• 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.

Rig Advice for someone without a car

#41
Fusion 500/800 is perfect for this use, however adding huge cabs if you can't drive is insane.
Aim for very efficient, small neo cabs. Either a couple 2x10 to stack as a vertical 4x10 of a couple 12".
Something like Epiphani, Barefaced, Berg, if you're on a budget Avatar Neo.
 
#42
If money is not so much an issue, i'd contact one of the fEARful builders with your specs. They surely could build a 15/6/1 with tiltback option and heavy duty wheels, maybe even a long handle that sinks in the cab when not in use. Barefaced seems to build something in the same ballpark, light, loud, small and easily transported. I would not recommend using a standard 6x10 or similar sized cab and try to roll that with the built in wheels - they are meant to be used from the truck to the stage, not from the bus stop to the gig.
I played a lot of gigs ampless, but that can suck if the monitoring on stage is sub par (when you have a cheap 12" monitor and it's loud on stage) - but you could consider some in-ear setup for that.
 
#43
I can't give you rig advice, but don't carry a cab on your back! A gallon of water in my backpack can have me knackered in 5 minutes flat, let alone a rig. I'm visualising you toppling backwards, being weighed down/strapped to the cab and you're stuck where you landed forever... :D

Im8172asacktruck.jpg
 
#44
fEarful keeps getting mentioned, but nobody has suggested a Fearless, so I will.

Fearless 112 has gotten good reviews, is small, light, takes a good amount of power and can be used as a monitor wedge.
20" x 16" x 16" / 12" driver 8Ω / 32-38 lbs

- Fearless F112 x 2. One in each hand, leave one F112 at home when you don't need it.
- bass gigbag on back with micro-head & Cables in pocket of gig bag.

Now the one thing that may make carrying both cabs with you a problem:
How big is your pedalboard?

At any rate, get a foldable dolly/handtruck to carry the speakers and pedalboard, gigbag for bass & head still on your back.

The real fly in the Fearless ointment is there are no authorised builders of Fearless in Canada, last time I checked. So you'd have to order it from Duke0rock in Nashville (or other builder) and pay for shipping, import and duty fees etc.

 
#49
So, do you have a sled that you can hitch to someone's snowmobile?;)
If you were my sibling I'd just buy you a recording program like cakewalk or something, a cheap humbucker loaded used guitar and a little interface for you to get your metal out. Unless you're in toronto, vansterdam or some other place with actual public infrastructure, this is ridiculous. This is coming from someone who went car-free while living in a tiny one gas-station town for eight years. I had a mean heavy duty trailer for my bicycle that could "easily" (after the first few months) haul a 410, gk head, a Fender Jazz, pedals, a sandwich and a change of clothes. I also had been doing century rides with my dad since I was ten. If you're reeeeally into cycling, I recommend it. If you just want to get out and jam- give up on doing metal live, keep it in the woodshed and do jazz/coffeehouse blues (small amp music) till you find a metal band that has their own srs bass rig but noone to play it. They exist, and they're usually as pro as local musicians come so your chops had better be tight. Bonus to playing small-rig music genres- 1) they usually pay better than non-80's metal 2) the music will make your metal stronger 3) they pay better relative to the amount of effort of gear hauling even if you have a bus 4) you can use a rig that will fit in standard off-the-shelf backpacks 5) More girls.
 
#52
How much volume do you really need? For me, an old GK 200MB combo with 112MBX extension cab is plenty loud. It tends to accentuate the mids rather than the super deep lows and can sound a little boxy, but I personally like the tone.

Bass, cables, and tuner in a gigbag on your back; 200MB and 112MBX in each hand; you're ready to go.
 
#53
I don't own a car and I live off of public transportation. I do have a girlfriend with a car, which certainly helps, but I've been doing without one for long enough it hasn't mattered.

