O15TB for bass guitar use, picking a suitable amp

[Silent Horsebreath]

Hi there,

Reading some posts here on this forum, it has come to my attention that not all bass amplifiers are well suited for the flat response of the Omni15 tallboy. This because some amps have built in preshape eq's to compensate for lack of mid freq's in traditional bass cabs (as read here somewhere on this forum). Because of this the Omni can sound too mid oriented according to some posts i have read.

I am now using a combo amp and as soon as the Omni is finished im selling it for a head. And thus I need a head that has a pretty flat response with eq set flat (no preshape). If there are users here with experience using this particular cab as a bass guitar setup with a traditional bass amp, could you tell me what those experiences might be?

I'm particularily eyeballing Gallien & Krueger amps, so any info about those would be especially awesome!

Thanks alot in advance,

Stefan

[Harley]

If there are users here with experience using this particular cab as a bass guitar setup with a traditional bass amp, could you tell me what those experiences might be?

I have an Eden WT550 and it took a bit of tweaking to get it right, but it's a nice amp for the O15TB

[Silent Horsebreath]

Thanks for the reply, I'll check it out sometime if i can find it in a local store somewhere.

[wallywally]

I'm using an Ampeg SVT3 pro on my Omni 12 and I have no problems dialing in the sound I want. I think the key to getting a good sound is to have sweepable or selectable mids. I do not use the graphic eq on this amp because I can get "my" sound without it.

[5StringPocket]

I think a good amp to consider for the O15TB might be the Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0. It's very compact and rated at 500 watts into an 8 ohm load (900 into 4 ohm). It also has a very warm tone, tight low end, and semiparametric mid. If a cab is too clear where it starts to seem sterile or too wide in the low end I think the voicing of this amp would excel. 500 watts would also give you full access to the cabs dynamic range. I've got the 12.0 Max and love it. Lots of good buzz about this new arrival.
http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=shuttle9

[rpsands]

IMHO the Shuttle's eq is insufficient for a cab with a freq chart like the O15TB. I have had issues with getting sounds with it before with similar cabs, and while it's a good amp, the 2-band + 1 band semi-parametric is just shy.

The max would be ideal, I think, with its multiple bands of semi-parametric and variable mid cut/sub boost/top.

Something like the SD800 would be nice too. 4-band with 2 semi-para is about as limited as I'd want to go.

That's just my opinion with no experience with the cab other than some similar cabs and looking at the FR chart, so take it for what it is

[5StringPocket]

+1 on the Max. I've been chiming in with others to see if Genz Benz would be willing to upgrade the Shuttle Max 6.0 to a Max 9.0. 500 W into 8 ohms with that preamp would make a lot of people happy. No concession yet. The SD800 or GK 1001RBII would both be good choices and if you've got the money to spend there is always the EA iAmp Pro or the TecAmp Puma 1000.

[rpsands]

If you're looking for affordable, Carvin's BX500 and BX1500 look like pretty much the best eq sections on the market for bass in a lot of ways. Graphic, multiple semi-parametrics, high and low shelving, and even a decent compressor.

I'd roll with a Bx1500 for the Tallboy with a 3015LF myself, since you could biamp it as well if you desired.

[5StringPocket]

That BX1500 looks well thought out at a great price. Brand new. I didn't know Carvin had that ready to go. Good choice.
http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/s ... uct=BX1500

[David Carter]

Despite the talk of limited EQ, I personally wouldn't hesitate to get Shuttle 6.0. I had one until I traded it away for a Crown XTi-2000 recently. I've missed it since letting it go. Just didn't have the cash to buy the Crown outright. I used it both through a DR250 and direct to a DR250/T39 PA system and loved it.

If anyone is interested in a used Shuttle 6.0, there have been several for sale on TB recently. There is one right now for $450 + shipping. I'm not affiliated with the seller in any way. I just think it happens to be an awesome amp at a great price, and I wish I had the cash to get it myself!

[David Carter]

Regarding the Carvin amps, I haven't tried any of the new generation, but I had a B800 for a couple of years that I would swear by also. It's out of production now, but it was the little brother to the B1500 and B2000, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy any of those three. Just pick the one that best suits you price, output, size, and weight requirements.

[JoeVictim]

Looking at Genz Benz Shuttle
Little Mark II tube
Carvin BX1500/BX1200
Carvin B2000/B1500

Carvin has always been on my radar and just wondering if anyone has A/B'ed these with each other. Other than volume, any clear winners?

[David Carter]

Looking at Genz Benz Shuttle
Little Mark II tube
Carvin BX1500/BX1200
Carvin B2000/B1500

Carvin has always been on my radar and just wondering if anyone has A/B'ed these with each other. Other than volume, any clear winners?

You'll find several threads on the Carvin amps on TalkBass.com in the "Amps" forum. You will also find a few B1500's for sale in the Classifieds section. I also saw a BX500 for sale there today.

[mesalmon]

I can highly recommend the Markbass littlemark 2 (LM2) for bass guitar. I have an O15TB with the 3015lf and compression driver (with an on/off switch). The combination of the LM2 and the O15TB is really impressive. It sounds great! You really get a full and rich bass tone with excellent projection in a very portable (w/ tiltback casters) package as compared to most 4x10s and 8x10s.

There is a lot to like about the original LM2 amp:
- very light ~5lbs as everyone knows
- small enough to fit in a large pocket on a gigbag
- 350W @ 8ohms from this amp is actually plenty for this cab (I'm shaking my next door neighboor's windows 50 ft away) and you could probably drive another one if you wanted to get a little more rediculous
- the EQ is sufficient to dial in a wide variety of sounds and the two magic knobs (VPF and VLE) can bring the ever so sweet DEEP bass with sparklies type of tone. While probably having more tone control would be nice, this thing sounds so good with little to no additional eq'ing, I couldn't find the additional cost of the newer models with additional tweekability justifiable.
- cheaper to acquire since the new models are out now, bought mine on CL for $300

IMHO the sound quality to $$ to weight ratio with a LM2 is absolutely excellent. My main comparison is based on owning an SVT 8x10 rig for years. I think my LM2 has an equally great sound (not exactly the same) to the SVT head but weighs almost 20 times less.

Also, when shopping for an amp I took myO15TB to my local guitarshop, GC, and SA and played a wide variety of amps with my '72 fender jazz. I tried GKs (no MB2-500 though), Markbass LM2, LM3, SD800(I think that was it, one of the higher power heads with digital pwr section) the Markbass 300W all tube head, some Eden amps and GB shuttle 6.0. To me the LM2/LM3 sounded the best. (I couldn't tell the difference between the LM2 and LM3). No chance to try the tube versions of the LMs or the F1/500 or the higher pwr GBs.

I cannot recommend enough taking your cab to a GC or SA (or your local music shop for that matter) on a busy Saturday to test amps. I wrote down Bill's website for at least a dozen people that were simply jaw-dropped amazed by the sound this thing makes. Then I had them pick it up, only ~65lbs. WTF! It was the best sounding cab in the place and everyone knew it. I was shaking the walls with a tiny LM2 plugged in. The low end response from this cab paired with the LM2 is amazing. It was really fun to have something that no one had ever seen before, that looks a little strange compared to most front loaded cabs, and sounds sooooo good. It really started getting awkward when I had multiple people asking me if they could play on it in the store in front of the sales people. HA HA!

Cheers!

[Gregory East]

You'll have them replacing the "NO STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN" sign with "NO BFM"