• 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.

Putting a Head with a Cab

#62
The B212 is about $360 IIRC, so it's more affordable than most of the other stuff I was looking at when I was rig shopping. Definitely doesn't play like a cheap cab either. It can get really fricken deep and is clean the whole way. I think it'd sound perfect for a blues band.

I thought I read that he was willing to pay $1000 for the whole rig. Maybe it's time I reread the OP's post....
 
#63
Free bassd, I used to own on of the Hartke LH1000s for about a year and I'll tell you this: its a fine piece of equipment but you have NO need to used 1000watts and in order to get the full power out of that head you're going to need at least two 8 ohms cabs with a MINIMUM 600w power handling each. Also, you might want to look into a head with some more tone shaping options, the EQ on the LH series are pretty good but if you're picky about your tone there isn't a whole lot of room for customization.

If I were you I'd look into a Hartke HA3500 or HA5500. Hi and Lo gain inputs, Blendable Tube and solid state pre amps, compressor, graphic EQ, and a DI with pre and post EQ, the perfect gigging head IMO. I play a 3500 right now and it is more than loud enough to keep up with 2 guitarists and a drummer when paired with a nice 4x10 cabinet. In addition, if you look on the Hartke site, the LH1000 run in dual parallel has slightly lower power ratings than the 3500 run in parallel. Plus used they can be found for less than $300 all day [Got mine for $150]. You really only need 300-500watts of power for a head, it's all in the speaker area son...Generally, more speakers = more volume. A 4x10 is a safe bet for most places, so personally I would recommend the Ampeg 410HLF, or if you can find one on Craiglist I'm a huge fan of the Mesa Powerhouse 410s. 810s are loud as hell and look super cool but might not always be practical...you may be better off trying to find 2 4x10s and just stacking them.

Just my 2cents but seeing as how I acutally used the LH head that you're thinking about I thought it might be helpful.
 
#64
Floyd Eye said:
I was addressing the OP, but that's OK.

Blues band or not there is no point in having 1000 watts running through one 15" speaker. Your Avatar would be great, but somehow I think it exceeds his budget range. An Ampeg 4x10HLF might be a great fit, although if I were him, I would get an 8 ohm 4x10 so I could add another one later if I wanted to.
Click to expand...

That's kinda what I was going for the whole time, something I could run as a lone 410, then later buy another 410 of the same make and model and run them in parallel. so are there two different versions of the ampeg 410 HLF? a 4 ohm and a 8 ohm, or does the eight ohm just turn into a 4 ohm when run in parallel?
 
#65
free_Bassd said:
I figured that was the case. I saw on one of the specs sheets that it could take peak power of 1000w, but then I saw the RMS was 500w so I was skeptical. just don't turn the LH1000 up to ten or anything
Click to expand...

The RMS is 500w PER CHANNEL. This is a 2 channel head. You can put out 500watts to two cabs on each channel. You can also bridge the two and run it at 750watts at 8ohms or 1100watts at 4 ohms, both of which are pretty unnecessary unless you're playing outdoor festivals or something.
 
#66
free_Bassd said:
That's kinda what I was going for the whole time, something I could run as a lone 410, then later buy another 410 of the same make and model and run them in parallel. so are there two different versions of the ampeg 410 HLF? a 4 ohm and a 8 ohm, or does the eight ohm just turn into a 4 ohm when run in parallel?
Click to expand...

I don't use Ampeg cabs so there are better people here to answer that question for you.
 
#68
Autoaddict, thanks for your input! the amp I play on now also has a high and low gain input and 7 band eq, so maybe I've grown accustomed to tonal shaping, anyway, from what I'm hearing as a general consensus is that it's not so much how many watts you have, but by the literal volume of air that you are moving to create the sound. so a decent 410 with a 500w head should for sure be able to top my 115 combo.
ps. sorry, I really think about my responses so sometimes I'm like three posts too late on the order :/
 
#69
Free_Bassd, I'd also like to add that Behringer power handling ratings are GREATLY inflated. I know a few guys that use the gear out of necessity but it WILL NOT handle 1000w with out compromising your sound or even blowing a speaker. I'm all for cheap gear that sounds good [Like I said above I paid $150 for my head, $150 for my cab, and one of my main players is a short scale Squier] but Behringer's price directly reflects it's quality IME.
 
