Pickin Out a Bass Amp!

[veteransdaypoppy]

Hey! Help me pick out a bass amp. It has to be LOUD, cuz uh, I'm in a band where I turn my Twin Reverb's volume knob up to 6, and the master volume up to 6. Which is pretty loud, I think. The drums are the quietest instrument, and our drummer is always bangin away at em.

We used to plug the bass directly into the PA, but we've got two singers, a keyboardist, and the bass going through there right now and the speakers are starting to get upset about it.

So it has to be loud, portable ('cause we're playing shows pretty often now..) and somewhere in the $100 - $300 area.
HELP.

[Humandrivein]

Not really sure on something to suggest sorry but you could do what i did when i was playing bass for a band. Went to guitar center with 400 cash and asked one of the guys there whats the loudest they could get me for that price. Ended up walking out with a 450 watt Behringer head and used cab. Most times they will try and get your sale at all costs by cutting off taxes and whatever else they can if you have cash on you. Sorry thats not very helpful ill look around online and try and get some ideas.

[veteransdaypoppy]

C'mon you bassist guys! Help

[metalmariachi]

A head and cabinet is your best bet.
Combos are nice but don’t have the projection by them selves to hang with the Twin.
Any good ss 300 + watt head and either a 4x10 or 2x12 cab will be good for starters.
Avatar cabinets have been getting rave reviews for sound, quality and price.

The limiter here is your budget.
So unless you find a great Craig’s list deal we’ll forget about tubes for now.
GK Backline amps work well, are fairly inexpensive, have been around forever and seem to hold up.
The Mark bass amps got rave reviews early, but that may have been ‘the new toy syndrome’ they’re worth checking out though
I’d like to check this out.

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com ... e-Bass-Amp

As always, look at used gear first.

MM

[devnulljp]

Find an old Traynor YBA1 from the late 60s/early 70s. Nominally 50 watts but it is the loudest thing I've ever heard, and sweet too. You can get them for $500~600 if you're patient, and will have it forever. I'm continually kicking myself for not buying one when you could get them for the low $200s on CL. Fantastic amps.
And if you don't like it, there will be a queue of people waiting to buy it off you.

[moose23]

Try one of the new Acoustic amps in Guitar Centre, looks to be great "bang per buck" with them or look out some second hand Peavey gear.

[robert(original)]

if your budget was more like 500 then alot of doors would open up for you.

[Mudfuzz]

Loud, cheap: used old Peavy. I mean it. I think if you go used you will be able stretch the $$$ v.s. amp a bit.
GK back line underwhelms me, sorry MM.
Maybe ampeg, maybe.
Maybe ashdown maybe.
Old PA heads can work in a pinch
SWR, maybe.
Also big guitar [60 - 100 watt] tube amp heads can work good for bass they arn't cheap but then you could use it for both.

[jrmy]

If you go Ampeg, try to go used, say 2000 or earlier.

[bubstance]

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[devnulljp]

For under $300, hunt up an old Peavey MkIII. I see those on CL a lot, and they're pretty good in that price range
Here's one that sold on gbase for under $100
I had one of those years ago with a 2x15 and it was a good solid amp.

[McSpunckle]

I use an Avatar 4x10 cab which is fantastic. One thing, though-- for fuzz, horns suck. I removed the horn and crossover in mine.

For an amp, I use an Acoustic 150 that I picked up on eBay for 100 bucks. It's LOUD, and full of tonez. All the old Acoustic stuff is known for sounding cool and being way louder than you'd expect.

For new amps, I like GK for Hi-Fi sorta sounds, and --older-- Ampeg for warm tones. The new Acoustic stuff at GC is really cool, too. I was really impressed when I took my Hype to GC and tried 'em out.

I used to use a BBE BMax preamp with a Carvin poweramp-- both recommended for awesome value and tones.

[my bloody television]

for about $250 I got my little brother a used SWR 200 watt head with a 1x15 crate cab. The cab may not push enough air to keep up with a twin on 6, but the nice thing about having a high watt head is you could always upgrade to a bigger cab down the line. Just for shits I plugged the SWR into an 8x10 when I bought it and it fucking cranked.

[my bloody television]

also, +1 on Acoustic amps. They can be had pretty cheap if you look around and they're LOUD

[hasblueshoes]

Yeah, an old used peavey or acoustic amp head, and then as much cabinet as you can afford with what's left.