Show your rig that shouldn't work (but does).

[mexicanyella]

Top: AudioKinesis Birdhaus 48 Cabinet

Bottom: Behringer V-Amp Pro (guitar version) and Crown MicroTech 600 power amp in homemade scrap wood rack case

A friend gave me the V-Amp, thinking it might be broken. It only needed a memory battery. I found that its Roland JC120 amp setting with some compression sounds great for bass.

The power amp was something I picked up for a cheap wattage upgrade. It runs bridged at 750 watts/4 ohms and cost me $80. I remind myself “only 9.375 cents per watt!” every time I lift it. Unracked the power amp weighs the same as the cab, about 35 lb.

Also, Built-in tuner with ankle-height controls and display!

 

[Thorny1]

I play a GK Backline 600, which has a rep for being a lower-tier GK product. I put it through a no-name 2x10 my friend built for me- the enclosure was scavenged out of the trash, silver grill cloth and all. The drivers are, again, no-name, generic 10s...and yet...

I came off stage during a set break, and my uncle came up to gush about my sound. He asked to see my rig, and I pointed at my 2x10...sitting on TOP of the guitar player's Marshall. He demanded to know where my subwoofer was! I can scarcely imagine higher praise for a rat-rod rig.

 

[tindrum]

Dude, if you could develop that into a pedal, I would buy it.

Walrus makes a pedal based on Filmosound projector amp conversions called the 385. It’s an INCREDIBLE sounding pedal. I have one on my guitar pedal board. I’ve never actually tried with bass.

 

[JRA]

i like most things that go against the grain around here.

 

[Thumpin6string]

I'm not ashamed of it because it sounds great.

 

[Gustopher]

I'm not ashamed of it because it sounds great.
View attachment 4674864

What’s possibly wrong with this rig? It’s made with great stuff.

 

[Thumpin6string]

What’s possibly wrong with this rig? It’s made with great stuff.

In my mind nothing, but a lot of people would have an issue with mismatched cabs and non-class D amps.

 

[Inky13]

Oh. You said they should work? Never mind.

 

[MuttThud]

In my mind nothing, but a lot of people would have an issue with mismatched cabs and non-class D amps.

Dream rig for a lot of us at any point and especially when starting out! My first rig was, um, bass into mic input on cheap hi-fi separate cassette recorder set to record with pause button locked, connected to even cheaper hi-fi tuner amp into absolutely terrible no-name bookshelf speakers that crapped out much above around 10W. My mates thought I was pretty damn cool at the time... aged 12. Moved on rather a lot since but in the spirit of the OP's first post that was the worst possible rig that sounded good-ish at the time. Later I graduated to a Carlsbro Bass amp (another poster had a photo of it earlier in the thread) which I gigged with through school. Now I'm basically ampless with Helix etc.

 

[Milo's]

 

[JamesDeGrandis]

I keep this at our practice bunker so I'm not dragging stuff around. The "Pervey" Mark VIII is o.l.d. old. It has a shipping barcode from the Mayflower on it and there's only like 3 stripes. Won't die. I've had it for years. Lived under the bed for some years along the way. The cab is an old Pervey TVX with the crossover ripped out and a chunk of sheet metal screwed over the gaping hole with a jack in it. There has to be 1 or 2 dead bodies in it...or perhaps 4 or 5 T-40s, but you will herniate a bunch of disks in your spine if you look at it for more than a few seconds. Indestructible, sounds good, and too heavy to move without a crane. Extra shame for pedals flopping around in a granny knot pile.View attachment 4674449

Peavey Mark VIII for the win!
Here is one "ratchet-strapped" to the top of a Peavey 810T at a pavillion show in front of 6000+ people.
I would like to note that the sound guys (and the roadies) liked it more than the headliner's gear.
Peavey Mark VIII strapped to an 810T tilts and rolls as a single 4 million pound combo unit.

(And yes... the 810T was "debranded" at the request of the tour manager... sadly and shamefully.)

 

[Windowliquor]

I have an itching urge to get all Pervey now

Had the same thought! I’d definitely play a Pervey Furry bass….

 

[Dynomuttasaurus]

I wasn't embarrassed by my all-used Mesa Walkabout head playing through a vertically-stacked Hartke HD112 and GK210 cab with some random aluminum-cone speakers. Heck, I though myself smart for paying $600 total for decent sounding rig.

Then our guitarists bought matching brand-spanking-new Marshall half stacks.

Good thing no one notices the bass player.

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[dbase]

For some unknown reason that's beyond me it sounds distorted but other than that it works fine.

 

[DanGroove]

It should sound absolutely horrible, but it doesn't.

Its the Jack-in-the-Box Taco of bass rigs. Disgusting to look at and think about but somehow delicious.

 

[ashtray]

Not a bass rig, but as a teen my band played a Battle of the Bands contest using 5 guitar practice amps, ranging from 15-40 watts, daisy chained (line out to line in) together across the front of the stage.
Dialing in maximum volume with minimal distortion per amp. It looked silly but it worked surprisingly well.

Meanwhile the other bands all spent money renting PA’s and were having feedback issues.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

I have since upgraded my cab but for about a year I played my rumble 500 head through the cab portion of a Crate BX-160 combo.View attachment 4674798

So Anyway, that's one serious stage.
How much set-up time for the triangle & bottles?

 

[NathOBX]

So Anyway, that's one serious stage.
How much set-up time for the triangle & bottles?

Its at a local restaurant and outdoor bar, the bottles are glued down.

 

[Tim Lombardi]

The rig of shame thread. Things that any self respecting bass player would throw away, walk away from, or refuse as a gift, but they work perfectly well.

I will start.

I'll start with the rig of shame. The Unholy Trinity (of which I am not ashamed) posing in front of the guilty party - a Marshall G100RCD head. A head so bad that even guitarists hated it.

I love it. Absolutely love it. I get great sounds out of it, and before you say "but that's a guitar head and you're playing bass thru it!", I have two words for you. Jack, and Bruce.

To further compound, and cement, its place in the hall of all time TB shame I have paired it with 12" full range PA cabs which you can buy from Amazon for $200.

View attachment 4674180

It should sound absolutely horrible, but it doesn't. Plus, I have the footswitch option to go dirty if I want to.

It gets no less shameful when you look at the FX loop. I call it the P-A-R-T-Y loop. Y? Because I gotta.

View attachment 4674182
There's not even the price of a boutique 1/4" cable there. Shameful. But it works.

Show us your rigs of shame, and let no man cast the first stone...

I played a kay hollow body for a few months before I acquired an EB3. I earned a living and the patrons enjoyed what they heard. Beauty is in the eye/ear of the beholderr.

 

[chadds]

For some unknown reason that's beyond me it sounds distorted but other than that it works fine.
View attachment 4675092

It would sound perfectly clear if you dusted those cones off.