Evil Undead Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 As you guys all know, I've been mooching around in search for a small, light and decent sounding combo that could cope with pub gigs on it's own, no PA support, for about a million years now, or what seems like it. And I figured there must be others in the same position. It would be great if this thread could be a resource for folks like me so please could people post their experiences with various small combos, and help me and others make a choice in this minefield. I thought I'd start with a list that I've made of speaker sizes - more air moved generally means louder, right? First list is most common combo sizes, all in square inches. 28.27 (1x6) 50.27 (1x8) 56.55 (2x6) 78.54 (1x10) 100.53 (2x8) 113.10 (1x12) 117.81 (6x5) 157.10 (2x10) 176.71 (1x15) 226.19 (2x12) I've also added a second list to include common combinations for combo plus extension cabs, even though I'd rather not use one. 191.64 (1x10+1x12) 270.20 (2x10+1x12) 289.81 (1x12+1x15) 314.20 (4x10) 333.84 (2x10+1x15) 353.42 (2x15) 452.38 (4x12) So please feel free to chime in and let me know of a small and light combo that you think I could gig with in a pub, without additional cabs or PA support. And any other info you think might be useful! I'm wanting to stick with combos because I'd like to use it for home as well, so it ideally needs headphone in and aux in for mp3 (unfortunately meaning that most ashdown and markbass stuff is instantly out for me!) Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellyfish Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Have you considered TC Electronic? I had the BH250 with a Genz Benz Focus 112 and it was stupidly light for how loud it was. Also had the headphone and aux on the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I would suggest something entirely separate for home practice, like one of the Tascam devices. Then you can get a Markbass CMD121H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I've successfully used a PJB Briefcase for semi-acoustic gigs and have also used the same for one small venue we play (all electric regular gig), but DI'd into the PA and fed back through monitors. I think there were a fair few people at last years South West Bass Bash that were suitably impressed by the sheer volume/quality of sound it can deliver. It also makes a perfect home practice amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 how about a line6 pod for headphone practice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I use a mark bass + 2 x 210, so I can have 210 or 410 The only change I could see myself making to it would be to make one a 210 combo , so the amp is housed but effectively the same, it covers all bases . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balcro Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) Hello EU, After a quick surf and thinking of a reasonable price I would consider the MBE 210 II amongst these:- [url="http://www.gallien-krueger.com/products/combos/"]http://www.gallien-k...roducts/combos/[/url] They have the required sockets, the price is moderate (£470 @ gak) (you can find cheaper but not necessarily lighter), they're quite efficient (loud) they only weigh 35lbs and have an 8 Ohm extension-speaker socket on the rear panel. However, from what I remember they have a particular "eq" arrangement, so you have to be prepared to read the manual and persevere with getting the sound you want. Balcro Edited January 19, 2014 by Balcro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I'm thinking of replacing my Ashdown 220 Touring combo plus cab (a 2x12 setup) with something much lighter. The combo is 59 lbs and the cab is 37 lbs! (27kg and 17kg). So my cab is heavier than the GK combo! Hmm, I must try one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 There's many good lightweight combos that are plenty loud enough for gigging without PA support. The reason I went for a combo was due to needing something that I could turn up with at a gig without having to make 2 trips to the car & easy to get in/out of the venue with. I got a Markbass 2x10 BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I'm just weedy, that's why I need a lighter rig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Undead Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 xgsjx, similar for me. Showing up with a combo and a bass is so much easier than having a bass, cab, head, bag full of cables etc. and finding the space to unpack it all is a nightmare at some venues, and finding everything in the rubble during tear down... urgh. The times I've gone home without speaker cables, kettle leads and xlr cables I can't even count. I've got amplitube on my iPad for practicing with headphones but to be honest, it sounds crap. And I can't get the same tones I want through that as I would like to hear live. First world problem I know, but, I like what I like. I've also got my main rig, which is a head and 2 cabs, and I've got an ashdown practice amp which weighs a small ton. What I am hoping to achieve is a combo that I can use at home without deafening the neighbours, easy to move from room to room, sounds decent, can plug headphones in when it's getting late and still retain "my tone", play along with iPod, and can use for pub gigs without PA support. And the moon on a stick! But, seriously, I know all that is possible in one package, it's just finding the right package. And I can sell off the other stuff and recoup some funds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I use my combo at home for practice (it does go quiet too ). I turn up with the combo I one hand, pedalboard in the other (which also has the cables to go to both bass & amp in there) & the bass is over my shoulder in a gig bag. You can always add one of your cabs for the big gigs too. If a 2x10 combo is too large (mine is the same size as a large 2x10 cab), then It might be worth considering a good 1x12 combo & adding a 2nd 12" cab if you need to at the bigger venues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1390128923' post='2341653'] I thought I'd start with a list that I've made of speaker sizes - more air moved generally louder... [/quote] When looking at moving air, you're correct to look at cone area. The other part of the equation is excursion. For example, one 12 inch cone with 10mm excursion will move twice as much air as one with 5mm. Just something to bear in mind when comparing :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 In my 8-piece band I use my Markbass CMD121P on its own (we do have 2 basses so am not doing all the low-end on my own) and its fine. Adding the NY121 ext cab makes a great difference in the size of the sound, but I`ve never needed it due to lack of volume - never needed the combo on more than 4 on volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Undead Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1390143483' post='2341854'] In my 8-piece band I use my Markbass CMD121P on its own (we do have 2 basses so am not doing all the low-end on my own) and