New to gear (not just another metal thread)

[T3hPwnographer]

Hi guys,

I've been playing bass for about a year and a half now with a Dean EDGE 09 M I bought off a friend and a tiny guitar amp my dad had sitting in the attic. I got a bit carried away playing with heavy overdrive recently and the amp (not surprisingly) no longer makes a single sound

So now I'm looking to buy. Problem is, I have very little experience with gear and no music stores (with a moderately priced and wide selection) close enough to simply hop on over to. Thus, I'd like to be as well-informed as possible before I take a day trip to make a purchase.

I guess I'm looking for a setup that I can mostly practice with at home, but will also be able to bring along to any shows I might play (most of which would probably be small rooms/basements). I mostly play death metal and black metal, so louder is better and distortion or overdrive is fun (though I've been led to believe this is better achieved through fx pedals). My budget is $aslittleaspossible, but I've been told I can get some decent gear for around $300-350. Any suggestions as far as brand, power, combo vs head/cabinet, tube vs solid state, and anything else would be greatly appreciated.

Or, if anyone wanted to be REALLY nice, they could pick something out for me from this website: http://musicgoroundgreenfield.com/

[baron665]

Look on craigslist in your area and look for a Peavey combo with a 15" speaker. The TNT 150 is nice, but any TNT/TKO will do.

[Sartori]

Lol, you probably blew the speaker into bits.

Try everything you possibly can.

Then look for it used on craigslist.

[Crystalman85]

If it's a combo amp you want, the hartke a100 would be a good choice. I've owned one and it sounds awesome. not only it's loud enough for a small gig, it also has plenty of volume for a medium-sized venue. if it's a bass head you want, the harke lh500 or a gallien-krueger 700rb-II bass head(if you can save a little more cash for this bass head) would make great choices for metal. add a bass cab like a gallien-krueger neo 4x10 or a hartke hydrive 4x10 and you have yourself a killer rig for metal.

As for distortions and overdrives, you might wanna discuss that at the effects section. multi-effects processors are usually a good way to get to know effects. if you're wondering about multi-effects processor that has decent sound quality, I have sound samples of mulit-effects processors that I've previously owned on my soundclick website. here's the link.

www.soundclick.com/crystalman85

Feel free to check them out. if it's stomp boxes you want, don't hesitate to ask. I know a few stomp boxes that sounds awesome on bass. hope this help you out.