Adequate bass amp?

Guitar club gigs are seeming fairly few and far between these days, although a new project shows some promise. I played bass for for a few year stretch and could probably pick up some work with my old Precision.

For small - med., and probably mostly smaller, club venues, how much, or really, how little power do you guys recommend? What configuration speaker cabinet? Is there a not-too-heavy combo that would cover most situtations?

I gig with a 400-watt amp into a 2x10 cab. For larger places, I add a 1x15.

I HAVE gigged with smaller amps, my backup amp I (which I used a few weeks ago when we had a double and my gear was set up at the other bar) is a Crate Powerblock, which is 150 watts, which worked okay.

I believe Chris S has had excellent experiences using an SWR Workingman's 15 combo, and I can recommend the Genz Benz ML200 combos, too...

Tim

Leon,
My "little" rig is a G&K 400rb with a Hartke vx 15 inch cabinet.
the amp is rated at 280 watts into 4 ohms, the cabinet is 8 ohms.
it's loud enough for small gigs, but for bigger venues or outdoor shows, you'll need more.
I don't really like combos, I like to mix and match amps and cabinets.

Ampeg RocketBass 100, played theatres, ball parks, clubs, you name it; always sounds great.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v383/iamthebassman/MAC_Eggmen_Paramount_92-1.jpg

I think 100 watts and either a 210 or 115 is all you need. But so much depends on the drummer and those idiot guitar players. But these days it's really hard to find one much under 300 watts that isn't considered a "practice amp". Bass and light don't usually mix but Markbass is a brand that on our side. I think there are a few more companies with light models but they are even more expensive than Markbass. My 210 combo weighs 86 pounds.

I think most guys on this forum (from previous posts) think 300 watts is minimum but I'm not one of them.

I have a GK 700rbII and an Accugroove Tri 112 cab that I use. Normally, I don't have to use more than 30% of its output but the extra bit of headroom comes in handy when guitar guys start cranking it up!

I've gigged with 50-watt tube amps and 150 watt SS amps with no real problems. It's never a bad idea to have clean headroom, though. It's also important to have enough speaker for the job. Obeying the laws of physics, more/bigger speakers just plain move more air!

I played a lot of gigs last year with a Crate PowerBlock into a 1x15 cab...

Tim

I've noticed that lotsa watts seems to be the approach these days, and headroom is great. I have one of these Carvin three channel accoustic guitar amps with a 12" speaker. It is hard to tell how load it really is playing at home. I wonder if an extension speaker and that amp would get me through lower volume situations okay.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitaramps/acousticseries.php

It might....and I've done it......but I've never been very happy using any guitar amp for bass. But in a pinch......

Listen to Tim; Go get one of those new lightweight little amps (most are around 500 watts nowadays) and an efficient (103 dB or greater sensitivity) 2X10. Get back when you wanna start playing arenas.

Listen to Tim; Go get one of those new lightweight little amps (most are around 500 watts nowadays) and an efficient (103 dB or greater sensitivity) 2X10. Get back when you wanna start playing arenas.

Yes, Sir! I'll start looking on CraigsList. 500 watts and 2X10 it is. And thanks, all. I've been seeing amps of that tonnage, but it always seemed like so much.

Ampeg RocketBass 100, played theatres, ball parks, clubs, you name it; always sounds great.


Thats what I have... Ampeg B100R, I bought it used for $300
100 watts 1x15, not too big, not too heavy...

Yes, Sir! I'll start looking on CraigsList. 500 watts and 2X10 it is. And thanks, all. I've been seeing amps of that tonnage, but it always seemed like so much.

Output power is a funny thing, it takes something like ten times as much power to be twice as loud, so a 500 watt amp is about twice as loud as a fifty watter. And bass takes more power to project...

Tim

Thats what I have... Ampeg B100R, I bought it used for $300
100 watts 1x15, not too big, not too heavy...

Real bass players use 15s! :razz:
Seriously, I can't use 10s, they're a little too "quick" for me, and they tend to sound flatulent(to me), not to mention I've blown two of 'em.

Ampeg RocketBass 100, played theatres, ball parks, clubs, you name it; always sounds great.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v383/iamthebassman/MAC_Eggmen_Paramount_92-1.jpg

Will this amp cut through in a tough room competing with a rather loud guitarist and loud drums?

Real bass players use 15s! :razz:
Seriously, I can't use 10s, they're a little too "quick" for me, and they tend to sound flatulent(to me), not to mention I've blown two of 'em.

