put casters on it I suppose, and Mesa also sells a fairly cool attachable luggage rack thing (Tone Luggage) for the Walkabout. I have this rig, and it works well for me. I can do a one trip load-in/out with the Walkabout, 2 basses and a small gig bag.

Walkabout 12 dimensions (in inches) are: H:20 1/8 W:16 1/2 D: 15 51lbs (although mine weighs 47lbs
Click to expand...
This is a big advantage of not worrying about color schemes. My Markbass 12 combo is black and yellow, but it weighs 29 lbs. :p :D
 

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