Good, cheap-ish, 100-200w combos

[BassPenguin22]

Yo,
I need an amp for practising and small gigs. I have been told that about 120 watts is enough to practise with a live drummer, but i have no idea if that is correct...
i have about $300 aus dollars and my parents said they would help me out (i have no idea about exact dollars but last time they gave me $200 towards an epiphone Dot).

BassPenguin

P.S i want to steer way clear of behringer

[Marton]

Try to find an older Yorkville BM200 or XM200. You can get them in the $300 range (well, that's what I sold mine 4 years ago). They sound ok for the price, are loud enough to play with a drummer, and are indestructible (mine took a 6 feet drop and worked like a new one)

I had the older version with the blue carpet, I don't have much experience with the newer model.

[Plstrns]

IMHO, I've always had a self imposed 300W minimum. BUT, todays speakers can make up serious ground, AND I haven't played a combo in well over 20 years... So, I have no idea why I'm trying to help

I dunno what's going on with the new GK combo's, but they seem to be very popular, check them out.

[JimmyM]

100w can and should be enough to practice with a live drummer. i've done many a loud gig with 100w or less. but it's entirely situation dependent. if you have a drummer who hits extremely hard and a guitarist who blasts a lot of low end, you can struggle. but in your situation, a 100w combo with a 115 or 210 should be enough, although if you can swing 200w you'd be a little better off.

[hrodbert696]

I know you're in Australia, and I'm not sure how the prices in the stores run there. I took a peek at a couple of Australia craiglists and it doesn't seem to have caught on down under the way it has here in the US, there aren't that many listings. Still, check whatever is around you for classified ads, online or in newspapers, including here at TB, for used amps, they're your best bang for the buck.

I got a used 220 watt ampeg combo here in the US for about $350, so a 100-150 watt amp shouldn't be too hard to swing. I don't think there's all that much difference at that level. The Fender Bassman, Peavey MAX115, Acoustic B100, Ampeg BA115, SWR LA15, a few others all come to mind, and any one of them should suit your situation fine.

I think you need to check either what's available (or can be ordered) in your local stores or what shipping costs will be. Musician's Friend ships free in the US but I tried calculating shipping costs to Australia on their site and it doubled the cost of the amp. There are probably some Australian distributors you could use to avoid that, or maybe place an order at a local store. Try ebay too.

Let us know how it goes!