What amplification system are you usi...

Log Out | Topics | Search Moderators | Register | Edit Profile

Thread Last Poster Posts Pages Last Post Archive through November 10, 2003 81seriesi 30  1  11-10-03  1:19 pm   Closed: New threads not accepted on this page

Author Message dnburgess Intermediate Member Username: dnburgess Post Number: 133 Registered: 1-2003 Posted on Monday, November 10, 2003 - 3:41 pm:    Bassicthing - how do you like the Boss CE1? How does it compare to the CE5? Have you checked out other Chorus units? bracheen New Username: bracheen Post Number: 9 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Monday, November 10, 2003 - 3:43 pm:    OK prepare to be amazed. I use a Hartke B15 combo. That's 15 watts of raw power bursting through a single eight inch speaker. Yeah, I can hear the gasps of astonishment now. The best part is it's a sound that's easily replicated through earphones. mattheus Member Username: mattheus Post Number: 67 Registered: 5-2003 Posted on Monday, November 10, 2003 - 11:54 pm:    Mmmm, if I could only get those B15 combo's to fit in my ears..... ; ) jazzyvee Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 55 Registered: 6-2002 Posted on Tuesday, November 11, 2003 - 11:41 am:    I went through virtually all the amps and cabs in the music stores in the city where i live and found that the only one that made my SC Deluxe sing like i wanted it to was the Mesa Boogie. Not needing hundreds of watts of raw power since most of my gigs are backline and PA or small jazz clubs. I went for a complete Mesa rig of the 300w Walkabout head, 2x10 and 1x15 powerhouse range of cabs the sound is as clear and crisp and as mellow as I want and important to me.. no distortion. I used to use a bit of compression but now I just plug straight in and control the dynamics myself. The sound engineer can sort out front of house. Saying that I'd love to try it with an 18" bass bin just the once... :-) For practice at home or the odd living room rehearsal session i have a peavey microbass which is real nice. siggytx New Username: siggytx Post Number: 4 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Friday, November 14, 2003 - 5:28 pm:    I ended up picking up a TL Audio Ivory series 5051 tubed preamp with a fast compress, selectible frequency eq, and input levels for the series 1 bass I play and it runs thru a mackie 1400 power amp to a Acme 2x10 low b cabnet and again I'm blown away buy the warm clear deep punchy bass sound I am getting. Then I plugged my 62 fretless jazz bass into it and wow. I really like this preamp and the way it's layed out. captain_jan New Username: captain_jan Post Number: 2 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 5:30 am:    I used to have a Trace Elliot AH500X with three cabinets but after buying the Swedish EBS amp with 800W and six 10 inch speakers I'd say that's it! That really kicks your bottom and the clarity and quality of the sound is unbelievable! (you know, it's not only nice blonds that come from Sweden..!) I highly recommend this amp if some of you ever happen to have a chance to try one. locutusofborg10 Junior Username: locutusofborg10 Post Number: 13 Registered: 11-2002 Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2003 - 3:05 pm:    i'm currently using a swr 2004 and an old acoustic 370 heads. i have a peavey 1/15 and a peavey 4/10 botttoms. i run the swr thru the 1/15 for the lows and the acoustic thru the 4/10 for the highs. i use a morley ab footswitch so i can get any combination of the two. i have an epic 4 and use no other effects. this set-up, while not state of the art, sounds incredible. i guess it has to do with the bass. i can get almost any tone i need. the set-up was cheap and works great. it seems the swr, in particular, is a great fit for my bass. bbe1020 Member Username: bbe1020 Post Number: 80 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 7:37 am:    I don't know if anyone has seen the new offerings by BOSE, but it looks like the ideal solution to the portability/weight issue...although its cost may pose yet another issue...Check it out @ www.BOSE.com xlrogue6 Junior Username: xlrogue6 Post Number: 37 Registered: 8-2002 Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 8:29 am:    My big rig consists of a Demeter HBP-1, an SF2, a BBE 461, a Rane DC24 and a Crown PowerBase 2, into a