The Combo Club

[Giffro]

I went through the previous 3-4 pages (for the latest info) and didn’t see much discussion of combo amps, but I get it... topics wander.
I’m back into bass playing after a couple of decades — never got rid of my ‘62 reissue Jazz bass though — been performing with guitar for most of that time, and looking at what to get amp-wise. Started loving the Hartke KB15, and am not at all convinced that you have to get a modular set-up, though I understand much of the reasoning. Then read, of course, negative opinions on Hartke, which every brand will have of course. Not really able to go out and try out a bunch of amps, and I’m fine with buying new gear as opposed to used. I like the thought of a 15” speaker as opposed to a 12 or two 10s, and I want to be able to use this as a practice and gig amp for small/medium venue. So I think I nee 500 watts or better. But portability is also important. Can’t see the sense of spending $700 on a head and $500 more on a cabinet when there are so many happy campers out there with good combos that sell for around $500-$600 and seem to deliver the goods. Thoughts are more than welcome!

Loads of different combos here Ess and many guys are Fender bass players too..I myself have a Fender Rumble 500 Combo with a 115 ext. cab..sounds great too with my 4003 Ric or Peavey Dyna 5 and my EB Stingray 5 too..I have a Peavey rig MKIV head and 1820 cab but over the last few years those got too heavy to lug around so im loving my Rumble rig.

 

[Giffro]

Plenty of great help here Ess and you will normally find heaps of discussion...its just a bad time at trhe moment so if you don't get the responses from more then 1 member at the moments its because of the holidays this week..fear not lots of help abounds around here normally so hang in there and make sure you come back..you can even request a club number if you want one once you upload pics of your combo rig. As for myself I am in a danger situation at the moment with another small fire in the hill behind me so I have to go for awile..please check back if no responses soon.
Ok guys gotta go for a bit..im hearing sirens..Australia is certainly on fire..we have a temp of 44C degrees tomorrow...back later all.

 

[biguglyman]

My combo "family". Just sold the Eden rig on the right. Eden Nemesis RS410 combo. Great unit if you can find one. 320 watts and 4X10"s of gorgeous Eden tone in a 63 pound package on wheels. However as I'm aging (63) I found it increasingly difficult to lug around. I managed to find a great deal locally on a GK MB212ii. (the bottom left unit) This is 500 watts into 2X12's and weighs about the same as the little 1X10 Carvin on top. While the GK "sound" is much different from the Eden (not better or worse, just different) I can dial in very capable tones for all my basses. These are a bit expensive new but can be found on the used market rather easily and they're very "back friendly".

This is the only other family member left. My Eden N12 "kickback" combo currently on loan to my son to use for his keys. (and my "borrowed" precision) At 135 watts the coaxial 12" speaker does a great job of extending the frequency response up to where it makes a very good keyboard amp.

In the past year I've also bought and sold a Peavey TNT 115 tour series. Got a good deal on it to leave in the practice room while replacing the speaker in my Carvin. You may want to hop over to the Rumble club. If you're into that old school thump, these Fender's bring it...or so I've heard. Never owned one so no first hand knowledge.

 

[GwenOnBass]

I went through the previous 3-4 pages (for the latest info) and didn’t see much discussion of combo amps, but I get it... topics wander.
I’m back into bass playing after a couple of decades — never got rid of my ‘62 reissue Jazz bass though — been performing with guitar for most of that time, and looking at what to get amp-wise. Started loving the Hartke KB15, and am not at all convinced that you have to get a modular set-up, though I understand much of the reasoning. Then read, of course, negative opinions on Hartke, which every brand will have of course. Not really able to go out and try out a bunch of amps, and I’m fine with buying new gear as opposed to used. I like the thought of a 15” speaker as opposed to a 12 or two 10s, and I want to be able to use this as a practice and gig amp for small/medium venue. So I think I nee 500 watts or better. But portability is also important. Can’t see the sense of spending $700 on a head and $500 more on a cabinet when there are so many happy campers out there with good combos that sell for around $500-$600 and seem to deliver the goods. Thoughts are more than welcome!

