Small, light, loud and good!??

[Scott Reed]

I recently borrowed a friends Mesa Walkabout Scout 112 and was blown away by how light and loud it was. I played a double gig, an outdoor concert called In The Streets in Frederick, Maryland and a small club called Firestones.

Plenty of volume for the outdoor stage and ran the club with no PA support. It is 300 watts, 12" speaker with and additional downfiring passive sub. They also make a 15" version but I have not played that one.

Anyway, it is highly recommended for small gigs and gigs with PA support. Its 50 lbs, here is some more info:

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Reviews/Ba...ayer-Scout.htm

I am currently looking for a used one, new they are a bit pricey.

[Tim Bishop]

My latest recommendation for "Small, light, loud and good!??"

Just got my Eden WTX-260 a couple of days ago. At 3.8lbs, the tone, power, and options on this little guy is incredible. At a 4-Ohm load it will flat bring it. I played it through an Eden 210XST(4) and it pushed that cabinet without stoppin to take a breath. Plus, you can carry it in your gig-bag! What's not to like?

Check it out:

http://www.eden-electronics.com/info...260feature.asp

[Albert Smith]

Originally Posted by Tim Bishop

My latest recommendation for "Small, light, loud and good!??"

Just got my Eden WTX-260 a couple of days ago. At 3.8lbs, the tone, power, and options on this little guy is incredible. At a 4-Ohm load it will flat bring it. I played it through an Eden 210XST(4) and it pushed that cabinet without stoppin to take a breath. Plus, you can carry it in your gig-bag! What's not to like?

Check it out:

http://www.eden-electronics.com/info...260feature.asp

Tim I ordered the wrong rack ears for my WT 550 I order the Eden WTX-260 joints. If you need a pair of ears their yours free of charge.

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Albert Smith

Tim I ordered the wrong rack ears for my WT 550 I order the Eden WTX-260 joints. If you need a pair of ears their yours free of charge.

Thx Al, I do appreciate you thinking of me. However, my WTX-260 will never see a rack as long as I own it. At 3.8 lbs. it's too easy to carry in the pouch of my bass case. Plus, I will be useing the 260 primarily as a DI to FOH and at home as DI into my recording interface.

Hey, you might want to hang on to those. You never know, you may end up with a 260 someday.

[David Powell]

Lightweight, USA built with 5 yr. warranty, powerful: Ampeg Portabass series. OK, it isn't necessarily "affordable" depending on the definition.

I have the PB800 head (500 W at 4 Ohms, 800 Watts at 2 Ohms). It weighs about 20 lbs. I use it with a PB 212H cab (4 Ohms) uses Italian poplar plywood (it is built in the USA though) and neodymium magnets to save weight. It has a tweeter for the highs with a volume control on the back of the cab for the tweeter. It has wheels, a baggage type collapsible handle and weighs only 38 lbs. They do make a smaller combo Portabass amp that weighs only 30 lbs. total, but I don't have experience with that. They also make a 2x10 version of the cab. I've used this rig for the loudest EBG gigs I've played and it was sufficient without going through the PA.

And then there is the AI Coda R or Contra R combo amps. Probably not enough speaker area for some applications but 400 Watts, ten, five, and tweeter at 20 lbs.

[Christopher Rhodes]

I performed recently, Dec 9 2007, at the Washington DC Convention Center. The gig called for a light weight rig - but powerful to handle the venue. Load-in was 3 floors up. My load-in/load-out was done in one trip each way.

I used the Mark Bass head, LMKII, + Bag End 4x10 cabinet + Ken Smith BMT G 6-string bass. What a fun, and easy gig.

I had more than enough power with the LMKII running 300 watts with an 8Ohmn load from the cabinet. If I turned it up all the way - it was too loud. We had no PA.

I do understand one of the "requirements" is for a USA model - however - do not overlook the Itailian made amp - that only weighs 6.5 pounds.