Pacific 15" Thiele cab with a Fane Colossus 15 for the low end, and an Ampeg SVT 410HE for the top end. My combo amp is now a Boogie Scout, which is *almost* loud enough to make me get rid of the big rig. In fact, it's loud enough to cover any situation that doesn't dictate earplugs. bbe1020 Member Username: bbe1020 Post Number: 81 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003 - 8:54 am:    MICA, can either you or your dad comment about the BOSE "single/double bass" system being used with a series bass. I spoke with Jerry from BOSE and he said that it provides 180 degrees of FULL coverage. Ultimate combination? ALEMBIC series bass & BOSE? willie New Username: willie Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 8:15 am:    my rig is a korg digital tuner, alembic f1-x preamp, alembic sf-2 superfilter, dbx 160a compressor, aphex 104 aural exciter, 2 crown power base 3 amplfiers, art sgx nightbass for effects, 2 eden xlt 410 cabinets and 2 1x15 cabinets with jbl e-140 & e145 drivers.could easily level the place with this setup. also a swr super redhead for practice but it seems a little small after playing the big stuff mica Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 1260 Registered: 6-2000 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 8:27 am:    Haven't ever heard the BOSE stuff. A monitorless system where the band and the audience hear the same thing is familiar to us though. palembic Senior Member Username: palembic Post Number: 761 Registered: 9-2002 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 9:40 am:    Willie ..welcome. Hahaaaaaa trying to sneak in silently he! Got you brother!!! What you descibe is a MONSTER-RIG ...manman ...we have to call David the loud one here! So may I ask you to climb into your pocket clickon camera and plaese provide us somw pictures in th eappropriate departement. Id' really love to know how you put everything together! Paul the bad one jean9string New Username: jean9string Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 10:43 am:    okay, I'll sneak in too. I have a fx-1, stewart 2.1 poweramp, into an accugroove el whappo and whappo grande (21" sub). I use a Boss GT-3 to boost the input into the stewart / el whappo and add some color (chorus, slight reverb). Probably not quite as loud as Willie's 2 amp set-up, but if turn up the 21" sub and hit an open note on my low f# string (20hz), I can make you all sterile. That's BASS! ;-) willie New Username: willie Post Number: 2 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 10:50 am:    paul a monster it is. only problem is finding people to help move it. but it sounds great. plug in my europa and crank it up a little and its a religous experience. for some reason the U.S. geological survey people keep showing up at my door whenever i play through it, something about the a 7.6 tremor on the richter scale. i'll have to figure out how to get some pictures into this site, i've read stuff on it before but today is the first time posting anything, but i figured i'd start, been playing alembic's since 1982 bracheen Junior Username: bracheen Post Number: 23 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 12:23 pm:    Hey Jean & Willie welcome to the group. You guys must be playing in stadiums with those setups. You gotta love anything called el whappo. I think I have a neighbor with one of those in his Accura. Sam ajdover Junior Username: ajdover Post Number: 12 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2003 - 6:13 pm:    My rig is pretty simple ... an Ampeg SVT IV Pro with Ampeg BXT 115 HLF and BXT 410HLF cabinets ... I do the biamp thing with the 410HLF cabinet in full range mode. Sounds great to me. I use an Ampeg BA-115 for practice. Regards, Alan jeffbass4 New Username: jeffbass4 Post Number: 4 Registered: 2-2003 Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2003 - 11:04 pm:    (Message edited by jeffbass4 on November 22, 2003) jeffbass4 New Username: jeffbass4 Post Number: 5 Registered: 2-2003 Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2003 - 11:06 pm:    It's interesting to read everyone's input on the highly subjective issue. After playing my 1985 Alembic Distillate w/Cocobolo through several amps in different gig situations, my rig which suits me best and has been very reliable over tons of gigs is an Ampeg SVT IIP pre-amp into an SWR