I was looking at the price of PA gear the other day - two tops and two or four subs for not a lot of money and so much more portable than it used to be. Digital stageboxes and cat5 snakes mean no more massive cable runs and that has to be good.
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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I was looking at the price of PA gear the other day - two tops and two or four subs for not a lot of money and so much more portable than it used to be. Digital stageboxes and cat5 snakes mean no more massive cable runs and that has to be good.
Sounds fine until you mistake it for a headphone amp...
- Jul 1, 2005
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My other 'Portaflex' rig. 900 watts, three tubes, six pound head with an excellent DI. 1967 solid wood cab with a 300 watt Eminence, 30 lbs.
Since I am seeing discussion of GK stuff and a nice mix of technical and this is what I like, I am going to pose this question here. My current rig, MarkBass CMD102P, is plenty loud for a number of places that we play. It is not loud enough for other places we play. I know, we play loud and I cant change that. In looking for a new rig I discovered that I really like the tone, growl and earthy roar, of a Fender Rumble 500. The MB has great clarity, but it s a different tone-- like moderately dirty while demanding attention. While I like the tone, I know it will be much the same as the size is the same ballpark as the MB. The logical conclusion was to look for something larger in Fender, something comparable to the larger MB rig under consideration. In looking at costs and reading reviews, GK has snuck into the mix. I understand that this can be a very complicated set of calculations and calculus. I don't have the bandwidth to learn all that, so I am looking for recommendations/opinions/personal preferences. So, what say the crowd here. I will link to things I am considering below, but I am also willing to consider other things in a similar price range.
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http://www.guitarcenter.com/Markbass/Standard-104HF-Front-Ported-Neo-4x10-Bass-Speaker-Cabinet.gc
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http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender/Bassman-800-Hybrid-800W-Bass-Amp-Head.gc
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender/Bassman-Pro-410-4x10-Neo-Bass-Speaker-Cabinet.gc
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Rig 1
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http://www.guitarcenter.com/Markbass/Standard-104HF-Front-Ported-Neo-4x10-Bass-Speaker-Cabinet.gc
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http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender/Bassman-800-Hybrid-800W-Bass-Amp-Head.gc
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender/Bassman-Pro-410-4x10-Neo-Bass-Speaker-Cabinet.gc
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Lol thats what I was thinking . Its mega cool and Ill bet it sounds awesome , but to hell with lugging that about .
hillerup
There are basses, and there are Thunderbirds!
Did they just overhaul the TB pages?
Everything looks different on my iPhone, and I had to re-select the dark theme...
Everything looks different on my iPhone, and I had to re-select the dark theme...
I've seen some good stuff on the fender the dude from Green day has a video on it. For that kind of money though, no way. If it were ME, I'd go with a GK head (700 or 1001) or I'd go with a couple different preamps and a Poweramp. Depending on if your after 1 sound or like a variety. For the money/quality GK can't be touched.
I'll also say I am flat out not a fan of micro heads. They may very well sound great but man do they look pathetic on stage. That's just be, I still feel bass should be big and bad.
None of those rigs are bad set ups at all. Very generally speaking the cabs you've selected are all fairly transparent tone wise with maybe a slight mid focus. The Fender cab would probably be my choice of the three but only because I don't like the "in your face advertisement" of the bumblebee MB brand and I don't like the blinding spotlight reflection of the metal grill on the GK.
A question you might want to ask yourself about cabs is - do I like my tone deep and dark focused or punchy and mid focused or bright and crisp? I personally like deep and dark so I tend to gravitate towards Aguilar, Eden, Ashdown, Bergantino and Mesa Boogie cabs. I'd put the GK, Fender and Markbass stuff in the mids category and Hartke & SWR in the bright category. I'm sure there's exceptions in each brand but generally that's how I find these cabs sounding to my ear.
Second question I'd ask myself is - do I have a preference on speaker sizes? Assume the default is 10 inch speakers - some people just like 12s better and some like 15s better. It's a personal taste thing and might have a lot to do with your playing style. I personally like 10s and 15s more than 12s.
Last question to ask is - what form factor would work best with the venues I play, the band I play with and the vehicle I'll be transporting gear in? So if you like 12s and you like your tone fairly dark and you're playing medium sized gigs with a moderately loud drummer and you drive a compact car you might steer towards an Eden 212 cab. But if you had an SUV and a heavy hitting drummer maybe an Aguilar 412 would be a better choice. You get the idea. As a side note - a small fold up dolly is the great equalizer when it comes to moving cabs. A heavy and bulky 410 with a dolly can be easier to move than a 210 neo featherweight without one.
One thing I never really get too focused on when it comes to cabs is cost. I find that most anything I'm looking at for giging Can be found in the $750 bracket new if not used.
Let's not forget the good old 8x10! The beauty of the 8x10e, it can be all 8@4 ohm or 4 speakers @8 ohm though I've never felt all 8 were too loud. If your in a situation where you want to push your amp harder and not be as loud, use half the cab @8 ohm. But, I trailer my gear and before that hauled in a Ford expedition. Lift and slide was sooo much better than the Mesa boogie diesel 4x10 deadlift and those weigh about same as an 8x10!
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
410 cabinets are the spawn of the devil, placed on earth to make bass players suffer back failure and worse. I will haul a big folded horn cabinet slowly up three flights of steps before I would ever consider owning any 410.
I personally would never own a 410. I have yet to find one that is easier to move than a 610 or 412 or 215. If I'm going to lift and carry (no dolly or tilt back option) it's going to be a neo 212 or 210 or a 112. Even a 115 is a pain in the butt to haul without a dolly.
Why any bass player would not own a dolly Is beyond me. They arent expencive and HFT and so worth the money to save the back.
I actually never needed one until I bought my SVT-VR amp. Had a Aggie GS412 and a Thunderfunk head and a dual bass soft bag. Tilt and roll is the only way to go!
I've been thinking about getting one of those rolly cart/dollies for some time anyway. Like this...
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Since I just ordered the Fender 4 X 10, I guess I better get to it.
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Since I just ordered the Fender 4 X 10, I guess I better get to it.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
Completely separate thing - I'm a hopeless scrounger at times, and the music room in the basement proves it. I was thinking about building a small-ish rack to mound recording gear, a power conditioner, etc. in. Then I found a six foot tall rack on Craigslist for cheaper than I could get the rails to build a small one. So, I have lots of rack space. Which means now there's room for all kinds of rack mounted toys. You can all see where this is heading.
