Bass amp question

I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive bass amp for the Man-cave. It will most likely never be gigged - I'm only thinking of having one available with my MIM Jazz bass when friends come over and want to jam (although I plan on learning to play the darn thing).

It looks like you can get a nice amp for around $250-$300.... ideas?:?:

In that price range look for a used combo with a single 15"/ around 200 watts,solid state. This should be enough to keep up with the drummer's volume,any smaller would be useless for this application.
Ebay, Craigslist, newspapers & music/pawn shops are full of them.Peavey,Fender,Ampeg,Roland etc.brandwise.
Keep in mind most manufacturers modify their bass amps with a horn/tweeter(unplug it if it bothers you) & sometimes add an extra channel calling them a keyboard amp.For your use it will not matter,but may save some $$$.

If you're talking about just around your house without having a drummer then a used Fender solid state bass amp for around $300.00 would do the job. I had a little one I got for $75.00 and it was OK although the speaker was too small. Sold it for the same price on Ebay.:smile:

In that price range look for a used combo with a single 15"/ around 200 watts,solid state. This should be enough to keep up with the drummer's volume,any smaller would be useless for this application.
Ebay, Craigslist, newspapers & music/pawn shops are full of them.Peavey,Fender,Ampeg,Roland etc.brandwise.
Keep in mind most manufacturers modify their bass amps with a horn/tweeter(unplug it if it bothers you) & sometimes add an extra channel calling them a keyboard amp.For your use it will not matter,but may save some $$$.

I've been cheating with a Peavey KB-100 Keyboard amp... it sort-of works...

If you've got a keyboard amp that is capable of the power you require, maybe just a basic multi-effect as preamp would do ya...?

If you've got a keyboard amp that is capable of the power you require, maybe just a basic multi-effect as preamp would do ya...?

That's a great idea!!!

In that price range look for a used combo with a single 15"/ around 200 watts,solid state. This should be enough to keep up with the drummer's volume,any smaller would be useless for this application.



Normally, in a gig situation I’d agree. 200 watts is minimum to keep up with the other instruments.
But in a home jam situation, in a small confined space, you can get by with a lot less.

Hartke used to make a 90 watt kickback combo (B900) that has great tone.
(Don’t get the other kickback with the aluminum cone.)

If you’re talking new and available now I’d check out the Ampeg BA115 100watts ($350) and the Fender Rumble 100 watts ($330).

AMPEG BA112

I picked one up recently (dropped it twice so far - no worries!), have even been using it for a small outdoor gig we do, works great. Got a cool little 5-way tone curve switch besides the usual Bass/Mid/Treble eq.

Keeps up just fine with drums in a low-volume restaurant gig, too.

mud

AMPEG BA112




Mudbean, agree, great amp.
The little brother to the BA115.
Agree that in a low volume or acoustic setting, 50 watts would be fine.

But if anyone is going to crank it up or the drummer bangs away, 100 watts would be better.

Here is info on the both of them:

http://www.ampeg.com/products/bassamp/ba112/index.html

http://www.ampeg.com/products/bassamp/ba115/index.html

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Mudbean, agree, great amp.
The little brother to the BA115.
Agree that in a low volume or acoustic setting, 50 watts would be fine.

But if anyone is going to crank it up or the drummer bangs away, 100 watts would be better.



Fer sure ... I got the BA112 as a little bro to my main rig, a G&K 1001RBII (700 watts!) through a SWR Son of Bertha cab.

I believe the OP was looking for a small amp, no?

mud

Well, he said "when friends come over to jam."
So it kinda depends.
If they're jamming with just acoustics, then a 15-watt practice amp would be fine.
If they're bringing their Les Pauls and a Marshall, then he's going to have to go B I G G E R.


Speaking of Ampegs, by the way, these are almost twice the money but the Diamond Blue Series have great warm tone. (I only tried one in a store.)

http://www.ampeg.com/products/diamondbluebass/index.html

They look like the amp Will Lee uses on Late Night.

Size doesn't matter. I'm assuming we'll be jamming electric and maybe even outside on the deck, so the 100 watt range looks about right.


Thanks everybody, for all the advice so far....

Well, this is what I ended up getting...

I looked at a bunch of amps this morning including everything that had been mentioned both here and at FPF (Ampeg, Behringer, even a nice Fender one) - after playing with a all of the different amps and combos this one seemed to make the most sense... 300 Watt amp and I can always pair the speaker if I want to down the road.

Gallien-Krueger Backline 600 Bass Head

http://images.guitarcenter.com/products/optionRegular/GallienKrueger/228739jpg.jpg


Gallien-Krueger 115BLX-II Bass Cabinet

http://images.guitarcenter.com/products/optionRegular/GallienKrueger/280878jpg.jpg

And of course, (finally) a Deluxe Reverb...

http://images.guitarcenter.com/products/optionRegular/Fender/541606jpg.jpg

They actually did a discount price, too - even though they aren't supposed to any more... saved an additional 5 % (and 15 months no interest!) - it all adds up!!!

