oooo ya got that Blackface Super Reverb thing almost ready to go...? 8-)
I'm sure there's some bass players getting ready to chime-in right after they get done droolin over all that good stuff you have. :D

ehhh, it's ok. It's all been well used. Time to get a new horse in the stable. Honestly, I wish I knew how to build my own because theres nothing on the market exactly like what I want.

SWR Super Redhead Don't worry it's mega loud and versatile
or Mesa Walkabout same thing grat tones .

Using SWR 350x w goliath III

currently i'm using 2 Eden D210XLT cabs with an Eden WT500 head and it's awesome - i'd even call it over-kill for most live situations (so long as there's a decent PA system). for smaller gigs i'll bring the full rig and not go thru the PA, and for larger ones i'll usually just bring one of the 210's (the PA system generally tends to do a better job at bigger gigs, so i only need my rig for monitoring my sound). there have been some gigs where i've gotten by with just using the head by itself and using the DI feature on the back and having my sound come back at me through a monitor.

I'd definitely check out http://www.edroman.com if you're looking for high-end stuff...he's got pretty much all of it.

Does that rig sound great?

If you answered yes then go to the next question.

Does it fit on most stages you work on?

If you answered yes go to the next question.

Are you a MANLY bassist or a girlie boy?

Dont answer just yet...I'm only kidding. If your current rig sounds great and sounds like YOU then sack up and tote the big stuff. You'll not find any real noise in micro miniture bass rigs.

35 years later and I still tote the big rig...Why? Because it sounds right.....Why does the Organ player HAVE to have a Hammond? Have you really listened to the electronic simulations?Aint nothin in the world like the tone-wheel 500lbs spinning leslie speakers crapp! Nothing.

Guitars can sound great on a 20 watt all-tube class A rig that they can carry in one hand with the guitar-du-jour in the other. Because you've chosen to reproduce sine waves as big as a winnebago, you dont get that luxury.The other choice is to become a harmonica player.Or(heaven forbid) a lead-singer.

I'm a Girlie Basist!

Davedog wrote: Does that rig sound great?

If you answered yes then go to the next question.

Does it fit on most stages you work on?

If you answered yes go to the next question.

Are you a MANLY bassist or a girlie boy?

Dont answer just yet...I'm only kidding. If your current rig sounds great and sounds like YOU then sack up and tote the big stuff. You'll not find any real noise in micro miniture bass rigs.

35 years later and I still tote the big rig...Why? Because it sounds right.....Why does the Organ player HAVE to have a Hammond? Have you really listened to the electronic simulations?Aint nothin in the world like the tone-wheel 500lbs spinning leslie speakers crapp! Nothing.

Guitars can sound great on a 20 watt all-tube class A rig that they can carry in one hand with the guitar-du-jour in the other. Because you've chosen to reproduce sine waves as big as a winnebago, you dont get that luxury.The other choice is to become a harmonica player.Or(heaven forbid) a lead-singer.

AMEN Dave!

I'm a girlie! 8-) :lol: I use the Ampeg SVT also. I have the muscles to move all the big stuff and NO my band mates do not help me. I do it myself. I need the sound, nothing beats it, so I move the BIG stuff, I have for over 35 years now.

I have a couple smaller rigs for big stage work, where I'll be miced and have a monitor to hear myself.

Then the occasional small room where you don't need all that power.

Good topic guys, I hope more bassist will chime in~!

J-3, you might also check out-

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/index.php?

or http://

Treena

Davedog wrote: Because you've chosen to reproduce sine waves as big as a winnebago, you dont get that luxury.The other choice is to become a harmonica player.Or(heaven forbid) a lead-singer.

Now, that is just plain FUNNY!!! LOL :lol:

Both of my bands have sizeable bass rigs. One is a SWR 400 something head with a killer Ampeg 4x10 cab (the BIG 4x10 w/ horn). We suppliment with a smaller Ampeg 15" combo (makes a pretty stack).

The other band uses a 135 Watt tube Bassman with a modded Fender dual 15" cabinet (it was originally a 3x 12" cab !!!). Mmmm mmmm good!

