| pre/power recommendations
Sign in to disble this ad
Hey guys, took a long hiatus from playing bass, been about 5 years since I picked it up at all, recently I've started jamming with some guys from work as a 4 piece. Long story short I'm playing through the first and only bass amp I've ever had, an Ampeg BA112 and it's just not cutting it. I'm maxed out on volume and really have to hit the strings to even be heard, which as you could guess detracts a bit from technical abilities as I'm primarily focused on hitting it hard so it's loud (plus I get a lot of clipping). I leave my bass and amp at our guitarists house which is where we play (about an hour drive so I've been taking the bike out there all summer to save on gas). I'm looking into a new amp (and a bass but that's a different thread) that will be able to handle playing with a group a bit better. We're working on covers and plan on starting to play out next year if we can get a decent set list together. I have been leaning towards a pre/power setup so I can adjust parts as we grow as a group. Then I can bring the old practice amp home to practice and really get things back together, I've forgotten everything I once knew about arpeggios, scales and chords during the hiatus so I could definitely use some practice.
I am wide open on recommendations for pre/power, obviously starting out in smaller venues I won't need huge power but expandability is nice. I have a pretty good handle on ohms and such and I know about having to match the pre's output to the powers input voltage to get the most out of the setup but just don't know what's what in the bass world anymore. I'm planning on a rack setup so I would like a rack mount pre. Money doesn't come easily around here so I don't want to go crazy, would like to stay in the 1,000-1,200 range (including cab) for starters. My plan is to start with a 4x10 cab and add a 1x15 or possibly a 2x12 in the future if I feel like I need it. Again the power amp isn't as much of a priority as a good pre, I can get a bigger power amp down the road if I need it but I want good tone now.
We have a really diverse style from Eric Claptons version of Knocking on heavens door to the lemonheads version of Mrs. Robinson and anything in between. For what it's worth I'm playing through a Fender P-special but when I get another bass I'm going back to a 5 string. I know it was a long post but I wanted to give as many details as possible to get the best answers possible. Thanks,
E | 
