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Rant/inquiries.

bryan bailey

bryan bailey

Feb 15, 2003
5,979
19
39
North Kingstown, Rhode Island
www.myspace.com
#1
Well, in a state of anger today, whilst retrieving my amp from the car, my cab fell over going down the driveway and the head went with it to, and slid a couple feet. My driveway is a very steep one, so when I say it fell over, it really did.

And while hoisting the stuff over a 6" peice of wood to get into in the house, I half wrenched my back.

So in all this I must ask, is there any way I could have a rig that would weigh a lot less, take up a little less space, and be just as loud and good sounding, without spending several G's.

My cab weighs 90 something pounds, and my head weighs 80 something pounds.

I'm running 425 into the 4x10 at the moment, and that's plenty good enough.

So, I would be looking for something with the same volume, relative tone, and dramatic less weight.

Can it be done?
 
#2
As far as getting lighter amp, its very possible.

Get a used QSC PLX 1602 (500 watts @ 4 ohms, around $450), and an RBI or BBE BMax preamp ($230-275). Total weight in a 3 or 4 space rack would be around 30 lbs give or take a few pounds.

As far as 410's, its hard to go light and stay inexpensive because going light usually means Neodymium magnets which are expensive. I think Genz Benz may have a fairly inexpensive and lightweight box. Also check Avatar.

I know what you mean though, I currently am using an ampeg svt-410hlf that weighs 110 lbs.
 
#4
Although some on the forum don't dig the "flat-ness" of the Acme Low B-4 cab, I remember one of the main selling points for me being the fact that it's a 75 pound cab and not a 95 pounder like so many other 4 x 10's. Plus, you'd be in a position to overcome the "power hungry" aspect of an Acme, since you'd also be shopping around for a lightweight power amp. Plenty of models around that would fit the bill matched up with a Low B-4.

Believe me, nothing around "sounds" or "feels" like a properly powered Acme. :eek:
 
#5
i have a bergantino HT-112 (38lbs.) that i would be very happy to power with a PLX1602 or even a PLX2402. i bought my HT-112 used for $425 with a cover in perfect condition. with a lightweight power amp and a cheap preamp, you're looking at under $1000 and a one trip load in. i love it.

the key to finding the gear you want at the price you're willing to pay is patience. if you can wait to acquire each piece at the right price -- it takes longer -- but your wallet will appreciate you. now go sell your 410 and buy a bergantino.

robb.
 
#9
sounds like you are on your way then. I use a BBE BMax with a PLX 1602 and it rocks. My next thing on my list is replacing the obscenely obese SVT-410HLF with a modular setup. Im personally going with a 2x12 cab and 2x8 cab w/tweeter sitting on top.
 
#12
Kaz said:
Well, in a state of anger today, whilst retrieving my amp from the car, my cab fell over going down the driveway and the head went with it to, and slid a couple feet. My driveway is a very steep one, so when I say it fell over, it really did.

And while hoisting the stuff over a 6" peice of wood to get into in the house, I half wrenched my back.

So in all this I must ask, is there any way I could have a rig that would weigh a lot less, take up a little less space, and be just as loud and good sounding, without spending several G's.

My cab weighs 90 something pounds, and my head weighs 80 something pounds.

I'm running 425 into the 4x10 at the moment, and that's plenty good enough.

So, I would be looking for something with the same volume, relative tone, and dramatic less weight.

Can it be done?
Click to expand...


:eek: and ouch for the first part. Hope your back is getting better!

As for the second part, 80 pounds for a head is way to much to carry. A pre+power or a lighter head is definately the way to go!
In your profile, you say you have an SVP-Pro: you could couple it up with a poweramp and, voila! ;)

As for cabs, if you are doing smaller venues, then a light "one cab does it all" type cab, that has a wide freyuency range, yet fast and punchy, will do the trick: a 112 or a 212 might be a good idea.
For a bit larger venues, also depending on the style of music you play, a 210 and a 115 might be a good idea...

Juts my $0.02
 
#13
After rackmounting a preamp and poweramp, you'll be back to 70 lbs. The GK 700RB-II head does 480 watts and only weighs 17 lbs. Next month we're releasing the Neo series cabinets. The Neo 212 is much smaller than a standard cab (21" x 26" x 16"), handles 600 watts, has great low end and only weighs about 50 lbs.

