Ibanez Promethean Combo P5110

Midinut

Thought I'd share news on a cute new killer little bass combo - got mine two months ago and can't stop talking about it!

It is the Ibanez Promethean P5110. Essentially it is a 13" square combo with a 10" speaker and a horn/tweeter. The amp section fits in the rear of the little cab and can be unscrewed by means of four thumbscrews. The amp puts out 250watts into the combo 10" and 500watts into a 4ohm load i.e. a second 8ohm cab. The amp has a host of controls/features including a 6 band eq plus bass & treble shelving controls, Vibe control, DI & tuner out, mute switch and both jack and Speakon speaker outputs. The beauty is that you can use it as a combo or stack the little 6lbs head on top of a bigger rig. The combo weights in at 26lbs and there's a gigbag available to sling the boykie over your shoulder! PS There is also a matching Promethean 10" 8ohm extension cab available.

In use on it's own it is pretty good and rather loud for it's size, but add another cab and there's a serious increase in juice and this baby could be used at most gigs. This amp gives my Genz-Benz Shuttle 9 (900watts into 4 ohms) a serious run for it's money in the loudness stakes.

Price wise, these do not come cheap and you could probably pay well over R5k as the retail is about R8k. Thanks to my music connections I got mine at what I would call a reasonable or respectable price!!

I have not seen one negative review on the net and I suggest you try it out - you will be pleasantly surprised.

http://www.ibanez.com/electronics/model-P5110

AlanRatcliffe

While I'm more of a 1X15" fan, I'm also a big fan of small and light, and these look just the ticket. Thanks - I'll check them out when I see them.

Malkav

Official video by Ibanez for them, Rufus Philpot seems to endorse it and I loved his work with Planet X ?

Midinut

Hey Alan - I have got rid of all my 10" cabs and now have a Genz-Benz 2x12 NeoX cab as well as two Hydrive 112's. Reasons for that is that I love the bottom end of a fifteen but at the same time want the mids of a ten. So the 12" are my favorites. I actually use one Hydrive with my little combo which also provides more headroom.

BTW, Promethean makes a whole array of cab configs - 15", 2x10, 4x10, 1x10.

Midinut

Just an update - I have since been doing many small and some more serious gigs with the Promethean. I just add another 1x12 cab for larger venues and run the amp obviously through the desk as well. I only use 6-string basses and this little amp takes whatever you throw at it - the sound is super balanced.

So if you guys are looking for a small combo, go and try this baby out.

PS TOMS have just got the 4x10 and 2x10 cabs in and should be available soon.

AlanRatcliffe

Just had a quick look at Ibanez to see the range and I see they now also have a 300W head and a 300W 1 x 15 combo. The latter would make more sense for my needs and is about half the price (US RRP of $533).

Midinut

Stock of the new 300watt combo has also arrived... the head is actually available separately as well. At this stage I do not know the retail cost.

At the time I was attracted to the P5110 as it is actually minute yet powerful. It also has various options like a decent eq and the head can be removed in seconds and used with another cab. At 500watts into 4 ohms it is actually powerful enough to handle just about any reasonable gig. I also have the shoulderbag which makes carrying it a breeze. Bass in one hand, amp in the other...what more do you want?!

Midinut

Another follow up.....

I have since added a P210KC cab for fun. The idea was to combine this cab with the combo; that would mean that the Promethean head runs at 4ohms for full 500watts output. I however found that running the head into the 210 cab at 8ohm sounded awesome on its own.

It is essential an 8ohm, 2x10", kickback kind of cab but works standing up or lying down in any position or angle (wish my girlfriend could hear this...) It is rated at 250 watt RMS, not very heavy and is really built super solid. It has pre-fitted threaded holes so you can fit the Promethean head and cab rubber feet wherever suits you best...nice touch!

This cab is great on its own, light to drive and has a huge bass and smooth tops. In fact, I am confident that it will handle most gigs even smaller outdoor venues.