stereo 800 power amp, into an Ampeg 8x10 SVT cab. I love the punch, clarity and agressiveness of this amp. For added spice I run through a Yamaha rack mount Bass Multi-effects that I use for a little overdrive,EQ and compression. It may be big and heavy but there is no substitute for the sound. A previous poster was correct also. With the rear casters it is easier to move around than a 4x10 cabinet,or similar mid-size cabinets, and it helps to have a van to haul it in. :-) bracheen Junior Username: bracheen Post Number: 24 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Sunday, November 23, 2003 - 7:23 am:    What advantages if any is there to an 8x10 vs two 4x10? I'm curious about the pros & cons. It seems the two 4x10s would be easier to move around but a lot of people seem to like the 8x10. I'm in the research stage of looking for a new rig and there have been several helpful posts here recently. jeffbass4 New Username: jeffbass4 Post Number: 6 Registered: 2-2003 Posted on Tuesday, November 25, 2003 - 10:42 pm:    Bracheen, As far as moving around a cabinet, the 8x10" (165 lbs.) has the kick-back casters and the upper rear bar which lets you "dolly" the cabinet around fairly easily. Weight is only a factor when getting it on or off stage if there are several steps, or when moving it up or down a hill. With a 4x10 cab (generally 90+ lbs.), you'll want a dolly, or a helper. It's certainly tougher to "man-handle" one by yourself. I've used SWR 4x10 cabs and the Ampeg 8x10. I can't explain why it seems different, only that the 8x10 seems to have more bottom, more girth and punch, (the way you feel it when you get a little volume to the sound), than the 4x10's. Good luck in your search. 811952 Junior Username: 811952 Post Number: 29 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Wednesday, November 26, 2003 - 7:44 am:    I've got a kludge of 3 setups I use, and I swap the pieces around depending on what I feel like carrying around. For preamps, I have a custom 2-channel dual-showman-ish tube unit with an integrated power supply for the bass, an ART tube preamp with parametric eq and compression (I love the sound of this unit), and a Line 6 Bass Pod Pro. The Bass Pod Pro sounds great, but could use a low-range parametric and has been back to the factory for problems twice in one year, so I haven't used it nearly as much as the others. For power, I have a couple of ancient (at least 40 years old) 200 watt mono Bogen industrial tube amps and a Peavey DECA 1200. The Bogens sound incredible! The Peavey sounds good too. I have no complaints there. I use an Ashley X-over when I choose to biamp, and a cheap Alesis stereo compressor (3630 I think) after the X-over to run different ratios on the highs and lows. Sometimes I also run the signals through a BBE. Oh, and I have an old Peavey Mark III bass head that has literally been under water, but it works. For cabinets, I have an old Lab Series 1-15, and Dr. Fong 1-18 with a Peavey Black Widow in it, a couple of 2-10 cabinets and a MusicMan 4-12 loaded with Black Widows (very, very heavy). I mix and match depending on venue/genre/weight. The Dr. Fong puts out the deepest bass, the 4-12 really punches and I can lift the Lab Series. Mostly I let the P.A. do the work. People who have never played with a big PA doing the work (and a good FOH engineer) don't know what they are missing. I love the sound of the bass coming back at me from the front, especially the ringing lows... I once designed and built a 2-18 isobaric cabinet which put out the absolute deepest bass I've ever felt, but my soundman made me stop using it because it put out too much really, really deep bass... :-( john shakeyeraz Junior Username: shakeyeraz Post Number: 19 Registered: 11-2002 Posted on Wednesday, November 26, 2003 - 8:44 am:    Quite simple for my Europa 5: F1x (Korg DTR1 tuner used but not in the "loop") QSC PLX 1602 (bridged) Eden 410XLT - 8 ohm Eden 410T - 8 ohm I was using an SWR 750X until I went with the component route - love the sound I have now. BTW - the 750X is up for sale. gbarchus Junior Username: gbarchus Post Number: 28 Registered: 6-2002 Posted on Wednesday, November 26, 2003 - 6:06 pm:    Here's one of my rigs. http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/1941.html?1033976607 Sometimes I use a Sunn 300T with a couple JBL 15s. I love a tube sound