There was a Vox T60 that had a speaker out. I think it was 50 watts without the external speaker and 80 watts with one. I want one of those combos! There have been a few on Reverb, but I could never convince anyone to ship one to Canada.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
The Combo Club
- Thread starter ChefKen
- Start date
You're in fine shape, my partner-in-crime. We'll give these little ones a wee run and see what we find out. I believe you when you say sweet. I'm also thinking of the combo as a blank canvas in which to create on. Maybe an FX pedal here, an OD pedal there. Ya know, like Doc Intrepid with his many amps all strung together creating beautiful music!
I believe that's the ship that was on the news tonight rescuing an island of people. People were teasing the crew that they were gonna rate the voyage on the 'Net. Aussies still with a sense of humor. Bravo!
There are phil Jones (not here in Italy...), Markbass Micromark, expensive but well done, serious amps for small box.
I’m not familiar with any of these except the Blackstar Fly Bass, but here’s my take on that, for what it’s worth.
The Blackstar Fly Bass is light, compact, and sounds OK, if you can live with the limitations of its very small speaker. It doesn’t get very loud, nor does it go very deep. It does sound fuller because of the Sub Bass control, which mixes in a deeper harmonic with the bass signal.
While the speaker is small, it doesn’t fart out as easily as that of the VOX AC1, for example. I haven’t tried it with the available extension cab - which might help with both the volume and the bass - because one of the main attractions about this amp is its small size, and the extra cab would double that size, as well as making it more fiddly to set up.
The Fly Bass is also very sensitive to electronic interference. I live in a city, and simply cannot use it at home, because it’s impossible to get rid of the hum. Therefore, I have had to relegate it to holiday duties, which it does quite well. It fits nicely in a suitcase, and as a bonus, it works well as an MP3 speaker.
In conclusion, the Fly Bass is a fairly good take on the ultra-small practice amp, but it also doesn’t quite overcome the inherent limitations of that format. For that reason, I would not use it as my only practice amp.
I would agree with @G-Dog that the Rumble 40 or its modelling sibling the Studio 40 is definitely the way to go for a practice amp, both when it comes to price and features, but I also think that the Studio 40’s little brother, the LT25, is worth a closer look.
Last edited:
OK, I agree with your outlook: I also like to try nearly everything amp or bass related (spills into other areas too, but I'll limit the discussion to what is relevant in Combo Club).
I like tube sounds, and I like solid-state sounds. My job is engineer, and I work in product development and improvement, so I like to qualify and quantify information. So what that means for my testing idea is that I'll grab several basses, find a few key bass lines that I can play well and consistently, then plug in each bass to a given amp and record how it sounds. I may default to recording a riff on a few basses, then play it through each amp similar to that video I shared with the class a few weeks back.
My problem (if you will) is that most of my electric basses hang out in my upstairs office next to my desk, and I grab whichever one strikes my fancy when I take study breaks. I don't have an amp up there, (wife does not like how the GK fills the house at even moderate settings) so I play them unplugged. Because of years of doing that, I have a deep appreciation for how each has a particular voice, uncolored by amps or pickups.
When I get the chance to haul some basses to the basement and play through one of my rigs down there, I find myself searching for the sound each bass had on it's own. I think it's akin to the double bass players when they amp up. I can normally find it best with "the beast" (HA 7000 running a 410 Transporter) but it needs volume to sound good. Wife and cats get tired of that.
So...what I'm looking for is a dinky amp that does not rattle the floor very much (GK sends glorious vibrations through the floors of our old house when it's upstairs), is easy to transport (under 20 pounds, prefer under 15), small (tiny room), transparent (each bass sounds as close as possible to itself), and may be used to go to tiny acoustic gigs (drummer need not apply).
Whew, hope that answers lingering questions.
JacobT: thanks for your very in-depth review of the Fly. I included it in my listing because of how many good-sounding videos I've seen with it. I don't expect it to be a winner, but I've not yet kicked it out of the running. The hum you mentioned may be enough to eliminate it. I get annoyed with that pretty quickly.
As far as the Fender amps, they are just too big for what I want. In that size range, I've got my GK.
Thanks all, keep sending questions and ideas!
Rod
RR, you made this much easier by this post, but I’d still love it if you went ahead and conducted your recording project. The Foxy Voxy, as we’ve come to know it, has got to be your pre-competition favorite. It literally checks every box you wrote about.