No substitue for tone AND full bandwidth sound on stage IMO. :cool:

Hey bass players...chime in!

Well, I guess I'm the girlie-man. I agree with you Davedog, just like in the automotive world, there's no substitute for cubic inches; big rigs sound great! I did lug around an SVT V9 rig back in the day, but jumpin from one gig to the next was killin' me. I run thru the p.a. with my modest pedal board, with great results. I also use an AI Clarus / Berg HT-112 combo that sounds fantastic, however I don't have the bottom end I want. I have found a local sound tech who builds pa's for auditoriums / churches in the mid west. He has developed a 1x12 cab that is not only small but packs a ton of low end; this cab is used to replace the aging 18" subs in the auditoriums he services. I would like to try one out, in addition I would also purchase a QSC 1250 pwr amp; the 2 12's would be too much for the Clarus.

Depends on the places you play. Most places I take my carvin cyclops combo (1x15 2x8 ) http://www.carvin.com/products/single.php?ItemNumber=R1015&CID=BA
if I have to supply more power I'll take my Peavey Impulse powered PA cabnet to add more power http://peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/action/drill/cat/95/begin/1/ImpulseSeries.cfm
but if I am playing a place with a monster PA and good monitors I save my back and bring nothing but my bass and a cord and plug into
the house DI box.

First let me say thanks for all the input. Good stuff. I went to a few bass shops this weekend and checked out some major nice gear. Aguilar, Eden, SWR, Bergantino, EA and on and on. I think I've decided (for now) to recover my tired looking Goliath 3 and Big Ben cabs. They sounded very nice compared to every thing else they just look like poo. The eden 4-10 XLT sounded nice but I was warned that Eden has horrible cust. service and that a blown speaker or amp will take weeks to get fixed/replaced so that makes them out of the question. I think I will still look for a 2 10 Eden combo to go with my eden 15 as a smaller/extra/different sounding rig. Or perhaps a eden 2 10" cab and a bassman head etc. I did play thru a SWR 2 10" and a 1 15" cab. THe 500 watt SWR amp didn't handle it too well but the cabs sounded great, very punchy and could handle even more power.The Goliath 4 10 by it self was just as loud/punchy. So bottom line is.....just like you guys said, it takes big cabs and big amps to get big sound LOUD. I think I'd rather just haul around a 4 10 cab and big amp and always have plenty of juice. When in doubt out comes the 18 incher too.

As far as basses are concerned. I tried some VERY expensive basses all the way up to a $6,000 Ken Smith. It was sweet. Also some bass that just had an E on it was nice too. I tried old fenders, Lakland, Ernie Ball, Modulus, Tobias, etc. All were nice. I think, however, that between my old P bass and my Jazz deluxes (fretted and frettless) I've got lots of the tones covered. I used to not even like how a P bass sounded but Damn if it's not the bass that works best a lot of the time. The more Hi-Fi sounding basses are almost too complex for some music imo. Remember its how it sounds in the mix, not soloed...........unless your Les Claypool........(even he switched to Jazz basses..................PEACE OUT........

Probably too late to jump in on this one, but I would like to add a bit of reason from the perspective of having toured alot. I discovered that anything loud enough to drown out my bandmates (or at least compete) always created problems for the FOH sound. So I did an experiment...I got a little Nemesis (by Eden) 2x10 combo...hitched up a little device so that it points up to me at an angle from in front of me (after all, that is how we hear the best) and discovered the world of playing MUCH quieter-even on loud rock gigs. I am able to get just the sound I need and I let the FOH do all the heavy lifting. So my new motto is:
The Nemesis is loud enough for anything because:
If everything is miked and going through the FOH- the more volume on stage-the less volume out front- and I want to them to hear me-right?
IF it is a "small" gig and only the vocals are in PA-then the Nemesis is loud enoug on its own

This can be a great thread if everyone continues to participate!

