Medium power bass head + small cab for practices/jams

[Jon Silberman]

Title says it all. We lost our bassist and so the 3 guitarists have been alternating on bass of late. Not a problem music-wise, while we'd be the first to acknowledge that we can't replicate a skilled dedicated bassist, we're each sufficiently versatile on bass (2 of us have actually played bass in bands before) to pull it off. Issue now is the gear.

I have a Fender MIM P-Bass Special that we all dig. So straight to the amplification.

We've been using my SWR CA Blonde + 1X12 Natural Blonde extension cab. It's fine but I'm considering upgrading. My needs are simple:

- 250W or so head
- lightweight (50 lbs or less) but decent sounding cab
- reasonably priced

For example, just from looking at the catalogs, this might work:

- Hartke 2500 head (around $250)
- Hartke 210XL cab (46 lbs.; around $280)

Other suggestions? Thanks.

P.S. Your additional suggestions on successfully moving from guitar to bass in terms of playing like a bassist also gratefully accepted. :)

[Tarrant]

First off, what kind of budget do you have? Are you willing to buy used or do you want to buy new? Any particular bass sound your after or nothing in particular? Are there brands that you know that you don't like?


As for playing bass, I started out on Bass in Jr. High in the jazz band, played all through high school and into my freshman year of college, along the road I picked up the guitar and have playing that exclusively for the last 6 years. I recently moved back to bass and my playing while lacking a little from where it was I feel has been improved because of my time as a guitar player. Before I never used a pick for bass and was completely a finger style player, afterwards I find playing with a pick just as easy if not easier after playing guitar so it opened up a completely new style for me. Also when playing rock before I was always holding onto the root, when i took up the guitar though I forced myself to learn more theory and now returning to bass I have come back stronger for it.

[Jon Silberman]

My budget is in the ballpark of the examples I gave. No particular bass sound, though myself, I'm partial to a deep/full tone, I'm no "pop-er."

[The Golden Boy]

Hey Jon, I sold a Hartke 7000 for $200 a few months ago- that's a quality head, well thought out, well put together, powerful and versatile head. Check those out used.

My first real gigging head was an old GK 800RB. It sounded cool and I never had a problem with it- but as I understand they're sensitive to impedance mismatch, but mine was a tank.

[Brian Scherzer]

Jon...........Try used to get the most for the money. On a recent trip to New Orleans I spent some time checking out my old haunts on Bourbon Street. There was a pretty good blues trio at one of the places and the bassist was playing an old SWR 15" combo that sounded a lot better than I thought it would. Good volume and tone. If you can find one of these you should be able to get it for about $350-$400. I believe that the amp was 300 watts, but I'm not sure of the power. You'd be surprised at how articulate that 15" speaker was....which led me to get a 15" Epifani cab.

[Gordon_Gecko]

Jon... Ashdown 300 mag and 4x10 has beyond incredulous tone for under $600 rig. Probably not gonna find a distributer to test it, but buy it... I assure you it is truely the good and you will be pleased with not having bought anything under $2000 that can possibly cover as much tonal parameters. I digress...

Hear the Ashdown 300 mag...

www.myspace.com/thebassplayerforhire (http://www.thegearpage.net/board/www.myspace.com/thebassplayerforhire)

[Jon Silberman]

Thanks, everyone. Brian and Gordon in particular, I'll do my best to hear an example of the amps you recommended (last I checked, Russ at Classic Axe carried Ashdown, he may have one in stock I can try).

[the(sims)]

I highly recommend the GENZ BENZ Neo 12" cab. I own one and we use it for band practice in my living room. It has tons of sound and only 35 pounds. Handles 300 watts, has speakon and 1/4" inputs, and has a horn with attenuation. I pair it with a Fender BXR300 bass head.

[Chuck King]

. . . I'm partial to a deep/full tone . . .

Look for 15" speakers. 10s are trendy and ubiquitous, but (to my ears) they have a different character than 15s; even good ones don't seem to have quite the thickness.

[TedintheShed]

IMO, Bag End makes the best sounding 15's, plus the are fairly portable. I wouldn't say 10's are trendy though- a little company called Ampeg made this 8x10 cab that's been a staple for bassist for 30 years or so. As for your assessment- I agree though, but modern 10" cabs have closed that gap somewhat and are fairly usable solo'd with great tones. If you use a standard 4, it's not too bad really. If your are using a B string though, a 15" or 18" crossovered adds considerable girth. Look for 15" speakers. 10s are trendy and ubiquitous, but (to my ears) they have a different character than 15s; even good ones don't seem to have quite the thickness.

[Chris Rice]

Bag End cabs. Love 'em.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v328/wildricechris/bagendGK1.jpg

[Chris Rice]

Actually, in that price range I just picked up an early 80's Fender Bassman 135 with 2x15" cab. They aren't very desirable but this one sounds good and can keep up with fairly loud bands.