Behringer

[Adrenochrome]

I'de recommend one of the Hartke kickback combos for the use that you've described.

[Bankai]

I own a Behringer mixing desk. A month after I bought it (brand new), it stopped working and I had to send it back and get a replacement. The replacement worked and still works fine, but the quality of some of the components meant that when the opportunity came, I gave it away and got something else!

[dc2009]

As a new Hartke man, and a longstanding fan of theirs, get something of theirs. If the new HyDrive stuff is too pricey for what you're after, then you will be able to pickup a 410 or 115 alu or paper coned cab (I recommend the former) and a nice head for not a lot of money - there's a cab for as low as £50 on the marketplace atm, and more hartke stuff besides
I'd say if you can go alu coned, and go for the ported XL's over the non-ported TPs, not much price difference but it helps the sound. The 4.5XL is nice too as it has a tweeter to boot.

Head wise, get yourself one of the HA's, make sure it's the 2500 or the 5500, not the 3500. The first two have genuine hybrid amps (solid state AND valve preamps with the ability to blend between), the 3500 for some reason only had a valve emulator that wasn't as good.

This is just as portable as a combo (put castors on the cab if it doesn't already have them), and will give you a nice bit more of a whack

[simwells]

Shameless self advert but for not too much more I'd suggest looking at my pre fender SWR combo I have up for sale! If not too heavy, though it does look about the same as the Behringer.

Personally I have used various Behringer units and they've all been very reliable generally not the best as far as sound is concerned but I've never had any major issues.

Edited July 21, 2011 by simwells

[tom1946]

Thanks for all the feedback folks, very helpful. I'll give Behringer a miss.

My situation is that Our church is on the first floor and we play a further 12 steps up in the gallery so it isn't practical to move my Trace which is very heavy. That stays where it is.

I'm leaning towards the 100w Orange 1x15 combo, no-one on here seems to know much about them but it's Orange so isn't it going to be good? People have said good things about the 50w combo so the 100w is gonna be twice as good??

[Truckstop]

Yeah I tried a Crush 35 and 50 not long ago when I was going through a 'I-need-a-combo-rather-than-seperates' stage and I thought they were great for the money. They look great (especially the black ones) and they're intuitive to use. I wouldnt say the EQ is that impressive and I can't really comment on the volume as I tried the smaller models, but they seemed well made, not too heavy and they're nice and square. And again, good value.
If you want one, I'd definitely say try it out first. If you don't like the Orange Crush sound... you just won't like it full stop.

Truckstop

[tom1946]

Trouble is, there's no one anywhere near me that stocks Orange, or anything else for that matter.

[radansey]

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='1306951' date='Jul 17 2011, 07:13 PM']Most church PAs aren't built to take bass at anything like a decent volume.

I'd recommend spending £16 on a decent set of castors (75-100mm) that will roll across poor surfaces and bung them on your existing combo. Then the only lift is into the car afterward - works for me with a Laney 4X10 combo.[/quote]

+1

I use my Ashdown 12-180 and DI-out to the mixing-desk then output through the church PA. Does the trick, gives me some control (+ foldback) plus the sound can be subtley reinforced by the mxing crew. Yes, the church PA is just not man enough to take bass at high volume - although we are looking at adding a bass amplifier and bass-box to the system in addition to my bass-rig.

The Ashdown is fitted with castors, but not sure whether they affect bass-coupling to the floor??

Ross

Edited August 3, 2011 by radansey

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='nige1968' post='1306229' date='Jul 16 2011, 10:11 PM']Portable? Hmm.

I've been using one of these (BX1200) for pub gigs for years now. Bought it because at the time, it was the best combination of small and loud I could find on my budget.

Sound, as others have noted, is OK. Nothing to write home about, but usable. Reasonably loud for what it is.

At 22kg it should be reasonably portable, but actually the kickback shape makes it the single most unpopular bit of kit in our band.

It's just really awkward and uncomfortable to carry, and we've had more than a few barked shins and twisted shoulders between us. It's too small for two to carry, and for one person there's really no health-and-safety-approved lugging method.

I've no experience of the little lightweight Gallien Kruegers, but mightn't the MB115 be worth a look?[/quote]

Same here, I had one but sold it because it was too much agro to carry about. 22kg is a lot for something that only has one handle and is an awkward shape.

[dincz]

Is this a world first - a Behringer thread that didn't descend into myth, legend and folklore?

[janmaat]

Whatever small and portable you get, make sure it allows for an extension cab,
you might well find some 15" speaker you can leave upstairs.