with just a little distortion by attacking the strings a bit harder. gale valvil Moderator Username: valvil Post Number: 275 Registered: 7-2002 Posted on Wednesday, November 26, 2003 - 8:16 pm:    I just revamped my rig this last couple of weeks. I love my Ashdown ABM 500 head but I decided to go the bi-amp route. So I got an F1x and a stereo power amp. F1-x preamp SF2 Superfilter Dbx 1066 compressor limiter (which is often in bypass) Lexicon MPX 500 Behringer EP2500 power amp 2x10 SWR Goliath JR 1x15 Ashdown ABM cabinet I use the crossover to split the signal with the lows going to Ashdown and the highs to SWR, of course. The Behringer really blew me away. Apparently the Behringer EP series is a pretty good copy of the QSC PLX line. The EP 2500 has 750W per side at 4 ohm and 450 at 8. 2400W bridged at 4 ohm. I only paid about 300$ for it brand new from the store I used to work at. I've played it only at home so far, and I'm unlikely to play anywhere else soon with that rig, but so far it sounds great. I loved bi-amping in studio monitors from the get-go, I can't figure out why I didn't try it on bass much sooner. It's soooo flexible...gives you a load more sounds available, just by nudging the crossover or giving a bit more power to one side...and that's without even touching the superfilter or the bass controls...many days of tweaking ahead... If anyone is interested in the Ashdown, let me know by e-mail; it's in great condition, never gigged, only about 1 & 1/2 years old. Box & manual included. Valentino wally_malone Junior Username: wally_malone Post Number: 29 Registered: 7-2002 Posted on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 12:27 pm:    I play my Alembic Orion Six through an Eden Metro with an Accugroove Tri-112. Wally yggdrasil Junior Username: yggdrasil Post Number: 27 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Friday, November 28, 2003 - 12:54 pm:    PREAMPS: F1-X SF-2 (seldom used) alternate with SWR IOD AMP: STEWART 1.2 Speaker: EA CXL-112 Also: SWR baby Blue II (Message edited by Yggdrasil on November 28, 2003) bigredbass Intermediate Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 187 Registered: 9-2002 Posted on Sunday, November 30, 2003 - 5:05 am:    What I really love about the Wickershams is that they are modest and self-effacing to a fault . . . when Mica says that 'they are familiar with a sound system where the band and the audience hear the same thing' . . . well, read this link to fill in what she DIDN'T say: www.dozin.com/WallofSound.asp# . . . I'd CERTAINLY say they're familiar with the idea ! J o e y mattheus Member Username: mattheus Post Number: 74 Registered: 5-2003 Posted on Sunday, November 30, 2003 - 6:11 am:    You can say that again, I have a brochure from Alembic which shows a picture from that 'Wall of Sound'. Now I know what I want..... 18 x 15" speakers; let the battle begin..... shake it baby... Mattheus oujeebass Junior Username: oujeebass Post Number: 37 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 4:07 pm:    I have a Roland guitar amp which sounds great for around the house and recording. It has 8 - 8 inch speakers. The wide frequency range of these speakers work great with my Epic. For band situations, I use a GK RB800 with a Eden 4x10. The Roland sounds better.. I use a ART Tube MP as a boost to get a hot signal. thebass Member Username: thebass Post Number: 79 Registered: 3-2003 Posted on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 11:45 pm:    Just to complete the list: My signal chain is a 94 MK Std --> F1-X --> TC Triple C Compressor (Mono) --> QSC RMX2450 (parallel mono) --> SWR 8*10" Megoliath (each chamber driven by one PA channel). I use the balanced signal (post EQ) from the F1-X to drive the house mix. Since I play my MK STD I mostly switch off the compressor. At next occasion I want to replace it by a SF-2. lbanks New Username: lbanks Post Number: 3 Registered: 7-2003 Posted on Friday, December 05, 2003 - 11:41 pm:    I'm running my Orion thru TE-AH300, Basson B15b 15" cab, Hartke 4.5XL, Behringer Bass V-amp Pro /w Sunn Coliseum 300 for backup. The Sunn sounds smoother and sweeter than the Trace-Elliot, but power do win out. u14steelgtr New Username: u14steelgtr Post Number: 4 Registered: 7-2003 Posted on Monday, December 08, 2003 - 6:35 pm:    I am using a bone stock Peavey Session 500 with the