The Eden amps are nice - but there are others - which are worthy of at least a second glance

The Smith tone was shining brightly with this amp. I ran it almost flat with little EQ for a full rich tone that the other band memebers noticed in a positive way.

This was my 3rd gig with this head and my 6 string Smith Bass.

I have another gig tonight in Baltimore. I will post the findings of this gig later this week.
Dec 10, 2007: Had another little gig. The BMT 6-String Smith was holding the bottom nicely with the light rig setup.

In conclusion, do not overlook this model - a lot of players are converting.

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Christopher Rhodes

I used the Mark Bass head, LMKII, + Bag End 4x10 cabinet + Ken Smith BMT G 6-string bass. I had more than enough power with the LMKII running 300 watts with an 8Ohmn load from the cabinet.

I do understand one of the "requirements" is for a USA model - however - do not overlook the Itailian made amp - that only weighs 6.5 pounds.

The Smith tone was shining brightly with this amp. I ran it almost flat with little EQ for a full rich tone that the other band memebers noticed in a positive way.

In conclusion, do not overlook this model - a lot of players are converting.

Just picked up a Mark Bass LM II:

At a little over 6 Lbs, the LM II can flat bring it! This was my initial 30 minute LM II test-drive:

I ran the LM II into my Eden 212XLT(8) and 410XLT(8) Cab's. With EQ flat and Gain set at around 9 O'Clock to spark the Limiter.....(that is, with my Smith set flat and volume maxed); set VLE and VPF filters Off initially; turn up Master (somewhere around noon for starters) to get what I wanted out of the Cabs. Then, experimented with the VLE and VPF Filters. For starters, I adjusted the VPF Filter to around noon or so (I think this Filter is key to dialing in a great tone). The VPF Filter adds the highs needed for definition, shape, and clarity. The VLE Filter cuts Mids and I didn't care for that initially, so, after a few adjustments, I opted to leave it Off as it is the Mids where Bass gets it's definition and ability to "cut" through the mix. The results with my Smith BT5EG were very impressive: Very tight bass response with cutting mids with highs that sweetened up the total mix. I found that with the LM II, I didn't need to adjust EQ much beyond Flat, if any. With the LM II EQ set Flat, the EQ adjustments from my Smith gave me all the control I needed.

Overall, the LM II is a great Bass Amp and I would certainly recommend it to anyone wanting a 6.5 lb amp delivering a tight and punchy 500W at 4-Ohms. I don't think any bassist would be disappointed.

As a comparison of power, tone, and the ability to drive the Cabs, I A/B'd the LM II with my Eden WT-550. At 4-Ohms the comparison is more "apples-to-apples" as both amps deliver 500W. Set flat, I noticed similarities in tone, power and the ability to drive 2 8-ohm Cabs and get it done!

Again, the LM II is VERY impressive and was right there with the WT-550, but this would be where the comparison ended as there is simply more flexibility and options with the WT-550. While the WT-550 is heavier (20 lbs), it does have a few more VERY nice features. For example: A tube Pre-amp, Semi-Parametric EQ, Compression and an option to reach 750W at 2-Ohms (just to name a few). This is a big deal! Particularly, when it comes to using multiple Cabs to push the air needed to get it done. This is where the WT-550 is superior to the LM II, BUT, considering the weight, power, tone, ease of use, and price of the LM II; this is an amp that is getting some attention for obvious reasons. I think as these amps get more exposure and continue to invade the market (as we are beginning to see through Guitar Center), Eden will see some competition from Mark Bass.

Finally.......For me, all things being equal, the LM II will most likely be a keeper and a quality Bass Amp I think any bass player owes it to himself to try out.

Additionally, in a closer comparison, as far as size-to-size, weight-to-weight, dollar-to-dollar, power-to-power, tone-to-tone comparison's go, I would choose the compact 3.8 lb. Eden WTX-260 over the LM II due to the even-more compact size. With the tone, power to drive Cabs at 4-Ohms, and incredible DI w/DI Level Control (among other nice options), the Eden WTX-260 is one you don't want to overlook. Try it and see.