Decent 100watt bass amp?

[Decoyx7]

I've got a small, 30 watt Fender Rumble bass amp, and I can't hear myself at all during practice, unless I turn all the knobs up to 11. And that's obviously not good. It gets a lot of fuzz when I turn everything up this high. Our guitarist just got a new 100 watt Vox and he's able to get a lot more choice between tonality and stuff. I've seen some larger Fender amps, but they're way too expensive. I just need to be able to get on equal grounds soundwise, especially during bass solos and stuff.
Anything that I can create a good high treble/bass kinda sound and is loud enough to level the playing feild during practice, probably arund $200-$350 or $400 ish dollars.
Also, I know wattage doesn't exactly mean loudness, so pretty much anything around 100 watts is good, just as long as I can be heard well under drums, two guitars and vocals.
Thanks guys!

[Gearhead17]

Look for something better than a 100 watt combo amp. You are up against a lot. A 410 and 300 watts is the way to go. Volume is coming from the speakers - more wattage means better tone and some bearing to do with volume. Check craigslist.org in your area and get the most speakers and largest wattage bass head you can afford. For $400, you can score something good enough.

100 watt Vox? Total overkill is you ask me! Is that a combo? How many speakers?

[will33]

Originally Posted by Gearhead17

Look for something better than a 100 watt combo amp. You are up against a lot. A 410 and 300 watts is the way to go. Volume is coming from the speakers - more wattage means better tone and some bearing to do with volume. Check craigslist.org in your area and get the most speakers and largest wattage bass head you can afford. For $400, you can score something good enough.

100 watt Vox? Total overkill is you ask me! Is that a combo? How many speakers?

+1

I hope your guitarist knows that volume knob goes down as well as up.

Usually, adding more speakers gets you louder than adding more watts does but in the case of 30 watts, you need more of both.....and the vox still needs to turn down. Gearheads suggestion is a good one. If you'd prefer, you could get a 115 combo that has the ability to chain another cab onto it. You could then scale things up and down as needed.

Basically, when your drummer is playing at about a medium level, not holding back too much but not bashing either, you need a rig that can attain that volume without straining/distorting. Less will leave you wanting more....more doesn't do any good. Beyond that point, the whole band should be run through the PA. As a temporary solution, until you get a bigger rig, you could stick a mic in front of your combo and plug it in a PA channel to help up your sound. You could then set your combo for a good sound instead of destroying it by cranking everything to 11. Technically not the best way to go but it's better than what you've got.

Then have the guitar player setup so his rig is blasting at his ears instead of everybody elses, he may instinctively turn down......or not. You only get one pair of ears.....make 'em last the duration. I assume you like music? Sure would suck to not be able to enjoy it when you're old because you fried your ears early on.

[metlman72]

Originally Posted by Gearhead17

Look for something better than a 100 watt combo amp. You are up against a lot. A 410 and 300 watts is the way to go. Volume is coming from the speakers - more wattage means better tone and some bearing to do with volume. Check craigslist.org in your area and get the most speakers and largest wattage bass head you can afford. For $400, you can score something good enough.

100 watt Vox? Total overkill is you ask me! Is that a combo? How many speakers?

I agree for 400 you can score a good used setup. I got my Hartke VX3500 for less than 400. Its got a VX410 cabinet with a HA3500 (350 watt) head in it. It is plenty clean and loud enough to play small to medium gigs. Also you can take the head out down the road if you want to switch to a different cabinet setup. There are many other good 210/410 combos to be had if you buy used.

[cableguy]

You should be able to find a used Peavey, Carvin or GK combo with a 15" speaker for under that amount. They should be able to hold their own unless you play really loud. Then start saving for the amp you really want.

[GM60466]

Carvin or Roland

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Decoyx7

I've got a small, 30 watt Fender...Our guitarist just got a new 100 watt Vox

That should be the other way around. No bass player can survive with a 30 watt Fender, and no guitarist needs a 100 watt Vox.

[Decoyx7]

Originally Posted by Gearhead17

100 watt Vox? Total overkill is you ask me! Is that a combo? How many speakers?

Hah. It's a combo, it's also got two speakers. He doesn't play THAT loud, seeing as we play alot of stuff like Orion, YYZ, and La Villa Stragiato, he realizes that everyone's got to compensate for my own sake.
And our singer is the one who likes to drown everyone out. He got a small little LINE 6 15 watt amp, and he was much louder than our previous 30 watt amps.
He's currently investing in a Marshal cabinet or something....so that's not good news for us ._.

[Decoyx7]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

That should be the other way around. No bass player can survive with a 30 watt Fender, and no guitarist needs a 100 watt Vox.

If you think that's bad, before I had a 30 watt Fender, I was trying to make do with a 15 watt used Fender Rumble.
Lol. It was pretty pathetic.

[MichaelVee]

I've owned, and still own a number of the older Carvin PB-150H heads. They are rock-solid, and can get plenty loud with the right cabinets. Very affordable on the used market. Take a look.

Bill F. would be the first to tell you it's more about the number of cabinets and their efficiency than it is about the amp wattage. Well, up to a point, and then the band really needs to turn it down.

[Mojo-Man]

If your looking for a combo.
Find a used Ampeg B100R.
One of the best 100 watt amps ever made.

[skychief]

Originally Posted by will33

I hope your guitarist knows that volume knob goes down as well as up.

I'll take that bet!