General Music Chat

FOR CLUB GIGS, W/C OF THE FOLLOWING IS THE BEST BASS AMP?


FENDER
AMPEG
BASSON
MARSHALL
GK
MARKIE

I like Ampegs and Harkie

You need to determine how big of an amp you need, something that complements the guitar amp would be nice so you guys balance out.

I use a MESA Triple Rec half stack for big gigs and a Roadster 2x12 combo for smaller rooms. Our bassist uses a 500 watt Harkie, he has a 2x10, 4x10, 8x10 cab and he brings whatever size cab he thinks the room needs. The 4x10 works in most situations, but the 8x10 has that look.

The reality is that you dont need as much as you think.

We have done a few gigs with preamps straight into the pa and done fine as long as you have good monitors.

I like Ampegs and Harkie

You need to determine how big of an amp you need, something that complements the guitar amp would be nice so you guys balance out.

I use a MESA Triple Rec half stack for big gigs and a Roadster 2x12 combo for smaller rooms. Our bassist uses a 500 watt Harkie, he has a 2x10, 4x10, 8x10 cab and he brings whatever size cab he thinks the room needs. The 4x10 works in most situations, but the 8x10 has that look.

The reality is that you dont need as much as you think.

We have done a few gigs with preamps straight into the pa and done fine as long as you have good monitors.

So far i'm only using 100w Ampeg & 100w Fender amp w/c i use simultaneously by connecting them thru xlr. So far it sounds great.

Marshall makes bass amps??

News to me lol.

Every bassist I know loves Ampeg. I personally like G&K, but they break down a lot.

Marshall makes bass amps??

News to me lol.

Every bassist I know loves Ampeg. I personally like G&K, but they break down a lot.

Yes Marshall has bass amps. you google them.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigati ... B&ZYXSEM=0

I'd say it depends on your bass and your style of playing first off. I've heard amps that sound great with one bass and terrible with another. Find one that compliments your axe and your style. Also it will depend on if you are going to run a signal out of it into the PA. If so, then you'll just need one that gets the stage volume that you want. If not, you'll want one with enough power to fill the room of whatever venues you'll be playing. To a point, it's all personal preference, but you'll want to get one that is dependable as well as sounding good. Maybe you should re phrase your question into "Which bass amps are the most roadworthy and dependable?" so that you don't end up buying a good sounding lemon. I'm a guitar player so I don't have much experience with the different bass amps.

I like Ampegs and Harkie

You need to determine how big of an amp you need, something that complements the guitar amp would be nice so you guys balance out.

I use a MESA Triple Rec half stack for big gigs and a Roadster 2x12 combo for smaller rooms. Our bassist uses a 500 watt Harkie, he has a 2x10, 4x10, 8x10 cab and he brings whatever size cab he thinks the room needs. The 4x10 works in most situations, but the 8x10 has that look.

The reality is that you dont need as much as you think.

We have done a few gigs with preamps straight into the pa and done fine as long as you have good monitors.

So far i'm only using 100w Ampeg & 100w Fender amp w/c i use simultaneously by connecting them thru xlr. So far it sounds great.

Sounda like a good combination to me. I would think they have different tones and they should complement each other. As far as watts for basic gigs it sounds like you are on track. My band althought we use some big amps we dont play near as loud as we used to. Theres really no point in blowing peoples ears out unless you are playing those kiddie bars with 4 bands.

Kramer, Marshall has always made bass amps. I used to play with a guy who had one of those 200 watt tube heads and 2 4x15 inch cabs. It was pretty loud. Look at old Cream pictures, Bruce used a pair of them. Ive seen some of the more modern Marshall bass amps in stores and they sound pretty good to me.

One of the best sounding bass amps ever in my opinion was an Ampeg Portaflex. Thats about 60-80 watts tube with the top that flips over for transport. Listen to all that old Motown stuff and thats what you are hearing. The rock school I teach every year they had a more modern portaflex that I used and its a great sounding amp. I would like to add one to my collection just to have around.

In the end just try to balance with your guitarist and you guys as a band will sound better. If one of you is overblowing the other its not good from an audience standpoint.

Good Luck and Keep On Rockin!

I love the portaflex. My drummer has one in his studio.

On stage, I just use a Peavey Combo 400. It's very road-worthy, has enough power, & if I want more bottom I pair it with a JBL powered sub & BOOM!

My dream is the Eden...paired with a Wilmer Thumb...ooo my nipples are getting hard just thinking about it!