If you're blowing speakers I think that tells us a lot and I don't think Leon is going to be playing the kind of stuff that would allow him to blow speakers. They will hit you over the head and drag you out of the VFW if you try to play that loud. And you will never again be asked back to the Moose Lodge so you can then sell your amp on CL because no one will want you to play with them if they keep losing work because of you.

I wondered about 15" vs. 10". Back when I actually played bass, it seems like 15"s were all there were. (The cones were leather and the magnets were just hunks of magnetic iron ore; the cabinets were held together with wooden pegs.) Now bass cabs have tweeters. What's up with all that?

I notice Carvin has a 500 watt combo with 2-10"s that only weighs 48 lbs.; that wouldn't be too bad. I didn't want to invest in new, however; I also want to find some crappy little Country bands that need farily adaquate fiddle.

Real bass players use 15s! :razz:
Seriously, I can't use 10s, they're a little too "quick" for me, and they tend to sound flatulent(to me), not to mention I've blown two of 'em.

FWIW, I blew a 15" speaker last week! Playing an outdoor gig, thought it needed to be "just a little bit louder"...

:oops:

Tim

If you're blowing speakers I think that tells us a lot and I don't think Leon is going to be playing the kind of stuff that would allow him to blow speakers. They will hit you over the head and drag you out of the VFW if you try to play that loud. And you will never again be asked back to the Moose Lodge so you can then sell your amp on CL because no one will want you to play with them if they keep losing work because of you.

Haha, your reply tells me you dont know my gig(which I've had since 1992), and that you make assumptions about people and situations you obviously know nothing about. My point(which was lost) was for me 10s dont cut it. The end. Enjoy! ;)

I wondered about 15" vs. 10". Back when I actually played bass, it seems like 15"s were all there were. (The cones were leather and the magnets were just hunks of magnetic iron ore; the cabinets were held together with wooden pegs.) Now bass cabs have tweeters. What's up with all that?


I always thought the tweeters came about the same time slapping and popping. The cabinets usually have an attenuator where you can dial out the tweeter.

Lately 12" speakers are something to consider as well. Avatar makes an inexpensive 1X12 cabinet. I use a Schroder 1210 which has a 12" and 10" speaker in a small relatively light weight cabinet. Find a decent small head and you'll have an easy to transport bass rig.

I recently bought a larger cabinet (Avatar 2x12 Neo), in hopes that it would give me the extra volume for outdoor/live work. My usual indoor rig is a Clarus AI amp into an Ampeg Portabass 1x12. I think the AI puts out about 200 watts at 4 ohms.

Well, the AI still couldn't push enough without sacraficing headroom, even with the larger cabinet. I'm looking at one of those little 500-watt Eden heads (WXT500) now.

Our bass player recently bought a Mark (not sure if that's the exact name) combo. The thing weighs around 25 lbs and seems adequate for most small clubs. We have a loud drummer and the amp seems to cut through.

Haha, your reply tells me you dont know my gig(which I've had since 1992), and that you make assumptions about people and situations you obviously know nothing about. My point(which was lost) was for me 10s dont cut it. The end. Enjoy! ;)


My point was if you're playing loud enough to blow speakers, good for you. That won't fly places I play and where it sounds like Leon will be playing. You would not be welcome. You use whatever makes you happy. I don't see what I wrote that would make you think otherwise.


Isn't making assumptions about people and situations we know nothing about what these forums are for? But I've seen your pictures and your myspace and I'll stand by thinking that the VFWs I've played aren't going to have a pink floyd type band play there. I could be wrong. I was once before. I mistook a diminished for an augmented. But I was 8.


Leon, the Markbass stuff really is light. And they make head that weigh about 5 pounds for 500 watts. And like posted about the combos are in the 25 pound range. They cost a bunch though. One thing you might like is something I was looking at, called the MiniMark. It has 2-6s and I think it runs 150 watts into them. I haven't played one but it's real light. And if you hook up a 115 or 210....or 215 or 410 for that matter.....I think it does 250 or 300 watts at 4 ohms.

Has anyone ever tried using a guitar tube amp for bass and had problems?

In general they don.t have the power to stay clean long.

