I would prefer the single 15" of the Black Beauty or the Workingman's combo's...I would rather add another 15", or the 2x10's under the combo as an extension...my preference, being an old-school guy, would be the 15" extension

10's just don't make sense to me for bass, to me, bass needs to stay in the back ground, and is not a lead instrument...now, if you have a three piece rock band, the bass can be distorted and double as the rhythm guitar...in that scenario, there needs to be a capture of those higher frequencies...but not in the music I make...I know they have cabinets ported for 8's...like the SWR Henry the 8x8...that has EIGHT 8's...jeesh...must weigh a TON...4x15 would seem to be a whopper, and let's not forget Mr. "Takes-Two-Hands-To-Handle A-Whopper" Eighteen-inch...how about a combo-style amp, with a 15" speaker in the enclosure, and for a rounder, bigger sound, adding an eighteen inch, instead of two-tens...this makes even better sonic sense...better have some wheels, or a cart for the 18", though...they ain't light...

I am into portability and light components, so the combo with an extension would be the way for me...

or...I like the amp-head idea...that cuts the portable weight even more...and with the rack mount heads SWR makes, you could always throw a compressor and and a crossover in the mix and do an awesome biamp, slammin' bass rig...plus, the heads have gargantuan power...the amp-head concept came about back in the rock and roll era where the power of the amp needed to be huge, and the speaker compliment needed to be huge...so...a 200 watt, all-tube bass amp, with a 2x15" bottom was just too much for any roady...so, they split the cost of hernias by giving the amplifier section a seperate cabinetry function and a handle...Marshall is a very famous amp-head design, wheras Fender had their heads, but flourished with a huge selection of combos as well, like the Twin, the Twin Reverb, the Deluxe, etc...the amp-head or combo choices today are similar as to what the industry has had to offer for years, even the rack-mount gear has been around for quite some time

anything I've planned for the last 5 or 6 years has revolved around a small to medium club size blues band...no ear-splitting Metallica songs...no more "Ted-Nugent-pop-your-eardrums-with-Stranglehold" volume levels...and...with that goes no more big G** *****d cabinets to carry...AMEN!!

My Evans amp weighs in at 37lbs...you can pick it up with your pinky...

to me, technology is in, and heavy gear is out...

picture this scenario for a 4 or 5 piece touring small to medium-sized club blues band:

The drummer:

--Snare
--Single bass drum
--two-tom-tom's mounted on the bass drum
--one floor tom
--hi-hat cymbal
--ride cymbal
--crash cymbal
--maybe one more cymbal (cymbals are so fucking loud, I would be tempted to ask the drummer to leave them at home...haha)
>>>that's it for drums...no double-bass-bullshit...doesn't fit in the blues...don't need any more than three fucking tom-tom's either...BB King and Neal Peart from Rush will probably never be seen on the same stage...AND, the motherfucker better hurry, cause we only got fifteen minutes to set this shit up....the drummer is ALWAYS the longest bastard on stage to set up...outside of the PA rig, and you'll love my fifteen minute PA rig....(maybe 20...haha)

then...

The Guitar guy (me)

--One case on stage with all the axes in one case...the case doubles as a guitar stand and a road case (NO stack of guitarcases somewhere in the bar that clutter and look shitty.....) (I have a guy in Nashville that will make me this case...)...(WITH up to SEVEN guitars in one case...)...yes, it will need wheels...rool it out on stage, take the front cover off, and start jammin...
--all guitars have wireless transmitters (grab one from the case, and go...makes switching and that annoying "ank-ank of the chord switch obsolete)
--a pedalboard with a self-contained road-case-floor-case setup
--one small 120watt (LOUD as HELL) Evans amp that also has a great direct out for the PA...weighing in at 37lbs...
>>>that's it for the guitar rig...

The Bass rig

--1x15" SWR combo with a great direct out to the PA...
--whatever bass guitar compliment is necessary...2 or 3 basses are not out of the question...but a lot of guys only need one...(I need more than one guitar...for instance, an acoustic, a Strat or two Strats, and a Les Paul...not to mention a guitar tuned to a slide tuning, and possibly a 12-string...)
--maybe a 1x15" extension speaker, but hopefully it would be better to invest in good power amps and a great set of subs for the PA...and run the bass direct...that way, the amp is only used for the bass players private monitoring of the pure bass signal...AND...you are carrying subs for the PA...why repeat the carrying of heavy cabinets just to feed the bass players ego for gear?...not...more is not better, and better is not more...hernias are a real thing of physical limitation...hahakeep the stage light...keep the setup time to 15-minutes...THEN the band can do two gigs in one day...if it takes 3 hours to set the fucking stage up, and three hours to break it down...the circus can't move as quick...you need to be able to thrill them with the Wild Cat roller-coaster 2003...that is now done with technology...then, Barnum and Bailey Does The Blues could breeze into a town, setup, jam a three to four hour gig, and blast on down the highway...now, THAT is a money-maker...
--the bass rig is wireless, too...let's go in the audience and stir it yp...haha
>>>that's it for the bass...

