5 string bass and amp for a bass beginner

[Jonas295]

Hallo.

I am pretty new to the world of bass-playing. (Been playing guitar for about two years)

I have a question regarding 5 string basses and amps: How strong and big amplifier do you need to
make sure that it handles the low tones on a 5-stringer?

Would be nice if anyone could write a few lines about this, and maybe recommend an amp or two? ( Is a warwick bc80 good enough?)

Thinking about buying a yamaha rbx375 or something in that price-class and want an amp that handles these budget 5-strings.

I play mostly punk, rock or metal.

Went to my local store last night to ask about it. But the seller showed little interest and seemed grumpy so I am worried he would fool me into buying crap.



Jonas

[SonOfDelorian]

Can't really recommend an amp depends on play style because they will all have a difference in how they handle tone. I brought my first 5 string last year a Warwick Rockbass Corvette $$ bit pricey if its a first time bass and run it through an average marshall bass cab. Handles the low B fine but I'd love it to have more bottom end. Most smaller amps on a budget will have a 1 x 10/1 x 12/1 x 15 depending. So you'll get a better low end out of an amp with one speaker. If you go for a smaller amp with 4 x 10/ 4 x 12 (you'll be looking at cabs at this point) you'll still have bottom end but they're designed for more treble sounds. If you want a mix you could always buy a low end set up and have a 4 x 10 stacked with a 1 x 15. But that depends on what you'd like to do.

[Wallace320]

http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/amp...5&series_id=42

Given that you set your mind up that alder body, passive large
polepieced humbuckers with two band equalizer, a very good start is the combo I'm suggestin' you.

It's almost inexpensive, for it's an "old school" one (no "neo" speaker) but reliable and complete, for a live use too, and capable of covering the lowend you're after

Cheers,
Wallace

[bill reed]

I would recomend the Line 6 Lowdown 150, its a great combo and has 5 bass amp models built in,
really good combo for the price.

[wrench45us]

I would look at the Roland Bss cube or Fender Bronco bass amp

speaking from personal experience there is nothing more frustrating than buying a cheap low watt practice amp and having your bass sound thin and crappy
Buy something with some juice that can bring out your bass's character, not squeeze it down

[Grateful]

A few amps I've played/owned with my 5 strings.

Group 1:
Carvin MB10
SWR LA8
Line6 Studio110
-Results. Pooey. No good with the B string at any jam-along volume. Though the Line6 got the loudest before fart-town but I could never seem to get a 'neutral' tone out of it, depsite many resets).
IME, 1x10's are just not enough for the B at anything but bedrtoom volume.

Group 2:
Carvin MB15 w/without expansion cab
Carvin MB210 w/without expansion cab
-Results: Both great, loud, clean, no issues with the B. I own the 210
IME, you need at lest a single 12", 15" or multiple 10" speakers to really get the low B.

If you start getting into head/cab combos, the option are all but unlimited, and as others have said, it's up to your budget and what sound you want.

Peavey, Fender Rumble, Line6 etc.. all make perfectly useable cabs for not a ton of money. Just go play through a few if you can. And buy used if possible.

Good Luck!

[brianerwin]

As for the amps, I have the Acoustic B10 amp. I believe it is a 10 watt amp. But I think that the line 6 sounds like the way to go..

For the bass, I would check out the Ibanez 5'ers. I did some research before I got mine and settled on the SR 505. I know it may seem like I am pushing the bass I have but to honest, this bass is actually pretty nice.

This is just my opinion though.

[bill reed]

[quote=Grateful;13449302]
IME, you need at lest a single 12", 15" or multiple 10" speakers to really get the low B.

QUOTE]


I agree you really need a good 12" speaker for the low Bs or 4x10s.

[khutch]

The BC80 should be fine. Warwick thinks so too, look at the video on the bottom of this page. I would think that any bass amp built in the last decade (at least) would be designed to handle five string basses since they are hardly a new development so any of the other suggestions made here should be great too. My practice amp is an old Peavey KB100 keyboard amp and it does great since keyboards go as low as a bass.

Ken

[One Bad Monkey]

I have a BC-80 amp, and it handles the low B just fine. No problems at all.