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Has anyone gone from lightweight back to heavy?


AndyTravis
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from markbass Big Bang (worst head I ever had) to Mesa walkabout and Peavey Tour 700....best move I made in my ente. life as a bassist.
I'm even thining about going heavy for cabs. I currently play a Barefaced BB2, but I fell in love with the idea of one or two Orange OBC 115...

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  • 1 month later...

[quote name='Marty Forrer' timestamp='1483995029' post='3211866']
I've gone from GK MB800 (D class) back to a HandBox R-400 (A/B class), but I'm keeping my Barefaced cabs I now have no more gas, and I have a GK MB200 for rehearsals.
[/quote]

Almost identical situation. I thought my GK MB500 sounded awesome until it fell off the trolley a week ago and got sent for repair. Out comes the SVT-II and OH MY GOD, this is a bass sound!!

Now I'm looking for a non class-D that doesn't weigh a ton.

The Barefaced is staying, as it sounds awesome...

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[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1486946290' post='3235839']
I used to have a Markbass 2x10 combo. One handed carry.
Now I have a non neo EBS 4x10 and a stonking big Radiovox valve amp which has a casing made out of used battleships & weighs the same as a tanker full of dark matter.
[/quote]

😂

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I've forgotten most of the amps and cabs I've had over the years (many of which were lightweight class D) but the ones I can remember from a Fender BXR400 / Marshall 2x15 setup that you couldn't hear unless you were 30ft away from it but weighed the same as a washing machine to a Kemper / no cab / IEM on stage setup, I'm now running a BF super twin and old s/h GK Backline 600 and couldn't be happier. It may be 'only' 300W but it absolutely rocks and totally blows the MB series away from a manufacturing quality point of view (I've had a few and they were all shoddily made - the USA ones being the worse by a mile). Lightweight cab and medium weight amp works for me. The only logical step forward is an RB700-II :-)

Edited by intime-nick
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I agree. The best mix for me is lightweight cabs (Barefaced Super Twin being my current fave) mixed with more traditional heads. I've tried lots of class D heads but always go back to Trace. I can live with the size and weight of the compact Trace cabs (1153 etc) too but any larger than that and I really can't justify wrestling them In and out of cars at 1.00 in the morning.

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[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1482490086' post='3200961']
auditioning gear in a shop is totally different from playing a gig with a band, plus as wateroftyne said about the honeymoon period, when you've spent good money on gear it takes a while to convince yourself you've made a mistake
[/quote]
I've spent good money on lightweight gear and have convinced myself (I didn't take much convincing) that I am totally happy with my class D amp and neo cab sound. It is entirely possible that a 60lb amp and a 100lb cab might give me a sound that I prefer very slightly, yes. But my 4lb amp and 40lb cab sound so nice that I'm really not bothered enough to find out. I can't see myself even thinking about changing my amp unless a} it dies or b} Trace make a dream come true and produce a small lightweight SMX head. (hint hint)

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[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1487356069' post='3239310']
I've spent good money on lightweight gear and have convinced myself (I didn't take much convincing) that I am totally happy with my class D amp and neo cab sound. It is entirely possible that a 60lb amp and a 100lb cab might give me a sound that I prefer very slightly, yes.
[/quote]

It's not that black-and-white. There are various shades of weight inbetween...

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[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1487356069' post='3239310']
I've spent good money on lightweight gear and have convinced myself (I didn't take much convincing) that I am totally happy with my class D amp and neo cab sound. It is entirely possible that a 60lb amp and a 100lb cab might give me a sound that I prefer very slightly, yes. But my 4lb amp and 40lb cab sound so nice that I'm really not bothered enough to find out. I can't see myself even thinking about changing my amp unless a} it dies or b} Trace make a dream come true and produce a small lightweight SMX head. (hint hint)
[/quote]that's great, and if you're totally happy good for you, but then you mention a lightweight SMX head, I've got a SMX head and it weighs 13Kg, is it really that much effort to carry that around, it's an easy one handed lift, my partner carries it into the venue for me while I wrestle with a Fender Rumble 2 x 10 (16Kg), light weight cabs are great but light weight heads just seem a bit over the top to me.

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[quote name='molan' timestamp='1482265362' post='3199117']
I was at my amp tech recently and he was working on a Trace head.

He showed me the quality of components and design - all very basic and he wasn't impressed.

I think his comment was something like a "catastrophic failure waiting to happen"!

To be fair, he's a real perfectionist and it takes a lot to impress him, lol
[/quote]

I worked for Trace Elliot building some of their amps as my first job out of school. I have more than a few stories regarding the bodge-jobs that went on there. Nice sounding amps for the most part mind.

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Still happy with my GK 1001RB head. Weighing in at 22lbs, it is the perfect compromise of weight and
tone for me - old school amp that is still portable and sounds great.
I also have a GK MB800 which is used for some gigs and whilst also a cracking amp, I do prefer the 1001.