The Markbass Mini CMD 121P gets high marks from gigging bassists for handling every job. It's a "modern" sounding amp, whatever that means, but "vintage tones" can be dialed in pretty easily. Noted these infos are gleaned from MB owners, as my primary amp is a Phil Jones Bass BG-400 combo (and C4 extension). We've got one TB'r who gigs two BG-400 / C4 rigs for very, very loud situations.

 

[13bass]

Every once in awhile, I'll turn up the volume on the J pup-just to remind me why I don't use it.

I see this type of comment a lot. Is it J pickups in general or do you think a different pickup might make you happy?

 

[chowny]

Only realized how much I like a bound neck after playing one. And my Chowny CHB-1 has a first fret marker, which I also discovered I prefer very much. It makes the bass feel more "finished" to me.

One of those things we learned when making the CHB-1. First fret marker is traditional on semi-hollow basses. If anybody knows why I'd love to know.

 

[RodRy]

So, I don't have a gear list setup yet, but I have a Rumble 40, and I bought that PJB D4 by the way. My justification being that my Rumble 40 is too loud for my apartment. Nevermind the fact that the walls are so thin I feel like changing the strings on my acoustic since I'm worried the phosphor bronze rings out to much.

OOO! What has been your experience with the D4? As you've seen, I've been leaning that direction of late.

Also, WELCOME! I dig the Godzilla photo! Check out the Mediocre Bassist Club if you are looking for a slightly different crowd of fun and quirky bassists.

 

[GonePlaid]

Plenty of great help here Ess and you will normally find heaps of discussion...its just a bad time at trhe moment so if you don't get the responses from more then 1 member at the moments its because of the holidays this week..fear not lots of help abounds around here normally so hang in there and make sure you come back..you can even request a club number if you want one once you upload pics of your combo rig. As for myself I am in a danger situation at the moment with another small fire in the hill behind me so I have to go for awile..please check back if no responses soon.
Ok guys gotta go for a bit..im hearing sirens..Australia is certainly on fire..we have a temp of 44C degrees tomorrow...back later all.

Stay safe, Giffro.

 

[GonePlaid]

I see this type of comment a lot. Is it J pickups in general or do you think a different pickup might make you happy?

I think it's J pups in general. For our 60s-70s +/- song list, the P pup comes close to projecting the tone I want. Because I started playing on a Gibson EB-3 and have stayed with mostly Gibby/Epi basses since, the 7ender/Squire feel and tone is "foreign" territory for me. If I had found a decent deal on a black Epi EB-0, I would not have bought the VM Jaguar. I needed a short scale and it felt "OK" during my short test.

 

[RodRy]

I went through the previous 3-4 pages (for the latest info) and didn’t see much discussion of combo amps, but I get it... topics wander.
I’m back into bass playing after a couple of decades — never got rid of my ‘62 reissue Jazz bass though — been performing with guitar for most of that time, and looking at what to get amp-wise. Started loving the Hartke KB15, and am not at all convinced that you have to get a modular set-up, though I understand much of the reasoning. Then read, of course, negative opinions on Hartke, which every brand will have of course. Not really able to go out and try out a bunch of amps, and I’m fine with buying new gear as opposed to used. I like the thought of a 15” speaker as opposed to a 12 or two 10s, and I want to be able to use this as a practice and gig amp for small/medium venue. So I think I nee 500 watts or better. But portability is also important. Can’t see the sense of spending $700 on a head and $500 more on a cabinet when there are so many happy campers out there with good combos that sell for around $500-$600 and seem to deliver the goods. Thoughts are more than welcome!

While I don't have a Hartke combo, I do have a HA7000 head that I've owned for over 25 years, and a 410 Transporter cabinet I've had for about 20. I think they made good quality amps and cabs, and I can't think that the combos would be very bad at all. Personally, I really like my GK Micro bass 112 combo. The tone is rather dry (although it has chorus), but I tend to like that. It has kept up with moderate drummers, and can more than carry a small venue in acoustic guitar settings. Size is quite tiny for a 12" speaker, cabinet is made of metal (!!) and weighs about 25 pounds.