The Keyboards

--sorry guys, no more fucking totiing around the Hammond B-3 cabinets...no fucking way...talked to a keyboard guy in Mississippi one time that said his keyboard rig filled up a complete 5x8 utility trailer...he didn't like it when I asked him what the hell he needed all that gear for to play the blues...that was our last conversation...
--AND...I know better than to allow a full-size BABY GRAND on my stage...I have the technology...don't fuck with me...
--if they used my rig (yes, I have keys, too, dude...surprise, surprise...hee hee), it would be one Roland AC-30 MIDI keyboard controller (has no sound on it's own, only a touch-sensitive MIDI-controller)...on a nice, quickly setup stand
--one four space rack with about four synthesizer sound modules...my Proteus 1 is awesome...digitally studio-sampled sounds...extreme realizm...spinet piano (that wild-west saloon piano sound), grand piano (as big as a house and STEREO!!!), Fender Rhodes Electric Piano (sorry guys, no toting that great big God-Damned Fender Rhodes anymore, either...) (Ray Charles, you're NOT..."and I'll throw in the black keys for free"...haha), Hammand B-3 organ, church pipe organ, clavinet piano, harpsichord piano, violins, cellos, upright basses, trumpets, trombones, saxophones of all types...and very real samples...on of the best sound modules in the busines...NOT a Roland sound module...NOT a KORG or Yamaha sound module...E-MU systems Proteus 1...also, Kerzweil makes an awesome sound module with sounds that are out of this world, and Ensoniq has always been a name for great synthesizer sounds...Yamaha, Roland and Korg are all 2nd-rate devices...the "Peavey" of the keyboard world...I have given hundreds of test-drives over the years, and my ears can tell the difference...don't need a keyboard player without a good set of ears...so, Yamahamayomama guys need not apply...
--in a nut shell (minus the editorial comment:)
--one good keyboard controller
--one good rack of sound modules
--one keyboard stand
>>>that's it for my keyboard guys...another fifteen minute setup.....

The harmonica guy

--comes PREPARED with all twelve major keys, some keys in low octaves, some in high, so maybe 20 harps, in a handy-dandy LABELED briefcase-sized harmonica case, that is set up on a barstool...NO hunting for harps by rummaging thru a shoe box between songs...haha
--a small (LIGHT) 1x10 or 1x12 combo tube amp (no GOD-DAMNED Ben Beatty Fender Super-Reverbs for the harmonica guy...)..if the band is louder than the harp guy's combo on stage, they need to turn the shit down...let the PA blow the audiences head off...no need to break our eardrums on stage...especially with the harp...Little Walter used a very small Fender tube amp, and it SCREAMED for the harp
--mic for the amp
--Green Bullet or Shaker mic for the Mississippi Saxophone player...preferrably wireless...come join us on the dance floor...
--would prefer the harmonica guy would also be the keyboard guy...don't need keys in EVERY song...don't need harps in every song either...AND...if he could play rhythm guitar...now THERE is the heartbeat dude for the band...don't need rhythm guitar in every song, either.....
>>>that's it for the harp...less than fifteen minutes to setup...

The PA setup (you'll love my rig, dude...!!!)

--Mackie 1604vlz mixer, in a road case
--if needed we purchase a SECOND Mackie 1604vlz with road case...will NOT be purchasing a 24 or 32 channel mixer...two 1604's are more portable than one 24 channel board...and ...more channels...plus, two 1604's offer 16x4x2 mixing each, so you have one more set of 4x busses to play with...and the 1604 has 8 direct outs, so, 2-1604's would offer 16-track live recording capability...the 1604's come built with a link-up feature...there is a seperate output section just for the purpose...you just channel the output into two channels on the other mixer...and...they would be a 30x8x2 compliment (you eat up two channels to link them together, or it would be a 32x8x2 setup...)...massive control of the stage, and a monitor setup from the console as well...several channels, or the direct outs could be routed and used for monitors only...saves having to have a seperate monitor mixer
--4-space racks only (NO gut-buster 18-space racks in my trailer!!)
--Crown power amps are 2-space units, two-Crowns per rack...(Crowns will be purchased in the future...)
--one rack I have has: >Compressor >stereoEQ >stereo multi-effects/reverb
--one rack totes a power amp and the Ashly crossover
--as many 4-space racks as needed...only Anvil ATA's...
--I won't list my microphone selection here, but I have tons of mics, dude...about 20 in all...EV & AKG, no other brands...(no shures on my stage)
--snake cable to the stage if club size permits

