What's your small combo experience?

[seanm]

Depends on the combo. My 1-12 combo does quite well in small to medium sized venues with no PA support.

+1. My 1x12 combo takes me up to "earplugs required" volumes with ease. If you are playing small to medium venues and have to wear earplugs on stage you are too loud. At least for classic rock bands.

I have to admit I usually bring an extension cab, but only because two wizzys are a beautiful thing

 

[winston]

It's a great time to be a bassist, with all the small/light/loud combos cropping up in the last few years. The Genz-Benz Neo stuff I've tried sounded great, and the new lightweight Carvin and MarkBass stuff looks very promising. My experience owning an EA iAmp800 head and Wizzy 1x12 cab lead me to believe that the iAmp500 combo would be most impressive. And I've been blown away by the Mesa Scout 1x12 and 1x15 combos I've heard, but their fans are way too noisy for the most of the low-volume rehearsal/recording sessions I do. Eden Nemesis combos also deliver the goods.

That said, I haven't found the small combos I've owned (GK 200MB, SWR WorkingMan's 12, Carvin ProBass 200-12) to be loud enough for anything more than jazz combo work without an extension cab--which kind of defeats the purpose of having an all-in-one combo. They are great for busy weeks when I've got several gigs & rehearsals and for upright bass. And I've played too many dates with underpowered/trashed (or nonexistent!) PA/monitors to assume that the house system will enable me to hear myself. So most of the time I use a small, powerful head (iAmp or Eden WT-400) with the Wizzy or two Bergantino HT-112s. With a good luggage cart, this rig is as portable as a combo and more versatile.

 

[Stubb]

GK 200MB / 150MB is a fine combo amp.

I think the SWR Workingman's series was a beautiful thing - the 12 was nice especially.

 

[Spencer!]

I tend not to like combos, because you don't have the option of upgrading one piece of it. I'd go with a compact head and a small cab if you want a small combo.

 

[guy n. cognito]

I guess it depends on what kind of sound you're going for. If I'm in a "Grand Funk Railroad" tribute band, the constant TOF of a combo amp would really hit the spot. It's a lot easier to get that distinctive Mel Schacher sound with a combo amp than it is by trying to overdrive four 8x10 cabinets. And in this case, the smaller the better. Most of those little combo amps can get the desired fartage by just turning up the volume knob half way.

Again, depends on the combo. My "little combo" is quite capable of carrying a medium sized room with plenty of room to share. I'm sure I could get "fartage," but I've had the volume well past the halfway point without such a phenemon.

Combo amps have made alot of progress in the last 20 years. Maybe you ought to go try some out for yourself.

 

[seanm]

I tend not to like combos, because you don't have the option of upgrading one piece of it. I'd go with a compact head and a small cab if you want a small combo.

One of the advantages of the iAMP combo is that the head can be removed. The head and/or the cab can them be used by themselves. The cab looks a little silly with the empty slot, but works just fine.

 

[twangchief]

Thanks folks for the input!

I've decided on a smaller head with a seperate cab. It'll be about 300 watts with a 2-10 tiltback cab. I'll add another cab for larger venues. Things I considered as features on the head was DI w/ level and pre/post options to make picky soundpeople happy.

All your comments and advice was considered. I gave my budget but it was absolutely fine to post your experience with combos and cabs that would have cost way more. I did say to post your experiences.

I have the 2-10 tiltback cab and extension cabs so the head was my only purchase. Some things I was considering:

GK 1001-RBII......can't take 2 ohm load though.
EA Head and cabs.......too expensive but would buy if I was pro touring.
Ampeg B-200R......just not enough info out there on it yet.
Carvin B600 Head.......don't know what it sounds like. I would have to order and try it out.
Nemesis Combo.......just too many stories of the earlier ones running hot!

I'll let everyone know what I got when I play a few gigs with it to see if I like it.

Cheers!

 

[Joe Beets]

Looks like the megathread, "The Pros and Cons of Stinking Combo Amps" has come through again. Good luck with your new rig.