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My amp path has been as follows: Hartke HA3500 -> Gallien Krueger 2000RB -> Aguilar DB750 -> Aguilar AG500 -> Markbass F500 -> TC RH750 -> Eich T-1000.

So from medium weight to about a decade of heavyweight (GK + Aguilar), but even though the sound of the DB750 was amazing, the weight just started to become an issue. From then on it has been class D lightweight amps all the way. Sure, the big amps has something special on offer as well, but I haven't really been looking back since I moved on to the light stuff.

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Well I`ve now arrived at a point where I have both lightweight and semi-heavyweight. Lightweight portable rig is an Ashdowm RM-500 EVO with RM210 & 115 cabs, the semi-heavyweight rig is the ABM-600 EVO-IV with ABM210 & 410 cabs. I gigged last week with the ABM and in all honesty it`s not that big a deal to carry that amp about. The RM irig s really for backup purposes and when both the guitarist and myself need both our rigs and we`re in his car.

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  • 1 month later...

I used to play an Ampeg SVT7pro, but sold it after it broke down (no sound) at practice.
After that I played a SVT2pro, lovely but never left the practice room because it´s to heavy in the case.
Also played a Bugera BVV3000 (Ampeg CL clone), very nice but also to heavy.
My main amp is a Hughes&Kettner Quantum QT600. The best of both worlds.
The weight is in the middle and it sounds like a tube amp. Also you don´t have any tube break downs at gigs.
I sold my Bugera and will get a GK 700rbII now, to give it a try.
No digital for me and I don´t really need a full tube amp.
I´ll stay in the middle with my mosfets! :yarr:

Cheers,
Sascha

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I have gone from lightweight to heavy gear before. The only reason i do that is money. I need cash for other non musical things and heavy stuff like Trace Elliot stuff is cheap and serve the purpose.

Now I gone from heavy to small multi purpose combo because it fits what I do. Trace elliot stuff is too heavy to move around and it won't fit in my car as well. So I sold it and went for a small combo like SWR workingman 10 because it is loud enough for me to use as stage monitor and it has a DI out.

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Soooo, after lots of different stuff, I've ended up with....both :D

I'm out gigging a lot, so the humpability of my rig is important, and although I loooooved the sound of my three 112 Bergs, they were just too much faff after I'd picked up a BF Super Twin. Now there's a cab...for what I want (no tweeters) it's a fantastic combination of 40lbs portability and more output in every department than I could ever need (tho it's nice to know it's there).

Once that was done, I've kept the Magellan for the function gigs where I need flexibility and the ability to change sounds quite radically with a button push, and I've also got a Walkabout for the Rawk band, just because I love what it does with its mids when pushed. Both amps sound terrific through the Super Twin. I've even swerved the complication of going to in-ears and DI - the ST don't need no steeenkin PA support... :D

I suppose even my 'heavy' amp is light, but hey, it's not a Class D, right? :D

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I've owned both - the only "lightweight" amp that I would buy again is an EBS HD350, none of the Class D amps I had really did the job properly - with a Class D amp, it's about how much you're prepared to compromise on tone, with a valve amp, your ability to move it.

I currently have a ton of Trace Elliot gear, paid for from the sale of a Walkabout which I found disappointing but I'm diving in to super lightweight with the purchase of the new TE Elf, arriving at the end of April.

I think the real test of which we'd ideally own would be if somebody else moved our gear for us.

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I can't see the point in having a light weight Head as long as it 's lighter or the same weight as the cab , Having said that the Ashdown ABM1000 really doesn't sound digital & will knock your head off & vibrate your insides to bits if required at about 18lbs & the JJ500 head is about the same weight of the 12" Rootmaster cabs

Edited by Kevin Dean
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Hahahaha..... I always swim against the tide. I sold my GK MB800 when I got the HandBox R-400, and now I'm back to a GK MBF500. Why? Well, the HandBox is just the most awesome amp for bass guitar (the best I've ever played), but I made the conscious decision recently to concentrate on upright bass, and I prefer the GK for that. A bad back dictates the use of D class.

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I've been all over the spectrum of amps, from the amazing but ridiculous Ampeg SVT Skunkworks which took 2 of us to lift it onto the 810, to the god awful GenzBenz Shuttle which needed repair after 2 months and sounded like cr*p for its entire life in my hands. I miss my GK 2001RB and the Skunkworks still, monster amps, but better when someone else is carrying it for you.

Now settled with an Ampeg SVT-II non pro for the big gigs, Ampeg SVT-III non pro for everyday pub gigs, and a Sansamp RBI + Peavey IPR1600 for when we're limited on space in the cars or I have to carry it a long way. Oh, and there's a GK MB500 Fusion in the cupboard too just for fun.

Edited by Clarky72
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Been using my GK MB800 for gigs these last few weeks, and sounds fine. However, at a gig last night
I returned to my GK 1001RB and must say I really do prefer the sound. Maybe it's just because I'm
more used to it over these last few years - whatever, it's going nowhere. Will keep the 800 too though,
will still come in handy I'm sure.

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