Not one of Fender's better models

jh45gun · May 13th, 2008, 11:17 PM

A while back I traded a 2x10 bass bottom and a Kustom III bass head for a smaller easier to carry SS Bassman 60. Now I live in an apt and the guy at the music store plugged in the amp played a bit of bass through it and it sounded ok so I traded. Well since I live in an apt building I cannot play loud so I never pushed it at home and Sat night we had a gig and I play lead guitar but I did some trades to get a bass guitar and an amp set up as I know several good bass players who never seem to have their own equipment and I got tired of having to have them borrow stuff so I figured I would have my own. Well Sat night at stage volumes in a fairly large room and with the amp also lined out to the PA the amp on stage sounded bad the speaker was distorting at half volume or cutting in and out we never did figure out completely only know it did not sound good. The thing is I doubt it is the speaker as at lower volumes it sounds fine. Still you should be able to go past half and not have it act up on ya. Reading a review at Harmony Central some one said that they felt the limiter once it kicked in gave the amp a distorted sound could be. I took it back on Sunday and suppriseingly enough they still had the bottom and head I traded in so I asked for them back as I knew they worked fine. The only issue I have with this head bottom combination is the bottom is a 8 ohm cab and the head is rated at 130 watts at 4 ohms so therefore I do not have the volume I should have out of the head as I would with a 4 ohm cab but at least it stays clean and does not distort even dimed.

garytelecastor · May 14th, 2008, 12:19 AM

What kind of gigs are you playing? I would think that no matter what situation on stage you have, a 2 X 10 cab is not going to be enough to cover a room effectively.
Is there a way that you can run a line to the P.A. and use the 2-10's on stage as a monitor??
I guess if it were me I would get a single 15 inch 4 ohm cab and use that.
You are kind of in a bad situation. You could change the cab to 4 ohms but you are going to lose volume so you basically are in the same situation you are now.

Dennis68 · May 14th, 2008, 07:55 AM

If there's a decent PA in place, a quality small tube would certianly cut it with a mic.

jh45gun · May 14th, 2008, 10:04 PM

The Kustom head has a line out and the 2x10 cab sounds good in fact it is rated pretty high in the watts dept 400 program 800 peak though I know they rate them generous LOL. I pushed it with my Traynor bass head that I use for guitar and it will take a powerful head and crank well so the cab is not an issue with the right head. The Kustom III head works fine just that since it is 4 ohm head it looses some power with this cab since the cab is an 8 ohm one. Still all in all it sounds a heck of a lot better than that Bassman did. This set up by its self for a small room gig would work and since it has a line out it would be fine for larger ones going through a PA. I am not disatisfied with this set up the 2x10 cab and the head as far as sound goes. Down the line I may pick up a 4 ohm 15 maybe for the Kustom head. I only traded it in the first place to get a more compact amp since I do not even play bass but have to haul the stuff for who ever does. The 2x10 cab is not that large so I guess it will suffice fine.

jh45gun · May 14th, 2008, 10:09 PM

Gary why would I loose volume changeing to 4 ohms? I should gain volume since the head is rated for 4 ohms. Using the 8 ohm cab as I am now is cutting down the volume some by a third I would suspect. your right as far as the cab being a monitor for stage sound as the PA would do the heavy lifting.

May 13th, 2008, 11:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
jh45gun Tele-Holic Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 903	Not one of Fender's better models A while back I traded a 2x10 bass bottom and a Kustom III bass head for a smaller easier to carry SS Bassman 60. Now I live in an apt and the guy at the music store plugged in the amp played a bit of bass through it and it sounded ok so I traded. Well since I live in an apt building I cannot play loud so I never pushed it at home and Sat night we had a gig and I play lead guitar but I did some trades to get a bass guitar and an amp set up as I know several good bass players who never seem to have their own equipment and I got tired of having to have them borrow stuff so I figured I would have my own. Well Sat night at stage volumes in a fairly large room and with the amp also lined out to the PA the amp on stage sounded bad the speaker was distorting at half volume or cutting in and out we never did figure out completely only know it did not sound good. The thing is I doubt it is the speaker as at lower volumes it sounds fine. Still you should be able to go past half and not have it act up on ya. Reading a review at Harmony Central some one said that they felt the limiter once it kicked in gave the amp a distorted sound could be. I took it back on Sunday and suppriseingly enough they still had the bottom and head I traded in so I asked for them back as I knew they worked fine. The only issue I have with this head bottom combination is the bottom is a 8 ohm cab and the head is rated at 130 watts at 4 ohms so therefore I do not have the volume I should have out of the head as I would with a 4 ohm cab but at least it stays clean and does not distort even dimed.

May 14th, 2008, 12:19 AM	#2 (permalink)
garytelecastor Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,084 18 Photos	What kind of gigs are you playing? I would think that no matter what situation on stage you have, a 2 X 10 cab is not going to be enough to cover a room effectively. Is there a way that you can run a line to the P.A. and use the 2-10's on stage as a monitor?? I guess if it were me I would get a single 15 inch 4 ohm cab and use that. You are kind of in a bad situation. You could change the cab to 4 ohms but you are going to lose volume so you basically are in the same situation you are now. __________________ éí 'aaníígÓÓ 'áhoot'é Redd Volkaert is a Jedi Knight at one with the Force!!!

May 14th, 2008, 07:55 AM	#3 (permalink)
Dennis68 Tele-Holic Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hudson Valley Posts: 757	If there's a decent PA in place, a quality small tube would certianly cut it with a mic. __________________ -Dennis

May 14th, 2008, 10:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
jh45gun Tele-Holic Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 903	The Kustom head has a line out and the 2x10 cab sounds good in fact it is rated pretty high in the watts dept 400 program 800 peak though I know they rate them generous LOL. I pushed it with my Traynor bass head that I use for guitar and it will take a powerful head and crank well so the cab is not an issue with the right head. The Kustom III head works fine just that since it is 4 ohm head it looses some power with this cab since the cab is an 8 ohm one. Still all in all it sounds a heck of a lot better than that Bassman did. This set up by its self for a small room gig would work and since it has a line out it would be fine for larger ones going through a PA. I am not disatisfied with this set up the 2x10 cab and the head as far as sound goes. Down the line I may pick up a 4 ohm 15 maybe for the Kustom head. I only traded it in the first place to get a more compact amp since I do not even play bass but have to haul the stuff for who ever does. The 2x10 cab is not that large so I guess it will suffice fine.

May 14th, 2008, 10:09 PM	#5 (permalink)
jh45gun Tele-Holic Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 903	Gary why would I loose volume changeing to 4 ohms? I should gain volume since the head is rated for 4 ohms. Using the 8 ohm cab as I am now is cutting down the volume some by a third I would suspect. your right as far as the cab being a monitor for stage sound as the PA would do the heavy lifting.