I am in gear heaven today!!! The bass ampsounds great, but of course, I can't play it for $hnitz! I ended up spending a bit more than I'd planned - that was why I brought Mrs. Junkie along - she pushed me to go a bit higher... . The amp has plenty of power and the speaker could do with a bit more highs, but with the treble kicked up a bit it sounds good. I won't have to buy another amp at least, but maybe someday a set of 4X10's to complement the 15" woofer... I see myself playing a lot more bass now that I have a decent amp.


The DRRI is awesome, too. I am falling in love again with all my guitars. My My Gary Moore sounds unbelievable, the strat is to-die-for! I can't even begin to talk about how the ES-335 sounds - needless to say I need to go change my underwear! I never realized just how crappy my Marshall was until I compare it side by side to the Fender!!!

Every guitar sounds better than I'd ever heard them before... Can't write more - must play more!!!

Wow! I wish I was you right about now! That's great news man. Enjoy enjoy enjoy!

Wow! I wish I was you right about now! That's great news man. Enjoy enjoy enjoy!

Thanks amigo!!! I'm going to play the snot out of this stuff... The neighbors are going to love me. I cranked the bass amp up high and hit the low E - the freakin' house started shaking!!!

Plan on a trip up to the man-cave soon for some serious jamming!

Good call on the Backline 1x15. I was going to recommend one of their cabs. My old band had 2 Backline 4x10s and one 1x15. We liked them for all kinds of purposes (bass, electric guitar, drums, even acoustic guitar). They're great.

Right now, my home/church bass rig is a Backline 2x10 and a CRATE PowerBlock. It works well.

Nice score on the DRRI!

Well, that is a lot more than you originally said you wanted to spend. (The head alone is $300.)
And you gave the impression you just wanted to get a combo and not a head 'n cab.

Backline is G-K's low end line of amps but it should work out fine.
I tried them when I was shopping around and the sound appeared too "metallic" sounding for me. I was looking for something "warmer."

But any bass amp is a nice score. Emjoy!

That was the original plan, but the wife is a good person to bring gear shopping - she was the one saying "get more"!!!!

You're a lucky man.

My wife would definitely not say that.

She surprised me more than once...

Someday I'll tell my Gary Moore story...


... and then there's the 50th birthday surprise...

She surprised me more than once...

Someday I'll tell my Gary Moore story...


... and then there's the 50th birthday surprise...

The 50th B-day surprise? Cellophane? Whips & Chains? Mayonnaise & Ropes?

Do tell........:lol:

Mayonaisse & ropes???

Dude, you're scarin' me...

Well, after playing my old Gibson J-40 for over thirty years I talked to my wife about getting a "good" acoustic for my fiftieth birthday. I spent weeks looking around and finally had decided between a Gibson J-200 and a Hummingbird. I took her to the local GC and played both for about two hours and couldn't decide which I liked better. Since we usually buy guitars from a local Mom and Pop (LaSalle Music - East Hartford - I bought my old Gibson from them 35 years ago), the idea was to decide what I liked and LaSalle would get me one cheaper. I was exasperated becasue I liked both equally, so I finally said "I can't decide. You decide which one to get and surprise me"

She did - she got both!:mrgreen:

Oh, so no cellophane then....Awwww.

Very cool about the guitars though. Your J-200 sounds terrific. :smile:

Oh, so no cellophane then....Awwww.

Very cool about the guitars though. Your J-200 sounds terrific. :smile:

Sorry to disappoint. Yeah - the J-200 was especially a treat. When I got it it was still in the original carton and I got to open it. The guitar was only three weeks old and smelled of lacquer and wood. Beautiful! The luthier I brought it to for a setup was really impressed. He told me that if I had gone to Bozeman and tried a hundred J-200's this is the one I would have picked out - the best he'd ever seen. In fact he was first on a long list of people who told me that if I ever sell it they want first crack - like that will ever happen!

Congrats, man! The G-K Backline will do ya just fine. Saying it's the low end of the line is like saying the e-series is the low end of the line for Mercedes.

Hey, next time I go gear shopping, can I bring your wife? :cool:

mud

Sometimes it's good to spend more than you had planned on, than less than you should have.

Jeeez! You made that salesman's week that day! :razz:

Jeeez! You made that salesman's week that day! :razz:

They love it when I walk into a music store... :mrgreen:


I tried playing my guitars through it, as well and it makes a pretty nice guitar amp, too - not as nice as the DRRI, but....

WHA?!? Bass amp with guitar?!? What you been drinkin'?

Oh, wait, see: Fender Bassman.

mud

Nice clean Jazzy Tones through a bass amp - at low - mod volumes.

They love it when I walk into a music store... :mrgreen:


I tried playing my guitars through it, as well and it makes a pretty nice guitar amp, too - not as nice as the DRRI, but....

All you need to play with your friends at home is a little used bass combo off of Ebay. :smile: