Most Watts and Volume on a Budget

sikadelic · #1 06-20-2011, 09:38 AM

I am a new member here and a relative beginner at playing my bass. I just purchased an Ibanez SR300 and exhausted my budget on the bass itself without saving anything for an amp. I know, stupid right?

Anyways, I am mainly playing by myself for now but want to get an amp that will suit not only that, but jamming with friends when I get to that point. I am thinking I want at least 100W but am not determined to have that much power. My main goal is to keep up with a drum kit and from what I have searched on here, I will need at least 100W to do that.

What is my best option for most volume and power for the best price? Thanks in advance.

fenderhutz · #2 06-20-2011, 09:41 AM

Peavey head used (Mark VIII, Mark III, etc).

Used 410, 115, or 215 cab (Crate, Peavey, GK, Acoustic, etc.)

If you find the right deals you could have a loud gigging setup for 250 or under for everything.

I just got a 215 Crate cab just to have for louder gigs for 50 bucks. It can be done for less.

Check Guitar Center used site. They had a Peavey Mark VIII for 119 bucks last week, and Craigslist for cabs.

sikadelic · #3 06-20-2011, 09:49 AM

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have exhausted pretty much everything in the area on craigslist with no success. I just found this on GC and it seems pretty good for the price:
Gallien-Krueger 210BLX-II Bass Cabinet and more Bass Amplifiers at GuitarCenter.com.

I only have experience with combo amps and have never matched a cab and a head together so I may be going over my own head.

Do you HAVE to use a head with a cabinet?

stflbn · #4 06-20-2011, 09:58 AM

Cabinets = volume

I'd look for something 300 to 500 watts at least, and purchase cabinets depending on how loud things really are.

300 watts and a 410 or 810 cabinet is going to be much louder than 1000 watts and a 1x12 or 2x10 cabinet.

Zooberwerx · #5 06-20-2011, 09:58 AM

What's your budget? Personally, I think you're aiming a little low with 100 watts. I'd aim for a 250-350 watt head and compatible enclosure. As mentioned, Peavey and Hartke are great cost-conscious choices. Found a couple of Ampeg rigs on the Evansville CL but not sure of the specs. Buy used and locally if possible.

Riis

sikadelic · #6 06-20-2011, 10:16 AM

Well I need to stay under $200.

I sent several emails about the Ampegs as they were my first choice. One guy already sold his and the other guy hasn't replied to any of my emails.

I saw a couple of cabs that are at the top of my price range (like the GK cab that i posted above) but I will be looking at spending more for a head. Can I not just plug directly into the cab until I can afford a head?

dincz · #7 06-20-2011, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sikadelic

What is my best option for most volume and power for the best price? Thanks in advance.

In terms of power/$, without a doubt a separate preamp, power amp and cabinet. Good high output power amps are dirt cheap nowadays, leaving more money for a decent cab.

T. Alan Smith · #8 06-20-2011, 10:24 AM

Personally, I recommend a used Peavey TNT.

sikadelic · #9 06-20-2011, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dincz

In terms of power/$, without a doubt a separate preamp, power amp and cabinet. Good high output power amps are dirt cheap nowadays, leaving more money for a decent cab.

As I have no experience with anything except combo amps, could you post a couple of recommendations when you get a minute? Thanks.

Mushroo · #10 06-20-2011, 10:27 AM

Used Peavey is a great choice, my first amp was a Peavey TNT combo, and I'm currently rocking a Peavey 4x10 cabinet with separate preamp and power amp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sikadelic

Can I not just plug directly into the cab until I can afford a head?

No; the head provides the actual amplification necessary to drive the speakers.

johny martin · #11 06-20-2011, 10:28 AM

Go Acoustic, if your gonna only get 100w, buy an 260 bass mini stack $299 Musiansfriend prod #484906 , or go bigger

lokikallas · #12 06-20-2011, 10:31 AM

The head is the amp, the cab is just the speakers. On a budget, crate, carvin, and peavy would be my key word searches.

steve_rolfeca · #13 06-20-2011, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sikadelic

...I only have experience with combo amps and have never matched a cab and a head together so I may be going over my own head.

Do you HAVE to use a head with a cabinet?

You have to use some kind of amplifier. A cabinet is just an empty wooden box with a speaker or two in it. No amp, no sound. If money is tight at the moment, do you have any kind of amp laying around, or that you could borrow? A powered PA mixer, a guitar head, even a decent hi-fi amplifier can be pressed into service in the short term.

