I also use my Double Four with my various 21-24” scale electric magnetic pickup basses with flatwound steel strings that sounds very good.
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Smallest amp you’ve been impressed by?
- Thread starter Inconnu
- Start date
Fender Rumble Studio 40 is the most impressive small bass amp I've ever played through or heard anywhere at anytime. Yes, that good.
Another vote for the Mesa WA Scout. But I was also impressed with a old Hartke Hydrive combo I borrowed a number of years ago, it too was an over achiever for its size.
RIP Carvin amps.
I really wanted one of those with the extension speaker. Looked like a super deal.
OK so I admit I'm a GOF. I remember way back getting those small Carvin catalogs with the huge PA's on the cover. I used to fantasize over their equipment for years, when I was too young to afford them. They had some of the coolest natural ash double cutaway basses that were light when Fender was putting out 11 pound Pbasses. No offense to you Pbass users, I've owned a couple in my life.
When I've called the Carvin reps over the years, they always had a BIG attitude. Like they were annoyed they had to be talking to customers. That on top of the fact that their customer support eventually got terrible. What a waste of a fine company name. It seems like once the original owner sells/dies the next generation never has the love and dedication that made the company great to begin with.
I hope that if they do get a chance to regroup (and they should have that chance) that they clean up their customer support, offer free shipping ANYWHERE in the US, and offer top tier phone sales and support. I hope they get that chance.
BTW lots of cool small amp stacks here! Lots of fun looking at them! Thanks guys! Keep 'em coming!
Wow - 4 pages and 1) no one has said SVT/810, and 2) No one has objected because the OP specified "handle low B"
saw this in a Long & McQuade (Canadian Guitar Centre)
it is basically their 200 watt head on a tiny cab with a 6.5" speaker, 15 lbs........it has been a while but I recall it was darn loud for its size....also I think you can disconnect the cab and run a cable to a full size cab (don't quote me not 100% sure on that )
Traynor Amps
I have a pic with a Jazz for scale I'll add later, can't find it
it is basically their 200 watt head on a tiny cab with a 6.5" speaker, 15 lbs........it has been a while but I recall it was darn loud for its size....also I think you can disconnect the cab and run a cable to a full size cab (don't quote me not 100% sure on that )
Traynor Amps
I have a pic with a Jazz for scale I'll add later, can't find it
I had exactly the same amp, nice amp: I replaced it with a Markbass CMD121, which is a 250/500 combo, plus the matching 121 extension cab. Standard combo comes with me to rehearsal, and I add the extension for gigs.
I would have to say the SWR Workingman 1x10 combo. The iteration right after they stopped printing the SWR badge on the speaker. Yes, it's not in production anymore, but they are built like a tank and have an extension speaker out.
I wanted it the moment I saw it. Until I found that when you plug in an extension cabinet, it disables the internal speaker, thereby reducing it to the amplifier only. So why pay extra for the Combo then?
well..I guess you have a cool super portable practice amp and the powerful SB200h amp head all in one....sort of a combo-combo ...but I guess it would look a bit goofy of you put it on top of a a 115 or 210 or something....I also seem to recall, it looked like you could disconnect the head from the cab......again not 100% sure
Practices with a full band, a small pa, loud keyboards, full acoustic drum set, in an averaged sized living room, my EA 112 CXL now converted to a Faital Pro neo 12, and the same super tweeter Schroeder uses, and my Carvin BX 500 is incredible. It also works great as a small room gig amp. Medium sized or casino gigs- I'll bring the same amp, and either my killer Carvin first gen BRX 10.2 Neo, or my Mesa Powerhouse 112 with a newer B&C 12.
I also have a GK MB 112, killer- but it runs out of steam pretty quick when you hit the wall. The Carvin/ modular cab setup runs away from it- and isn't that much bigger or harder to lug around. My converted EA cab weighs about 25 pounds.
I also have a GK MB 112, killer- but it runs out of steam pretty quick when you hit the wall. The Carvin/ modular cab setup runs away from it- and isn't that much bigger or harder to lug around. My converted EA cab weighs about 25 pounds.
I recently had the pleasure of using a Workingman's 15 and it was fantastic sounding. Seemed the more I pushed it the sweeter it sounded. Made my Ibanez sound fantastic. Too bad they were gobbled up and killed off. I wish the owner had sold them to a smaller company that would have continued their great lines of amps. Now that I think of it, I didn't like the L.A. series that much. They seemed cheap compared to the Workingman's line.
I've been using the GK 200MB for about 20 years on electric and upright and can't imagine using anything else for rehearsals or small to mid-sized gigs. Metal body though light, great sound, built to last. The line out also helps with FOH.
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