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Putting a Head with a Cab

free_Bassd

free_Bassd

Guest
Feb 20, 2012
234
1
San Antonio, TX Area
www.reverbnation.com
#1
hello! I'm a relatively new bassist that has kinda gotten in over his head. I started playing in a blues band and my guitarist has a loud ass tube amp, I have a peavy TNT 115s, which is an old 1x15 combo amp. I'm not quite able to match his level so he's talking about helping me out with a new set up, I just have no idea how amps and heads and cabs and ohms and watts and pretty much anything electronic about playing. I was just curious as to how, say, a cab of four tens would compare. thanks!
 
#4
carl h. said:
First things first - budget?

What kind of car do you drive?

How loud is the drummer?

Does the venue want a LOUD band or a balanced band?

How much space do you have at your disposal?
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+1. The more info, the better suggestions, otherwise people will just tell you to buy what they have or say stuff they don't like sucks.

Your combo isn't made to take an extension speaker so that's out. In general you guys want to balance your volume with the drumkit. He doesn't have knobs to turn (but doesn't have to bash as hard as he can either).
 
#5
ok. more info. its a blues band so the guitar is obviously the featured instrument. the drummer and is pretty good so he's able to match with the "mix", but if I had to put it on a scale I would say that he plays pretty loud, definitely as loud as the guitar, for us to reach the balance that we like I am putting my amp up to a little over 9/10 and my bass levels are almost all the way up, while the guitarist is at like a four or five. I'm not even sure if four tens would be loud enough, honestly, I really don't even know what makes an amp loud lol. I would welcome advice on rigs,
but what I'm really looking for is someone to tell me how the ohms and the watts and everything goes together because I know that if you don't have everything just right you will mess up your head and cabs. I'm. not sure what an ohm or a watt really is, so all the science advice I can get would be awesome!
 
#11
Listen to HD (or he will visit you in your dreams!!).

I think the rig I run sounds like it would be a good match for you - an ampeg PF500 and an SVT 410he. Plenty loud, but sounds good turned down too. I also use an SVT 15, and like it better at lower volume levels with a 5 string. You could easily come up with either of these cabs and a PF for your budget.

What part of the world do you live in?

Check the classified section here. Plenty of good rigs available there.

Don't forget craigslist - if you know what you are doing it can be a gold mine. I picked up a nice SVT 410hlf and a B2R for well under your budget this past weekend.
 
#15
Well for for a grand or less you can get alot of rig!

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#16
I like the Hartke. Tons of power. Stay away from the Behringer. I would avoid the Backline stuff too. If your budget is a grand that Hartke is about $500 or a GK 700RBII is about $500, that leaves $500 for a cab. You can get a lot of cab for $500 used and you won't have to settle for a Behringer. In fact, Carvin makes a 4x10 cab for under $500 that smokes that Behringer.
 
#19
For a blues band you are gonna wanna be pumping a lot of low end out. For that, I'd recommend a cab with either a 15" or 18" speaker. As for a head, you'll probably want something around 200-250 watts. As for the ohmage, I'd try to match the Head and cab's levels of handling, otherwise, you risk overloading the cab and blowing the speakers.

Honestly, the choice is yours. If you want to go nuts and get a 4x15 monster (4 15" speakers in one cab) I say go for it. This is just my opinion.

Best of luck, and enjoy the rumble.
 
#20
fuzzy beard said:
I like that svt 7 pro. And then get a cab! Or the svt 3pro and 4x10. But i am a sucker for that Kustom tuck and roll or thet peavey 2x15 ;)
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I didn't see your links before I posted. I would definitely jump on that SVT7 Pro.

I also have an old 80s Peavey 2x15 like that. It's a great cab. PLayed on that thing most of my life. I like a couple 4x10s these days, but for a blues band the Peavey is great. It is very heavy though.
 

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