# Budget bass rig suggestions



## TMM (Mar 23, 2012)

For all I could tell you about guitars, guitar amps, guitar cabs, pedals, even basses themselves... I admittedly know very little about bass amps & cabs. At least, not anymore... I used to work at a music gear shop, but that was a while ago, and a lot of new stuff has come out since then (ex: the new Class D mini head that still has power craze). So, I'm looking for some good suggestions.

I need to pick something up that will give me a great recorded tone, but that ideally can also be translated to a decent live tone. Since I already have some guitar rack pre's, I was thinking I could just pick up a good bass rack pre and a generic SS poweramp (like a QSC PLX or something) that could be used for either. At the same time, I could just use whatever bass head I pick up as a poweramp for the guitar pre's (I only need a poweramp for my guitar pre's for @ home practice).

So, what's the most cost efficient way I can get into this that will still meet my needs? Ampeg SVP pre with a PLX? Carvin Redline 1000?

For cabs, I was thinking either a Hartke 410 (the one w/ aluminum cones) or an Ampeg 410 HLF. What do you think? If it makes a difference, I actually also already have an old (but well made) homemade 215 cab I could just buy speakers for.

Thanks in advance for your help?


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## TemjinStrife (Mar 23, 2012)

What is your budget?

How much volume do you need? (What sort of rig are you competing with, guitar-wise?

How low are you tuning?

Grind/dirt or no grind/dirt?

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That said, here's some stuff worth looking into (new or used)
Preamps:
-Tech 21 Sansamp VT Bass - very tweakable, great old-school to modern clean to distorted tones.
-Tech 21 RPM or RBI - these things are the sound of "modern metal" bass, but will also do Geddy tones or cleaner tones
-Eden WTDI - Clean but versatile preamp.

Power Amps:
Peavey IPR1600 ($300, a fuckload of watts, 7 lbs)
Carvin DCM1500 (see above)

Heads:
-Gallien-Krueger 800RB - through a lot of speakers, this gives some serious punch and grind. Only 300W, but LOUD, grindy, aggressive, and available used for a pittance
-GK Backline 600 - cheap, loud, indestructible
-GK MB800 or Fusion 800 - $600, 800W, 5 lbs, loud, aggressive, grindy, punchy
-Ampeg PF500 - Ampeg-y tone in a small, 10-lb box for $500ish
-Markbass F1 - Fast, punchy, loud, neutral; a great basis for pedals
-Peavey VB-2 - Reliable all tube amp with great distortion and clean sounds for reasonable prices
-Hartke LH500 or LH1000 - powerful, affordable, solid tones, versatile.

Cab:
#1 recommendation: Avatar TB153 (new or used, there are a few up on Talkbass for $500ish - incredibly loud (loud as a 4x10 or 6x10 if you throw 800W at it), can take a TON of power without flinching, very neutral and punchy with plenty of lows. Goal is to be closer to a high-powered studio monitor.
-Used Eden D410XLT - heavy, LOUD, but available anywhere for $500 or less and blows the pants off the Ampeg HLFs
-Used Ampeg 410HLF or 410E - the HLF has more lows, the E sounds like the traditional 8x10 with more midrange punch and a tighter bottom


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## TMM (Mar 24, 2012)

Yeah, realized I forgot to put any of those details a while after I posted... def a noob move.

Budget? "Not too expensive". As cheap as possible while still sounding good, sounding loud, and working well for direct recording. I'll be competing with a drummer and a guitarist with a Smolski head / ENGL Pro V30 412.

As for tone, I'd like for it to be able to get a little bit of dirt when I really dig in. A long time ago I had one of the Hartke Bass Attack pedals, and I had that set up so that it was mostly clean, but would get a little grit when I really hit the strings. That's what I'd like out of a live rig, ideally.

The Tech 21 RBI sounds interesting... when you say modern metal bass, what sort of a modern metal bass tone are you referring to? I think there's quite a range. Between those 2 poweramps, is there any real benefit of one over the other?

I don't actually even have a bass yet, but I'm more comfortable in that purchase. I'll probably be picking up a 5 or 6 string SR50# or BTB.


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## iron blast (Mar 24, 2012)

Ibanez btbs are the stuff man. I'd just buy some competant 4x10 and a power amp rated for it with the art pro channel pre its a channel strip made for vocals but it sounds sick on bass and its fairly cheap. I paid $200 new for mine the best part is you can use it to record with later.


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## TemjinStrife (Mar 24, 2012)

In that price range, check out a used Schecter Stiletto Studio too. Blows the pants off of any of the non-Premium Indo Ibanezes I've played.


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## TMM (Mar 25, 2012)

Yeah, actually I've been looking @ the Studio & Custom 5's & 6's, too. They seem pretty sweet, feature-wise. Way tougher to find used than the Ibbys, though.


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## TemjinStrife (Mar 25, 2012)

TMM said:


> Yeah, actually I've been looking @ the Studio & Custom 5's & 6's, too. They seem pretty sweet, feature-wise. Way tougher to find used than the Ibbys, though.