#70
autodidact said:
The RMS is 500w PER CHANNEL. This is a 2 channel head. You can put out 500watts to two cabs on each channel. You can also bridge the two and run it at 750watts at 8ohms or 1100watts at 4 ohms, both of which are pretty unnecessary unless you're playing outdoor festivals or something.
Click to expand...

wow. I totally misunderstood the capabilities of this head. so it can do twice what I thought it could. four speaker cabs!? that's nutts!
 
#71
free_Bassd said:
Autoaddict, thanks for your input! the amp I play on now also has a high and low gain input and 7 band eq, so maybe I've grown accustomed to tonal shaping, anyway, from what I'm hearing as a general consensus is that it's not so much how many watts you have, but by the literal volume of air that you are moving to create the sound. so a decent 410 with a 500w head should for sure be able to top my 115 combo.
ps. sorry, I really think about my responses so sometimes I'm like three posts too late on the order :/
Click to expand...

That's correct, people get too caught up in wattages. More watts doesnt always mean more volume.

And feel free to PM if you have any questions about any of the Hartke stuff, I'm not an official endorser...just a big fan :D
 
#72
autodidact said:
Free_Bassd, I'd also like to add that Behringer power handling ratings are GREATLY inflated. I know a few guys that use the gear out of necessity but it WILL NOT handle 1000w with out compromising your sound or even blowing a speaker. I'm all for cheap gear that sounds good [Like I said above I paid $150 for my head, $150 for my cab, and one of my main players is a short scale Squier] but Behringer's price directly reflects it's quality IME.
Click to expand...

A band I was in a few years ago had 2 pieces of Behringer gear. Brand new PMP2000 committed suicide on the second song of the first set on our first gig. BL took it back and exchanged it. A few weeks later I heard ( I quit that band) the new one killed itself too. The other thing they had was a Behringer 18" sub, which simply sounded like crap.

I hear people say they are happy with their Behringer gear and that's great. For them. I will never own anything they make though.
 
#73
I had to play out of a buddy's Behringer 300w 15" combo out of necessity at a couple gigs as I'm waiting on my Shuttle 9.0 to come back from repairs at Genz Benz, and all I'll say is never again. I tried my hardest to get it turned down to a reasonable stage volume for a small venue I played at last month. I couldn't do it. I had the gain turned down to the point that if I coughed on it it would stop producing sound, and the master volume turned down very low and I was still blaring over everybody (I had my bass volume pretty low and actually plugged up a volume pedal and pushed it down to the point where it's usually practically muted and it was still really loud). If I turned the gain beyond that point it would clip. I've NEVER seen an amp clip with the gain at 1. The other show I played at was a decent sized venue and the volume was pretty good, but again clipping, and the DI was about as noisy as plugging the mixer into a wall outlet (don't try that at home kids). Good thing I had a DI box in my gig bag and I just split the signal to the front of house with that.
 
#77
I played a Behringer 2x12 guitar comob that a friend of mine had that sounded pretty good, modeling stuff built in and what not kind of like a cheaper line6. Even played it with a band and it sounded okay but the next time I asked him to borrow it...it wasn't working. :rollno:

Behringer stuff may sound okay at first...but its no reliable
 
#79
autodidact said:
I played a Behringer 2x12 guitar comob that a friend of mine had that sounded pretty good, modeling stuff built in and what not kind of like a cheaper line6. Even played it with a band and it sounded okay but the next time I asked him to borrow it...it wasn't working. :rollno:

Behringer stuff may sound okay at first...but its no reliable
Click to expand...

+1. I know too many people who've blown out Behringer equipment. Friends don't let friends play Behringer.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back