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After realising that everything loud enough is either 2x12 and/or tube based (bumping up the price and weight), I think I might've found my solution, mojo audiophiles look away..


Ampeg Micro VR bass head (200w & 4 ohms), small enough to go onto a wheely suitcase with my pedals


Old PA cabinet (tweeter removed) that I've got in my parents loft, previously used as guitar cab at old practise space.

Having played guitar through pretty much every type of amp and speaker combination over the years, I've come to the conclusion that, dialled in properly, most stuff sounds good. SO FUCK IT! Worst comes to worst, I can upgrade the current speaker for more beefz, the cab itself is perfectly solid and portable.

It means I can sell off my Marshall VS100 with stock speaker and the Celestion speaker I'd bought for it, plus I'll have a portable bass setup (with my mongel 1x15 cab) if needs be.

That Ampeg looks gorgeous.

Pukka design!

These things are new? They look proper 70s.

I think they came out in 2009? Overall, some very decent reviews, only managed to find a few documented problems, mainly relating to using two of the matching cabs.

I just saw a refurbished/repaired demo model on GAK, but it's only like 6 quid cheaper than a new one from the same place, plus it's only got a 3 month guarantee. Soooo I'll hold off for the time being. REALLY need to sell the Marshall first.

Yeeeah, the whole "rounded lowercase font" and Bakelite dials make for a very GROOVY kinda vibe.

love the retro 70s styling on that head Doog, sweet indeed.

Ah, apparently they're directly modelled on the 70s SVTs; that'd be why:

I'm also considering the Hartke HA2500 (non-rackmount version, obviously): 250w @ 4 ohms, about £220. Definitely not as sexy or light as the Ampeg, but I really don't wanna have to discover yet ANOTHER amp isn't powerful enough for my needs. Some accounts of the Ampeg are claiming it's not a "loud" 200w at all, blerg.

One of the aforementioned tiny yet BEEFY Markbass units could be idea, but the prices start at like 500 quid for a rackmount-sized head alone..

Mulling, mulling. Do I dare to tread in the murky waters of Berhinger?

Doog wrote: I'm also considering the Hartke HA2500 (non-rackmount version, obviously): 250w @ 4 ohms, about £220. Definitely not as sexy or light as the Ampeg, but I really don't wanna have to discover yet ANOTHER amp isn't powerful enough for my needs. Some accounts of the Ampeg are claiming it's not a "loud" 200w at all, blerg.

I've got a Hartke LH500, that's really good and loud, probably about as heavy as that HA2500 but more powerful.

I bought it in a rack bag second hand for £200. Sold the bag and bought a big rack box though, to use the extra space for storing shit.

In it's rack bag though it was pretty good, and not to heavy, plus the bag had a pocket for leads and shit.

Doesn't a member here have one of those Ampegs in their guitar rig? I seem to remember someone putting together a DOOM rig a while back.... hopefully they will chime in with some info

h8mtv wrote:My rig has been a Vox 112 cab or a Marshall 212 powered by an Ampeg Mikro head for the last 2 years. Super light, dependable, and loud clean power. Best $300 I ever spent on a head. Folks are generally amazed when they hear it.

I'd totally missed this first time around! Can I ask what kind of setups you've used this? Any loud-ass power trios?

Do you find you need to push it pretty hard to get the volumes you want?

Do an Ampeg.

Though I'm biased, Ampeg used to be designed here in STL and are a hometown favorite. I've run into people who used to work for them that did design work for them, some of the cabs and heads designed in the 90-00s were done here.

those are sweet, always wanted one of those. also try one of those acoustic mini-bass heads. they sound fucking amazing with a guitar, if you can stand the lack of reverb.

Josh wrote:those are sweet, always wanted one of those. also try one of those acoustic mini-bass heads. they sound fucking amazing with a guitar, if you can stand the lack of reverb.

+1

a friend of mine has that little ampeg stack, and it's really nice clean. get's as loud (if not louder) than my vox pathfinder 15 stack. i'd love to have a go on an acoustic ministack.

I have a Micro VR head and two of the SVT-210AV cabs. I am pretty sure I like the cabs more than the head. I actually end up using the cabs for my guitar amps (a Pathfinder sounds great with it, actually), although now that I have the Pathfinder 210 stack, I find myself not doing that anymore. The head is OK, but honestly, my problem is that bass amps have fans and that's annoying when your whole point is clean volume. Also, in order to get large amounts of thunderous volume, you need two cabs, since it doesn't output 200W until you are drawing 4 ohm. The Micro VR sounds great, though, and has an XLR out for even more volume, and a mini stack of two 210s and a head looks cute yet menacing. Also, you could in theory use the two cabs side by side for a stereo amp. I really think that the Micro VR needs the matching cabs to shine.