PA Speaker compliment: (moo-hoo-ha-ha)

monitors, as needed
--I have two custom-made (1x12, +bullet Tweeter) Electro-Voice-loaded screamers that will break your eardrums
--my two existing JBL MR-822 (1x12, +horn) (retire them from the front array to blast the ears of monitor-needers...)
--more...see below...moo-hoo-haha...

small, intimate clubs
--two EAW LA212 cabinets on speaker stands http://www.eaw.com/products/item_new.phtml?part_number=0999267
--one (only one...) EAW LA118z subwoofer http://www.eaw.com/products/item_new.phtml?part_number=0997213
>>as a minimalist system for "Paddle-Loft" size gigs, this would be awesome setup..., drums nor bass would be miked, everyone uses their own amp...maybe mic the harp...and the keys would go thru the PA at all times anyway, one Mackie 1604vlz...minimal equipment needed

small clubs
--two EAW LA212 cabinets on speaker stands http://www.eaw.com/products/item_new.phtml?part_number=0999267
--two EAW LA118z subwoofers http://www.eaw.com/products/item_new.phtml?part_number=0997213
>>a slightly larger room, like the "HammerHead" or, the "SeaSide Inn" ...a bit more thump to the bass in case we get some dancers out there now...still, those EAW LA212's are going to kick peoples ass...they might be small, but they are EAW's...and very potent...and let's not forget the genre...blues...not necessarily the same stuff Erik and Paul Delmar might present...they both have that "decibel equivalent" mentality...I can present emotion and blues without breaking peoples eardrums...and it keeps the bar owner's happy when regular folks can converse in the bar while the band is playing...a major bitch for many bands VS. club owners...they have all this equipment that must be pushed to the limit to produce sound, and in so biuying said gear, they negate the courtesy of being able to "turn it the fuck down"...

medium clubs/small outdoor gigs
--two EAW LA460 cabinets http://www.eaw.com/products/item_new.phtml?part_number=0999680
--four EAW LA118z subwoofers http://www.eaw.com/products/item_new.phtml?part_number=0997213
--for monitors, now add the EAW LA212's from above to the floor...moo-hoo-ha-ha...(gives you six monitors on the stage...)
--power accordingly, and unsparingly with Crown Microtech amps...
>>the LA 460's would be my only gut-busters in the whole trailer...with their 136db hi-frequency peaks, they would fill most any medium sized room with room to spare...

larger than that??
--rental gear/coliseum level peaks...a complete EAW array, etc...

somebody would be hired as a armed guard standing by the trailer at all times, loading and unloading...haha

In these scenarios, the speaker sizes are kept to a minimum by the use of better technology...the LA212's weigh in at about 50 lbs. each, and the LA118z subs are around the 100lb mark...the LA460's tip the scales at ONLY 114 lbs...do THAT with a Peavey look-a-like...!!...perhaps the reason for the Peavey advertised Black Widow "field replaceable" cones is that they are needed because the roadies keep dropping the damn-heavy 150lb+ cabinets.....

in a nutshell, here's the trailer load so far

Guitar:
-one road case with all guitars
-Evans amp
-pedalboard case

Bass:
-any bass cases necessary
-SWR Combo amp
-one SWR extension speaker

Drums:
-trap cases for all!!
-bass drum
-three tom-tom cases
-snare
-cymbal case
-stand case
(no laying shit in the trailer without a case!!!)

Keys:
-keyboard roadcase
-one 4-space rack for sound modules
-keyboard stand

Harp:
-one small briefcase full-o-the blues
-one barstool
-one case for any mikes

PA:
-two EV-loaded monitors
-two JBL MR-822's
-two EAW LA212's
-two EAW LA460's
-four EAW LA 118z's
-two Mackie 1604vlz mixers (in road cases)
-one 4-space rack for: >EQ >compressor >reverb
-one 4-space rack with crossover and one Crown Microtech amp (this is the only front-speaker amp case needed for Paddle Loft MONO gigs...)
-one 4-space rack with two Crown Microtech amps (amp for monitors in Paddle-Loft gigs, the other would be a spare in that scenario...)...or...(now we have the small clubs covered, the mains, subs and monitors all have their own amps)
-one 4-space rack with two Crown Microtech amps (extra sub power at the medium club level)
-one or more case for mics
-a creative way to stash the stands

--presto...its a band

here's the page for the Microtech series amps:
http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/microtec.htm

also, here's the Legacy stuff from Crown (D-series, etc...)
http://www.crownaudio.com/gen_htm/legacy/legacamp.htm

or...how about an 800 wat per channel Crown Studio Reference amp? (I might change my mind about the Microtechs for subs...haha)
http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/studref.htm

I'm putting the band back together!!

jh

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