That's cause people tend to hold onto them longer 

I have played a bunch of the Ibby BTBs and SRs; there are good ones, and there are bad ones. I've played a bunch of those Studios, and not a one has been a dud.

They do range DRAMATICALLY in weight though; some are absolute boat anchors and some are average weight. They've all sounded great though.

RE: Tech 21s

I know that RBI+RPM or RBI/RPM+SVT is the sound of a lot of heavy rock records, but can go as gainy or as clean as you want. Solid preamps, with plenty of versatility.

RE: Power Amps

I've got buddies who've used both the DCM1540L and the IPR1600 for bass rigs and for sound reinforcement for weekly gigs for a very long time, and have no complaints.

For cabs, heads, basses, and amps, I'd definitely troll the "used" section of Talkbass. Lots of great gear there for little money.


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## TMM (Mar 29, 2012)

So... got to try out an RBI, and loooooved it. I also tried out an Eden WTDI and Peavey Probass. For the tone I was after, the RBI smoked them, and may be my favorite bass tone I've heard. But I've heard (or paid attention to) exactly 1/100000 of the bass tones out there.

How big a difference is there between the RBI and the BDDI? Is the mid control really that important, especially if the bass I just bought (a mint SR506 that I'm going to swap the pickups out of) has an on-board 3-band EQ? My budget couldn't really be tighter.


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## TemjinStrife (Mar 30, 2012)

I will say that the Eden WT preamp (especially the one in my full-sized WT400 amp) sits in a rock/punk/alternative/indie/pop mix like nothing else... but probably not a metal mix, so I'm not surprised it's not for you.

That midrange control is pretty important, IMHO. There's a big difference between boosting/scooping on the bass and in the RBI... completely changes the character of the tone. But it's worth trying out the BDDI and seeing if you can get away with it.


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## troyguitar (Mar 30, 2012)

Have you tried just running through your guitar preamps? Maybe even a guitar amp if it's high enough power... using stuff you already own is certainly budget friendly.

re: power amps I have owned an IPR1600 since the week they came out and used it for guitar, bass, vocals, and keyboards (at one point all of those at once) without any issues. As long as you don't try to push a 16 ohm load at band volumes it is good enough for anything.


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## TMM (Apr 3, 2012)

Say I have a nice 2x15 cab, uoaded - what would be good but still budget conscious speakers to put in it? I picked up a Harke VXL pre , a Carvin R1000 head, and an SR506 w Bartolinis, if that makes a difference.


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 3, 2012)

Ported or sealed? Dimensions?


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## TMM (Apr 3, 2012)

Ported, a little bigger than a Vader 215... not sure of the exact dimensions.


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 4, 2012)

It's honestly a crapshoot with bass cabinets. They're a little pickier than guitar cabs about speakers.

See if you can't figure out the internal dimensions, and check Eminence's website.

There are some solid 15s out there though:
-Eminence 3015 Speaker Detail | Eminence Speaker (supposedly very similar tonally to the EVM15L with a ton more power handling, displacement, and headroom)
-Eminence Basslite: Speaker Detail | Eminence Speaker
-Eminence Deltalite: Speaker Detail | Eminence Speaker
-Eminence Legend: Speaker Detail | Eminence Speaker (more "traditional" bass guitar speaker")

What I would really recommend doing is measuring the internal volume of the cab and the port dimensions (including port length) and calling Eminence's customer service. They'd be the best ones to help you decide what 15s would best fit your cab.

Two 3015s would be able to take pretty much anything that head could throw at them and then some though; at least then you wouldn't have to worry as much about blowing drivers.


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## TMM (Apr 4, 2012)

The 3015 looks cool, but none of those seem to be particularly 'budget-minded'. I guess I should specify - after the bass & pre, I have about $300 left for the poweramp & either a cab or speakers for the 215.

Searching around, it seems like my best bet will be a used Carvin Redline 410 and a used 1000w poweramp (Carvin or Peavey). Either that, or a Carvin R1000 head and 1-2 decent used 15" speakers (maybe Black Widows or something).


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 4, 2012)

The power amp and cab are probably the most important bits, dude 

Search Craigslist for beat up Ampegs, Edens, or Peaveys.


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## TMM (Apr 5, 2012)

typically true, but the recorded tone is a higher priority to me right now.


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## TMM (Apr 5, 2012)

So, Carvin RL6815 or SWR Goliath II 410?


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 5, 2012)

The Goliath 410 is quite scooped in the low mids, but I'd go for that over the Cyclops cab.


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## TMM (Apr 7, 2012)

I did these w/ the SR506 + Hartke VXL pedal pre:

20120407 - Oni 8 - TITAN custom pre by TheMammonMachine on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free
20120407 - Oni 8 - TITAN custom pre (2) by TheMammonMachine on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

If I could get a live rig to sound basically like that, I think I'd be happy. Not my favorite bass tone I've ever heard, but it works for me. Maybe I should just aim to get a regular poweramp (the IPR / DCMs, like you mentioned) & a good cab.

Or, have you ever heard of people using powered monitors (Eons, SRM450s, etc) for bass?


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 7, 2012)

People have used powered monitors, but for the rigs you're going to be competing with, you'd need way more output.


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