 

[G-Dog]

... ... (BTW, the backwards notes are how I see them anyway. I’d have left them)

But, FL, backwards notes are playink "I buried Fearless Leader ..." which we all refuse to accept as true! Long is livink Fearless Leader!

​

.

Wow. I’m new here and thought this thread was about combo amps.

<ahem> uh, yes ... Yes, of course, is Combo Club. Back to business of Combos! Holidays are beink over now. Here is beink some of my bass Combo amps.

​

Am lovink all my bass Combo amps for the various strength of each one.

.​

 

[GonePlaid]

I went through the previous 3-4 pages (for the latest info) and didn’t see much discussion of combo amps, but I get it... topics wander.
I’m back into bass playing after a couple of decades — never got rid of my ‘62 reissue Jazz bass though — been performing with guitar for most of that time, and looking at what to get amp-wise. Started loving the Hartke KB15, and am not at all convinced that you have to get a modular set-up, though I understand much of the reasoning. Then read, of course, negative opinions on Hartke, which every brand will have of course. Not really able to go out and try out a bunch of amps, and I’m fine with buying new gear as opposed to used. I like the thought of a 15” speaker as opposed to a 12 or two 10s, and I want to be able to use this as a practice and gig amp for small/medium venue. So I think I nee 500 watts or better. But portability is also important. Can’t see the sense of spending $700 on a head and $500 more on a cabinet when there are so many happy campers out there with good combos that sell for around $500-$600 and seem to deliver the goods. Thoughts are more than welcome!

I currently use Rumbles(v3's). My first was a Rumble 200c in Nov. 2015-lighter and more powerful than the rolled and pleated 70's Kustom I was using. I bought a R40 when my 2000 Bassman 25 started 'acting up'. The 40 is fine for some of the smaller restaurant/lounge gigs we get and for the community concert band I'm a part of, playing string bass parts as no upright players are available(or interested?). I also bought a R112 extension cab to use with the 200c for those very rare occasions I 'need' it. I recently gave myself a R100 which is more than enough for 90% of our gigs.(BTW, we NEVER have FOH). Our repertoire is mostly 60s-70s rock. Our audiences are generally 50 y/o and up. They don't want loud. In fact, for some reason, they wanna be able to talk to one another without screaming. Also, all of our gigs are one-nighters, so the easier the load in/out, the better.
Unless somebody wants to give me a 63 piggyback Bassman, like my first amp-in 69, I'll never own a non-combo amp again.

 

[Protagonist]

OOO! What has been your experience with the D4? As you've seen, I've been leaning that direction of late.

Also, WELCOME! I dig the Godzilla photo! Check out the Mediocre Bassist Club if you are looking for a slightly different crowd of fun and quirky bassists.

I just ordered it so I'll have to let you know. It just seemed like the perfect solution for apartment practice, camping, traveling and possibly future tiny gigs. One thing I like is the passive radiator party trick that Phil Jones borrowed from his experience in the HiFi speaker industry. It should work like having an unpowered 6x9 speaker that is passively powered by the 2 four inch speaker's motion, as long as the cabinet is sealed.

 

[Orpheus55]

I just played a New Year's Eve gig in a large room with my ten-piece classic rock-horn band with a Hartke HD75 combo (gift from my daughter). I had PA support, and raised it slightly with an Onstage wedge. I never needed to go past 4 on the volume, and was even told to turn down by the horn section. There was a little lack of definition on the stage, but when I set it flat it became punchier at the same volume. I was thinking of it as only a practice amp, but--even at so-called 75 watts--this little combo really thumped and did everything I could have asked as an onstage monitor and more. It is not light at 47 lbs., but exudes durability. I kept the tone controls mostly flat throughout, but did edge the higher frequencies up toward the end of the night. Now, there is no XLR out, but my Radial Pro DI gave a great pre-sound with no hiss or hum; one could also feed the DI post via the return/send option, but I didn't try that. A handcart is advised, and one plus of it being a little heavier than some combos is that is remains stable when transporting it via the cart. Anyway, having heard so much about the limitations of such units, I think it is fair to say that--given FOH support--this combo can do the job.