original 15" Black Widow speaker. On stage I typically run the XLR on the back of this amp directly to the sound board for the sound person to mix. And I use the session 500 more like a monitor. I set the amps speaker volume with the master-volume which on this amp is really a gain control for the power amp stage of the amp. It works very well for what I run through it: 4 string bass, U14 Pedal Steel (B6/E9), D-10 Pedal Steel, various guitars (including my Alembic), and most recently a Korg Z3 Guitar-Synth. I have a reworked Hafler 500 that I plan to use for the 6-string bass I am working up the nerve to order. I think that the Session 500 would be unsatisfactory for the 6 string bass. It may well be OK for the low-B string however the low-F# string (which I anticipate tuning to F, F#, or G at various times) will surely run it out of headroom. I have no idea what cabinets the 6 string Bass will demand. tylere Junior Username: tylere Post Number: 13 Registered: 7-2003 Posted on Tuesday, December 09, 2003 - 7:23 pm:    Right now, a Crate BFX-115. Playing my Alembic through that is...unkind. Something like drinking Dom Perginone out of a paper cup... However, a reliable source has informed me I'll have a nice shiny (almost) new SWR Bass 350 under the tree in a week or two ;) I've already planned to pair it up with an Avatar 4x10. That should finally let me here what this thing should sound like ;) musikill New Username: musikill Post Number: 1 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Friday, December 19, 2003 - 1:16 pm:    I am new to this group but thought I would weigh in with my boat anchor setup: Peterson digital strobe tuner ART tube preamp BBE Max Bass preamp (this unit recently replaced my 20 yr old Ashley preamp and Ashley Lim/comp) 3 - old Crown DC300a's (one of which I am the original owner) 2 - 1x15 Trace Elliot bass bins w/EV speakers 1 - 4x12 custom built folded horn (sounds great with my fretless) I just bought a SC Deluxe and expect that it will sound fine through this system. This is a rediculous system for me now since I no longer have time to gig - but I just can't part with it. I'm looking to buy something more reasonable. Something in the 60 - 100w range, probably a combo of some sort. Not sure what to get. davehouck Advanced Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 246 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Friday, December 19, 2003 - 2:35 pm:    He Greg; welcome to the group and congrats on your purchase of a very nice bass. If you get a chance you may want to post pictures of your bass in the Showcase section as for some reason many of the members of this group enjoy looking at Alembic basses <g>. I don't know how you plan to use the combo, but in my personal opinion a 60 to 100 watt range is very limiting. (But then I'm always thinking I need more power <g>.) But more important than the output, the combo must sound good with your Alembic. For instance there was a recent discussion here concerning an SWR Workingmans Combo in which most posters who had owned or played through the Workingmans found that it did not allow the full tone of their Alembics to come through. On the other hand, there may be others who own Workingmans combos and are happy with them. And I suppose not all Workingmans are alike. So what do you plan to use your combo for, just practicing by yourself, jamming with a band, playing gigs? (Message edited by davehouck on December 19, 2003) bracheen Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 60 Registered: 11-2003 Posted on Friday, December 19, 2003 - 3:00 pm:    Dave, I'm glad you brought up the watts range. What is a good range for medium sized clubs? I realize that any answers will be opinion. I'm doing some research into buying something maybe next year and haven't much experience with it. In addition to watts is there pros and cons on 4ohm vs 8ohm? Any insight would be appreciated, not just from Dave. Sam davehouck Advanced Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 247 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Friday, December 19, 2003 - 6:48 pm:    There are a number of people in this group that know a lot more about this stuff than I do; plus I tend to research issues and then forget what I've learned over time <g>. I switched to 4 ohm cabs after I acquired an Eden WT-800. The Eden is