which basscombo

[Baltar]

hi folks

i plan to play my bass in public and am looking for a beginner basscombo,
which doesn't frustrate me to fast.
what can you recommend?
i thought about a 12" combo, which stands small rock gigs with drummers.
small size and reliability is of importance.

first ideas of mine are .. Peavey Basic 112, Gallien Krueger Backline 112 II,
Crate Bass BT50, Warwick Take 12. any others?
I've got no idea about bass combos and don't wanna pay fees again.

I read about early distortion of the Backline 112 on harmony central ...
the orange crush has to low wattage i think ...
... ? ...

please help

i play a 5 string

cheers
martin

 

[dd12939]

Re: which basscombo

In my (somewhat limited) experience, the Mesa Boogie Walkabout Scout combo is really cool. I've spent some time with the 1x15 (though they make a 1x12 as well) and I have never had any problem finding a good tone with any bass. Plus if you ever want to expand, the amp section of the combo comes out and you can use it as a head with other cabs.
http://mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Bass_Amps/walkabout/WalkaboutScout/WalkScout.htm

EDIT: also, the Ampeg PortaBass series sounded good in the store when I played them.

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: which basscombo

Your biggest obstacle is finding a combo that will be able to reproduce a low B. I'm not a huge fan of combos- generally they're heavier and bulkier to carry around than a head/cab combination.

If you're set on a combo, one I've actually liked is Fender's Bassman- they have a bunch of different speaker combinations- I've really liked the one with the 15, and the 2x10 was passable to me.

I haven't played with the Mesa Walkabout, however I really have liked the M-Pulse 600, which is the bigger head version of that amp. I've also heard nothing but good stuff about the Walkabout.

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: which basscombo

Wait a few days and see if these things are gonna show up in stock at musician's friend and you should definitely look into them. Ashdown makes good equipment, and this should be in your price range, and it's 100 watts, and it's got a 15" speaker, which will do what you're wanting a little better..(click on the picture)

 

[Jeroen]

Re: which basscombo

Wait a few days and see if these things are gonna show up in stock at musician's friend and you should definitely look into them. Ashdown makes good equipment, and this should be in your price range, and it's 100 watts, and it's got a 15" speaker, which will do what you're wanting a little better...

I was gonna say Ashdown too (I'm a big fan of theirs, I play an ABM300 C210T), but not the Five Fifteen. Ashdown also has the Electric Blue-line of amps, which are basic, affordable and really nice and versatile 180 watt amps. They are available in a 1x12 and 1x15 format, or as a separate head and cab.

 

[Baltar]

Re: which basscombo

the mesas are out of my pricerange.
if i wanted to spend 1000 bucks, i'd go for a yamaha bbt500.

thanks for the hint capo, i look if i find one to testdrive.
it's quite urgent now, because i've blown my little peavey at the
band practice today and have a gig next saturday :-\

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: which basscombo

I was gonna say Ashdown too (I'm a big fan of theirs, I play an ABM300 C210T), but not the Five Fifteen. Ashdown also has the Electric Blue-line of amps, which are basic, affordable and really nice and versatile 180 watt amps. They are available in a 1x12 and 1x15 format, or as a separate head and cab.

Man I almost bought the ABM300 C210T but didn't have the cash....instead I have a Peavey 210TX that I bought really cheap and it's GREAT...300 watts and I run it out to my Peavey 410 TVX cab and I'm running 6x10 at 300 watts...plenty of power!

 

[Baltar]

Re: which basscombo

hmm, i wonder if a basshead w ext speaker would be a good idea?
i saw three quite priced at my dealers ...
warwick pro fet 3.2, peavey max 160, g-k backline 600.
i know, they're completely different in wattage, but thinking of everything
beyond 100 watts, i care more about durability

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: which basscombo

that might be something to consider...and if you wanted to save some money on a good cab, you could order one from avatar speakers...they're very nicely priced

Avatar Speakers

 

[Baltar]

Re: which basscombo

another question:
i have an unused rocktron gainiac (tube guitar preamp) -
would it work to use some tiny pa amp (eg qsc rmx850) and drive an
bassspeaker with it? i think of using the gainiac with poweramp instead
of an basstop. would it work? issues?

from my pa-past i still have an kappa 18 around. this would sabotage my
size limit for the 'combo' .. but is it worth a try?