Extremely happy with my ultra portable Minimark, but expensive.

It will depend pretty much on the acoustics there anyway, if it is of the type
low ceiling, carpet and loads of people you just might want to think about
it differently then if it's got a big church sound. Can you not borrow some
kit and try it out?

[dc2009]

Evil Undead has a hartke ha 2500 going begging at a silly price in the amp section of the marketplace right now - that'll blow any behringer out of the water, go get it!

[stewblack]

Well, at my gig last week the trusty old Behringer head came to the rescue yet again. I usually use Trace Elliot for the same reasons most people use it - the sound. But this is the second Trace to die on me live and previous to that an Eden amp died mid gig. Luckily I always have the Behringer 450 head with me and popped it up on the cab and carried on with the gig. It sounded great. Outlived three 'name' amps now.
Not just reasonably priced but utterly reliable. Do not believe the hype, oh and for the record I've played through Hartke and it doesn't touch the Behringer for sound quality.

[markstuk]

Really? the 12AX7 I replaced in my 3500 a few years ago must have been a figment of my imagination then? :-)

[quote name='dc2009' timestamp='1311194996' post='1310883']


Head wise, get yourself one of the HA's, make sure it's the 2500 or the 5500, not the 3500. The first two have genuine hybrid amps (solid state AND valve preamps with the ability to blend between), the 3500 for some reason only had a valve emulator that wasn't as good.

[/quote]

[barkin]

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1336385245' post='1644664'] Really? the 12AX7 I replaced in my 3500 a few years ago must have been a figment of my imagination then? :-) [/quote]

Yup - of those 3 mentioned, the HA2500 is the one with the tube emulation (still sounds pretty damned good though, IMO)

[dc2009]

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1336385245' post='1644664']
Really? the 12AX7 I replaced in my 3500 a few years ago must have been a figment of my imagination then? :-)
[/quote]

It's what I got told by the bass guy in Mansons - apologies for relaying professional advice, I wasn't to know it was incorrect!

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='dc2009' timestamp='1336425826' post='1645553']
It's what I got told by the bass guy in Mansons - apologies for relaying professional advice, I wasn't to know it was incorrect!
[/quote]

I've been caught out in the same way about things in the past... I only trust what the manufacturer has to say about any piece of equipment now!

[Ghost_Bass]

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1336427033' post='1645565']
I've been caught out in the same way about things in the past... I only trust what the manufacturer has to say about any piece of equipment now!
[/quote]

Unless they're spec'ing power ratings!

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1336472130' post='1645967']
Unless they're spec'ing power ratings!
[/quote]

And frequency response!

[markstuk]

No probs, you'd think they'd know, but I'm constantly surprised by how little they usually know...

[quote name='dc2009' timestamp='1336425826' post='1645553']
It's what I got told by the bass guy in Mansons - apologies for relaying professional advice, I wasn't to know it was incorrect!
[/quote]

[dc2009]

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1336481156' post='1646156']
No probs, you'd think they'd know, but I'm constantly surprised by how little they usually know...
[/quote]

You would. When I was shopping around for an HA I was deliberately skirting the 3500's thanks to their advice! Ended up pontificating so much (torn between wanting more than the 2500 and not being able to afford the 5500) I've ended up with an LH500. Hartke are the business IMO.

[mrtcat]

Buy used here. Behringer stuff tends to go bad in batches in my experience and if it's gonna die it'll do it young. I use a few of their bits in the pa rack but have never liked their bass gear. Listen to something first tho as it is a minefield out there littered with cheap crappy combos.

[brensabre79]

Yep I can confirm the HA3500 has a valve in the pre.
I have one for sale at the moment, complete with a lovely warm Mullard 12ax7 in the preamp AND a tuner!
Apologies for the blatant plug

That said, Behringer stuff isn't that bad, much of it is copied/derived technology from well known brands. I've had good and bad though and reliability is usually the issue, some of it just doesn't last. It's also so cheap and made in such a way that repair isn't usually practical when you can replace for the same money. The thing is its all made in different factories so it really depends what you get. The rack stuff is generally pretty OK, the mixers are another story - hence there are hundreds of them, nearly new on eBay at knockdown prices...

[Alec 'Aleb' Mills]

My old school had and still has an old behringer 120 watt kick-back combo. one with an aluminium cone. Not an exceptional sound, but an acceptable one. Its been there atleast 10 years with constant abuse from children who can't actually play and turn it up to 11. Which is quite surprising if you think about it.... No problems with it when I was playing bass for a few school bands.