'Beginner' amp - combo?

[Grey Loki]

Hey folks,

I've been playing a Yamaha RBX-375 (five string active) for about two years now, through one of those little Vox sansamp thingies and some headphones, or direct through my (not designed for lowend) studio setup.

I've decided to splash out a bit and buy myself a proper amplifier - one that would make noise and everything! I've been looking around, and it seems that Ampeg amplifiers are generally well-liked, so I started looking around and saw the BA 112 available from GAK.co.uk (i'm in England, see) for a reasonable price - about the top-end of my budget, too; http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/10517

I've been to quite a few gigs in my time (thanks to being a live sound engineer), and i've usually been quite impressed with the sound that i've heard from Ashdown amplifiers as well - I just happened to be surfing Thomann's website and spotted the T15-250S for an alright price as well - http://www.thomann.de/gb/ashdown_t15_250s.htm .

I was wondering what you guys thought of...well, the whole thing really - getting a combo rather than a separate amp/cab setup, looking at Ampeg and Ashdown amps first, before moving on to Line6 or Roland or whoever.

My requirements in an amp are that it has to sound nice (or at least be capable of sounding nice when the person playing the bass is having a good day...hehe), and that it would realistically cost less than £250 to get it to my door. I play mostly pop, rock and funk (with a fair bit of slap), but I also enjoy weird electronic music, so if there's an amp that's really flexible in its tone that also does the above, that would be even more awesome.

I don't really need something that goes super loud (i'm either practicing or playing in the studio - if I ever start gigging, i'd hook myself up to the PA for volume (so a balanced XLR out on the back would be a plus, but is not at all a deciding factor), or is massively robust (again, not really planning on gigging it), but it would be nice if this mythical 'ideal amp' could handle a low B without starting to fart and flap!

Do you guys have any thoughts on my meagre selections so far, or indeed the act of buying a combo amp over any other particular setup?

Thanks,




~Loki

[STARKEY97]

used roland d bass amps seem to be pretty fair market value- from about $250 -$500. they have 400 watts & weigh about 50 pounds for either the 2-10 or the 1-15 model. Peavey has always had a decent beginner line that is competitively affordable- good hunting

[whatiswhat]

I purchased my first bass amp last year. It's a Line 6 and I do not recommend it.

[mr bonez]

I have been using a Fender rumble 100w combo for about 5 years and it has been extremely reliable. It is very loud, enough to keep up with two guitar players w/ halfstacks and a hard playing drummer (you know the kind) in a metal band. And i played a lot of shows with this amp, NEVER had a problem. Very affordable too. The tone is versatile, the mid scoop function is great and there are audio inlets to plug in a cd/mp3 player. The only other amp i can give a fair review on is my GK backline 600 and GK goldine cab, cost around $800 together. The gold cones are very bright and delicious and this thing is loud. very flexible sound.

[Epitaph04]

I own a line 6 studio 110. I like it...it handles the low b pretty well...and can even punch out some drop A : D

I will say though that the amp models tend to mess with the EQ a bit, but i just keep it on the "rock" setting anyway.