I’ve been using Multi-effects/Modeler pedals to be my rig for home practice, band practice, and gigging. So far this has been perfect but I’ve got a couple gigs coming up that don’t have PA systems. My band has a couple PA speakers which work great for practice and will be fine for everything running through it but I don’t know that I trust them for bass for these gigs.
So I’m looking for the minimum requirement I would need to supplement our PA system for average size bar gigs and potentially outdoors. I say minimum requirement because I don’t want to spend a ton of money on something I won’t be using on most gigs but I need it to be good enough to sound good and be loud enough to gig when needed. Being small and light is a bonus.
I would also use it for band practices going forward too so it wouldn’t be entirely single purpose.
Most likely indoors. Average bar/brewery size that would fit 100-150 people but they also tend to have outdoor areas when the weather is nice. Average attendance would probably be 75-100.
Trust me I’ve been through those threads. I get that it’s a very subjective topic and everyone has their favorites and there are a ton of variables. My issue is I don’t really WANT to be buying anything but the reality has hit that there are going to be venues/events where I can’t rely solely on a PA.
I want to move as few units as possible so while it’s not as flexible, a combo is probably going to be my best bet (and cheaper). I was hoping to keep it around $500 but even the Rumble 500 costs $750. There are a lot of interesting options around that price. And then the question is, is that worth it for something I won’t need for every gig or is it worth it because it’s the minimum viable solution?
I gig with a 210 Boss Katana and its more than I need. We have a decent PA and my amp rarely goes above 30% it rattles the stage at 50% and im confident i could be heard without PA support. I’d say up to medium venues so far. Drummer isn’t crazy loud. Country centric some southern rock. On sale a couple times a year under 500.
Marketplace is good, if you’ve got something like Music Go Round (second hand shop), they’d be a good place to check out too. Buying used, I’d suggest putting it through its paces before buying. Play on it and turn it up loud before handing over the cash to make sure nothing is blown. I got my Ampeg RB210 that way.
My little Genzler combo can do 500 venue without double stacking but I usually take 2 cabs on anything above 300 pp just to show them off. I have 3 cabs but only got to break them out a few times but all were clearly overkill,
If you want cheaper options then the Katana 110 would do the job but get the 210 for insurance and future proof.
While the Boss Katana Bass 110 does not have a speaker out port, the 210 does for an external cab, but it does bypass the internal speakers when doing so making it a very heavy head. However, could use the balanced out to connect to the PA as a supplement perhaps.
Load in and out hasn’t been bad. All my gear fits on a small rock n roller cart in 1 trip. Amp, pedal board, 2 bass gig bag, and a rug. I usually have room for other poeples stuff too. I would’nt try to carry any bass amp worth gigging without the cart or wheels.
So like I said the Boss Katana 2x10 doesn’t support an extension cab.
The Rumble 500 has 2x10 built in and you can add a seperate extension cab i.e 2x10 to make it a 4x10. I believe the Ampeg 210 supports an extension cab as well.
You cannot do this with the Boss 210 unless I have misunderstood the manual @kamikos ?
This might be important for someone to know as the Rumble, Ampeg and Boss are similarly priced.
That’s how I read it also. I don’t have a separate cab to test it, though. There are some terms that I don’t get the nuance of yet and was treating external cabinet/speaker as the same as an extension cabinet. The difference apparently being “instead of” for the former and “in addition to” for the latter.