There's no magic to matching a cabinet to a head. You only have to watch out for two things- impedance and power handling. If you're only going to have one cab, then you're pretty much guaranteed that won't have any impedance problems, as they're always 4, 8 or 16 ohms, and virtually any solid-state amp will happily drive any of those impedance values. Power handling is pretty simple too, as long as you use some common sense. If the cab you're using is rated for more power than the amp puts out, then you can pretty much turn it up until it starts to sound bad. When it starts to fart out, turn it down immediately, to avoid possible damage. The same thing goes if the amp has more power than the speaker can handle- just keep it turned down to a point where you don't hear it starting to sound ragged, and you'll be fine. I currently use a 900 watt amp paired with a 250 watt cabinet for quieter gigs, with no problems.

A couple of things to watch for, since it sounds like you're inexperienced at this sort of thing:

- Make sure you use a real speaker cable to connect the amp to the cabinet. Guitar cables aren't made to handle that much current, and if the cable fries on you during a loud jam, it could take out the amp and/or the cab.

- If the borrowed amp is stereo, and you're only going to run one cabinet, do some googling to confirm whether it can be safely run with no speakers plugged in. Some amps don't mind having one channel unloaded, others do.

- Make sure you know which jacks are "gozintas", and which jacks are "gozoutas". If you accidentally connect a low-level input to a speaker output (like trying to daisy-chain a combo amp to an external amp via the speaker out jack), you can fry your electronics.

- If you're using an amp that isn't designed for bass or guitar (like a hi-fi amp), you may need a preamp to boost the output of your bass. It doesn't have to be anything fancy- an old overdrive pedal will typically work just fine. If you have to buy something, the ART Tube MP Studio is about the best deal you'll ever find, (thirty bucks at MF including the AC adapter, so no batteries, ever!). It will match levels between just about any source and any amp, and has 1/4" and XLR jacks on both the input and output. It's a good thing to have in your gig bag regardless, as it makes a terrific DI box.

MyMusic · #14 06-20-2011, 10:58 AM

You might need to save a bit more and be patient. I know this isn't in your area but this link is a sample of what can be found if you have the time to wait and look around.
Hartke HA2500 Bass Head and VX1508 bass cabinet

Zooberwerx · #15 06-20-2011, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sikadelic

Well I need to stay under $200.

I sent several emails about the Ampegs as they were my first choice. One guy already sold his and the other guy hasn't replied to any of my emails.

I saw a couple of cabs that are at the top of my price range (like the GK cab that i posted above) but I will be looking at spending more for a head. Can I not just plug directly into the cab until I can afford a head?

Are you in a big hurry to procure something? Any way you can scrap up an extra $200-300? The addt'l funds will open up a whole avenue of possibilities. $200 is not going to buy much of an amp. Yes, there are some limited choices but you'll lose the volume war from the git-go with even a well restrained drummer.

Riis

Longhair · #16 06-20-2011, 11:52 AM

If I could do it all over again, I would get a used bedroom amp and save money to buy biggest, loudest thing possible instead of "upgrading later"

Munjibunga · #17 06-20-2011, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Longhair

If I could do it all over again, I would get a used bedroom amp and save money to buy biggest, loudest thing possible instead of "upgrading later"

Another way of saying, "Buy once, cry once."

sikadelic · #18 06-20-2011, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zooberwerx

Are you in a big hurry to procure something? Any way you can scrap up an extra $200-300? The addt'l funds will open up a whole avenue of possibilities. $200 is not going to buy much of an amp. Yes, there are some limited choices but you'll lose the volume war from the git-go with even a well restrained drummer.

Riis

Well my main reason is that I've had my bass for about a week and have only been able to practice with no amp whatsoever, which is difficult as I can't hear myself. I could go out and buy a small practice amp right now, but if I spent $50-$100 bucks now, that would be X amount of money that I don't have to buy a larger one that I could keep long term.

Mushroo · #19 06-20-2011, 12:39 PM

It's always a good idea to have a small practice amp. You will never regret the purchase.

fenderhutz · #20 06-20-2011, 12:39 PM

Guitar Center:

Guitar Center Englewood
Englewood, Colorado 80112
303-858-0858

Has a Trace Elliot Commando Bass head (100 watts but VERY loud for rating) for 99 bucks and probably 15-20 to ship it. Heck of a deal.

Guitar Center Fort Collins
Fort Collins, Colorado 80525
970-204-0220

Has a USED TRACE ELLIOT GP7SM 250 BASS HEAD that functions 100% that someone put in an ugly 2 rack box with a bad tolex job for 79 bucks. 250 watts that sounds like other 400-500 watt amps. Deals are out there and you better snag one because once it gets posted here the sharks tend to feed.