 

[Jeroen]

Re: which basscombo

another question:
i have an unused rocktron gainiac (tube guitar preamp) -
would it work to use some tiny pa amp (eg qsc rmx850) and drive an
bassspeaker with it? i think of using the gainiac with poweramp instead
of an basstop. would it work? issues?

from my pa-past i still have an kappa 18 around. this would sabotage my
size limit for the 'combo' .. but is it worth a try?

It would work, but is that '18' for 18 inches in diameter? I would recommend you only use that as a subwoofer, combined with a set of smaller speakers, and only when playing at bigger venues. An 18" speaker has a slow and sloppy response, not much high end tone nor mids and just won't sound tight. Besides that, at close range it won't give that much sound, but at a couple of meters distance, it will be f***ing loud.

 

[Baltar]

Re: which basscombo

that's an good point. :arg:
i didn't think of that. your right for sure;the only time i saw 18" as bassguitamp, it
was combined with 4x8 or 4x10 +horn

so - thinking smaller, .. what's a good setup for loud club gigs? 12 inches, 15
inches, or rather 2x 10" ?

210+horn maybe good to combine with the 18"chassis later on ..

thanks again

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: which basscombo

I gig mainly with a 2x10 and it does the job perfectly...I also like to use my 4x10 cab in conjunction at bigger gigs

 

[Baltar]

Re: which basscombo

thanks, then a 210cab will be my next project.
if i try the pa's poweramp or go for an basshead - i don't know yet

 

[Hoss]

Re: which basscombo

I was gonna say Ashdown too (I'm a big fan of theirs, I play an ABM300 C210T), but not the Five Fifteen. Ashdown also has the Electric Blue-line of amps, which are basic, affordable and really nice and versatile 180 watt amps. They are available in a 1x12 and 1x15 format, or as a separate head and cab.

i really wanted the ABM300 C210T also!!! LOL! but i didn't have the cash right now so i opted for the Perfect 10's mini-rig...it's only 65 watts though and geared for home practice and small gigs?!

 

[Jeroen]

Re: which basscombo

i really wanted the ABM300 C210T also!!! LOL! but i didn't have the cash right now so i opted for the Perfect 10's mini-rig...it's only 65 watts though and geared for home practice and small gigs?!

To be honest, I didn't really have the cash to spare either, but I had some luck on a good trade with my old amp (an EBS Gorm 300 2x10, the first model). I had bought that one at a very good price second hand, but grew tired of its very clean tone. A buddy of mine who works as a salesman in a guitar store really wanted it very badly, and I had already wanted an Ashdown as long as I played bass and had noticed prices of Ashdown amps had dropped somewhat over the last few months. It didn't take us long to figure out a really good deal. I sold him the EBS for exactly the price I'd paid for it, and he got me a brand spanking new Ashdown at a slightly reduced price.

 

[LesStrat]

Re: which basscombo

Roland makes some cool combos.

 

[Baltar]

Re: which basscombo

i ordererd the backline 600 top yesterday. can't wait to get it,
but it's gonna be end of march they said :eek13:

i think it's the best way around. i can plugin some tiny cabs in at home,
or eg jbl controls :laugh2: .. and flexibility is with me.

all the combos i found reproducing the H-sting on eg 2nd fret in a
nice way, where much too unhandily. due to i was looking for a
all-in-one solution for home/band practice/gig, the top seems
to be the best solution for me.

a 210 seems to be a nice allround cab. i wonder if a 112 using a
eminence Delta 12LF would be a good low-end upgrade, or if a 115 is
necessary.

 

[Jeroen]

Re: which basscombo

Congratulations
I'm sure you'll like the G&K.