What bass amp are people using live (SORTED)

Kebabkid

I'm currently using a Roland Bass Cube 120XL that depending on the size of the venue, I sometimes DI Out from.

Whilst I like the sound at home and at rehearsals (use the Session setting), I've not been that enamored with it live.

I realise 120 watts doesn't offer a lot of headroom for bass and whilst hooking up an extension cab (takes only 8ohms) has added more bottom end, there's been no more perceived volume, so I think I need a new rig.

I'd prefer a separates i.e. a small, light but powerful head and light cab and I like a bell-like/hi-fi quality to my tone ala more funk-sounding rather than a thuddy, gritty one but wondered what you guys are using live?

Contenders: Something from Mark Bass, the Gallien Krueger MB500, Fender Rumble V.3. Aguilar, Eden, Genz Benz? Needs to be lightish and 200-500 watts and I'm very impressed by the now defunkt Genz Benz stuff.

What do you recommend?

4string

I am running a TC Electronics BH250, a small, light weight head that allows you to add and blend in a TonePrint effect - I seem permanently have the overdrive installed. Seems a very neutral sound to my unsophisticated ear, which I like - I use a B3 as an effects box to provide a noise gate and compressor/limiter. Mine has been reliable, though TC seems to have a reputation of not being. Worth adding to your list and listening to I think. 

As for a cab, I play through a TC Electronics 2 x 12, which is anything but light weight. I quite fancy a Barefaced One 10 (or even two One 10s) when the funds become available. There very small foot print would buy me goodwill at home, where storage space in the dining room is at a premium... 

Winny_Pooh

You will be hard pressed to find posters here that have played all of those. I was not impressed by the Rumbles, knobs felt like they were about to fall off. GKs are decent, Eden & Gb I've not had much experience of.The Mark Bass cmd121P is an easy contender & barefaced cabs are popular round here.

guitarfishbay

A preamp pedal and a big enough poweramp is a valid rig too, though not as small/light as some of the heads available now.

JCA2550

Gallien-Krueger MB210! It sounds massive, is plenty loud at 300Watts (500 watts with extension cab) light too and cheap at just over £300. I've been gigging one for the past 3 years on small to medium festival stages as well as small venue gigs and it often draws praise for the tone (don't know what that says about the player   ).

It's one of these

http://www.gallien-krueger.com/mb-210-specs/

Kebabkid

Thanks for your suggestions guys.

I don't want a pedal and power amp and prefer a head and cab. At a push, if it delivers and it's light-ish and loud enough, I'd take a combo and I'll check out the GK one. I tried a GK Fusion with a GK 4x10 and it was ok but too much for me. However, I am a fan of the old Gallien Krueger 400RB sound, so if I can find one of their new models that gets me that sound, I'll be pleased.

TC - I've yet to try one as I'd heard there were loads of reliability issues but I'll give that a whirl.

What about Hartke? Anything good there and I'll certainly look at the Mark Bass models. I played an outdoor festival gig last week and most of the other bassists from other bands were using Mark Bass (we had to supply our own backline)

These Barefaced Cabs look interesting and I wish Bass Direct was nearer to me.

Bucket

Yep, I've also got a TC BH250 into a 2x10 Hartke Transporter cab. Does me fine - quite loud and no reliability issues so far, touch wood.

I don't know if it's the amp or the cab but it is quite a dark sounding setup. I keep a compressor and my Tech21 VT Bass preamp pedal on all the time to counteract that.

fretmeister

I'm using a TecAmp Puma 300 into a pair of Barefaced One10 cabs.

Plenty loud enough for me, and very light.

mike257

Genz Benz stuff is great, and used prices on the Shuttle series have plummeted. I use a Shuttle 6 and its fantastic. Jeff Genzler has now launched Genzler Amplification too, his new stuff looks great.

Kebabkid

I'd not heard of the TecAmp Puma and looks good. Once again, a trip to Bass Direct (Bass Mecca) beckons and the Barefaced gear looks good too. They're not too far away from me (Brighton).