Cat/wife-friendly (an eight is only gonna go so deep and rattle furniture); light (babies come out of the womb weighing more); tone (NuTube works); Aux In, Line Out, headphone-applicable, and even its cosmetics won’t embarrass you.
While I haven’t used it past my music room doorway, G’Dog has used it for worship service and it’s more than held its own. Also, he’s played it for what sounds like you’re gonna use it for, acoustic jam, and it’s done fine there too. Doggie can embellish how he wants to with those examples.
Sorry to be a spoiler, but I sincerely think you’ve found your combo, but please perform an early 2020 experiment that I know everyone will enjoy.
My first bass amp was a '60s Traynor Bass Mate YBA 60w + 15" combo.
Bought in '68 for $60 by my parents after I worked all summer picking in the truck farmer bean fields and bought a UniVox copy Beatle Bass for $80. Deal was if I bought the bass, the parents would spring for an amp.
Was in 7th grade, first year Jr Hi School. Was in orchestra as a double-bassist, but wanted to be in a rock band. "Oh! I play bass --- Paul McCartney plays bass guitar. I can do this!"
Not really powerful enough for gigs, but I sure used it on a bunch! Mostly a practice amp that stayed up in my room. Thing weighed A TON! By the time I was in High School and playing professionally had a Sunn 200s + 215 cab
Kept it as a practice amp through college '80. Was going to take it home, but tipped it over on the dorm cement floor and couldn't get her to work again. Seeing as I was leaving school to go back to the big city, and looking like I might be homeless awhile - no prospects - I threw it in the dumpster. Had the Sunn rig in storage anyway. Shoulda kept the Bass Mate, though.
I'm already in the club! Thanks for the number!
Just tellin' a little "back when" story! 
Bought in '68 for $60 by my parents after I worked all summer picking in the truck farmer bean fields and bought a UniVox copy Beatle Bass for $80. Deal was if I bought the bass, the parents would spring for an amp.
Was in 7th grade, first year Jr Hi School. Was in orchestra as a double-bassist, but wanted to be in a rock band. "Oh! I play bass --- Paul McCartney plays bass guitar. I can do this!"
Not really powerful enough for gigs, but I sure used it on a bunch! Mostly a practice amp that stayed up in my room. Thing weighed A TON! By the time I was in High School and playing professionally had a Sunn 200s + 215 cab
Kept it as a practice amp through college '80. Was going to take it home, but tipped it over on the dorm cement floor and couldn't get her to work again. Seeing as I was leaving school to go back to the big city, and looking like I might be homeless awhile - no prospects - I threw it in the dumpster. Had the Sunn rig in storage anyway. Shoulda kept the Bass Mate, though.
I'm already in the club! Thanks for the number!
Just tellin' a little "back when" story!
My first bass amp was a '60s Traynor Bass Mate YBA 60w + 15" combo.
Bought in '68 for $60 by my parents after I worked all summer picking in the truck farmer bean fields and bought a UniVox copy Beatle Bass for $80. Deal was if I bought the bass, the parents would spring for an amp.
Was in 7th grade, first year Jr Hi School. Was in orchestra as a double-bassist, but wanted to be in a rock band. "Oh! I play bass --- Paul McCartney plays bass guitar. I can do this!"
Not really powerful enough for gigs, but I sure used it on a bunch! Mostly a practice amp that stayed up in my room. Thing weighed A TON! By the time I was in High School and playing professionally had a Sunn 200s + 215 cab
Kept it as a practice amp through college '80. Was going to take it home, but tipped it over on the dorm cement floor and couldn't get her to work again. Seeing as I was leaving school to go back to the big city, and looking like I might be homeless awhile - no prospects - I threw it in the dumpster. Had the Sunn rig in storage anyway. Shoulda kept the Bass Mate, though.
I'm already in the club! Thanks for the number!
View attachment 3656490
Thanks so much, ryco, these are the kind of stories we all love to read. It’s an honest view of the personal journey of one of our club’s members. It also is an enjoyable trip “back when” which those of us fifty and older can relate to. The pics are an added bonus. Thanks for sharing!
As we say in product testing: don't determine the outlook before the test is run.RR, you made this much easier by this post, but I’d still love it if you went ahead and conducted your recording project. The Foxy Voxy, as we’ve come to know it, has got to be your pre-competition favorite. It literally checks every box you wrote about.
Cat/wife-friendly (an eight is only gonna go so deep and rattle furniture); light (babies come out of the womb weighing more); tone (NuTube works); Aux In, Line Out, headphone-applicable, and even its cosmetics won’t embarrass you.
