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Small Combo Recommendations

#21
I have a PJB Bass Cub. It's pretty nice sounding and transparent. I love how light it is and extremely compact. Puts out way more volume than expected. Handles low B well.

Nice features with dual channel inputs along with everything u will need as a home/practice amp(aux input, headphones out, di/line/tuner out, defeatable limiter).

It works great for jam sessions along with acoustic or micro amp overdriven guitars. Puts out enough volume and lows for this sort of thing but would probably be underpowered for anything more. Don't expect it to be able to cut thru with a drum kit in the equation. Would be fine for coffee-shop/acoustic gigs as a bass monitor hooked up to PA.

I've only used it for home practice and acoustic/micro guitar amp jams mainly. It excels at this due to its tiny size and low weight.
 
#22
darrenmt said:
I have a PJB Bass Cub. It's pretty nice sounding and transparent. I love how light it is and extremely compact. Puts out way more volume than expected. Handles low B well.

Nice features with dual channel inputs along with everything u will need as a home/practice amp(aux input, headphones out, di/line/tuner out, defeatable limiter).

It works great for jam sessions along with acoustic or micro amp overdriven guitars. Puts out enough volume and lows for this sort of thing but would probably be underpowered for anything more. Don't expect it to be able to cut thru with a drum kit in the equation. Would be fine for coffee-shop/acoustic gigs as a bass monitor hooked up to PA.

I've only used it for home practice and acoustic/micro guitar amp jams mainly. It excels at this due to its tiny size and low weight.
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My impression is that with the PJB amps you trade spl capability for tone and clarity at a given price point. Do you find this to be true? if so, is the tone and clarity really that much better than more conventional designs? Do you think that the Flight Case or Super Flight Case would provide greater useful spl capability. In other words, are they a more practical amp (useful in more playing situations) than the Bass Cub?
 
#29
Joe Louvar said:
Hmm.

OP: are you just recommending the little PJB Cub, or are you looking for louder bass combo recommendations?

If you're happy with the little Cub - maybe the PJB Briefcase would be a good upgrade for you?
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I am looking for unusually high clarity and natural tone, but with the spl ability to cover small venues with 'acoustic' players. I want to be able to EQ for different tones rather than have them baked in. It is my hope that some 'standard' (baked) amps could be EQ'ed to different tones.
 
#31
AstroSonic said:
I am looking for unusually high clarity and natural tone, but with the spl ability to cover small venues with 'acoustic' players. I want to be able to EQ for different tones rather than have them baked in.
Click to expand...

Hmm - completely transparent. Oh Okay, well then, good luck.

It is my hope that some 'standard' (baked) amps could be EQ'ed to different tones.
Click to expand...

FWIW: All of them can.

Cheers :bassist:
 
#32
Joe Louvar said:
Hmm - completely transparent. Oh Okay, well then, good luck.



FWIW: All of them can.

Cheers :bassist:
Click to expand...

I don't really need 'completely' transparent, just not so baked in that it can't be EQ'ed out and adjusted to a different flavor. I think that the most critical element is the speaker. Most of the electronics (amps) are sufficiently transparent. The speakers tend to be pretty strongly flavored. For example, try getting a modern tone through a SVT210AV. The GK Neo 115 III has some pretty strong mids that are difficult to EQ out. The MB115 combo has a quite transparent amp with very flexible EQ, but the speaker has very strong mids and a huge upper bass peak. OTOH, the MB112 is more neutrally voiced. My point is that some are more suited than others.

I would also like the amp to be minimally intrusive to help maintain the 'acoustic' character of the events, and to be convenient for me. Hence, the interest in smaller amps like the Bass cub, P3110, and Carvin MB10 (instead of the more capable 15). I would also like the amp to have the capability to have a warm or 'full' bass tone - not mid-dominant or thin. I do not play 'castrato' bass.

So there you have it. Relatively transparent, powerful EQ, warm/full bass and compact. Oh, and no audible hum and hiss between songs.
 