Lets talk LOUD for a moment.Loud is the Claire Bros outdoor rigs....In playing small venues,lets set a figure at under 100 for starts..The bassist is usually supplying his own audience participation gear.You are most likely your own PA at this time....Agreed?Lets also suppose that the clubowner is a 'music lover'..ie: he's got a stereo he listens to(!)So in order to 'help' the bands do their shows, hes contructed a STAGE with the help of his brother-in-law and the head bartender ......Its ALMOST big enough for a four piece to move around a bit and make rock faces and such....have we all been there?....Also, its about a foot to a foot and a half off the dance floor.Everybody with me? good....pay attention theres a test...

So you're playing, lets call it Moderate Rock...covers and such...theres some real dance music, theres some show-off stuff,you can get loud and proud if ya want and your band does ROCK..(I know we do!!!)Its not a metal scene,or punk,ska,nothing except good drinking /dancin/carrowsin with the friends stuff...At 10 pm every Friday and Saturday, the crowd starts to get their party on, and the dance floor fills up fast.....Its big enough to have 30 or so laying it down and they're close enough to touch......(and break a tooth if your not on your vigil)[microphones are hard things].....SO...heres the punch line....How much tone and PENETRATION is your little 2-10 cabinet going to have?Dont get me wrong...I own a GREAT 2-10 cabinet.I'd put it up against ANY 2-10 cabinet in the world.It simply KILLS...and with a loud amp it is also LOUD...but its directional,and it has no penetration in a crowded room environment. My Cerwin -Vega B36MF does.Old school is Cool School.Or the 2-15 cab with the 400 watt EV and the Cetec in the lower space does....The 2-10 Harvey Gerlitz box on top of the single 15 EV cab bi-amped does...

My point is not one of sheer volume.The MIX at the stage HAS to be low enough for everybody playing to clearly hear themselves for a myriad of reasons.We play quietly compared to the Rockin kinda guys we are.There's three Marshalls available....They stay at home unless its a huge stage and even then the small amps usually win out for their versatility and the pure tone.It took me three years to train these guitar players to this fact...The drums are studio treated...They sound great up close and we mic kick,snare and overhead for spread...

So which bass rig is going to do the job with the ability to strike the really low 'B' and shove it through the audiences groins?This is such a subtle yet important thing to achieve..The same is true for PA.A great set of subs used judiciously is a great crowd exciter.They dont have to be blaring or loud...in fact 'present' is about all you need...but they affect peoples moods in a subconscious state.Mix that with a fun band demeanor,a kick-ass drummer/bass player combo,some alcohol and a crowd and theres a party....

Volume without tone or volume without purpose is simply noise.

And an aside to J-3....Yeah man....aint it fun to go play all those expensive basses and gear....noly to find that everything you already have is yours because it already passed your test.I agree 100% about the Modern Sounds you get from all those newfangled basses.This is not to say theres not a couple around here, but mostly for the studio...what gets played the most are the old Pbasses...The 1956 and the 1965. These do everything I can think of to play on the bass.And do it perfectly.Its all about the hands coupled to the imagination anyway...

Just thought I'd come back and let you guys know the next step in the saga. i've commissioned my friend (met him recording a record here with me) Will Dyke of Armadillo Amp Works here in Austin to recover my 2 tired SWR cabs. So now my Goliath III and Big Ben (1-18") are gonna be in a sweet black marshall/fender style tolex with beige with gold stripe grill cloth. Kinda a old school look on a more modern cab. SWEET! It should turn out nice. I'm planning on keeping my huge ass Ampeg amp and pre unless I find something that clearly out shines it. ( i think that will be very hard to do as it's very versitile. ) I'm gonna keep my Eden 15 and add a Eden 2-10" cab someday. I also think I may look for a GK 400 or Bassman head to run that system. I'm trying to decide if i should sell my nifty little GK 1-12" combo. It's light, easy to move, loud and sounds pretty good...BUT, i could stick that money into a 400 RB or Bassman and Eden 2-10" and use that for a "combo" easy to move rig. Bassists, what do ya think??? I played a SXSW gig and the bassest (a cute girl btw) had only a 1-15" mesa and a 400 or 800 rb and it was plenty loud. Right on. Keep it rumblin'