I'm one that thinks that 300 watts is minimal. It isn't that I'm going to play ar ear splitting volume though. It's more that I dislike running my gear at it's limits. That is when gear breaks. The incremental cost of having more headroom in your rig is often not very much. Add the cost of replacement drivers and other repair parts up and going for something that excedes the capcity you think you'll need might be cheaper in the long run. Then there is the tonal improvement. In my experience, the tonal difference between rig's that are running at their limits and those running well below them is quite dramatic.

Ask Tim his thoughts about moving up from maxed out to having some headroom...

Ask Tim his thoughts about moving up from maxed out to having some headroom...

Don't bother asking, I'll tell you:

Works for me!

Now I'm looking at upgrading my speaker situation...

Tim

A lot of guys are trying the 2 X 112 cabinets instead of a large 212 or 412.

The split also allows for easy transportation... and you can use 1 cab or 2 depending on the venue or home practice etc...

check the talkbass forum for a thread called "your smallest rig you gig with" it's really invaluable insight on what bass players using small rigs are happy with unhappy with etc...

The 2 x 112's are very versatile with a good head and a lot of companies are making the small light weight cabs... TB'ers drool over the Bergantinos for being light but also being able to handle deeper bass than some of the other light weight systems.

Personally my next bass rig is going to be a Mesa / Boogie walk-about head with two Mesa Powerhouse 112 cabs.

A lot of guys are trying the 2 X 112 cabinets instead of a large 212 or 412.

The split also allows for easy transportation... and you can use 1 cab or 2 depending on the venue or home practice etc...

check the talkbass forum for a thread called "your smallest rig you gig with" it's really invaluable insight on what bass players using small rigs are happy with unhappy with etc...



I couldn't find a thread with that particular title although I found some with similar titles that I'll bet is the one you meant; very interesting reading.

There are two 2X10's on Craigslist, a Hartke for $250 and an SRW for $200. I'm going to be too tied up these next few days to respond to these, but it gives me confidence I can find a cab. Not many amps these last few days.

I also had a "duh" thought. The bass player in the band that has been my main band until recently - I could ask him what he has. I know it is 300 watts, and I think a 12", and see if he is underpowered in anything he does. I would be looking for gigs comparable to those he does.

Thanks all - I have pretty good idea of what I should look for.

Don't bother asking, I'll tell you:

Works for me!

Now I'm looking at upgrading my speaker situation...

Tim

kappalite 3015, in a roughly 2.2 cu ft enclosure ... super easy build and really close to flt down to about 60, rolls off very smoothy and that is key. When you bring up the low end EQ to compensate, it comes up smoothly. A lot of small boxes get 'lumpy' in their response when rolling off. Big humps between 50 and 60. When you bring up the low end, those freq's get correspondingly louder too. Which kinda messes with your tone. This is why those little Bag End cab's have been so popular...

It's the box on the top ... weight in 12mm baltic birch (about $40 a 5x5 sheet) is approx 40 lbs finished. Mine is near complete. I'm about to go to a black finish. I went with a sort of Fenderish grille cloth for a quasi traditional look.

http://w3.gorge.net/mfbrown/rig/loud1.jpg

According to WinISD power handling 350 watts at about 55 hz is the low point. Except for that band - it's 450... It's a real loud little thing... Very much in the Bag End camp tonally but with a further extension down the frequency scale and of course it's about 20 lbs lighter...

A lot of guys are trying the 2 X 112 cabinets instead of a large 212 or 412.
The split also allows for easy transportation... and you can use 1 cab or 2 depending on the venue or home practice etc...


I don't have any gigs (right now) where I could get by with one 12", but if and/or when I do, that's the way to go.

BTW, I think this is an excellent opportunity to post a pic!
My "club rig":
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g41/Bluesbob/clubrig.jpg
I replaced the speakers with Madison "Knlght" 8-ohm 300-watters. Lotsa' lows, lotsa headroom. Guitar in a gig-bag, amp in a shoulder bag (w/fold-up stand), cab on a 2-wheel fold-up hand cart makes for an easy one-trip load-in/out.

Real bass players use 15s! :razz:
Seriously, I can't use 10s, they're a little too "quick" for me, and they tend to sound flatulent(to me), not to mention I've blown two of 'em.

FWIW, I blew a 15" speaker last week! Playing an outdoor gig, thought it needed to be "just a little bit louder"...

:oops:

Tim

Which is why I love the built-in compressor in my Hartke 3500 head!

But if I were to suggest an bass amp to gig with, I'd suggest something that's loud enough as a personal monitor, portable, has a compressor, AND a D.I. out...I'm thinking Line 6's LowDown looks like a good deal.