Typical gig rig:
Mono m80 case holding my P-bass (main compartment holds strings, tools, cables, sheet music)
Guitar tick (attachment for mono) holds my pedal train nano (tuner, comp, OD, and EQ), as well as my VT Bass Deluxe which doubles as a DI box.


Most places have a backline so I plug my VT bass and pedal board into the house amp's FX loop.

If I have to bring my own amp I usually bring my Markbass LMII in a messenger back. I wheel my cabinets with a folding hand truck. They are usually a 210 or a 112. I never bring two cabs anymore because I honestly don't need it.
 
#56
When I lived in a small town I brought my amp to the rehearsal spot and left it there as I rode my bike everywhere. Find someone that will help you move your existing amp to its space, that way you can throw your bass on your back and go rehearse. Otherwise try an Ampeg Micro VR or PF 350 and the SVT210-av it is light, sounds great and plenty powerful
 
#57
I didn't see any actual driver specs on the pages for Barefaced, but it looked like the Super Compact G3 could take my 500 watt Fusion. I'm glad I didn't get the 800 because that would make things even more complicated.

I'm not sure how loud I'll end up needing to be, but I know with my last band and the 4 Ohm 4x10 I have I had to have the master at about 12:00, and that was just in a garage and mostly to compete with the drummer. Really depends on the setup the band has, and until I find guys that aren't going to just lose contact after a couple weeks I won't know.

Thanks Sloppy_Phil. I'll look into those cabs as well. I figure smaller ones should be OK, and if those Markbass ones can handle the TB500 they might just do the trick for me as well. I haven't done many gigs as yet, so I don't know what most of the places I'd be doing them at are like for PA etc.

Duke, I think that would be doable. And since I have the 500, as long as I can bring that most of the way up without destroying the drivers I'd be happy.

If the cab is on my back, bass goes in the right hand in case/gig bag with the head in a pocket, pedalboard on the left side. I've got one of the smaller PedalTrains and only 3 or 4 pedals, so that's not too big an issue. If not, bass on the back, cab in one hand, the other free for opening doors etc.

JACink that Barefaced was one of the ones I'm looking at as well.

Thanks el murdoque. I'll cross the bigger cabs off my list. Though I'm still going to try that Traynor 8x8 just for curiosity's sake.

As for the weight of a cab on my back, you learn to do it when you're in school and forced to carry around 25 to 35 pounds of books, tools to help you read the books, etc. in grade 6. Though I did go through a lot of backpacks that way.

MattZilla I live in Calgary, so there is pretty good infrastructure here. But going smaller is an option, though most of the people looking seem to either be country or metal. I do have an interface and recording gear, and have done some stuff like that.

Thanks GeneralElectric that's pretty much my plan, I just want to have the cab option prepared ahead of time for those places that don't have amps.

I did look into getting an fEarful flatpack last night. Seems not too bad, and I do know people who can help me put it together. Not sure about the modifications of tilt back and whatnot. Seems like I'd be better off getting a 2x10 or 2x12 locally and going with a cart, to avoid somewhere around $200 in shipping and imports.

In the winter, I just need a sled and I'm set since sidewalks are about the last things to get cleared.
 
#59
Shaerah56 said:
As for the weight of a cab on my back, you learn to do it when you're in school and forced to carry around 25 to 35 pounds of books, tools to help you read the books, etc. in grade 6. Though I did go through a lot of backpacks that way.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be too worried about the weight of a cab on your back, but the shape. Having a flat panel on your back is not going to be comfortable in the least. Then you've got the square edges that will more than likely stick out past the width of your shoulders. That's going to make carrying anything else very difficult and putting anything on your shoulders with a strap pretty much impossible. Not to mention difficult to move through doors.

I've never carried a cab on my back, but I've done a lot of mountain climbing in less than hospitable areas in horrid conditions lugging an 80lb pack. How the weight sits on your hips in crucial as is the the shape of the pack so it's comfortable to walk with in 7' of snow for 4 days straight a few miles up in the air. Not that it's even remotely similar to walking a few blocks on a city street, but hey.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back