Ever tried a Magnum 44? Those things are tiny and cheap and sound great. I have one velcro-taped to a cabinet and instant powered speaker with ridiculous amount of volume. You can plug in directly into it, or with a Tech 21 pedal. If you're gonna need two cabs anyway to get the most out of the Micro VR, then I highly suggest you just get two Magnum 44s instead. Will be way better to use, no fan noise, more guitar friendly, plus I think the Magnum 44 is louder than the Ampeg anyway. At least it has more presence, in the sense that the Ampeg Micro VR is a bit mellow to really cut through. A Magnum 44 plugged in directly into a cab is my practice bass amp. At about 3 or 4 on the volume, it will beat out any drum set for volume. At about 7 or 8 you will cause earthquakes.

pathfinder 2x10 stack? pics?

an SMR, like this?



you like the cab? i think it blows. i use my 15SMR head exclusively with my wharfdale 2x12 and it's monstrous.

Yeah, exactly that one. You don't like the 210? Sell it to me. I could use two.

I'd have to regrill one to be brown, though.

no way, i'm not splitting up the set. i got it for a steal, and hope that one day it's worth enough for me to justify selling the pair.

don't take it personal, i'm kind of a vox hoarder. it took me 4+ years to break down and sell my busted english RI AC30 with green/blue combi, and still got a pretty penny for/regret selling it.

I know. There's no way you can break up, what is it, 1 of 750 ever made?

I might just have something built to the exact same dimensions and I'll put some diamond grill cloth on it.

Josh wrote: also try one of those acoustic mini-bass heads. they sound fucking amazing with a guitar, if you can stand the lack of reverb.

Annoyingly, Acoustic amps seem to be non-existent in the UK, I can find literally NO listings for their stuff.

honeyiscool wrote:I have a Micro VR head and two of the SVT-210AV cabs. I am pretty sure I like the cabs more than the head. I actually end up using the cabs for my guitar amps (a Pathfinder sounds great with it, actually), although now that I have the Pathfinder 210 stack, I find myself not doing that anymore. The head is OK, but honestly, my problem is that bass amps have fans and that's annoying when your whole point is clean volume. Also, in order to get large amounts of thunderous volume, you need two cabs, since it doesn't output 200W until you are drawing 4 ohm. The Micro VR sounds great, though, and has an XLR out for even more volume, and a mini stack of two 210s and a head looks cute yet menacing. Also, you could in theory use the two cabs side by side for a stereo amp. I really think that the Micro VR needs the matching cabs to shine.

Weird, from what I've been reading from most users online, the "jump" in volume moving from a 8 to a 4 ohm load is a lot less than expected, even when compared to other amps. Have you ever used the Micro with a single 4 ohm cab? On geeetar?

honeyiscool wrote:Ever tried a Magnum 44? Those things are tiny and cheap and sound great. I have one velcro-taped to a cabinet and instant powered speaker with ridiculous amount of volume. You can plug in directly into it, or with a Tech 21 pedal. If you're gonna need two cabs anyway to get the most out of the Micro VR, then I highly suggest you just get two Magnum 44s instead. Will be way better to use, no fan noise, more guitar friendly, plus I think the Magnum 44 is louder than the Ampeg anyway. At least it has more presence, in the sense that the Ampeg Micro VR is a bit mellow to really cut through. A Magnum 44 plugged in directly into a cab is my practice bass amp. At about 3 or 4 on the volume, it will beat out any drum set for volume. At about 7 or 8 you will cause earthquakes.

I had actually considered the Magnum 44 on my "small but loud" amp journeys, but the fact that The Tone King (lol) can sit in a room with it cranked up and not shit his pants means it's not gonna work for me.. maybe it works better with bass? Plus, it gets hella dirty up high:

[youtube][/youtube]
I'm just beginning to wonder if this Marshall I have just needs a service..? LOADS of people have gigged with these (Thom, you used to, right?) and no-one has really complained about a lack of headroom. I mean, IT'S LOUD, but it shouldn't struggle in a power trio, right??

I totally appreciate all of this input, guys; I hope I doesn't seem like I'm just shooting all of your suggestions down because you're giving me lotsa infoooooooooz!

Doog wrote:

honeyiscool wrote:Ever tried a Magnum 44? Those things are tiny and cheap and sound great. I have one velcro-taped to a cabinet and instant powered speaker with ridiculous amount of volume. You can plug in directly into it, or with a Tech 21 pedal. If you're gonna need two cabs anyway to get the most out of the Micro VR, then I highly suggest you just get two Magnum 44s instead. Will be way better to use, no fan noise, more guitar friendly, plus I think the Magnum 44 is louder than the Ampeg anyway. At least it has more presence, in the sense that the Ampeg Micro VR is a bit mellow to really cut through. A Magnum 44 plugged in directly into a cab is my practice bass amp. At about 3 or 4 on the volume, it will beat out any drum set for volume. At about 7 or 8 you will cause earthquakes.

I had actually considered the Magnum 44 on my "small but loud" amp journeys, but the fact that The Tone King (lol) can sit in a room with it cranked up and not shit his pants means it's not gonna work for me.. maybe it works better with bass? Plus, it gets hella dirty up high:

[youtube][/youtube]

I don't know what kind of volume you're after but my 22 Calibre is capable of being cranked up real loud. Plus the tone king seems to be running another pedal (marked B1) into the 44 Calibre, could be that he is reducing the overall volume with it so he doesn't blow his face off.