designed to handle 4 ohms per channel (400 watts each) in two channel mode or 8 ohms bridged single channel. I have no idea why it's designed that way; but it is, so that's why I decided to switch to 4 ohm cabs. (There may have been other reasons and I remember researching the issue for a while, but I no longer remember what the other reasons were <g>.)I added two 4 ohm Eden 210 XLT's; they matched the head in watts (350 each) and ohms. I'm not sure what a medium size club is; but I thought that rig put out a lot of good quality sound. Later, I wanted to improve my low end sound so I substituted an Acme B210 for one of the Edens and then picked up a QSC PLX 2402 to power it. As we've discussed here before the Acme is very inefficient and requires a lot of power; the 2402 puts out 700 on a side into 4 ohms and while I don't turn it up all the way I've been running it pretty close while leaving the output on the channel with the Eden around it's 400 watt level. Then I added the F1-X and took the WT-800 out of the rig. To my way of thinking, the power you need is in large part determined by your sound. I tend to think that the sound I'm after is clean with a big warm low end and enough high mid to cut through the guitar. I use an SF-2 to "warm" the low end over a specific frequency range and also to give me a wide and even range for the mid high part of the tone. The lower the frequency, the greater the power requirement. Thus to get a big warm low end I want a lot of power. Plus to get the volume I want to push a clean tone to where it can compete with the guitar also requires a lot of power. If your not after a big, warm, clean low end and if you don't need to cut through the guitars, then you don't need nowhere near the power that I think I need. If your sound features a compressed over-driven mid to low mid tone, then again you will not need as much power. The good thing about 8 ohm cabs is that you can run two of them in parallel and give the amp a 4 ohm load. If you run two 4 ohm cabs parallel then you get a 2 ohm load, and a lot of amps don't like that. To be honest, with the tone I'm trying to get and when playing with two guitars and a drummer in a rock band, the two Eden 210 XLT's are not enough to fill a medium size club without also running through the house system. (But it sounds great on stage!) But lots of players play with less power than the WT-800 and are happy with their sound. When you read back through the posts in this thread, there are players running 300 watts and there are players running 800 watts. To me, it has a lot to do with your tone, the type band your playing in, and whether you're running a direct out to the PA. musikill New Username: musikill Post Number: 2 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 12:13 am:    Hi Dave, and thanks for the welcome. My system provides me 1200w on the conservative side - More than I will ever need again I am sure. There was a time when I needed that much horse power. Fortunately the guitar player had top of the line gear (in stereo) so we had a clean but loud sound. I am looking for something more reasonable for practicing and maybe an occasional jam here and there. I can't even move my current system. I drive a 3 series BMW now instead of a panel van so I have space considerations in my transportation. My Crown power amps are very efficient and of course very clean. I am waiting for the Alembic to be delivered on Monday - bought it used for $1,775.00 - a SC Deluxe I think it's a pretty good deal. So, I'm looking for a small but very good sounding amp and for practicing 60 - 100w is fine. I used to have a B-60 flip top and later had a B-30 Flip top both sounded great. The B-30 was only $350 new. Now you can't touch one of those for under $600 very used. Oh well. Any amp ideas would be appreciated. - thanks davehouck Advanced Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 251 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 6:48 am:    Greg; I don't own a combo but the first things I think of are the Eden Metro and SWR Redhead. But those are bit pricy if all you need is something for practicing. Here's an article from Bassplayer that reviews several combo amps. Ironically given what's been discussed here before, the Workingmans amps score well. http://archive.bassplayer.com/z1999/9907/combo1.shtml