Newbie looking to acquire a bass amp, need some help!

[Sinestra]

I've been rolling with some craptastic 10W Fender amp for several months now and I would like to hear some of my bass playing instead of constant buzzing. Anything hovering around $200 is good, maybe +/- $75. I'm primarily interested in quality and not power.

Thoughts?

[SurferJoe46]

Don't fool yourself - if you don't want power NOW - you will soon enough to regret buying a wimpy amp or combo.

Put a few bux into getting around 400-600 Watts and in a combo that would give you more power than The Beatles had at Shea Stadium - and you know how THEY turned out - right?

Serious here - DO look for a good combo at over 400 Watts and you'll be happy.

Besides, you can always turn it down - but even a 50 Watt'r at 100% volume is nasty - in a ba-a-d way.

Personally I run the GC house band called: Acoustic. It's hated by pros - but the amps themselves are not to be sneered at as they are powerful and tone-full too.

I don't normally tell anyone to buy used - but you might make an exception to my rule by getting one for a very low price.

Test them new at GC or MF - whatever's closest to you and see if they work for you or not. And then hit CL (I hate PayPal - so I cannot in all seriousness suggest using it for anything) and find some nice prices in your area where you can get a hands-on test of the unit.

DO NOT buy one without playing it for a while first. Danger!!!

Depending if you're gonna be the next Nathan East or not - it makes a big difference in what you will need and eventually buy.

.

[CultofJay]

On the other side of the post above, try a Roland CUBE modeling amp. I was totally turned off by them until my friend from sweetwater (actual friend, not just my sales guy haha) convinced me to come in a try them. They sound fantastic! I was really surprised at how well the effects sounded. He just told me saturday that he played the Cube 30 with a drummer (I've played with this guy and he's loud) and it did pretty well volume wise. The Cube 100 will have enough power to jam with people and you'll save money on efx too.

[zachoff]

$200+- is a hard range. You'll find adequte gear buy you'll also probably find something you'll want to replace not too long after you get it. Up your range to $500 or so and you have some good options. If you can't do that then I dunno... Maybe Behringer stuff? Hate to say it, but that's all you'll get that's giggable for that money.