its fine. Adding the NY121 ext cab makes a great difference in the size of the sound, but I`ve never needed it due to lack of volume - never needed the combo on more than 4 on volume. [/quote] What do you mean by the "size of the sound"? I'm curious, never heard that expression before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 It`s the increased "fullness/depth" that you get when adding in another cab. Try it by connecting up your amp head and one of your cabs, start playing, then plug the other in, the "size" of the sound should be much bigger, but without any rise in volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1390157748' post='2342114'] It`s the increased "fullness/depth" that you get when adding in another cab. Try it by connecting up your amp head and one of your cabs, start playing, then plug the other in, the "size" of the sound should be much bigger, but without any rise in volume. [/quote] You get a doubling of volume below the frequency whose wavelength is four times the distance between the drivers. Or something... Bass frequency coupling. Edited January 19, 2014 by TimR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Light, compact, powerful, good-sounding, value for money ... As a 1-unit solution you could go for the Gallien-Krueger MB212. It puts out a mighty 500w @ 4ohms through its twin 12" neo speakers. Uber-light too. It only weighs 41lbs. Or as somebody mentioned previously, you could go for the MB210 which is even lighter, cheaper, and more compact. It still has the 500w amp, but it's rated at 8ohms, so you'll only get 350w of that from the combo alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Undead Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 I tried a Gallien-Kruger amp once. Once. Nah but seriously, about a couple of years ago I did a lot of research, saw the 212 combo and thought, great, sounds like just what I need. Looked up some reviews, some were bad, most were good so took the plunge. Didn't really like the tone, it was so... wobbly and flabby, way too much low end even with the bass knob turned right down. Horrible. Decided to break it in though and give it a chance but after a week, it was just losing volume - I could be playing, not touching any controls and it would just get quieter and quieter... turned it off and on again, back to volume, after a few minutes of playing, same again Sod that, thought I! Never again for me and Gallien-Kruger. But thanks for the suggestion! This is what I am hoping for this thread to be... like a load of experiences, suggestions and mini reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born 2B Mild Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I just bought for my personal use, a Markbass Alan Caron combo. It's worth checking out the YouTube video in which he explains the origin of this (slightly rare) signature combo. And yes, it ain't cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo63 Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 (edited) Have you looked at the EBS Classic Session combos ? They come in 3 flavours - 30 / 60 / 120 watts [url="http://www.ebssweden.com/"]http://www.ebssweden.com/[/url] Gear4music prices - [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Bass_Amps/EBS.html"]http://www.gear4musi...s_Amps/EBS.html[/url] Bass direct - [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/EBS_Amplification.html"]http://www.bassdirec...lification.html[/url] I picked up a 60 watt combo recently and it seems not too bad - haven't tried it in a practice room yet though Edited January 21, 2014 by Jambo63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I like my EBS NeoDrome 12 a lot. It's just a small 1x12 combo with a separate tweeter, and only packs a mere 150 watts, but it's rediculously loud for such a small package. I had a Drome 12 in the past that I gigged with a few times but somehow sold for reasons I can't remember. I now have its successor, the NeoDrome, with a Neodynium speaker, which is slightly lighter in weight and sounds great. I also owned an old EBS Gorm 350 2x10 which was also insanely loud and could effortlessly keep up with the Marshall TSL100 with 4x12 of the guitarist I played with back then. Unlike many combo amps out there, EBS does not outfit their combos with external speaker outputs and sends ALL the power to the internal speakers. You can argue whether that's practical if you also want to play bigger venues with the amp and really WANT to hook up an extension cab, but in many situations these amps with just the internal speakers will blow you away! What also helps is EBS amps naturally have a very tight sound with fairly little subbass frequencies that consume massive loads of output power. I had an Ashdown ABM300 2x10 combo that suffered from too much sub, I had to turn the bass EQ knob to 9 o'clock just in order to be heard! I'm also deeply impressed by Tecamp. They don't come cheap, but they pack insane amounts of power and volume in insanely lightweight and compact packages. Their Puma 1x12 combo weighs less than 2/3rd of my EBS 1x12, is more compact than my EBS and sounds awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumnote Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 [quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1390185698' post='2342434'] A Phil Jones Bass Suitcase and 4B extension cab WILL do the job! I know you said you didn't really want an extension cab, but they are tiny and light weight. A seriously loud and eminently portable piece of kit. Our sound guy always DI's me out of the suitcase, but never puts me through the front of house cos he doesn't have too, it's that good. I really don't know why he bothers connecting me at all! It also has an effects loop and a multi band band EQ. It has been 100% reliable and always gets favourable comments. I highly recommend you try one out. [/quote] I agree, my phil jones 8x5 copes well at gig volume so the suitcase with an extension should admirably fit the bill, sounds great as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Hey Evil Undead, did you settle on a new combo or amp/cab in the end? I'm currently selling some gear to fund a MarkBass CMD 121P but I'm open to other suggestions too so was curious as to what you did in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Undead Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 [quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1391949440' post='2362857'] Hey Evil Undead, did you settle on a new combo or amp/cab in the end? I'm currently selling some gear to fund a MarkBass CMD 121P but I'm open to other suggestions too so was curious as to what you did in the end. [/quote] Hello mate! No, I'm afraid I haven't. Trying to take my time and compare everything I can rather than jump in as is my usual trick! I'd love one of those markbass combos, I love the tiltback style and the sound, but no headphone or aux in is a bit of a stopper for me. As always, I'd love to hear any advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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