Cab and Head suggestions?

So i need a cab and head, used preferable, im rather broke. i know the basics like 4ohm with 4ohm such but i need to know good low priced (USED) cabs and heads, and good combos of them. brands and models please. im looking for cabs that are 4x10 or 2x12 or the likes and lightweight (compared to others of the same style/size)

please and thank you?

It never ceases to amaze me just how many of us bass players are all in the same boat as far as needing good gear that doesn't cost and arm and a leg!

OK Mephas, we need to start with the normal round of questioning in order to help you the best. Guys, feel free to chime in with any other questions.

1. How much can you afford to spend?
2. How many watts are you after?
3. What style of music will you be playing?
4. Is this for live and/or with a band, or just noodling at home?
5. What have you owned/played through in the past that you've really liked?

Quote :

1. How much can you afford to spend?
2. How many watts are you after?
3. What style of music will you be playing?
4. Is this for live and/or with a band, or just noodling at home?
5. What have you owned/played through in the past that you've really liked?

1. i can afford to spend approx. $400, give or take.
2. im not sure on the amount of watts, ill take sugestions there too
3. in personal times i would play funk, metal, blue, punk, slap, and tons of chords, but for my possibly upcoming band it would be punk
4. its going to be main for live play with a band, and the occasional home noodling
5. ive never previously owned a cab, but i used to own a peavy practice amp and i currently use an old solid state (dont know the model) that my grampa used to own when he played, has a 14 i believe, good tone, but not loud enough for a punk gig

i am also up for building my own, but i would need to be referred to either someone that knows how to, or some really good instructions

oh here we go


400 won't get you a MESA,AMPEG,CARVIN,QSC,BGW or anything in that class

but if you are set on a cabinet 4x12-2x12-2x15-1x15-8x10 or something awesome already and you only need an amp...well

here's what I use, and in this rack ALL USED, cost me approx 400-500 total for the amps, mixer, effects



YES, this is my latest bass rig after dumping all the combos, and other heads I used to use.
The mixer is for mixing clean/dirty channels together if your wondering....

the SHS amps cost me 125 each they are no-name korean items but are GREAT!!!

they say they will put out 1200 @ 2ohms, but I highly doubt it, with my multimeter measuring amps from the speaker load, it looks more like 300-400, but plenty to drive anything from a 1x12 to a 8x10 ( I've tried )

I have 2 because I can either use both for 4 channel or 1 at a time in bridged mono for each cab getting an amp --

Again, I completely understand your situation with funding being limited. That being said, having only $400 is also going to limit what you can buy.

Reluctantly, I will suggest that if you wanted to go with something brand new, you could get a Behringer head and something like and Acoustic cabinet for less than $400 shipped from Musicians Friend. I've owned a few pieces of Behringer gear that were actually pretty decent, but their quality control has really gone downhill in the past couple of years, and their bass heads now have a bad reputation of being over-rated on their power, as well as a nasty habit of blowing up. My advice is that you do not go this route.

Now, for $400, you could get a 200-watt Acoustic head, and one of their 1x15 cabinets. It's actually pretty decent:

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Acoustic-B200H-200W-Bass-Head-and-B115-250W-1x15-Bass-Cab-Package?sku=483494

As far as building your own, my own research indicates that it would cost you almost as much as buying an amp would anyways.

The thing to consider is that you need your amp to have enough headroom to run efficiently without frying. You also need enough speaker area to move the air necessary to keep up with the rest of the band.

Then there's always Craigslist (just watch out for scammers), eBay, and any decent local guitar shop that sells used gear. As far as what brand to buy, what speakers to run, etc., etc., you are still going to be limited by what you can spend, so it might simply be a matter of getting what you can find.

I don't know if any of this helps you in your quest, but that's what I could come up with.

For that much, just look for used stuff and try it out with an objective ear. Try out as many things as you can before you buy something.

i was in your shoes for years. i understand. trying to find the most boom for your buck but not really understanding too much "tech" stuff.

i've just started to better understand "tech" stuff and started building my own cabinets ... i dont recommend this to someone who is trying to save a buck. what i do recommend is trying to match the scaled down specs of a rig that works. thats what i did after so much cruddy stuff that was sub par ....... that rig was ...........

peavey mach III amphead. best sounding tone i've ever heard from solid state. 150W @ 4 ohms. this head is just loud enuff thru the right speakers and i gigged with it as my main amp for years. i paid $200 for it in 1999. i still use it in my rig today for the right side clean channel.

cabs .........

the first one was a peavey XL 4X10. this sounded beautiful untill the sheffield 10"s went and replacing them cost more than i paid for it. it was 300W @ 4ohms. i paid $200 used.

replaced it with ....

