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Who uses a combo + extension?
- Thread starter birminghambass
- Start date
Is that p bass with the 70s jazz neck custom or sold that way? That's my favorite combo. It even has easy truss rod access at the neck? Perfect.
It is a CIJ Geddy Lee J neck with a P waterslide... is my #1. Is has the ‘vintage’- slotted truss rod end- works without removing neck (is an American Special body).
Use this for adjustment: https://www.musiciansfriend.com/acc...-truss-rod-driver?rNtt=truss rod tool&index=1
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Currently I'm using, all by it's lonesome, a GK MB210-II. 350 watts @ 8 ohms and 500 @ 4. It has of course the ability to plug in an 8 ohm extension cab and drop the load to 4 ohms, of which I want to get a GK CX210 to use for that purpose. But it also has the chain out (xlr) for plugging in GK's self powered cabs, up to 3. Giving you the capability to build up to a 2000 watt modular rig. Like I need 2000 watts.
Back to the extension cab. I really want the CX 210, but... Do I need it? As far as volume, so far, no. But I have one guitarist that I jam with, like me, that believes more headroom is better. And I have another that I do another gig with that has actually told me if I get the CX 210 don't even bother bringing it, there's no need for it.
The flip side to all of this is I'm about to start on a recording project, actually start learning the material today as soon as I finish my coffee. Recording gear takes top priority for any expendable cash for the moment or will here in a few weeks as the pieces start coming together. Do I need the extension cab for that? My brain tells me yes. Better to have four 10s to choose from when mic'ing, than two. Yes I can run DI out, and will. But I will also mic a speaker giving me two tracks of bass to blend.
The truth is, when gigging, the 210 combo has held it's own, even against drums. And it gets compliments on it's sound all the time. And when it comes to recording, the mic, isn't going to care if I have two 10s or four when it gets shoved in front of a single 10. And the DI out isn't going to care if there's any speakers at all.
I can try to justify buying the extension cab all I want. But I fall short in truly showing a need for it, at the moment. Even for bigger shows I can just run DI out and go to FOH if the need comes up. For everything I do I can come up with a reason why my combo can handle it without an extension except for "more headroom". Yet I fight to find a reason for anything to give me the excuse to buy the extension other than the excuse, cause I wanna. And I really, really, wanna.
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As my avatar shows, I mainly use the Fender Rumble 500c but I sometimes bring out the 2X10 ext. cab. for an even fuller sound.
I haven't used that as an excuse yet, but I'm adding it to my arsenal of excuses right now! Thank you!
As you MarkBass owners know, the CMD121P can handle nearly any indoor gig by itself. When playing outdoors, I needed an add-on and the New York 121 was not yet available, so I found a great deal on a Schroeder 1212L. Only little larger and heavier than the combo. I now have THREE 12s and use the full 500W of the Combo - totally earthshaking, and it still all goes in the trunk of my car! Yowza!
When i had a combo, i never though of cab extension. At first combo amp, built in, is only for the speaker, built in, so how and why should i add an extension cab to my combo.
I run my Markbass 2x10 combo with a Markbass 15 or Bergantino 2x10 cab depending on the gig.
Most combos don't deliver their full power rating to the speakers that come built in with them and have an extension jack on the back for plugging in another cabinet.
Example:
My GK Combo has a 500 watt amp that only delivers 350 watts, at 8 ohms, to the two 10" speakers that are built into the combo itself.
If I plug in say another 210 cabinet rated at 8 ohms, it now drops the impedance to 4 ohms giving me max power of 500 watts through 4 speakers instead of 350 watts through the 2 speakers in the combo alone.
Hope that helps, that's about as simple as I know to make it. For more technical detail I'll let someone else chime in.
I daisy-chain and stack two Ibanez P3110 combos for a killer little 2x10 rig. It handles everything I need it to handle
My answer would be "all of the above".
When I had a Markbass 2x10 combo, it needed more oomph so I added a 1x15 to my stage rig. Perfect pairing.
Nowadays I'm playing through a GK 2x12 combo with no need of an extension. It doesn't have a speaker out anyway, all the power goes to the internal speakers all the time. If you hook up an extension, it's a powered extension connected via XLR. I don't need to be any louder than the 2x12 by itself for my church gig, so I combo but never extension nowadays.
When I had a Markbass 2x10 combo, it needed more oomph so I added a 1x15 to my stage rig. Perfect pairing.
Nowadays I'm playing through a GK 2x12 combo with no need of an extension. It doesn't have a speaker out anyway, all the power goes to the internal speakers all the time. If you hook up an extension, it's a powered extension connected via XLR. I don't need to be any louder than the 2x12 by itself for my church gig, so I combo but never extension nowadays.
Combos are for Jerks! I recently started gigging with a GK MB212 instead of lugging my pair of ampeg 410s everywhere. It is outstanding, under 40 lbs, sounds great, and LOUD. It gets the same stage volume that I use with my big rig and still has room for more.
I am tempted to track down the matching powered extension cabinet but I don't even know when it would get used. This combo is really that loud.
I also have those cabinets, but subbed the 9.2 into the saddle. Even with just one cabinet, the extra headroom and authority are evident, although I try to be very careful on volume. In truth, I've long favored 12" speakers for bass, but am now trending toward the 1-15" 4-ohm cabinet route, armed with Audiokinesis cabinets, but the convenience of the GB shuttle is undeniable, and it's what I bring to all rehearsals - and numerous gigs - of the five-piece band with which I play.
I also keep a GB 1-15 Contour 500 Combo, with family, several states away, which I use for occasional jams and bar gigs. It is a GREAT unit, and likely could have become quite popular if Fender hadn't pulled the plug on GB.
Overall, I dig the convenience of combos...curious to see what Gallien-Krueger has in mind with a new line of combos that integrate the new Legacy line of amps.
Have an MB 212 v2 that should be delivered here Monday next.
Doesn't appear that I will NEED an extension cab- especially since I am only practicing, recording and jamming but just in case;
Have a Mesa 18" in road case that will need a simple power amp and we are in BIG business.
