Pre/power or head? O15 bass cab

[JoeVictim]

Hey guys. I just built an O15 with mid and sub and am in the process of looking for a new amp. My current Peavey is only sending about 170 watts to the cab but It's a great sounding 170 watts . I am in the process of selling my old bass cab, my SX bass, and eventually my Peavey Nitrobass. I am hoping to get around $400 total for all of it and was wondering what you guys would do? $400 would be enough for a Carvin BX500 and there is a used B1500 used I could try for but the QC issues have me second guessing Carvin. I know all things are subject to QC issues but I would not have a backup. All advice welcomed. I've seen a Crown XLS-402D for about $170... What would you do?

[Greg Plouvier]

... What would you do?

Look at the small light heads - e.g., Markbass, TC Electronic, etc. I know my next bass head will be the TC Classic 450. A little pricey-er(probably not a word) but way lighter. Lugging a Peavey combo now - no fun.

[JoeVictim]

... What would you do?

Look at the small light heads - e.g., Markbass, TC Electronic, etc. I know my next bass head will be the TC Classic 450. A little pricey-er(probably not a word) but way lighter. Lugging a Peavey combo now - no fun.

I might be able to find a used Markbass in my price range. Weight is not an issue for me. Thanks Greg, I'll keep that in mind.

[WB]

$400 would be enough for a Carvin BX500 and there is a used B1500 used I could try for but the QC issues have me second guessing Carvin. I know all things are subject to QC issues but I would not have a backup. All advice welcomed. I've seen a Crown XLS-402D for about $170... What would you do?

Carvin's spotty quality would concern me since you'd have no back up. I have three Carvin products 2 of the 3 has issues.

1) A DCM2500, a great power amp that I keep as a potential backup to my Crown K2. It came from the factory with a cracked fan housing, but doesn't affect the amp in any way. Irks me nevertheless.

2) A BX500 that went into protect mode within 10 seconds at a rehearsal, brand new. Had my regular head with me, and never used the BX500 again.

3) A DCM150 which has been good, no problems.

[JoeVictim]

$400 would be enough for a Carvin BX500 and there is a used B1500 used I could try for but the QC issues have me second guessing Carvin. I know all things are subject to QC issues but I would not have a backup. All advice welcomed. I've seen a Crown XLS-402D for about $170... What would you do?

Carvin's spotty quality would concern me since you'd have no back up. I have three Carvin products 2 of the 3 has issues.

1) A DCM2500, a great power amp that I keep as a potential backup to my Crown K2. It came from the factory with a cracked fan housing, but doesn't affect the amp in any way. Irks me nevertheless.

2) A BX500 that went into protect mode within 10 seconds at a rehearsal, brand new. Had my regular head with me, and never used the BX500 again.

3) A DCM150 which has been good, no problems.

Thats exactly what concerns me. I don't want to be stuck on a gig and blammo! I saw a BBE Bmax for $160 used. That with the Crown for $170 would definitely do the trick and be under my budget. The Markbass stuff looks cool too. Gotta move the gear first though...

[AntonZ]

Ibanez Promethean looks promising, don;t know how much they go for at your side of the Atlantic.

In Europe we have seen two variations on the Promethean so far, seems the exact same electronics in a different color case and quite a bit cheaper. You may find one of these.

[wounded horse]

Find yourself a peavey Max preamp. I use mine to drive a QSC RMX1450 and it's SWEET. Read the Harmony Central reviews on the Max. Everyone loves them and now I have one I know why. If I could afford it I'd get one of the smaller Lab Gruppen power amps. The QSC is way too heavy. With a pre/Stereo power amp I drive the mid 8" on channel 1 and the 2 12s on channel 2 QSC to my Omni 212. The Max has hi/lo out and a variable Xover. Mine's a keeper. Bulletproof reliability apparently and easy to fix if they should go wrong.

[coolhandjjl]

Look at the Eden heads. I bought a WT405 (discontinued, but you can still find them new). It will run down to 2 ohms at 655 watts. They are a bit more pricey, but built like a tank.