Thanks guys

JezWynd

Kustom do an interesting head, uses a valve preamp, 300w. -

http://www.thomann.de/gb/kustom_de300_hd_head.htm

Kebabkid

Thanks Jez but I'd prefer more tone-shaping and expect to have Low-Mid and Hi-Mid on an amp - cheers.

JD50

My bassist has an old Peavey combo with parametric eq? Which sounds great appears bomb proof and you can pick them up secondhand for peanuts.

fretmeister

Tecamp had a boardroom coup - the new company is called Eich. Same guy building.

ICBM

JD50 said:

My bassist has an old Peavey combo with parametric eq? Which sounds great appears bomb proof and you can pick them up secondhand for peanuts.

Unfortunately they also weigh as much as a house and have that kind of slightly gritty/dirty tone that I think is exactly what Kebabkid doesn't want.

I have a Peavey T-Max. It's a 500W 1x15" that weighs 114lb - and worse than that, it's not far off a cube so there is no way of picking it up safely on your own. It's one of the very few amps I can't lift, and as you know I'm not afraid of heavy amps - luckily it has wheels and good end handles, but it's a two-man job to move it anywhere and even then, stairs aren't fun. It lives at our rehearsal room normally, and to be quite honest if I need to play a gig I tend to use whatever the venue has if it's at all usable.

I recently sold my older Combo 300, which was smaller and lighter but if anything slightly more awkward, not being on wheels.

Highly recommended if you're young, fit, poor and want something really loud and completely bombproof, but aren't fussed about subtlety. Otherwise there is a good reason why they're cheap.

Now I'm getting on a bit I probably should get myself something more portable really...

Kebabkid

ICBM said:

JD50 said:

My bassist has an old Peavey combo with parametric eq? Which sounds great appears bomb proof and you can pick them up secondhand for peanuts.

Unfortunately they also weigh as much as a house and have that kind of slightly gritty/dirty tone that I think is exactly what Kebabkid doesn't want.

 

Yep

pintspiller

For the last band I gigged with I used my Sound City 50+ head with a borrowed H|H 2x15 for several shows. There were no monitors and I could not hear myself on-stage - but the sound out-front (somebody told me) was brilliant.

The Sound City has a lot of headroom and is bloody loud. The 2x15 made it louder than I was ever able to achieve than when I played guitar with it using a 2x12.

In future I am thinking of sending a DI straight to PA and having a smaller setup on a chair pointed towards myself and the drummer. 

ICBM

pintspiller said:

For the last band I gigged with I used my Sound City 50+ head with a borrowed H|H 2x15 for several shows. There were no monitors and I could not hear myself on-stage - but the sound out-front (somebody told me) was brilliant.

It's the 'throw' that's the problem with cabs like this - the sound doesn't develop properly that close to the cab, even though it's thunderous further away.

Folded-horn cabs are even worse. Years ago I was round at a friend's house testing a Cerwin-Vega 18" folded-horn cab in the front of his garage, with a Hiwatt 200. It was so quiet I thought the amp wasn't working properly, you could easily talk over it. Then his wife came running round from the garden on the other side of the house shouting at us for making such a racket! I got him to play the bass while I went to investigate, and found it was *louder* 50 yards away than it was right next to the cab .

pintspiller

My problem partly was that I had been used to the H|H cab in the rehearsal room with a H|H head, and I had forgotten that at rehearsals the bass gear was sitting on another 2x15 cab so was closer to my ears! 

Mind you, I always got the feeling that the other band members thought I was louder than I thought I was. But then I always had this habit of making the guitarists turn up their volume.

Kebabkid

Update - nabbed a Gallien Krueger MB200 head. The thing weighs 1kg and delivers 200 watts!!! I would've preferred more headroom, say 300W, but it's plenty loud.

It sounds good and I just need to find and decide on the right 4ohm cab for it (? 1x15 or 2x10) but I still want to keep the rig light and I'm erring toward GK or Genz Benz cabs and something with neodymiums but those Barefaced and Bergantino cabs are piquing my interest too, but they're not within my budget.

mike257

There's often second hand Barefaced at the basschat.co.uk classifieds, although it rarely stays there for very long!