700RB-II $799 list
Neo 212 $799 list
 
#15
Daniel Elliott said:
After rackmounting a preamp and poweramp, you'll be back to 70 lbs.
Click to expand...

Sorry but I disagree here. My preamp, poweramp, and Korg tuner in a 4 space rack weighs about 37-40 lbs. depending on the scale you use. I have 500 watts stereo at 4 ohms and 1600 watts bridged mono into 4 ohms
 
#16
Yep.

Mine:
SansAmp RBI = 5 lbs.
QSC PLX3402 = 21 lbs.
Furman Power Conditioner = 5 lbs.
SKB 6 Space Rack = 14 lbs.

= 45 lbs.

Not completely lightweight, but not a beast either.

Right now I'm bridging into an 8 ohm Acme Low B-4 (2200watts) and 78 lbs. This rig gets better volume and lowend than my Mesa 400+ through a 4x10 and 2x15. I'll take moving 123 lbs. over almost 300 lbs. any day.
 
#18
BBE BMax $429
QSC PLX 1602 $970 1600W
Ampeg SVT410 $979 500W
Total $2378
Weight 150lbs

GK 1001RB-II $999 700W
GK Neo 212 $799 600W
Total $1798
weight 68lbs

I'm sure your system sounds very nice, but for many people that's way more power than they need. And in my opinion, 40 pounds is not a lightweight system and a 4 space rack is still kinda bulky. It's not bad, but there are better options for portability unless you really need 1600 watts in which case you'll need to run a second cabinet adding an additional $979 to the cost and 110 pounds to the weight. That would be a powerful system, but not necessarily a practical one.
 
#19
Daniel Elliott said:
BBE BMax $429
QSC PLX 1602 $970 1600W
Ampeg SVT410 $979 500W
Total $2378
Weight 150lbs

GK 1001RB-II $999 700W
GK Neo 212 $799 600W
Total $1798
weight 68lbs

I'm sure your system sounds very nice, but for many people that's way more power than they need. And in my opinion, 40 pounds is not a lightweight system and a 4 space rack is still kinda bulky. It's not bad, but there are better options for portability unless you really need 1600 watts in which case you'll need to run a second cabinet adding an additional $979 to the cost and 110 pounds to the weight. That would be a powerful system, but not necessarily a practical one.
Click to expand...


Uh your a little off on your prices there Daniel.


BBE BMax brand new $230
QSC PLX 1602 used $435
Ampeg SVT-410HLF brand new $699
Total: $1364
These are the prices I paid.

Not sure where you are getting your prices but I got my preamp at Riks Music, the cab at GC both brand new. I got my PLX used from a fellow TB'er.

The 4 space rack is not bulky at all. I can carry it like a briefcase because it is so light.

I never recommended the SVT-410HLF. I was just telling him what I personally use. And if you take a moment and read my posts above you will see that I am trying to get rid of the "AmPIG" for a more modular setup because of the excessive weight. Im actually moving to a 2x12 setup also which will bring the total weight down to 95-100 lbs total.

As far as 1600 watts being too much, I totally disagree. I would rather have tons of headroom than just enough or not enough. There are plenty of people that run 1600+ watt power amps into single cabs. In fact there is another post where a guy is running 2200 watts into his Acme B4 with no problems. Just because an amp has the abillity of pushing 1600 watts doesnt mean you have to push all of it. I'll tell you one thing though that is fact. The more clean power you push into an amp the less likely clipping will occur (to an extent obviously)


This amp screams versatility. The GK you mentioned can run 700 watts into a 4 ohm load. So what happens when you want to add a second cab to the 2x12? You cant because the amp cant handle a 2 ohm load or a 2.667 load. However if you opt to get a 8 ohm 2x12 then instead of running 700 watts from the GK you are running 460 watts. With the PLX you can run two 4 ohm loads simultaneously in stereo/parallel and give both cabs 500 watts OR you can bridge the amp down to 1600 watts into 4 ohms then run two 8 ohm cabs and put 800 watts into each.

Power amps have WAY more versatility because they are overengineered whereas most heads' power sections are engineered to just suffice.

Where is the info on the GK Neo cabs? I went to GK's site and didnt see anything. I didnt even know they were coming out with these.
 

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