same price which would you choose? acoustic b20/b100

[neebs]

I own two amps. I keep one at home, and another I leave at church. For home I have a behringer bt108. At church I have an acoustic b100.

Now the behringer... it has below average tone for my novice ears, and can only be turned up to 1.5-2 on the volume before distortion/rattling. Now I am pretty sure it should be able to be turned higher without sounding like utter crap... otherwise it should just have a volume On/Off switch... it's really that bad. BUT I have a small 100 sqft room... so it can be heard within the small dimensions... yet greatly suffers ... say in the living room.


The acoustic is 'heard' throughout the 2500 sqft building we reside. The tone sounds about average, with my squier jaguar. I've used this woman's soundgear (not sure what model, but its price is about double my bass) through my acoustic... and the tone is very nice.

Okay.. so right now a acoustic b100 is $150 as is a b20. Now I want a better sounding amp for home use.. I feel the b100 is a bit overkill... but costs the exact same price as a b20... which seems more practically suited for my home situation.

Short story.. if you own a b100 already, and enjoy it very much. Would you buy another one or downgrade to a b20? I mean.. for 150... a b100 seems like a steal.

[Rockingbird]

I believe in getting the most out of your money, so I'd get the B100, and just not keep it turned up. Besides, it's always good to have a backup. What if the one at church blows out?

[neebs]

Thats how I was feeling too. Well if an acoustic amp blows, under the warranty aren't I able to just simply take it back to guitarcenter and they replace it for free?

edit:
I was also considering getting another cabinet further down the road and run it from my current b100, then get a more powerful amp head following sometime after.

If at church I completely replaced the b100, how would I run 2x b100 at home. They have passive and active inputs. external speaker, effects in and out.

[Rockingbird]

Maybe, but that may take time. They may not have the same amp in stock when you go in (unlikely with Acoustic, but still a possibility). I would just err on the side of caution.

[fenderslaper]

B100 without a doubt. Plus, if some day you need to be much louder, you can use them both!

[neebs]

How would I use them both? I am almost positive I can effects out from one, into input (which would I use passive/active?) the other. They would both need to be plugged into the wall right?

Is there other ways of doing this, which method (if there are even multiple ways) would have the least amount of quality reduction.

edit: or effects send from one, and into effects return into the other.

[Rockingbird]

Or just use a y cable and send your bass into both amps at a time. Could possibly get some really cool sounds by differing the tones on each amp.

[tabdog]

Originally Posted by neebs

How would I use them both? I am almost positive I can effects out from one, into input (which would I use passive/active?) the other. They would both need to be plugged into the wall right?

Is there other ways of doing this, which method (if there are even multiple ways) would have the least amount of quality reduction.

You can use a tuner that has 2 outputs.
You can use a stomp box like Hartke Bass
Attack that has two outputs, or a "Y" cable.

If you use two amps in the same room,
use one for bass only. Use the other for
mid and high. If you EQ them the same,
they will cancel each other out to some
extent.

There are a couple of alternatives. Use a
pre amp that has a bi-amp feature. That is
the best for base. The pre-amp may also
have stereo which may work to increase
volume.

I think you should put one in one room and
the other in another. That way you won't
have to carry it around as much.

I have a B20 in my bedroom that I got at GC
for $99.99. It has a mp3 input and a head
phone jack which the B100 doesn't. It is too
small for my living room with vaulted ceiling
and open to the kitchen.

So,

I have a B100 that just arrived today for my
living room. It was $149.99 at GC.



Tabdog

[neebs]

I would never put them both in the same 100sqft room. So yes, I must agree.. different rooms. It's also a possibility to leave both at church, considering they're upgrading their sound system. Would this 'canceling out' you speak of also take place in this 2500sqft room, or only in a small room? Do you mean have one amp set for lows and lowmids and the other for highmids and highs, then have both eq's on the amps mirroring one another? I'm sure I'll have greater revelation once I get them side by side.

edit:
So dual input, into both amps is likely the better way? What is this called?

The first method I stated, effects send to input/effects return of other.. this is slaving right?

Ideally which is more favorable.

[tabdog]

The canceling out I am speaking of is
a acoustic reaction. It is the reason for
the creation of "stereo".

Stereo has two channels. One is slightly
off-set in time from the other. Two speakers
in "stereo" produce much more volume than
the same two speakers playing in mono.

That is not to say that you can not get a
bigger, fuller sound using two speakers in
mono. A way to increase volume, use one for
the highs and high mids. You can get good
volume from that one. The one that does
the bass will be less volume. You can
blend the two. This does not work as
well if the amps are very far apart in
larger rooms.

In a big area, it may help to have some
distance between the two amps and run
in mono or stereo. Stereo would be preferable,
but not a big difference. As you know,
you will need to experiment with placement
and EQ.

I don't know enough to answer all of your
question. These are just some things I have
learned setting up equipment in the past.

I hope I was helpful,

Tabdog

[tiger_rich]

I have a b200 that sounds great at any volume!

[Crater]

Originally Posted by neebs

Now the behringer... it has below average tone for my novice ears, and can only be turned up to 1.5-2 on the volume before distortion/rattling. Now I am pretty sure it should be able to be turned higher without sounding like utter crap...

I own a B20 and I think it's a great little practice amp. But it also starts to fart out and struggle if the volume is turned past 3 or so. Now I'm told my bass (G&L SB-2) has high-output pickups, so that's part of the reason. I think the other reason is that the designers want the perceived loudness to be high when people try it out in the store... "Gee, it's on 2 and it's already pretty loud." I don't worry about that, I accept that as a limitation of a small, low powered practice amp. I got mined used too, so it was cheeeeep. I'm very happy with the tone the B20 delivers at practice volumes. I really think the 12" speaker helps here. It is loud enough to rattle my windows.

The B20 has a headphone jack and aux input, great items for practicing. As far as I know the B100 doesn't have those. If you can deal with the extra weight and size, getting the B100 seems like a no-brainer unless you really need the headphone jack and aux input.

[klejst]

Get the most, go for the b100

[neebs]

Yes tabdog, very helpful. Thank you very much. I assumed they should just be stacked on top of one another. I guess I'll just have to figure out what works best in person. Well with 2x b100... I don't think attempting to make them stereo is logical. Might as well save up more and buy a larger system.

Tiger, I'm sure it does. I never played one. but my b100 sounds great up 1 oclock, and starts farting at say... 4 oclock

Crater, I did notice that I was able to turn it up to about 3-4 with an older noname pbass copy. I honestly don't even need aux in or headphone out at all. I will listen to a reference on say my computer, and play it in my head and map it out. I never cared for the headphones, I just unplug my bass entirely and play that way if I really need to be quiet. I still get the same tone, and I usually find myself playing more in the higher register. Something I hardly do when plugged in. I rarely go past a open g.

[oldcatfish]

I think that I can simplify things a bit.

--There are several ways to use both amps with one bass. The easiest is to use a pedal with 2 outputs--there are many available such as an ABY pedal or stereo chorus pedal. Or a Y cable. You could also run from a line out or effects send from one amp into either the effects return or even the input of the other, if the B100 has such connections.

--To avoid the cancelling issue, just put both amps right next to each other, or one on top of the other. If you set them far apart, the soundwaves will interfere with each other, and do all sorts of strange things (certain frequencies not heard, etc.). By placing the amps next to each other/on top of each other, they should act similar to running 2 x 15 cabs with a 200 watt head. If you were running to different brand of combos, it may not work so well...but it should work well with 2 of the same wattage and brand.

[neebs]

it does not have line out, but does have effects send and return.

I thought 2x of the same amp does not equal additive wattage?