adriaan Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 75 Registered: 6-2002 Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 8:15 am:    Greg, I think people are not liking the Workingman 15 model, which has the 15" speaker + tweeter, and a semi-parametric mid. I haven't actually played one, but generally speaking it doesn't surprise me that a 15" speaker sounds a little honky. Then again the SWR tone controls let you do a lot of adjusting, and you can soon adjust your way out of a decent tone - add to that what you can adjust on your Alembic, and you can be lost in space. The big problem with SWR amps is that people often think that the Aural Enhancer is a boost/cut control, while it's a boost-only control, and it can really mess up your tone. By the way, I've heard horrible sounds coming out of Eden rigs ... It's not what the amp can do for you, it's what you can do with the amp. I love the Workingman 12 model. If you're looking for a pleasant tone, start with all the controls in neutral, and the Aural Enhancer turned down completely, and work from there. This combo will fill small-sized jazz clubs nicely, provided that other amplified sounds are not very loud. I also played the Baby Baby Blue in a shop - a 160W 10" + tweeter pro-level amp, with a multi-band parametric eq. Even with an active Fender Jazz, and the controls in neutral, it gave out a very sweet tone with plenty of highs (tube pre-amp). But I got the feeling that it didn't push a lot of air, even with the master volume at 5. Perhaps an extension cabinet would help there. It's about 10 pounds lighter than the Workingman 12, but unfortunately also more expensive. Not sure what will happen to SWR now that they've been bought by Fender ... Check out old stock in shops. dnburgess Intermediate Member Username: dnburgess Post Number: 151 Registered: 1-2003 Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 1:54 pm:    Greg My recommendation for a versatile small rig would be an Acme Low B2 plus an Acoustic Image Clarus amplifier. The B2 only weighs about 50 lbs - but is a very serious loudspeaker 40Hz - 22kHz +/- 3dB and -6dB at low B. Max continuous power 375W. The flat, wide frequency response is ideal for Alembic basses. The Clarus virtually disappears, weighing only 7lbs - you can carry it over your shoulder in the supplied bag while you're carrying the B2. 200W into 4 ohms. Plenty of tone shaping controls. Also very hi-fi. This rig was a surprise hit at the Aussie Alembic launch where it sounded great with an Excel doing jazz/funk in a 100 seat venue. (Although, to be honest, you wouldn't want to go much bigger / louder than that.) The B2 can be partnered with bigger amplifiers for larger gigs - but doesn't need to be driven hard to sound good. musikill New Username: musikill Post Number: 4 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 6:21 pm:    Thanks to all for the advice. I will look into each suggestion and let you know what I decide. I've been out of the loop for about 8 years so some of this stuff I have not heard of. Is the B2/Clarus brands available in the US? I'm in So. California. Thanks again to all and have a great holiday. dnburgess Intermediate Member Username: dnburgess Post Number: 154 Registered: 1-2003 Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 10:36 pm:    Acme is based just outside Denver, CO - they use a Dell style factory to customer business model: www.acmebass.com Acoustic Image is based in Raleigh, NC. They tend to sell through boutique style dealers: www.acousticimg.com musikill New Username: musikill Post Number: 7 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Monday, December 22, 2003 - 2:25 pm:    Thanks David, I'll check them out - Is this the correct forum for requesting historical info on a bass? thanks greg bbe1020 Member Username: bbe1020 Post Number: 83 Registered: 5-2002 Posted on Monday, December 22, 2003 - 2:47 pm:    Hi there Greg, and welcome to the club. Have you visited your local Guitar Center Store lately? If not, you may want to drop in and check out the BOSE PAS(Personal Amplification System) Go to www.BOSE.com dnburgess Intermediate Member Username: dnburgess Post Number: 156 Registered: 1-2003 Posted on Monday, December 22, 2003 - 4:34 pm:    Greg If you want information on a particular instrument start a new thread under "Alembic Basses and Guitars" with your request.