• 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.

Why aren't there more kickback/wedge bass amps?

#41
CallMeAl said:
Yeah I’m with ya! I presume manufacturers think we are:
A) using our amps in low volume situations
B) using bigger cabinets or
C) using wedge monitors.

I have an older rumble amp with the tilt back I just love. I also have the onstage tilt wedge and have great luck with it “turning” other combos into tilt backs. Cheap, light, portable; and surprisingly sturdy
View attachment 5494915
Click to expand...
Those Onstage wedges are awesome; I bought a couple a while back because they're really inexpensive, and it makes a huge difference in my experience. I love that the wedges fold flat so they can easily fit in a gig bag.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Low Down Brown and CallMeAl
#42
pingvuiini said:
I also had the Markbass CMD 102P and I agree that it was definitely loud enough, especially when used as a stage monitor with an XLR out to the FOH. Regretfully I sold it. The bass player from a band opening for us forgot his amp and needed to play thru mine and so I was able to hear how it sounded for the first time out in the audience. My drummer and I both thought it was too loud and went up to advise the bass player to turn down a tad.

The Markbass 2x10 combo also has two very deep holes in the back that are very handy for storing cables and things during transportation. Although several pounds heavier than my GR Bass 2x12 Slim combos, I find the practicality and sound of the CMD 102P to such that I am seriously thinking about getting the new Mark V version that is out now.
Click to expand...
Oh wow. I didn’t realize they had released the V. I had the IV a while back and it had the volume, but lacked a little punch. Throwing a front-ported 210 under it made a big difference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FirewalZ
#44
Although I'm not currently using a kickback-type combo, I used both the Acoustic B50C & B100C for years with great success. These worked best for me sitting on an amp stand.
Amp.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: JRA and mikewalker
#45
fEARless f112 is a standard cab with a wedge corner design for use in either config. Best damn bass cab on earth too. I run an inexpensive ( but heavy )Avatar 112+tweeter with an upgraded 12” driver behind me, and the fEARless as a wedge in front of me. Bass monitor heaven.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nixdad
#47
6 or 7 years back, I went roll-off, trash bin diving behind several local stores.

Found a nice, clean, thick, black color, rigid piece of shipping foam.
(The kind of foam that protects items when being shipped.)

Used a utility knife, shaped foam into a wedge, put black electrical tape around wedge to help it wear longer.

(Turns any manufacturer's combo or cab into a tilt-back.)

Works great.
Can't be seen when in use.
Long wearing, (I've been using the same one 6 or 7 years now.
Easy to replace when needed.
Lite weight, fits in my cord bag.
(((Didn't cost me a dime!!!)))

20240701_100246.jpg
20231008_124948.jpg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: MisterUbu and mikewalker
#53
Not a fan of the kickback format. It seems to have all the advantages, yet it rarely works out (at least in my experience). Sound traveling up into the ceiling? Nope…

This is why I have always advocated for full stacks of some sort. They a) get the sound up in your ears, while b) simultaneously getting the benefits of floor coupling AND c) projecting the sound directly at the audience. Going back to (a), this allows you to have LOWER stage volume! Oh, and all that without taking up any more stage space than a small combo.

After I stopped with the full Marshall stacks back in the day, my guitar rig became a 1x12 combo amp atop a narrow but deep 2x12 vertical cabinet. It gave me all of the above-listed benefits. With bass, a similar thing would work.
 
#54
coyote1 said:
Not a fan of the kickback format. It seems to have all the advantages, yet it rarely works out (at least in my experience). Sound traveling up into the ceiling? Nope…
Click to expand...
I understand not being a fan of the format, but for me, the whole point of a kickback combo is when I don’t have room to sit or stand anywhere but directly in front of the amp.

My backside is large enough to stop a major amount of sound from going up to the ceiling. And if it’s the occasional sit-down gig, the amp will be quiet enough that no excursion will be expected to the ceiling.

Any further from the amplifier will mean that I bring my WD800/215 rig, naturally.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DuluthDank and badinage
#55
MattZilla said:
I’m gonna guess it has something to do with the notion that choosing a bass amp in lieu of a far more sensible DI+IEM (which I definitely do) is cork-sniffery and the designers have to choose between making a wedge or making a cuboid. Making one that does both likely doesn’t pass muster with the cork sniffers.

Similarly, there have been companies that tried to sell wedges to the cork-sniffers, but almost nobody buys the wedges.

So, it’s cuboids with four on the floor or that monitor rig you’ve got, or custom fit IEM’s.
Click to expand...
IEM’s are a little too prophylactic for some people.
 
#56
Geri O said:
I understand not being a fan of the format, but for me, the whole point of a kickback combo is when I don’t have room to sit or stand anywhere but directly in front of the amp.

My backside is large enough to stop a major amount of sound from going up to the ceiling. And if it’s the occasional sit-down gig, the amp will be quiet enough that no excursion will be expected to the ceiling.

Any further from the amplifier will mean that I bring my WD800/215 rig, naturally.
Click to expand...
This was my reason.....Im in a trio now that seems to do a lot of smaller rooms, tight stages, etc. In these circumstances the speaker is now pointing mostly at my sholder/head area, about where it would with a good stand, that I now no longer need. I am way beyond the point of big/tall/heavy stuff. The Markbass combo is an easy one handed carry, plug in and go. Ive tried this with a QSC K12, which does work(sounds better with a hp/lp filter) but it is a pretty heavy box and the controls low and in the rear are a bit of a pita, but does work in a pinch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Geri O
#58
shoot-r said:
6 or 7 years back, I went roll-off, trash bin diving behind several local stores.

Found a nice, clean, thick, black color, rigid piece of shipping foam.
(The kind of foam that protects items when being shipped.)

Used a utility knife, shaped foam into a wedge, put black electrical tape around wedge to help it wear longer.

(Turns any manufacturer's combo or cab into a tilt-back.)

Works great.
Can't be seen when in use.
Long wearing, (I've been using the same one 6 or 7 years now.
Easy to replace when needed.
Lite weight, fits in my cord bag.
(((Didn't cost me a dime!!!)))

View attachment 5494966 View attachment 5494967
Click to expand...

Any issues with the head slipping backwards? The thread so far has been about combos but with the current trend of small lightweight cabs a new piggy back method may be in order.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bombpop14

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back