I know nothing about amps

[Dick Tree]

I've been playing bass for almost 9 years (since I was 12). I've only played two gigs in my life, so I never saw the need for buying an amp/cab because they're so expensive. Most of my spending money goes towards bass effects.

Right now I've got a Schecter Stiletto Custom-5 bass and an SWR LA-15 combo amp. I like this amp for my current living situation and rehearsing situation (I play and rehearse in an apartment... yes, our neighbors hate us), but I'd like to get a nice amp/cab for myself in the next year or so.

How do I know what to get? I live in a place where there are few music stores, so I don't get a chance to try out the amps I would like to.

I play in a (prog) rock band, but the music I prefer to play is solo bass (drone/noise) or stoner metal/rock. What do you guys think? I'm not gonna mention my budget, just because I'm not really sure what it is. I can save for as long as I'd like to.

ps
I checked the FAQ sticky and didn't find anything helpful for me... apologies if I missed something in that thread.

[Dick Tree]

I do enjoy playing other music other than drone/noise and stoner stuff. I'd like an amp that allows me to play that kind of music, but also allows me to play other types of rock music, or even jazz.

[JimmyM]

Any amp can do any kind of music. Anyway, you pick them out the same way we all did...go play as many as you can (if there's not a store in your area, drive to one), check out what people in your preferred genre(s) are playing, etc. If loud is your objective, though, speakers will get you louder than watts will. You need watts too, but it's not as important as speaker air movement.

[Lo-E]

Jimmy's right. You're going to have to drive out to where the amps are and play through 'em.

There's another way we all learned, but it won't appeal to any 'immediate satisfaction' urges. I think it's safe to say that a lot of us on TB have worked our way through a lot of the wrong gear and, over the years, narrowed it down to what we know we like. I've bought a lot of used gear and tried it for a while and moved on. I'm sure most people here have. It's slow and expensive to do things that way, but after a bunch of years you sure do know what you like and what you don't!

Best of luck!

[JxBass]

Originally Posted by Lo-E

I think it's safe to say that a lot of us on TB have worked our way through a lot of the wrong gear and, over the years, narrowed it down to what we know we like.

I think many of us have also owned gear that we liked a lot and still moved on to something else. It could be to experience something different, just plain old GAS, or some other combination of reasons.

I've changed my playing styles over the years and it seems logical that my equipment choices could change as well. Heck, a lot of top notch pros with great gear and great tone change equipment somewhat regularly ... of course, they often don't have to use their own money

[RickenBoogie]

For a gig worthy bass rig, the basic set up is an amp rated at 300-500 watts, paired with a minimum of a 4x10, or 2x15.