Which would you upgrade first? An amp or a bass?

[klejst]

I am really happy with my current rig and my bass, but if I had to choose I would upgrade my amp. I am pretty content with my bass and current cab.

[AHWells]

Originally Posted by embellisher

I would rather play a Squier through an Eden or Ampeg rig than a Zon through a Squier or Rogue practice amp.

Haha, true that

[Epidrake]

Definitely the amp. You can make almost any bass sound good through a good amp.

[isthimus]

well i looked at this, clicked bass straight away, and then read the replies and had to rethink XD

for me, every new bass ive bought has been to improve playability rather than sound, and every amp buy has been (obviously) for the sound. for example i bought a cort curbow because of the reeeediculous number of frets (27? seriously?) and my fretless soundgear because it was, well, fretless.

since i care more about being able to play well than about actually sounding good (unless im actually gigging, in which case im using their amp ), id still go for the bass. food for thought, though.

[temmrich]

Bass. The amp's job is to amplify the signal from the bass (hence the name amp). If the bass is bad the amp sounds bad (whether it's a bad amp or not). You upgrade the bass. That's your direct connection to the music you are playing, why would you want your connection to be crappy? If you gig out, you're gonna run direct 9 times out of 10, amp doesn't matter but the bass does. I know a lot of people have had experiences where upgrading their amp has been all they needed, well, they obviously didn't need to upgrade their bass in the first place. But if both need to be changed, change the part you're actually playing.

[phillybass101]

I'm doing this right now. I have several good basses to include a Geddy Lee jazz, and a Brubaker Brute MJX -5 and a new Brute Single Cut 5 on the way. I just bought a PUMA 500 bass head. I presently have an Eden (Nemesis) 2x12 400 watt cab that's decent. The next purchase will be a Glasstone Lil G, 31lb 2x12 1200 watts RMS bass cab. I'll have a head that weighs 3 lbs, a cabinet that weighs 31 lbs, and my rig will be set. After this I am going to start working on a custom Brubaker KXB-5. So in a nutshell get the great amp first, then work on the axe Like someone else mentioned, I played a Yamaha RBX270 through a Walter Woods head and a SWR Goliath II 4x10 cab and I killed. A guy in the audience who plays a Ken Lawrence congratulated me on the way I sounded. A crappy bass and great amp always works better than a great bass and crappy amp. There's an old saying......put your money where your mouth is. In bass playing, your mouth is your rig. I tend to keep my amps longer than my basses anyway. And when you buy an amp. Save your money up and don't go cheap. My two other heads are a classic Trace Elliot GP 7 SM 300 (bought used) and I still gig with it today depending on the venue, and my reserve is an older working man's 4004.

[phillybass101]

Here it is in a nutshell:

Originally Posted by embellisher
I would rather play a Squier through an Eden or Ampeg rig than a Zon through a Squier or Rogue practice amp.

Nuff said.

[Bert Slide]

AMP!!!!!! Big, loud, heavy and full of tubes!

[balton4]

Amp. I played my first bass (being a silvertone ya get off of amazon) through a gallien krueger bass amp with 2 4x12 cabs. It sounded amazing. Then, i actually upgraded to a behringer bx1800 with a 15 inch speaker. Sounds good. Upgraded to a Epiphone Thunderbird soon after that. Sounds awesome now.

[superdick2112]

IMHO, every single piece of gear in your signal chain is important, and your sound is only as good as the weakest link in your chain.
That said, I would suggest a high quality amp. Many players end up owning multiple basses, and the only way you will ever be able to fully appreciate the unique & individual personality of each bass you own is to play it through a versatile, high quality rig.

[Raymeous]

For me it would all depend on the condition and appropriateness of functionality of the existing equipment you're upgrading from.

For example
1) If you are learning and playing at home and not intending to join a band right away, an upgrade from a $100 beater bass to something a little nicer is a better choice than going with a monster amp since a multi cab rig would be complete overkill for your needs. However...
2) If you are planning on being in a band soon, upgrading from a little 5 watt kick amp with an 8" speaker is a better choice than a new bass.

If you are already playing in a band and have your chops down it really comes down to what you've experienced and learned already. In trying out stuff I would recommend trying EVERYTHING,from EVERY BRAND at EVERY PRICEPOINT! Do not discount the unknown brands or odd looking stuff, and please do not assume that just because a piece of gear is from a respected company that is better than a "Brand X" version. I have found that every once in a while the weird off brand thing can shine.

Try this experiment at your local GC or local shop: Take a $3,000 bass and play it through a $300 amp then play a $300 bass through a $3000 amp. Which combination is more likely to sound good? My vote would be the nicer amp with cheaper bass will sound better. But here is the true question you have to ask: is it right for you?

I do have to add that there is a huge difference between affordable and cheap. Just remember that. Also remember that any bass or amp at GC or your local shop is not truly new as a gazillion other players have already put some miles on your "new" bass. Budget for the necessary string changes and set up that EVERY instrument will need.

I hope this helps is some way.

[warnergt]

I vote amp.

I think my amp has more positive effect on my tone than my bass.
A lot of inexpensive basses (with the right strings) can sound fine.

[BenJanning]

hmm 50/50 for me. there just opinions

[PBASSIST1]

the amp is the main thing altering the intensity of your bass and affecting how good it sounds!

[backup]

amp
nowadays you get very nice basses at low price.
you can get a squier jazz for 100-300$ and if you set it up right and learn how to play you will get a decent sound out of it.
bootsy and aston would say its "bass" but bootsy played a guitar with bass strings and aston a self built 1-string upright.
nobody is in that situtation anymore, but a lot of bad amps are ruining the soudn of those cheap but good basses.

i find myself in this exact situation, i have a squier VM jazz with a roland micro cube (which is a great practise amp but not sufficient for gigs). and im going to get a rig like hartke LH500+hydrive rather than a better bass

[Rockbassist4]

I woul go for the bass first for the simple reason that if you eventually decide to upgrade your amp, you will have a bass that you are happy with that you can use to try out various head and cab combinations. If you have a bass that you don't like it will make it more difficult for you to choose an amp.

[bluewine]

I'd say by a quality bass. I have an inexpensive GK rig and about 9 bass guitars. The biggest improvement in my sound happened after I purchased my
G & L ASAT bass.

Blue

[hgiles]

I guess the answer hinges on whether one thinks the "music" is more important than the "sound".

[RandalPinkFloyd]

Originally Posted by temmrich

Bass. The amp's job is to amplify the signal from the bass (hence the name amp). If the bass is bad the amp sounds bad (whether it's a bad amp or not). You upgrade the bass. That's your direct connection to the music you are playing, why would you want your connection to be crappy? If you gig out, you're gonna run direct 9 times out of 10, amp doesn't matter but the bass does. I know a lot of people have had experiences where upgrading their amp has been all they needed, well, they obviously didn't need to upgrade their bass in the first place. But if both need to be changed, change the part you're actually playing.

Hmmm, I've never played direct at any gig. Always through my amp. The only bass players I see not playing through a amp or combo rig are the open mic hobbyist.



If you have to choose, gotta be amp. Doesn't matter how nice your bass is, if you're playing through a 15w Peavey it's going to sound like garbage. While a cheap beginner bass will sound good through a good combo.

[SquierJazz72]

My opinion, amp.

A good amp with decent controls can somewhat compensate for what a cheap bass might lack.

But a custom $10,000 bass is probably gonna sound like **** coming through a cheap amp.