Which would you upgrade first? An amp or a bass? - Page 16

jaywa · #**301** 05-11-2011, 01:18 PM

Considering that at least 95% of my gigs in the foreseeable future will be either my church's house rig... my own Line6 LowDown 150 combo amp (which I love)... or my SansAmp BDDI going straight to the board... I'll be spending my money on the better bass, thank you.

kapaauguy · #**302** 05-20-2011, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lump

I'm with Gabe.

The guitar/bass world is the only place in music where the instrument would even be considered secondary to the amplification.

Right or wrong, for me, the instrument will always come first.

amen

kapaauguy · #**303** 05-20-2011, 11:10 PM

i guess i'm in the minority. i love and lust after my basses. the feel of the neck, the strings. don't get me wrong i love my high end amp and speakers but the insrument is what i play. find yourself a instrument that makes you feel sexual about it and the rest will sort itself out. the amp is like the skimpy dress and high heels and smell of perfume but the bass is the woman.......find one that really turns you on!

Metal Bassist · #**304** 05-21-2011, 10:43 AM

Carrots for me, what good is your bass and your amp, if you can't see on a dark stage.

Wannaflea · #**305** 06-08-2011, 09:38 AM

Sorry Guys, it's quite simple.

You get a high-end amp to go with your mediocre bass. Sure, you sound good, but after 5-10 minutes, you're hungry.
You get a high-end bass to go with your mediocre amp. Sure, you look good, but after 5-10 mintues, you're hungry.

Carrot all the way fellas, put off your hunger, nice conversation piece, and an unexpected weapon.

Aruiz773 · #**306** 06-22-2011, 03:33 PM

Amp for sure. You have to consider, you can tweak a bass yourself or rather inexpensively, to make it play better; a nice set of strings, good action and so forth. Kinda hard to do that with an amp.

Dead Boy · #**307** 07-13-2011, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickbass

I go the amp, anytime. A good preamp on an amp can make up for a lot of instrument deficiences. [/url]

agreed

thunderider · #**308** 08-28-2011, 02:50 PM

i got a ric copy,shftesbury,but it has always sounded great though a good amp,i got a laney dp150 head and 115 or sometimes 212...or all together but it sounds good,not load enough but thats down to being told to turn it down...then again a 'friend' of mine used to play in a band called hawkwind,has for many years used 2 fender bassman 50 heads and a 115 and 118 with a special made 64 ric he had made in the late 80s so seems quite happy with his choices,thats playing professionally.

bradjonesbass · #**309** 09-06-2011, 08:05 AM

I'm going with "it depends"... If you got a starter pack, the bass is probably decent enough, but the amp is really only suited to bedroom practice and you need more power just to be heard in a band. If you have a $500 bass and a $500 amp, then you might want to upgrade to a better bass first. Also, don't go in extremes. If you have $1200, get a $600 bass and $600 amp, not a $1000 bass and $200 amp. If I had $1200 to spend and a starter pack currently, I'd be getting a Yamaha bass from MF (one of the sale basses right now) for $300 (it's really a $600 bass), and spending $900 on a nice amp. If I had $600 and a starter pack, I'd spend it all on upgrading the amp.

stingraysvt · #**310** 09-06-2011, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrudelBass

Well basically lets say you already have both, but they're not exceptionally good, and you could only choose one. Would you opt for a new bass or go for a new amp? Opinions needed. Replies welcomed.

I said Carrots, but if both were not that good, I'd always go the way of a newer, better bass...

You can always practice on headphones with a computer or cheap multi processor, even a cheap amp makes noise, a cheap bass will always be a cheap bass...

Then if you got to gigging and needed a better amp then that's when you can afford to upgrade it.

It's kinda like the chicken or the egg, you can't have the amp without the bass, so always, Bass first, amp second.

Unless you weren't bass poor, then I'd say amp...

I have multiple of both so I don't really fight either feeling

KillianRussell · #**311** 09-06-2011, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Ernie

It's hard to play with others if you can't hear yourself, and it is hard to improve if you don't play with others. Thus, I voted Amp.

Exactly !

Passifid · #**312** 09-25-2011, 03:13 AM

i said bass purely because where i live ashdown 500 watt sets come up easy for £400.. whereas a nice bass is £600+ heck even mims are only £100 less then store(£450) unless rusted and batterd. so i upgrade bas first because i love mah ashdawn and i can gig with it so its all i need.

Jazz Ad · #**313** 09-25-2011, 03:36 AM

Amp if you play out in a band, bass if you mostly practice home.

cnltb · #**314** 09-25-2011, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrudelBass

Well basically lets say you already have both, but they're not exceptionally good, and you could only choose one. Would you opt for a new bass or go for a new amp? Opinions needed. Replies welcomed.

I'd upgrade the bass.
At teh end of the day, the amp really doesn't matter.
As long as it has a good DI out, to feed the PA and is loud enough.
I think on the gig noone will really hear the difference between amp A and amp B, including yourself.
Basses however feel different and a more comfortable one will make a difference I think

ribafish · #**315** 11-28-2011, 05:57 AM

I'd say it depends on what kind of a bass and what kind of an amp you got. If the bass is a squier range, I'd change the amp. If it was the 100€ range, I changed the bass. But I already had a decent amp....which went awesome when i changed the cab. Now its awesome sounding beast=) And the bass I also have no need to change.

tldr: if the bass is really crap change the bass. if its decent, change the amp.

carlthegroover · #**316** 12-04-2011, 10:40 AM

At this point in time... definitely the amp! As now I've been in a band situation for a couple months now, I have the need (and lust) for a bigger, badder, meaner amp. I'll start with the head and then get a cab. Which ones? No clue, but I'll try a bunch and see which one I like (and afford).

For now I'm more than set with three basses. More than any hobbyist needs.

dmusic148 · #**317** 12-04-2011, 10:47 AM

Expensive bass through crap amp sounds crappy.

Cheap bass through expensive amp sounds surprisingly good, if you play well.

carlthegroover · #**318** 12-04-2011, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kapaauguy

i guess i'm in the minority. i love and lust after my basses. the feel of the neck, the strings. don't get me wrong i love my high end amp and speakers but the insrument is what i play. find yourself a instrument that makes you feel sexual about it and the rest will sort itself out. the amp is like the skimpy dress and high heels and smell of perfume but the bass is the woman.......find one that really turns you on!

Sig-ed!

jmattbassplaya · #**319** 12-04-2011, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmusic148

Expensive bass through crap amp sounds crappy.

Cheap bass through expensive amp sounds surprisingly good, if you play well.

+1

I go out a see a lot of live music these days, and one thing I've noticed is that as long as the bassist is using a quality rig it doesn't matter if they're playing a $300 Squier P or a $3,000+ US Spector. They'll still sound good no matter which they're using...

carlthegroover · #**320** 12-04-2011, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

+1

I go out a see a lot of live music these days, and one thing I've noticed is that as long as the bassist is using a quality rig it doesn't matter if they're playing a $300 Squier P or a $3,000+ US Spector. They'll still sound good no matter which they're using...

That... and the talent, of course.