hartke transporter 2X10. 150W @ 8ohms. i know, aluminum cone speakers. honestly ... lasted longer and sounded better than any samson paper cone drivers. i paid $100 used.

paralleled with ......

hartke trasporter 115. 150W @ 8ohms. i paid $100 used.

these two 8 ohm cabs paralleled gave me my 4 ohm load and 300W with a really decent frequency range. i played thru this rig for 7 years. 7 years for $400??? .... i think i got my moneys worth.

processing ..... dunlop bass wah ($70 new), boss od ($30 used), ibanez compressor ($30 used). i played thru this for 7 years.

so ... i recommed you buy used. look for an amp thats 200 - 300W @ 4 ohms (my 150W peavey came up a bit short). this is a hit or miss proposition as i've had amps like this that sound good and some that sound like poop. personal experience ... i like the peavey machIII but i hated the gallien krueger backline 600. eric suggested the acoustic amp ... i never had one ... but thats not the first time i heard him say that its a decent amp.

cabs ... shoot for combined wattage just under double the wattage your amp is putting out. amp is putting out 200W @ 4 ohms, a 300W cabinet @ 4 ohms will handle what your amp is putting out. before you buy any used cabinet, play it first ... LOUD. music stores dont want you to turn it up in the store, then you get the cab home and the voice coils are scratchy? what? i shouldnt feel like i've been had when thats happened to me? make sure you know exacly what the cab's specs are that your buying and that the plate on the back are the drivers in the cabinet. i've opened up used cabs and found chineese speakers before .... and it said ampeg on the outside????

again ... like eric sed .... and i have used them .... acoustic's 4X10 is a decent cabinet for the price.

and finally, more of my own personal experience ... save your money. if you have $400 and you buy $400 worth of gear now, you could have gotten a much better rig if you wait 3 months and save up another $200. $200 more dollars would get you a whole lot more bass rig. not being a hypocrite ... i buy it now, regret it later and cant save a dime either. i'm doing pretty good today ... havent bought anything in 3 months. i wanna new bass.

@amimbari -> thats a nice setup, ill have to look into that in the future, thanks for the ideas

@eric -> i might look into something like that sooner or later to parallel, but i may just end up building my own cabs in the future

@mike -> you gave me JUST what i was looking for, semi-inexpensive solution to my problem that actually has some kind of quality


thank you guys again for the help javascript:emoticonp('')

if you are going to build your own cabs in the future, i have just embarked on that journey and built quite the beast of a 2X15 cabinet (its in the amps postings) and would be happy to share my knowledge, experience and research with you. i love the low end frequencies that come outta this cabinet ... rumbles the grundle!

the reasons i did this was because i couldnt find a resonably priced alternative for what i wanted. mesa, markbass and trace elliot have 2X15 cabinets but i feel they are all overpriced for what they are ... real nice cabinets ... just more than i was willing to pay. they dont make sunn cabinets anymore and the used ones are "vintage" so they cost way too much.

there is a seismic audio 2X15 that is reasonably priced ... eric has one and really digs it as far as i understand. after eric told me about it and i decided i wanted a 2x15, it went on backorder for like 10 months ... doh! they have em now ... but i already built mine.

i'm suprised no one directed you to seismic audio. my 115 on my effects channel rig is a seismic cabinet, with a carvin neo 15" in it. ended up being a very decent 115, 600W 8ohm cabinet for a little more than $200. ... chek out seismic audio. pretty decent stuff for the price.

Aw, DOH! (slaps self on forehead) You're right! Why didn't I suggest Seismic Audio? Must be old age creeping in!

By all means Mephas, please check them out at: http://www.seismicaudiospeakers.com/ . As MadMike said, I own their 2x15, as well as one of their 1x15 cabinets, and considering their performance, weight, and price, they are incredible! I bought them based upon rave reviews on the web, and I honestly didn't expect them to be nearly as great as they are. I often wax poetic about upgrading to Marshalls, but from an economic standpoint, I might just add another 1x15 from SA since they work so well. Don't be put off by the low prices. These are well-made cabinets that are light in weight, and they even ship for free.

Even if the drivers should die, it would be easy to replace the stock speakers with something else for less than it would cost for another whole new cabinet. But I hit mine brutally hard every week, and I haven't even managed to make them distort at all.

Soooo....lets say you grabbed one of these:

http://www.seismicaudiospeakers.com/2x15-Bass-Speaker-Cabinet-p/sa-215.htm

....and one of these:

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Acoustic-B200H-200W-Bass-Head?sku=482904

The SA 2x15 is a 4-ohm cabinet, and the Acoustic B200H is rated to deliver 200 watts into a 4-ohm load. So you would get a nice, brand-new 200-watt bass rig for $450 total!