Good small amp, good small price?

rainbownorth · #1 07-17-2011, 06:18 PM

Hey guys,

I've been practising with no amp for a few months now and I cant do it no more.

I'm looking for a small amp, nice tone, nice price. Anything from 10W-100W would be ideal, realistically our place is small so smaller would be better. Id like a nice tone that I wouldnt be embarassed to jam with if a small jam ever happened at my place. Tube or solid state I dont really care but I dont wanna have to sell a kidney considering it will be mostly a practice amp.

So any recommendations? I had a fender bassman which I sold. It was ok, I'd go for smaller and better tone if I had the choice.

Fairly vague question I know, any help would be nice. Just generally which brands are nice in small amps, and how much id be looking at spending.

allexcosta · #2 07-17-2011, 06:42 PM

Roland CB100

tekdiver500ft · #3 07-17-2011, 06:45 PM

I found good prices and good tone with Fender Rumble 30 for $180, Fender Rumble 75 Combo for $250, and Line 6 LowDown LD150 for $425.

No, I don't work for Elderly, but they are my favorite toy store. I've played all of these, and they sound really good at their respective price points. I don't know how much you're willing to spend, so I kept it down.

jtc_hunter · #4 07-17-2011, 06:50 PM

pm sent

rainbownorth · #5 07-17-2011, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tekdiver500ft

I don't know how much you're willing to spend, so I kept it down.

Thanks for the input guys. It's all academic considering I'm speaking in NZD and you guys are probably speaking more in USD. I'm thinking like $250 tops and I'd wanna keep it lower than that if possible. I've been scouring our local eBay auction style site and found a peavey microbass for 80. Any thoughts?

tekdiver500ft · #6 07-17-2011, 07:02 PM

Peavey have their own sound, so go listen to one first, using your bass. The build quality is fine, but I can't stand the sound of a Peavey. As I said, there's nothing wrong with Peavey, and I'm not hating them, I just don't like the sound. Only you know what sounds good to you...

rainbownorth · #7 07-18-2011, 03:53 PM

I'll see what I can do. Never heard a peavey. I just thought low price low risk.

rainbownorth · #8 07-19-2011, 06:08 PM

I'm also looking at a Marshall mb60 for somewhere under 300 NZD. Anyone have any experience with this one? Worth a look or not?

Jazzdogg · #9 07-19-2011, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tekdiver500ft

Peavey have their own sound, so go listen to one first, using your bass. The build quality is fine, but I can't stand the sound of a Peavey. As I said, there's nothing wrong with Peavey, and I'm not hating them, I just don't like the sound. Only you know what sounds good to you...

+1 Listening before buying is always advisable - when possible.

? What is is, specifically, that you dislike about the sound of Peavey cabs?

**JxBass** · #10 07-19-2011, 06:36 PM

I personally think the Peavey Max series is a good solution - small size, well built, very affordable, pretty decent tone. Great for home practice and small jam, not gig worthy IMO.

rainbownorth · #11 07-19-2011, 08:08 PM

Thanks for the input guys. Personally I've never really heard a peavey amp, cab or combo. At present it's got top marks for price and size, but unfortunately I can't listen before buying. Maybe I oughta see some reviews online, or YouTube it, something like that.

Jazzdogg · #12 07-19-2011, 08:12 PM

Rainbownorth, if you can tell us which brands are available for sale in New Zealand, we may be able to help you narrow your choices.

rainbownorth · #13 07-19-2011, 08:21 PM

Well mostly what's available to you is available to me. My primary constriction is money which is very tight. This is the reason I'm looking at auction sites. Otherwise though, first hand amps are mostly fenders, marshalls, gk, line 6 ashdown, Mesa boogie...most of the well known brands are available here.

JimmyM · #14 07-19-2011, 10:35 PM

Get a used 100w combo with a 115. Should handle the stuff you'll be doing without embarrassment.

rainbownorth · #15 07-19-2011, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Get a used 100w combo with a 115. Should handle the stuff you'll be doing without embarrassment.

Well it kinda doesn't make sense to. Waste of money when I got a 150w anyway. It's just a pain in the ass to drag out every night for practice. Plus I don't have the money for that size amp.

GregC · #16 07-19-2011, 11:32 PM

If I were you, I would try and edit the thread title so it asks TBers from NZ and Australia for help. (If that's not possible, start a new thread.) With a tight budget, you need the advice of folks who know the prices down there.

JimmyM · #17 07-19-2011, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainbownorth

Well it kinda doesn't make sense to. Waste of money when I got a 150w anyway. It's just a pain in the ass to drag out every night for practice. Plus I don't have the money for that size amp.

Then why'd you ask about a 10-100w amp that you wouldn't be embarrassed to jam with? For me, 100w and a 115 would be about the minimum for not being embarrassed to jam with, at least for solid state. Anything smaller and it's probably not going to make you look as good.

::::BASSIST:::: · #18 07-19-2011, 11:48 PM

I'll throw in a few suggestions...

Get a peavey in your budget and when you have a bit more cash add a tone shaping pedal such as the VT bass (even the behringer version sounds great and is cheap).

If you have an amp but need a cab... consider building your own. Plywood and paint is cheap. The biggest cost is the driver and you can often buy those used for cheap... like $50. If you can spend the time to learn a bit about cab building you could have a decent sounding cab for not much money.

You can use a small mixer to plug your bass into your home stereo.

You can even just plug into your computer and get some decent computer speakers for decent sound. Certainly should be loud enough for a small home setting.

My .02 --- crazy as they may be!

Aquila0507 · #19 07-19-2011, 11:56 PM

The acoustic amps sound great and I've got a B20 which is 20W and has a 12" driver and $150 new. It gets sorta loud and I've played some Cobra Group stuff with it and was plenty loud. I've even mic'd it at one of the shows in a medium venue. It really sounds like a bass when played and also sounds great for guitar. They also make a B10 with a 10" driver for $100.

But I have to agree with Jimmy and say if you want to jam with a drummer you at least need a 15" driver with 100W. Acoustic makes a B100 with a 15 for $250 new.

I'd personally look no further then the acoustic line, and I really haven't. They sound great to me.

::::BASSIST:::: · #20 07-20-2011, 12:00 AM

+1

If you are playing a drummer you need a 115 or a very well designed 112 like a fEARful or Thunderchild.