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I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

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  • I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

    I've come to realize I'm no rock star, and I haven't "played with a band" for years now. There's literally no reason for me to have two super huge heads and a 4-12 cabinet in my little office/practice space. So, I'm downsizing. Still, it feels like I'm severing off my very manhood. That will take some time to heal.

    I'm trying to put together a rig of sorts that will be VERY SMALL, yet in the rare event Dave Mustaine calls me up to jam (or a bloke down the street), I can still hang with a band if needed. Here's what I've come up with, and believe me I've thought a lot about this. But I need your input to fine tune it.

    Power Amp: Crate Powerblock
    Preamp: Vox Tonelab, a POD, a Behringer V-amp 2, a Korg Toneworks AX1500G pedal board, or a Boss ME-50 pedal board. I'd like to have it be foot-switchable - and also sound good, with many sound options. Incidentally, I'm leaning towards the tonelab.
    Cabs: two 1-12" Crate (or other high wattage rating) cabs. I figure I can stack them up to save space and create a micro stack. Also, I could buy them one at a time over several months to take the edge off the cost. Plus, I could do a stereo thing, or set one by the drummer and one by me during a practice.

    There you have it. What I need is some input on the preamp choices and if you think two 100-watt-rated, 1-12" cabs will hang in a band situation. Oh, and please don't tell me to get a tube amp - I've got several low-wattage ones for goofing around, but this rig will be (except for possibly a 12ax7 or equivalent) tube-free.

    I've thought about keeping my halfstack or delving into a combo amp, but I don't think there's any combo amps that will give me both power and as many options as above and still be small. It seems like even a 50-watt combo amp like a Vox valvetronix would still not be enough for a loud practicing metal band.
    Last edited by DankStar; 09-07-2006, 10:22 AM.

  • #2
    Re: I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

    You don't have to sell all of your gear.

    What's your current rig look like?

    Maybe one of your current heads through a nice 2x12 can get the job done.

    BTW, 50 tube watts is PLENTY for pretty much any musical situation you're likely to come across.
    Ain't nothin' but a G thang, baby.

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    • #3
      Re: I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

      Just buy yourself an Atomic Reactor and a modeller of your choice. There are new Atomics just out that have several improvements, and have plenty of power/headroom..or not...depending on what you need. The Cab designs have a HUGE amount of low end and thump considering..easily like a 2x12 normal cab and I susupect the new 2x12 atomics will compare favorably with many 4x12 cabs.

      Get a foot controller and you are set.
      I'm an internet person. All we do is waste time evaluating things that have next-to-zero real world significance.

      Remember, it's just a plank of wood. YOU have to find the music in it - The Telecaster Handbook

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      • #4
        Re: I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

        Originally posted by Benjy_26 View Post
        You don't have to sell all of your gear.

        What's your current rig look like?

        Maybe one of your current heads through a nice 2x12 can get the job done.

        BTW, 50 tube watts is PLENTY for pretty much any musical situation you're likely to come across.
        Thanks for the input. My main beast heads are a Carvin x100b (el34 one) and a Line 6 flextone I. The Line 6 is one I really like, and the modeller preamp was going to basically replace it. I guess I was digging the idea of being able to totally pack away my rig into a closet if I wanted to. But yeah, the flextone has all the power and sounds and footswitchability I need. Maybe you're right, and just a 2-12" is in order.
        Last edited by DankStar; 09-07-2006, 10:33 AM.

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        • #5
          Re: I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

          Originally posted by JeffB View Post
          Just buy yourself an Atomic Reactor and a modeller of your choice. There are new Atomics just out that have several improvements, and have plenty of power/headroom..or not...depending on what you need. The Cab designs have a HUGE amount of low end and thump considering..easily like a 2x12 normal cab and I susupect the new 2x12 atomics will compare favorably with many 4x12 cabs.

          Get a foot controller and you are set.
          I'll look up info for the reactor. Thanks!

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          • #6
            Re: I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

            Keep the flextone and get yourself a Boogie deep 2x12. Portability with the ability to make people bleed.

            It's a beautiful thing, my friend.
            Ain't nothin' but a G thang, baby.

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            • #7
              Re: I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

              Originally posted by Benjy_26 View Post
              Keep the flextone and get yourself a Boogie deep 2x12. Portability with the ability to make people bleed.

              It's a beautiful thing, my friend.
              I like that...

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              • #8
                Re: I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

                I don't know where you live, but you could always look into getting a Traynor YCV amp . . . there are two that I'm thinking of that both have a matching extension cab, a red one (which does fendery cleans really well) and a blue one (which does marshally distortion really well) . . . They're quiet enough to play at home and practice with, and definately loud enough to hang with a band when you're playing out. (I'd personally recommend the extension cab if you're buying one though . . . 2X12 sounds much nicer than 1X12)
                Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

                Originally posted by Douglas Adams
                This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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                • #9
                  Re: I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

                  Don't underestimate the Vox AD50. 50 watts is loud. I have one and we are pretty darn loud. I don't have the wattage selector up to the full 50 watts either and I run the MV at noon. When I did open up that wattage selector, the walls shook. There's a speaker out jack too so if you need to, you can run it to a 2x12 or 4x12.

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                  • #10
                    Re: I'm DOWNSIZING. Please advise.

                    thanks guys.

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