Is it ok to talk bass in here? Need some help

[maddnotez]

My bassist is looking for some new gear.

We play in a metal band, I really do not know much about good bass gear.

Also in the meantime his current rig needs a new speaker. He has 2 15's and one blew. They are both crap so maybe we need 2 speakers for now until we locate a good cab.

So does anyone have any good 15'' speaker suggestions to throw in a bass cab for a metal band?

 

[sinfish]

a 4X10 is punchier

 

[stephen sawall]

No ! .... this is "Rig Talk" .... nothing but talk about trucks ever !

 

[nwright]

For metal I'd take a serious look at the Tech21 Landmark amps. I know they stopped making the Landmark 600, but they may still make the landmark 300. Killer amps, it's a shame they aren't more well known.

You could also go the usual Ampeg route, around here used rack based SVT models go pretty cheap.

For compact heads, I like the Mark bass stuff and the TC Electronic bass heads are worth a look. The TC stuff may be out of that price range, though, even used.

I'd also say to look to 4x10's if you are playing modern metal at faster BPM's. the 15" inchers nice, but they carry so much lows that they can get muddy on faster stuff IMO.

our bass player runs a 2x15/4x10 full stack, so he kinda gets the best of both worlds.

 

[joolzriff]

u play metal....Ampeg or Mesa.....Ampeg being the cheaper used......go a 4x10 route or 12's.....ampeg 4x10 is ruthless

 

[fuzzyguitars]

aguilar 4x12 is monstrous

 

[Wayniac3]

Markbass - great SVT like tones, lightweight.
BUT - they do not move as much air.
If you can get one in the price range used, I go SVT (3-Pro or 4) or Mesa
I'm not familiar with the Tech 21 bass stuff mentioned above, but their Sansamp stuff is great

 

[Skrapmetal]

GK 700rbII or an Ampeg SVT with 4x10. 1000rb if you go the GK route and go up to an 8x10.

 

[blackba]

I suggest asking here as well: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f45/

I will also second the Ampeg or Mesa suggestion. Ampeg has some new lighter weight amps out there like the SVT7pro which looks pretty cool. I would avoid the B2RE, even though I have heard a B2R that sounded pretty good. Markbass is also very popular over at Talkbass, but not sure how those amps are for Metal.

 

[maddnotez]

GK 700rbII or an Ampeg SVT with 4x10. 1000rb if you go the GK route and go up to an 8x10.

well oddly enough he bought the GK 700rb and doesn't like it at all. I kind of agree with him.

I do keep in mind that the cab he has is complete crap.

Maybe he just needs to get a nice 4x10 first, experiment the RB with that then if it still doesnt sound good sell the RB and look for the amp.

 

[Skrapmetal]

GK 700rbII or an Ampeg SVT with 4x10. 1000rb if you go the GK route and go up to an 8x10.

well oddly enough he bought the GK 700rb and doesn't like it at all. I kind of agree with him.

I do keep in mind that the cab he has is complete crap.

Maybe he just needs to get a nice 4x10 first, experiment the RB with that then if it still doesnt sound good sell the RB and look for the amp.

That's surprising... 700rb-II? Or just the 700rb? The 700rb-II is a pretty solid amp for the money. Could be the cab... how does he have it set? It's a good amp for just putting everything at 12 o'clock and rocking out. Maybe a little contour if needed, but not much reason to alter anything else.

It really shines with a GK cab and a 4-conductor speakon cable so you can isolate the tweeter.

Some people don't dig the GK growl, though.

 

[maddnotez]

I edited the op. We are going to keep the amp for now.

Looking for ideas on where to get a 4x10, 6x10 or 8x10 cab for a good price used.

Or preferrably suggestions on some 15'' and 10'' speakers.

 

[The Hoff]

I personally really like Mesa's bass line.

Also, any amp with a sansamp DI sounds incredible. Just dial in a neutral EQ. It's basically a SVT in a box.

Cab-wise (looks like you're keeping the amp again-really like Mesa's line. But you can't go wrong with Ampeg. You can get some good deals on ampeg 4x10s/8x10s on Craigslist. I ran a 4x10 with a 1x15 for a few years and really liked the results. I liked the range the combination of cabinets gave. Plus I didn't have to lug around an 8x10.

 

[Skrapmetal]

If you're going to keep the GK, a GK cab would be ideal so you can run it biamp for the tweeter. Being able to control the woofers and the tweeter seperately is one of my favorite things about GK's, and its a great way to fine-tune the tone.

But you can use a regular 4x10 with no problem, just make sure NOT to use a four-conductor speakon with a non-GK cab or you can damage the amp. I believe a two-conductor should work fine.

