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Best bass amp for metal?

#3
Haha. Where did you look exactly?...


How much are you willing to spend?
How loud do you need to be IE what kind of gigs are you playing?
Head/cabinet or combo?
What bass/onboard preamp controls do you have?
What strings do you use?
Do you play a 4-string or a 5, etc.
Fretted bass or fretless?
What kind of amps are your guitarists using (helps cut you through the mix)?

And most of all:
What tone are you going for?

EDIT:
Here are some threads I found my simply searching "amp metal":
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182648
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174146
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=310845
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172084
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=343685
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82539
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=361331
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5318068
 
#6
I use solid state power for metal because IMO with all of the madness with the mix in metal bass needs more precision than most tube amps can produce.

I run a Peavey tour 700 with a QSC 2400 watt power amp into a Basson 8x10 cab. It works very well and I am happy with it right now, though I may switch pre amps soon. Does it have to be a single package head or could you go the power amp + pre amp separate route?

My band played with another metal band this weekend and their bassist had a Tube Screamer pedal going through his hybrid amp and it was the best distortion I think I've ever heard from a bass rig, if you're looking on going with some distortion.
 
#9
Right now what's getting it done quite well for me is a Peavey T-Max into a Peavey 210TVX and a 410 TVX - and either a VMJ with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pups in series, or a Spector Q5 Pro - depend on how low I have to go...

I have also used the 410 as a top cab, and an 1810 as a bottom cab with excellent results...




- georgestrings
 
#10
Any amp can do metal. You should be asking;

"What is the best amp for a _____ sound"

Are you looking for distorted tone? Clean and hifi? The genre has absolutely nothing to do with what amp/bass you need. I play metal and I use an Ampeg SVT3-PRO w/ SVT-410HLF. Works nice, sounds very smooth with my Ibanez and can get very agressive and sometimes even distorted with my Stingray.

It's all in the EQing pal, just try out a few brands and see what works for you.
 
#15
well...I play some heavy stuff with my m pulse, I would also opt for a 400+, but you know, you can use any amp you want, I still think its just most important that you get your sound, and that that sound can coexist with the bands overall frequency spectrum!
so theres no one "awsome metal amp" out there!
 
#20
amos said:
Anyone who has a basson 8x10 is automatically "metal" because they can actually move the thing from rig to rig. That's pretty metal if you ask me... plus Nikki Sixx uses them.
Click to expand...

:p You're telling me. That thing is an absolute beast to move. I'm no small guy at 6 feet 4 inches but that cab is 230 pounds of pure.... heaviness.

But to the OP, I've never liked the classic Ampeg 8x10 sound because it seems a little too mid voiced for me. Like the other guys said, it really depends on what sound you're going for, not what style. Solid state power is my preference because it seems easier to "control." We play a mixture of genres, but in our heavier parts I need my sound to be precise so we don't start sounding like a bunch of mess.
 

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