Gig Amp Recommendations?

[j mascis]

Hey all.
I'm playing live more these days, and I'm looking for something that can fill a medium size room without a mic on it. So maybe 40w with clean headroom. Also, under 45lbs since I have to lug it around. Do you know of any amp that can do all of this? I was looking at a bassman, but they're about 52lbs. Are there any bassman clones you know of that are lighter?
Thanks.

[Larsongs]

What does your Band consist of? What kind of music do you play?

I've gone from 100 Watt, to 50 Watt, to 22 Watt, to 15 Watt & 10 Watt.. From 85 lbs. Down to a little over 20 lbs..

I'm using 10-15 Watt Amps now, most of the time. Fender & Vox.

They work for most situations, are easy to travel with & don't take up a lot of room on Stage. It's easy to Mic them if necessary..

I have no desire to haul big heavy Amps until I have a Roadie! Even then, unless I'm playing massive venues they are more for show than necessity....

Good luck,

Larson

[j mascis]

What does your Band consist of? What kind of music do you play?

I've gone from 100 Watt, to 50 Watt, to 22 Watt, to 15 Watt & 10 Watt.. From 85 lbs. Down to a little over 20 lbs..

I'm using 10-15 Watt Amps now, most of the time. Fender & Vox.

They work for most situations, are easy to travel with & don't take up a lot of room on Stage. It's easy to Mic them if necessary..

I have no desire to haul big heavy Amps until I have a Roadie! Even then, unless I'm playing massive venues they are more for show than necessity....

Good luck,

Larson

We're like indie rock with a touch of motown...

The thing is we recently played a big room, and they had no mic. I have a 25w Supro (38lbs) that I had to push so much I lost all clean headrooom.
It made me freak out a bit and think I should have something for these situations. Yeah I'd only go for the 40w/clean headroom option if I can find one under 45lbs. That's about my max. Else I will just push my Supro in those situations.

[Tritone]

Tonemaster Twin Reverb? Only 33 lbs. Great cleans for that Motown.

[Scout]

I have an Alessandro based on his Crossbred Mutt that is 40 watts with an attenuator that weighs in under 40 pounds.
I found it used for not a lot of money and I can say the search is over, unbelievable build quality and versatility. It doesn’t hurt that I live near his shop so they seem to pop up around here.

[Larsongs]

What does your Band consist of? What kind of music do you play?

I've gone from 100 Watt, to 50 Watt, to 22 Watt, to 15 Watt & 10 Watt.. From 85 lbs. Down to a little over 20 lbs..

I'm using 10-15 Watt Amps now, most of the time. Fender & Vox.

They work for most situations, are easy to travel with & don't take up a lot of room on Stage. It's easy to Mic them if necessary..

I have no desire to haul big heavy Amps until I have a Roadie! Even then, unless I'm playing massive venues they are more for show than necessity....

Good luck,

Larson

We're like indie rock with a touch of motown...

The thing is we recently played a big room, and they had no mic. I have a 25w Supro (38lbs) that I had to push so much I lost all clean headrooom.
It made me freak out a bit and think I should have something for these situations. Yeah I'd only go for the 40w/clean headroom option if I can find one under 45lbs. That's about my max. Else I will just push my Supro in those situations.

Sounds like you already have a great Amp!

I always carry an SM57 just in case... About $99.00. Cheaper & easier than lugging around a big Amp.. Plus, I like the sound of all my Amps.. I don't want to compromise my Sound & go on the hunt trying to buy something that wasn't out there when I was looking for all the really good Amps I have now.. I'm not interested in the current fad that will be obsolete a year from now.. I would caution others too...

Digital, SS, Moddelling or whatever PC name they use may call themselves 50, 75 or 100 Watt but keep in mind their actual loudness is somewhere about half what Tube Amps are.. Then there's the sacrifice of Sound & Tone.. (Although some can't hear the difference or don't care)

[marqueemoon]

A Deluxe or Vibrolux are both in the low 40s. A Vibrolux is basically a mini Twin.

Don’t rule out a head/cab. I used a Dr. Carmen Ghia and a 4x10 for years and it was a LOUD 18W , but still easy to move around. A Bassman head is a good value if headroom is your thing.

My next gigging amp will be a Swart AST. Just gotta reduce some amp “inventory”.

[Gavanti]

If I remember right, the newer Vibrolux reissues are pretty close to the weight of a Deluxe.

[secretroutines]

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112. Hits every point you listed: 40w, great cleans, under 45 lbs.

[shoule79]

I usually use a 70’s PR with a really sensitive speaker. At 6 that will be more than loud enough with a touch of breakup.

When I need more headroom I grab my Mesa 5:50 1x12. It’s a bit bigger than a Hot Rod Deluxe, but has a lot more flexibility and can be scaled down to 5 watts for home use. Usually cheap on the used market (mine was $800 CDN).

My PR has been on the fritz and I didn’t get it into the shop before all this started, so I had been using the Mesa as my main gigging amp. Pedalboard in my backpack, guitar in one hand, amp in the other. No complaints.

[jvin248]

.

The two I'd suggest:

Peavey Bandit

Orange 35RT

As I know both of them have been used in bars with vigorous drummers. The Bandit might be over the weight limit, but it's durable and takes pedals well, plus no problems with being loud.

The other option is get a lunchbox head and a separate cabinet. Sometimes it's easier to carry the same weight split between hands than all on one side.

.

[j mascis]

Sweet, thanks guys.
I'm leaning towards the Vibrolux based on everything, but going to research them all some more. Also leaning toward just bringing a mic. The problem is some of the venues are lo-fi and don't have ability to plug in a mic to a board.

[Scout]

Vibrolux is a great choice, the Alessandro is also 2X10, sweet amp.

[jthomas]

Twin Reverb = loud and clean. Back in the 70s and 80s, a close friend played lounges in the Holiday Inn circuit. Pretty big rooms and the Twin did well.

[BlueSparkle]

It's a case of You can't have your cake and eat it too.

I would suggest a Quilter monoblock - any of the 100/200 series models and either a 1x15 or a 2x12 closed back cab.

This get's you under the weight threshold you wish to achieve, and also can provide the balanced DO for FOH.