[JoeVictim]

The Max preamp is way hard to find, the Eden stuff is out of my price range, and the Promethean... I don't like the looks of it. I am really just lost. I wish I could add a poll to this.

Who votes for pre/power setup and why?

Who votes for Head unit and why?

Also list your recommendation in my price range. This is pretty much what you have been doing so, proceed.

[raytsmith]

Depending on the kind of sound you want....

You might find a used Ampeg SVT3 for around 400 - 450, maybe. These are good heads, mine has been dependable for about 10 years now, although I don't use it much anymore except for a backup.

For a power amp setup, you could go with a VT Bass pedal straight to a power amp. Most decent preamps/power amp rigs are going to put you over your price range.

Tons of people like the Markbass LMII, and you should be able to find a used one for 400.

[JoeVictim]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I have been trying to look at amps with graphic EQs. Brands like Hartke and Ampeg definitely look right but I never played an ampeg other than a BA100 combo. I can't find a 3 pro in my price plus I would like to loose some weight. My Peavey head is crazy heavy and only has a three band parametric eq. I need something to help dial in my mids. Guitarist just got his setup together today and his 20 band or so stereo eq has got the smiley face going. I think I want a frowny face.

[Benj Ross]

Hey JoeV,

I recently unloaded my pre/power setup and went for the Bx500. Bx500 was great until it died a month out of warranty I have really been missing my BBE Bmax lately. That preamp is the bee's knees. I say go for the pre/power route. You will always have another channel of power for something else in the band or whatever. You can switch preamps or get another item of rack gear to tweak your sound etc. I would say try and get one of these newer lightweight amps that are coming out now. The XLS drivecore or similar. You could get one with a crossover for some sweet biamping action down the road too. If you can find one get the Bmax. There is a Bmax on musicgoround.com for $175 shipped or look on Talkbass.com in the classifieds, they come up semi-regular on there. One thing to be aware of with the Bmax: The 3 band eq is not boost/cut. It is as follows:
Bass -Mostly boost, flat at "2"
Mid -cut only
Treble- mostly boost, Flat at "2"

So this means that flat is 2-0-2 or so. Then you have the sonic maximixer and the parametric mids which it sounds like you are into.

Once I read up on what is really going on the preamp really came alive. I think it is like the old Fender preamps, but I wouldn't quote me on this. Never had to try hard to get a great sound out of it.

My .02

Benj

[Bruce Weldy]

Guitarist just got his setup together today and his 20 band or so stereo eq has got the smiley face going..

That's because even the EQ is laughing at him for using a 20 band stereo EQ on a guitar rig.

Good Lord, that's twice in one day that I've made fun of a guitarist......hearing some of this stuff is starting to make me ashamed to be one.

Guitar + cable + quality tube amp + ability = great guitar sounds....

[AntonZ]

Guitarist just got his setup together today and his 20 band or so stereo eq has got the smiley face going. I think I want a frowny face.

I think you want to wipe that smiley off his EQ. The rising sliders in his lower bands sound great for guitar alone, but will fight you in the total band mix. He's plowing in your garden, get him to stay in his own would do the total band mix good.

[Mikey]

Guitarist just got his setup together today and his 20 band or so stereo eq has got the smiley face going. I think I want a frowny face.

I think you want to wipe that smiley off his EQ. The rising sliders in his lower bands sound great for guitar alone, but will fight you in the total band mix. He's plowing in your garden, get him to stay in his own would do the total band mix good.

+1/-1 ... bass guitar most commonly uses a pseudo-smiley EQ, depending on the sound you're after. Guitarists like to use a "scooped" EQ, too, but if it's "too scooped" it doesn't sit well in the mix and just sounds like mud. If he's using a "typical" guitar cab, it's more-than-likely only good down to about 150hz ... maybe 100hz at the most, so he's really not going to be stepping on your toes, especially if you customarily hold down a low pocket.

If you have a laptop, you could consider a tube pre with an XTi 1000. The XTi would give you biamping for your O15, provide a limiter, and it has more-than-adequate EQ for bass guitar, but it can only be accessed with a laptop connected. However, the laptop would also open the door to many other possibilities.