While I haven’t used it past my music room doorway, G’Dog has used it for worship service and it’s more than held its own. Also, he’s played it for what sounds like you’re gonna use it for, acoustic jam, and it’s done fine there too. Doggie can embellish how he wants to with those examples.
Sorry to be a spoiler, but I sincerely think you’ve found your combo, but please perform an early 2020 experiment that I know everyone will enjoy.
I certainly agree that the Vox is a lead candidate, but I must point out that you have not tried the little Double 4 yet. Maybe that will change your mind? From what I hear about it, it also checks the boxes.
Looking at who sells all these amps, to know who may be able to be my partner in bass.
Morning, Afternoon, Evening all...just reading back on past few posts.
Very good interesting write-up there Rod thank you..and I thought you were a man of few words loll
I used to be a man of too many words, but with help, and a useful program, I got better.
I used to have one of these amps back in the 60's..It was a Goldentone Bassmaster amp..looked funny on its furniture wooden screw in legs..mine was a 60 watter..It was interesting in that it was actually classified as a Combo because the head turned upside down when not in use and sat inside the cab and clipped to the sides of the cab using suitcase type latches. You undid the latches, pulled the head up and out of the cab, turned it up the right way, latched it to the cab the right way up and taddaaa..a head and cab combo type amp loll..in Australia if a dog is a cross breed we call it a bitza (bits of this and bits of that)...this old amp was a Combo, yet a seperate head and cab..a bitza loll
EDIT: In the bottom pic if you look carefully you can see the suitcase type latches on either side.
EDIT: In the bottom pic if you look carefully you can see the suitcase type latches on either side.
Last edited:
Same here Rod..but my useful program was called a wife lollI used to be a man of too many words, but with help, and a useful program, I got better.
Not that dissimilar from a B15.
I had a 66 Gibby EB-3 that I not too brightly(OK, stupidly)sold. About 6 weeks later, we got a bunch of gigs where I needed a shorty.
I couldn't find a black Epi EB-0, so I wound up with a Squier VM Jaguar SS. It's 'OK', but the neck profile and I don't don't really work well.Update on the Peavey MAX 110 experiment: short version, meh. As hinted, today I plugged in the TBird. Fooled with the various knobs and buttons and still couldn't get a tone I truly liked. This makes 3 of my 4 basses I tried with it, so it goes back to being an emergency backup. If I could get a decent $ out of it, I'd sell it, but IDK of anyone that even might be interested and shipping would be pretty expensive. Oh, well.
My missus would shoot me if I paid heaps more for the shipping to Australia than it cost for the Peavey lollI had a 66 Gibby EB-3 that I not too brightly(OK, stupidly)sold. About 6 weeks later, we got a bunch of gigs where I needed a shorty.
Update on the Peavey MAX 110 experiment: short version, meh. As hinted, today I plugged in the TBird. Fooled with the various knobs and buttons and still couldn't get a tone I truly liked. This makes 3 of my 4 basses I tried with it, so it goes back to being an emergency backup. If I could get a decent $ out of it, I'd sell it, but IDK of anyone that even might be interested and shipping would be pretty expensive. Oh, well.
EDIT: I still miss that lovely little Gibbo EB3..stupid stupid stupid..I dont think ive sold anything since loll
Hey GP..you say Gibby I say Gibbo
You say eether and I say eyether,
You say neether and I say nyther;
Eether, eyether, neether, nyther,
Let's call the whole thing off!
lolll
You say eether and I say eyether,
You say neether and I say nyther;
Eether, eyether, neether, nyther,
Let's call the whole thing off!
lolll
I checked. There are a coupla places that have them NOS for $250 +/-. And others that have them used for as little as $70. If I could squeeze $150 out of it, I'd be happy. But I know that ain't likely to happen. I expect to get over it.I had a 66 Gibby EB-3 that I not too brightly(OK, stupidly)sold. About 6 weeks later, we got a bunch of gigs where I needed a shorty.
Update on the Peavey MAX 110 experiment: short version, meh. As hinted, today I plugged in the TBird. Fooled with the various knobs and buttons and still couldn't get a tone I truly liked. This makes 3 of my 4 basses I tried with it, so it goes back to being an emergency backup. If I could get a decent $ out of it, I'd sell it, but IDK of anyone that even might be interested and shipping would be pretty expensive. Oh, well.
