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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Going light weight with Amps
Going light weight with Amps
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John M G
111 posts
Mar 30, 2017
4:45 AM
Don't know if any other players have wound up with back issues, my playing posture isn’t great and humping my Princeton 65 Reverb Reissue which is only a medium weight amp is stirring my back up.

I've seen quite a few players have made the move to the Quilter solid state amps and I’m seriously considering giving one a go. I was thinking of going with the Pro Block 200 with the reverb.

The next question was what to do about a speaker cabinet. I found the asking price on extension speaker cabinets a bit high. The price on some second hand amplifiers are less than you’d pay just for a bare cabinet. So I’ve been trolling the local on line sites for second hand cabinets and haven’t come across anything.
Then it occurred to me that there a quite a few solid state amps with decent cabinets that go for next to nothing at times and bought a very low time Fender Frontman 65 for just over $100 with the idea of gutting all the solid state gear and buying a decent speaker to make a decent speaker cabinet.
I have to say that I’m really happy with the amp as it is! It’s only a couple of pounds lighter than the Princeton, but I like the tone I’m getting on both the clean and overdrive channels but especially with just a small amount of gain on the overdrive channel.
So now I’m looking for another amp with a single 12” speaker to turn into an extension cabinet rather than hacking into the Frontman 65.
I’d appreciate suggestions for a suitable 12” speaker.
The ProBlock 200 has a switchable power output and is rated to 200 Watts but is also switchable for lower outputs @ 20, 50, 150 and the full 200 W outputs.
I was even thinking of going with a neodymium magnet speaker to keep the weight as low as possible.
This is all new ground to me and would welcome any advice.
LSB
253 posts
Mar 30, 2017
6:43 AM
If overall light weight is the goal, then finding a solid pine cabinet and loading it with neodymium magnet speaker, as you mentioned, is probably the lightest way to go. But not the cheapest.

Pine will be much lighter than the usual plywood cabinets and solid pine unfinished cabinets can be had on reverb and eBay starting at around $120 shipped, if you can't find something in pine used.

I don't know who else neodymium guitar speakers, but the 100w 12" Jensen Jet Tornado classic weighs 4.41lbs, compared with something like an Eminence The Governor which is well over 10lbs. The Governor is an excellent sounding speaker for harp, and can be had for $90ish new and around $50-60 used. I haven't heard the 12" Tornado, but the 10" is an excellent harmonica speaker, however the 12" Tornados are $140-150 new I think and the used ones I've seen are usually over $100.

A solid pine cabinet with a Jensen Jet Tornado would be a pretty light rig.

Something else to consider: 2 100 w neodymium 10" speakers weigh less than most standard single 12" speakers, so, if you're using a powerful solid state head, maybe consider a lightweight 2x10 cabinet which would come across louder? I'm sure others will have plenty of additional suggestions.

Definitely go to the speaker manufacturers websites and listen to sound samples before deciding on a speaker.

Lots of options, have fun!
Wayne17
3 posts
Mar 30, 2017
7:17 AM
I'm also a guitar player and over the years have lightened the weight of all my gear, especially playing two instruments. I've used Neo speakers for guitar, but ultimately I went back to alnico as I found the neo speakers lack bottom end. Never tried one with harp.
LSB
254 posts
Mar 30, 2017
8:39 AM
Plenty of low end (for harp) with the 10" Tornado, but I can't speak for the 12" as I've never tried one.
TetonJohn
308 posts
Mar 30, 2017
11:35 AM
When I really need light weight, I now grab my Lone Wolf Boogieman and go to the PA (but that's not an amp, so I guess I'm off topic).
nacoran
9411 posts
Mar 30, 2017
12:53 PM
The other option is putting wheels and a handle on them. Weight is a problem, but there are sometimes other ways to skin the proverbial cat.

The lightest rig I've ever played through was a Bose tower through a mixing board. It sounded awesome, but you can buy a whole set of customs for the same price. :)

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jbone
2275 posts
Mar 30, 2017
9:42 PM
My Silvertone 1482 with 12" speaker weighs about 22 lbs. Mic to a p.a. is an option for a small amp too. We usually play as a duo with the 1482's. If volume is kept low enough a 12 watt amp will work. Many bands just won't keep volume down though so it's moot.
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mlefree
831 posts
Mar 31, 2017
4:57 AM
My now antique Digitech RP-50 with Huntersounds patches cost me $25, weighs 2 lbs. and has a nice cordura carrying case. Sounds great through the PA.

I gave in to my back's complaining after lugging a great Silverface Princeton for a decade.

Michelle

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Littoral
1451 posts
Mar 31, 2017
8:32 AM
Brown Concert is going with me, and it's HEAVY. I'm playing a lot on PA these days but 90% of that isn't blues so I don't require so much crunch -just sparkly notes chords/octaves shining with the other stuff.
Butterfinger vs Donuts
shakeylee
623 posts
Mar 31, 2017
8:29 PM
I bet you could get nearly as good of a sound out of an EH magnum 44 and a solid pine cab with a 12 as you could with a quilter.
I use a pine 5e3 cab with a Weber speaker that I spent about $90 total in for a speaker cab . I think the Weber was $40 or $50 of the total.
It is very light!
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