This will be my first time purchasing a bass amp head & I need help. I need to know how many watts I'm gonna need to be heard over vocals, keys and drums in room that's about maybe 100 or so sqft. Also my budget is between $100-$350.
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1st time buying a bass amp head
- Thread starter Gutta Bassist
- Start date
Do you already have a cab to hook into or are you in need of a combo amp?
Typical rule of thumb, and what I've found in my own personal experience, is that you'll want at least 300 watts for gigging purposes.
Let us know about the cab/combo situation and we can move forward from there.
Typical rule of thumb, and what I've found in my own personal experience, is that you'll want at least 300 watts for gigging purposes.
Let us know about the cab/combo situation and we can move forward from there.
Just re-read your post and noticed you specify amp-head, so I guess you're not needing a combo.
Behringer is the only option to buy new in your price range and that is currently available that I know of off the top of my head. They've come a long way in their products from what I've seen. One of their amps should be able to serve you well for a while.
Buying used, who knows what you could find...I'd recommend searching for threads on here about any you find and it would help in your decision.
Behringer is the only option to buy new in your price range and that is currently available that I know of off the top of my head. They've come a long way in their products from what I've seen. One of their amps should be able to serve you well for a while.
Buying used, who knows what you could find...I'd recommend searching for threads on here about any you find and it would help in your decision.
Curious if your 15 Cab is full-range, or it's crossed-over for sub frequencies. If it's filtered for subs, it'll sound fairly undecent by itself.
I see you dig hartke. It's a shame that they haven't given a release date for their new micro head. That could be perfect, but who knows when it'll actually come available. If you haven't read the thread on here about it, I'd recommend checking it out.
Hartke's LH500 is right at the top of your price range. That'd give you 350 watts at 8 ohms and 500 at 4 ohms and that'll be plenty for most situations. If you dig hartke, I'd lean in that direction and save up for one of their cabs in the future.
Using the sub won't be ideal, but it may get you by until you can get a cab to go with the head. I've never tried playing through one myself, and it's definitely not recommend, but it might be a short term solution.
Hartke's LH500 is right at the top of your price range. That'd give you 350 watts at 8 ohms and 500 at 4 ohms and that'll be plenty for most situations. If you dig hartke, I'd lean in that direction and save up for one of their cabs in the future.
Using the sub won't be ideal, but it may get you by until you can get a cab to go with the head. I've never tried playing through one myself, and it's definitely not recommend, but it might be a short term solution.
100 sq. ft? Is that correct? Like 10 X 10... small bedroom size? Just double checking thr number.
I have a Behringer BXD 300H I purchased new from Sweetwater $149.99.
A 2 channel amp with a footswitch that is 300 watts at 4ohm. I got cause my Ampeg BA 115T Lost its power module and this was a easy way to keep the cabinet.
I have owned other Behringer gear and always thought it was good at the price point. No complaints from me on any Behringer gear I've owned.
A 2 channel amp with a footswitch that is 300 watts at 4ohm. I got cause my Ampeg BA 115T Lost its power module and this was a easy way to keep the cabinet.
I have owned other Behringer gear and always thought it was good at the price point. No complaints from me on any Behringer gear I've owned.
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Used Line 6 Lowdown HD400 (or HD750). They’re wonderful solid-state amps, only about 20lbs, full of features (tuner, compressor, presets, various amp models) but for some reason not popular, so they go used extremely cheap.
I'm not sure, I haven't heard it yet. My younger brother got it a couple years ago but he passed so its been sitting in storage.
For a room that size, you don't need a head; you need a practice amp like a Rumble 15 ($80), or 40 ($200). If you aren't a Fender fan there are plenty of others in that size/price range. small bass amps - Google Search
If you have your heart set on overkill, and since you have a preference for Hartke:
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A 100 square foot room is very small. If you would like to do some gigging you could go with a preamp and power amp combo. I would look for a used peavey/crown/qsc power amp and then get a used sansamp bass driver. This would give you lots of upgrade options in the future and a great sounding rig to work with.
The weakest link in your rig right now is that sub. You will definitely need to upgrade that in the future.
The weakest link in your rig right now is that sub. You will definitely need to upgrade that in the future.
100 sq feet? Get some ear plugs. Maybe a dozen for $5 or so. That's a very small area. Our drummer has a plex room that's 64 sq feet.
Second the Hartke LH500 amp recommendation.
I'm looking into buying one of these amps a backup amp.
See them used on Craigslist and eBay for around $200.
The only advice I can recommend with selecting an amplifier is the amp needs to have a good mid frequency voice.
The smiley face, mid-scooped hi fi tone sounds great when playing alone, but its difficult to hear your instrument in a live situation.
Also, make sure the cabinet you use has a even frequency response between 40 Hz to 5 KHz. (10 KHz if you want a bright hi end sheen in you tone)
Not picking on you, but...keys, drums, a vocalist, and a bassist do not fit in 100 sq. ft. 300+ watts should be good, even if you move out of that room, if the sub is a PA sub, you might do well to look for a combo amp, most dedicated sub cabs do not sound good as a bass guitar cab.
For the money you want to spend i Will likely consider used. You Will get more going used rather than new.
