Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Well, it turns out that my band is "reuniting" for a show in April and likely 3-4 gigs a year after that so since I sold most of my rig last year it was time to go shopping. One reason I sold most of my "old" stuff is because I was sick of carrying it at 3AM after shows. So I opted for a little more compact setup this time. I went with a set of Euphonic Audio NL-210 cabs (8 ohms, 500 watt and 37lbs.).......neutral in tone and very compact/lightweight. For the amp was debating between using my old power amp with an Alembic F-1x preamp or Sansamp RPM but my old poweramp is a boat anchor and I didn't like the idea of dumping it just because of the weight since it still works fine. The other option was a Mesa Boogie 400+ head. Not exactly a lightweight but not nearly as heavy as my Ashly power amp. I ended up finding a fantastic deal on one and picked it up this afternoon. I tinkered with several 400+ amps over the years and always quietly lusted after one......as good a reason to get one as any.

Unfortunately I don't have a Ric functioning at the moment to take it for a test drive so I had to pull out my 1st decent bass (using the term "decent" loosely) which is a cheap-o '80's influenced p-bass abomination. It simply never sounds good....too thin and "crusty" sounding. Through the new rig it actually sounded acceptable (a big step up). The tone is not clean or modern......slightly overdriven and a nice wall of sound. Certainly impressive from 4 tens and 300 watts. It should handle it's own quite well in my 3 piece band. The tone is exactly what I expected and should bring out the best in my LK.

It certainly won't be everyone's "dream" rig but from my limited testing it is a keg of dynamite in a convenient portable package. I can't wait to try it at band practice next weekend.

Nice!

Are you planning on using your cheap=o '80's influenced p=bass abomination as a practice bass?

You must be a strong fellow. Oi ! my back ! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...........tube tone

Nice looking rig, Brian! Congrats on having a gig again. What's with the Lemmy?

johnallg wrote:What's with the Lemmy?

Acting as Brian's agent, as he is probably a bit busy with router in hand, at the moment:

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, nothing, really!!!





Brian, how'd I do?

Nice setup! I like those 37 pound cabinets.! I finally decided I'm going lightweight too. I've abused my back for about 44 of my 45 years and now I'm paying the price big time. I'm leaning toward a Carvin setup right now with the 2 x 10 cabs weighing in at 39 lbs each. The whole setup will fit in the trunk of my car and I won't need a half bottle of Advil after a gig!

If that's your 'compact' setup, your old rig must have been really huge !

Weight is nothing. Tone is everything. (My boyfriend would probably disagree with that, however)

Best of luck with your trio, Brian. Let us hear how you do with them.

jps wrote:

johnallg wrote:What's with the Lemmy?

Acting as Brian's agent, as he is probably a bit busy with router in hand, at the moment:

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, nothing, really!!!

Brian, how'd I do?

Just great!

Yes, the routing is a success......nothing dramatic is up with the LK. I just created a little more clearance in the control cavity so Jeff could fix my wiring fiasco. He's trying desperately to convince me to go with some bizarre wiring schemes with flux capacitors and whatnot but unless he goes rogue it will simply be V/V/V/T (stacked pots) with the toggle acting as a kill switch

beatlefreak wrote:If that's your 'compact' setup, your old rig must have been really huge !

My old setup was 2 1x15 and 1 2x10 Mesa Diesel series cabinets along with the boat anchor poweramp and seperate rack with preamp/tuner/wireless/power conditioner. It sounded great and wasn't HUGE but the cabinets were a little bulky and about 75-ish pounds each. it just got old......as did I.

kiramdear wrote:Weight is nothing. Tone is everything.

I partially agree that sacrifices must be made but it's not like I went to a pocket amp and a 1x8 cabinet. There's still enough going on that it'll get noticed.

incubus2432 wrote: My old setup was 2 1x15 and 1 2x10 Mesa Diesel series cabinets along with the boat anchor poweramp and seperate rack with preamp/tuner/wireless/power conditioner. It sounded great and wasn't HUGE but the cabinets were a little bulky and about 75-ish pounds each. it just got old......as did I.

Sounds familiar, Brian! I still have those same cabs, but normally only use 2 of them...
Not exactly neo cabs, are they?
*memories stir - of being young and still immortal*
Congratulations on the gig! Have fun, man!

those mesa tube heads are awesome sounding--i played through a mesa "buster" combo once,and seriously thought about getting one till i tried to pick it up.....i mean,i get rid of basses if they weigh more than 8 lbs...... your ricks are gonna love that rig,brian!

Nice looking rig Brian.

YukonCor55 wrote:Nice setup! I like those 37 pound cabinets.! I finally decided I'm going lightweight too. I've abused my back for about 44 of my 45 years and now I'm paying the price big time. I'm leaning toward a Carvin setup right now with the 2 x 10 cabs weighing in at 39 lbs each. The whole setup will fit in the trunk of my car and I won't need a half bottle of Advil after a gig!

Anthony, if you go this route keep us informed - I've looked at the Carvin cabs before and wonder how they do.

I'm disappointed, Brian, with the router comments, I thought you were putting a horseshoe in there!

That does NOT look light to me But I am sure it ROCKS! Nice rig, man!