I like Ampegs and Harkie

You need to determine how big of an amp you need, something that complements the guitar amp would be nice so you guys balance out.

I use a MESA Triple Rec half stack for big gigs and a Roadster 2x12 combo for smaller rooms. Our bassist uses a 500 watt Harkie, he has a 2x10, 4x10, 8x10 cab and he brings whatever size cab he thinks the room needs. The 4x10 works in most situations, but the 8x10 has that look.

The reality is that you dont need as much as you think.

We have done a few gigs with preamps straight into the pa and done fine as long as you have good monitors.

So far i'm only using 100w Ampeg & 100w Fender amp w/c i use simultaneously by connecting them thru xlr. So far it sounds great.

Sounda like a good combination to me. I would think they have different tones and they should complement each other. As far as watts for basic gigs it sounds like you are on track. My band althought we use some big amps we dont play near as loud as we used to. Theres really no point in blowing peoples ears out unless you are playing those kiddie bars with 4 bands.

Kramer, Marshall has always made bass amps. I used to play with a guy who had one of those 200 watt tube heads and 2 4x15 inch cabs. It was pretty loud. Look at old Cream pictures, Bruce used a pair of them. Ive seen some of the more modern Marshall bass amps in stores and they sound pretty good to me.

One of the best sounding bass amps ever in my opinion was an Ampeg Portaflex. Thats about 60-80 watts tube with the top that flips over for transport. Listen to all that old Motown stuff and thats what you are hearing. The rock school I teach every year they had a more modern portaflex that I used and its a great sounding amp. I would like to add one to my collection just to have around.

In the end just try to balance with your guitarist and you guys as a band will sound better. If one of you is overblowing the other its not good from an audience standpoint.

Good Luck and Keep On Rockin!

Thanks for your reply, i just love Ampeg.

Ampeg is one of the best, and I've heard quite a few Peaveys that sounded great, and Hartke makes a great bass amp too. I've played in a lot of sit in situations, and heard just about every bass amp out there, and to me, anything with tubes is hard to beat. anything from one 15" speaker to the big 4x10 and 6x10 cabs all sound good, it all depends on what kind of sound you want, whether you mic or line in and how big the venue is.

The tube/solid state question is not as big an issue with bass amps as guitar amps, but they do sound better overall. Many of the Peavey amps I've heard sounded really good and were solid state. Philby's Combo 400 does a really good job, I've heard those and the TNT with a 15 makes a good bass amp.

Generally, you want 3 times the wattage of the guitar amp you're onstage with, that gives you plenty power and more importantly, headroom. Bass usually has to be clean, so you don't want to have to crank it up to the distortion point. That means loads of power, so you can keep the amp at a low power level and still produce clean bass at stage volume.

For most clubs, 300 watts is all you'll need plus some. In probably 75% of the clubs you'lll play, 100-150 watts should do the trick.

And yes, Marshall has made bass amps since the 60's, originally all tube, based on the same Fender Bassman circuit their guitar amps were built from. Cream used them, and several other 60's groups played Marshall bass amps, ZZ Top is the only one I can think of right now. When I saw them in 75 it was wall to wall Marshalls...

When I first started playing out back in the 60's, our bass player played a Jazz Bass through an Ampeg B-15 Portaflex. It sounded great for the times. A lot of bass players used the Fender Bassman which I regarded as unimpressive. I do recall one of my classmates, and an exceptional player, having a Marshall stack back around 68. It didn't sound as cool as it looked!

The time honered Ampeg SVT gets my personal endorsement as the best bass amp ever, however, they are usually overkill in a small club and a ball buster to carry.

Back when my wife was playing, she used a Peavey Pro 1000 bass preamp, crossed over through a PAS 250 stereo power amp running an 18 inch Peavey Black Widow and an Altec Lansing 10 inch for the highs. That rig proved to be killer except that it was a pain in the ass to hook up!

The last working band I was in featured my son on bass and he used a little Peavey TKO like Fisherman Bobs. It did the job and was easy to carry.

It's probable that any modern day bass amp in the $500 range should do the job in small rooms if you set it up right and are playing at a lower volume level.

Howlin'

PS.... after thinking about it, maybe a grand would be a more realistic price if you plan on useing the amp hard!(It's obviously been a while since Ive been in the market for new rock & Roll gear! )

I have an old Marshall 3520 IBS 200w head.

Nice warm tones for a solid state.