 

[maddnotez]

If you're going to keep the GK, a GK cab would be ideal so you can run it biamp for the tweeter. Being able to control the woofers and the tweeter seperately is one of my favorite things about GK's, and its a great way to fine-tune the tone.

But you can use a regular 4x10 with no problem, just make sure NOT to use a four-conductor speakon with a non-GK cab or you can damage the amp. I believe a two-conductor should work fine.

Thanks for the tip...After seeing this, now Im hoping it was in fact a blown speaker and that he didnt blow his amp

 

[BeZo]

I would go Ampeg. (Of course I would say that!)

As far as the speakers go, I've always liked the Peavey Black Widow 15s. That way, if you blow one, you can just buy a new basket and bolt it on. It's easy. The only problem is that they need some power to really run.

The thing with bass that is different than guitar is the frequencies it needs to produce (obviously). Lower frequencies take more power to produce. That's why singers pull the mic away from their mouth when they hit the high notes. If they use the same projection, the high notes come out louder. That is why you need more power when you are working with bass frequencies. There is a general rule of thumb with bass in a live environment, and that is to have 3x the power behind the bass as you do on guitar. The other thing is with tube vs. solid state, tube is louder with less wattage. A 100 watt tube amp is louder than a 300 solid state rig. So, if you are running a 100 tube head, your bassist needs 300 watts tube, or 600 watts solid state. If you have two guitarists, you need twice that. That is why the Ampeg SVT 4 Pro is on the market, at 1200 watts (or bridged at 1600 watts).

Also, bass frequencies are produced by surface area. If you do the math, four ten inch speakers have more surface area than a fifteen inch speaker. This is the logic behind the 8x10. The more surface area you have in your speakers, the more bass you will get out of your rig. If he is going for something small, I would recommend a 4x12 bass cabinet. Otherwise, it is really hard to argue with the 8x10 (unless you practice in a basement, in which case there is a very strong argument.)

As far as bass tone goes, there are really two different sounds. One is the fat, meaty tone that is well rounded and deep, and the other is more of a nasally and poppy brighter tone. Both can be bass heavy or punchy, but there is i difference that is kinda similar to that "weird mids vs regular mids" debate in the guitar world. The first tone, the rounded tone, comes from brands like Ampeg or Mesa. The second tone, the nasal tone, comes from SWR or Gallien Krueger. Granted, you can dial them all in to cover a similar ground, especially GK stuff, but it's best to cater to their unique nuances.

I hope that helps with the bass quest.

 

[mjtripper]

If you just need replacement speakers emenence delta 15 would be a good choice for the cab you already have. For not much more money however you could get a new cab with new drivers for not too much more from carvin or avatar. The 2x10 or 4x10 brx cabs from carvin are really nice cabs and can take a ton of abuse. The avatar is of a similar build quality and sound with the carvin having maybe a little more low end. I don't think you could go wrong with either. When it is time to replace the amp I would also recommend you check out the carvin bass amps, they are serious work horse amps that sound great and are built like tanks. As already mentioned the tc electronic bass amps are nice as well, I think the heads are much better then the combos however in regards to build quality.

 

[Laura]

For metal I'd take a serious look at the Tech21 Landmark amps. I know they stopped making the Landmark 600, but they may still make the landmark 300. Killer amps, it's a shame they aren't more well known.

You could also go the usual Ampeg route, around here used rack based SVT models go pretty cheap.

For compact heads, I like the Mark bass stuff and the TC Electronic bass heads are worth a look. The TC stuff may be out of that price range, though, even used.

I'd also say to look to 4x10's if you are playing modern metal at faster BPM's. the 15" inchers nice, but they carry so much lows that they can get muddy on faster stuff IMO.

our bass player runs a 2x15/4x10 full stack, so he kinda gets the best of both worlds.

Good advice here!

If you did blow the speakers, you can contact Eminence with the dimensions of your cab and they can recommend some good replacement ideas. I did this with a Hartke 2x15 and got some of the Delta Lite speakers. Sounds great now and the cab is very light weight. I also have a 4x10 Avatar bass cab (I don't play bass but I bought a decent rig so my bassist would have something decent to play through). The 15's and the 10's combined sound awesome.

Amp wise, I have a good friend who is a tech and bassist and he strongly recommended a good power amp and a bass pre-amp instead of buying a single bass amp. I got a Sansamp RBI and a Yamaha power amp so we are running 600 watts into each cab. Sounds really good. This is one rig that actually sounds good with a Sonic Maximizer as well (I no longer use them for guitar though).

That Tech21 stuff is pretty awesome as well, but I tend to prefer bass tones with lots of power behind it.