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ShortBus

Oct 29, 2009
50
0
Indiana
#1
I have an old and not so great rig i've had for years and it's time to make some changes. My question is should I get a new cabinet first and use my current head or vice versa? I haven't played in about 9 years and started about a year ago and see no sign of slowing down so time to invest more money. suggestions please.....my budget is about $600-$800 per item and I'll buy 1 and then buy the other piece ~6 months from now. thanks in advance!

here's what i have now.

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#3
Realistically you can buy some fantastic used gear for $600 each part. Buy them for the right price used and you can resell them for no loss or little loss if you decide to try something else.

kranahan said:
I would recommend buying a new head first.
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd go the other way. Cab first. That single huge speaker isn't going to be very flattering to any new head he gets.

A 2x12 or a 4x10 would be fantastic upgrade, Or a couple single 12 cabinets, or a couple 2x10 cabinets. A 410 is going to actually give you more ooomph as well as punch as that single big speaker. Honest. And it will make that old head come alive.
 
#4
stflbn said:
Realistically you can buy some fantastic used gear for $600 each part. Buy them for the right price used and you can resell them for no loss or little loss if you decide to try something else.
Click to expand...

+1

While looking through the classifeds here on TB recently I saw:
  • A couple of MB LM II's for about $400.00 each
  • Both an MB 102 Traveler or 115HF for $400.00 each (sepereate listings).
Grab an LMII and choose between 2x10 or 1 15 for $800.00..........DONE!
 
#11
Things have changed a lot since the 70's as I've found out. I suggest you educate yourself on what's out there BEFORE spending any of your hard earned cash. You might want to read through some TB threads I've collected on your topic to get up to speed on the new stuff, especially the lite weight. super loud rigs. +1 on hearing the equipment at a store, if possible and also looking some good used pieces.

+1 on adding a 2x10 on to the 1x18, then getting a new head and possibly adding another 2x10 for a vertical stack(w/o the 1x18). You'll have a flexible rig for rehearsal, small and larger gigs and easy load-in load-out.

Amp FAQs
Upgrade bass/amp first?
How many watts do you gig with?(poll)
Amp "watts" vs. cab "watts"
Benefits of vertical speaker cabs
>30 light-weight cabs,amps & combos

1 Buying a combo

2
Opinions/experiences-great small combo amps
The ultimate custom built combo?
Combos vs Head/Cab

Pre-amp/Power Amp vs Head/Cab or Combo
"I want a monster amp!"
Powerful,reliable rack amps
1 10s v. 12s v. 15s v. 18s

2
4x10 vs. 2x10/1x15
Using a full range cab (Carvin LS1503)
1x15/6.5 custom cab
Big cabs
1 Happy with my rig

2
Micro-rigs of doom

Mini-rigs of doom
Rigs of doom
Cheap rigs of doom
Ulitmate fantasy rig
Benefits of compression

1 Benefits of a rumble filter
Compressor FAQ's and reviews
2
Best D.I.
Gear insurance thread

Isolating Head/Cabs from stage/each other
Best wireless?
Amp FAQs

P.S. I like your shoes. :D
 
#15
ok, found a used Ampeg svt410he at GC. Got it for $200. had to fix a broken grill frame and clean it up but it works great and sounds so really great stacked on top of my 18. Pretty sure GC could have gotten another $100 out of this if they would have put $4 worth of material and 20 minutes of effort into it.

SVT410HE-bf30781d276e1f12b6b15109d237882d.jpg


thanks again for your help guys. I'll probably be asking for some more help when i get a new head. (i may buy an Ibanez SG500 that I fell in love with first)
 
#18
ShortBus said:
ok, found a used Ampeg svt410he at GC. Got it for $200. had to fix a broken grill frame and clean it up but it works great and sounds so really great stacked on top of my 18. Pretty sure GC could have gotten another $100 out of this if they would have put $4 worth of material and 20 minutes of effort into it.
Click to expand...
Honestly, I doubt it ;) Maybe $250. But it's a great cab for a 410, very underrated on here.
 
#19
finished the repair last night and cleaned it up. took all of 15 minutes. they had another one there that was in better shape for $299....this one was $229 on the tag cause it wasn't in as good of shape as the other 1. Now it looks better than the other 1 and it cost me all of $3.50 at the hardware store.

maybe they could pay me to refirb their used stuff a bit and improve the value....i'd need to do it off site though, no way i could listen to that noise all day in there.
 
#20
Steve said:
That thing has to be pushing 40 years old...how cool is that?
Click to expand...


not as cool as our ~50 year old guitarist Fernando! :) (PA and keys are his). He lives next door and comes over to play with us sometimes. He's really good but his guitar has a mexican accent....i swear when he plays twist and shout he's really playing la bamba. :)


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