 

[GonePlaid]

I just played a New Year's Eve gig in a large room with my ten-piece classic rock-horn band with a Hartke HD75 combo (gift from my daughter). I had PA support, and raised it slightly with an Onstage wedge. I never needed to go past 4 on the volume, and was even told to turn down by the horn section. There was a little lack of definition on the stage, but when I set it flat it became punchier at the same volume. I was thinking of it as only a practice amp, but--even at so-called 75 watts--this little combo really thumped and did everything I could have asked as an onstage monitor and more. It is not light at 47 lbs., but exudes durability. I kept the tone controls mostly flat throughout, but did edge the higher frequencies up toward the end of the night. Now, there is no XLR out, but my Radial Pro DI gave a great pre-sound with no hiss or hum; one could also feed the DI post via the return/send option, but I didn't try that. A handcart is advised, and one plus of it being a little heavier than some combos is that is remains stable when transporting it via the cart. Anyway, having heard so much about the limitations of such units, I think it is fair to say that--given FOH support--this combo can do the job.

What's FOH(I know what it is, we just never have/need it)?

 

[iagtrplyr]

If you require a club number just ask iagtrplyr (Fearless Leader - Mike) or G-Dog (Doggy lol)..he'll catch up on your request shortly if you are a combo owner.

Yessiree! Upload a pic of your combo and I'll be more than happy to get you one of our prestigious numbers.

 

[iagtrplyr]

So, I don't have a gear list setup yet, but I have a Rumble 40, and I bought that PJB D4 by the way. My justification being that my Rumble 40 is too loud for my apartment. Nevermind the fact that the walls are so thin I feel like changing the strings on my acoustic since I'm worried the phosphor bronze rings out to much.

Protagonist, that is fantastic. You saw and you conquered. I'm gonna wait to hear your first-hand review of the D4. Like others, I'll be interested to read what your thoughts are. For your situation, I'm sure it's gonna be a perfect fit. Send the family pic and you'll enjoy your very own membership number!

 

[iagtrplyr]

Please show us pix of your combos! And ask for a number and you shall receive.
.

This is Doggie 007. The guy who knows everything going on in CC and is happy to share it on our own Wiki page. Lord knows I've got a flattering pic or two on there. Check it out!

 

[iagtrplyr]

Wow. I’m new here and thought this thread was about combo amps.

It is...amongst several other things we find absolutely vital to discuss. You wanna know about combos, you came to the right place.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Started loving the Hartke KB15, and am not at all convinced that you have to get a modular set-up, though I understand much of the reasoning.

You are correct, EssEll, separates do offer advantages, no doubt, but so do combo amps. This fine group assembled own separates as well, but are all believers that a properly-used combo is a thing of beauty, portability, and quality sound.

I like the thought of a 15” speaker as opposed to a 12 or two 10s, and I want to be able to use this as a practice and gig amp for small/medium venue. So I think I nee 500 watts or better. But portability is also important. Can’t see the sense of spending $700 on a head and $500 more on a cabinet when there are so many happy campers out there with good combos that sell for around $500-$600 and seem to deliver the goods. Thoughts are more than welcome!

One of the rules we have here is we don't players' gear, but we're open to debating one amp over another. Hartke is a solid brand and I don't think you're going to get an argument over it. Like other brands, some models are better than others and/or are liked better or worse than others in the line. The KB15 is not one I've personally played before, but I have looked at it online with the thought of a possible purchase. My main opposition to it (and it may not matter to you) is they're playing with ya with their power rating. It's a 250-watt amp that peaks up to 500 watts. Peak power is literally in microseconds for how long it'll sustain that level of power. So what I'd do is compare it to 200-300 watt amps when making the decision. Other than that, the kickback feature is one Hartke has used for years now, and its overall weight is pretty decent too. If ya could, I try to audition one or at least make sure there's the place you buy it from has a solid return policy.

Others in that range would be Morrighan's Markbass combo she mentioned, though it's at the top end moneywise, the Fender Rumble 500 that is loved here at TB, possibly the Ampeg BA-210 v2, and a host of others begging you to purchase. If you do, post a picture of it here and join our merry band of combo-loving mauraders.