#34
Joe Louvar said:
FWIW: I like both the GK MB115, MB112, and I love my little MB110 too - but, I wouldn't call any of them transparent. Maybe you'll find help in this on going thread http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/transparent-flat-bass-cabinetswhos-making-them-1059129/

Cheers
Click to expand...

I have not heard the 110. How does it compare to the 115 tone-wise. Can it be EQ'ed to fairly neutral, be down no more than 5 or 6 db at 60 Hz after EQ (without sounding bloated), and carry a mainly acoustic event in a small venue?
 
#37
Not reading any of the responses, as I don't want to be predjudiced (or defensive) in any way with mine :). I recently went through this, and had my own thread discussion. Spent a month researching and thinking real hard, and finally decided on a Carvin MB10. I couldn't be happier.

My experience. Should state that I bought it with the 15" extension speaker.

No combo that size is going to knock any walls down, or hold up to a pounding drummer. For acoustic type gigs though, and for it's size this thing pumps out a considerable amount of volume, and even moves some air. I only used it in a studio rehearsal, but was able to hear it above a drummer who wasn't pounding, with a guitar and harmonica. If we went full volume it would be a no go. With the added 15, it held up pretty well.

I owned a GK MB210 with an MB115, and this killed it. I returned the GK immediately. I am definitely keeping the Carvin. And it's one 10" speaker less. It's louder (the entire stack), much more versatile, moves more air, weighs less, takes up less space, and costs less. I think the quality is way better too, but I won't get into that.

The thing I like the most about the Carvin is the versatility. Its got a contour, bass, treble, 2 semi parametric mids, tweeter control, a compressor, and drive that really makes a difference in the sound. Fiddling with the mids can do some really amazing things with this little box. Give it real oomph, cut, punch, and tame my boomier basses if needed. The GK I was only able, in a band mix, to dial in "boxy". GK had to work real hard to cut through and not break up. The Carvin has a lot more room.

My experience. My opinion. My choice after owning both. And I'm very happy with my choice.

At carvin the color upgrades are now free too :). The blue looks awesome.
 
#38
darrenmt said:
I have a PJB Bass Cub. It's pretty nice sounding and transparent. I love how light it is and extremely compact. Puts out way more volume than expected. Handles low B well.

Nice features with dual channel inputs along with everything u will need as a home/practice amp(aux input, headphones out, di/line/tuner out, defeatable limiter).

It works great for jam sessions along with acoustic or micro amp overdriven guitars. Puts out enough volume and lows for this sort of thing but would probably be underpowered for anything more. Don't expect it to be able to cut thru with a drum kit in the equation. Would be fine for coffee-shop/acoustic gigs as a bass monitor hooked up to PA.

I've only used it for home practice and acoustic/micro guitar amp jams mainly. It excels at this due to its tiny size and low weight.
Click to expand...
I just bought a used PJB Bass Cub, this post makes me feel better about it, be here later this week. I'll reply here if you're interested.
 
#39
Just want to put out that I was really close to becoming a PJB club member, but after reading enough reviews I was convinced that this was going to be real iffy in any kind of bar situation. Most people say it's not incredibly loud. Looks great, is definitely the most portable, but the price is high and volume was definite concern for me.
 
#40
I'm fairly new to the bass scene, but I'll share what I know. I've tried the Eden EC10, with 50 watts and a 10" speaker. It was powerful enough for the use you have described, but I felt the speaker was too small. I gave the Eden back and got an Ampeg BA112. Plenty of power, 12" speaker is easily up to the task, light weight, small size, just perfect for me and maybe for you. It has a 5 position EQ selector combined with the normal three EQ knobs for maximum versatility. The big thing for me though is that it has that Ampeg sound. For acoustic work, folk, jazz, any lower volume application, it's a perfect bottom end for the music.

I use mine in a church. The amp volume is set at 3, the volume on the Squier Pbass with mighty-mite pickups is at 6 or so. Plenty of volume for me
 

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