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30 watts or less

The BurgerMeister

The BurgerMeister

musician.
Apr 13, 2006
6,877
400
Big Bear, CA
www.onestorymusic.com
#1
i was wondering...
anyone have any recommendations for a nice sounding, very small combo? like, 30 watts or less? small, portable, lightweight... mainly for practice, but that might transfer well as a recording amp?
i heard the dude from oingo boingo used a pignose hog 30 in the studio... which is what got me asking this question in the first place.
 
#3
have a look at the eden nemeseis silver N8 if price matters the most. quite large for 8" but light and bass response should be good from the relatively large cab.

the thing is that for the size and weight of small practice amps you can as well have a GK 150MB...which will do much more for you than practice only...but still that depends on how much you want to spend.
 
#7
I'm looking for the same thing. If cash is plentiful, the Markbass Micromark is supposedly the ultimate (soon to arrive here, about 700 bucks, a 9 inch, 10lb cube with REAL tone loud enough to do a jazz gig-50 watts, according to reviews). I'm gonna sample one in Montreal next month when they arrive. However, I just got a Peavey 158 for 99 bucks from MuFr-it's a lot of tone at low to mid volumes, but farts out my B at higher volume-I think this will always be the case for under 250 bucks. I also have the old Fender Bassman 25 mentioned above-amazing tone (REALLY) and lots of power, but actually 40 lbs. The new Bassman 100 is better-adds a tweeter, compression and lighter, supposedly 25lbs-350 bucks. Another excellent but pricey option is theGK 112MB combo-ultralight @ 24lbs, with 100 watts and high quality, but also 0ver 700 rubles :-(
 
#8
jetpackbassist said:
i was wondering...
anyone have any recommendations for a nice sounding, very small combo? like, 30 watts or less? small, portable, lightweight... mainly for practice, but that might transfer well as a recording amp?
i heard the dude from oingo boingo used a pignose hog 30 in the studio... which is what got me asking this question in the first place.
Click to expand...
You are describing the Ampeg B-15n.

Once you hear the tone, you may forget the weight.
It's got more than 30 watts, but you would never notice.

If you find a good one, you will have yourself
a fantastic practice/small gig amp, and a world class recording amp.
 
#10
I was pretty shocked when I demo'd a Crate BT-25 25 watt amp at a store recently. Great sound, great tone, including handling of the low b on an active 5 string.

I have an older Polytone that serves as my tiny amp, but I wouldn't have been disappointed to take that Crate home. Check it out, and look beyond the name ...

Also, though, the Peavey Microbass and Minx are great little amps ... again, if you can look beyond the name.

Cheers,
Liam
 
#11
Fender Bassman reissue. I know it's 40 watts. So sue me.

At low volumes, it is so rich, it can make you fat. It won't go too loud, though. Those lightweight alnico 10s and the all-tube classic circuit are yummy beyond belief. Very quick to respond yet never harsh or sterile. Not exactly portable in the sense that it'll fit in your glove compartment, but it's not too bad. And not exactly a budget box.
 
#13
lomo said:
I'm looking for the same thing. If cash is plentiful, the Markbass Micromark is supposedly the ultimate (soon to arrive here, about 700 bucks, a 9 inch, 10lb cube with REAL tone loud enough to do a jazz gig-50 watts, according to reviews). I'm gonna sample one in Montreal next month when they arrive. However, I just got a Peavey 158 for 99 bucks from MuFr-it's a lot of tone at low to mid volumes, but farts out my B at higher volume-I think this will always be the case for under 250 bucks. I also have the old Fender Bassman 25 mentioned above-amazing tone (REALLY) and lots of power, but actually 40 lbs. The new Bassman 100 is better-adds a tweeter, compression and lighter, supposedly 25lbs-350 bucks. Another excellent but pricey option is theGK 112MB combo-ultralight @ 24lbs, with 100 watts and high quality, but also 0ver 700 rubles :-(
Click to expand...
I used the peavey rage 158 guitar amp for ages until i got an actual bass amp, sounds a hell of alot better as a bass amp than a guitar amp IMO, aslong as you arent pushing it (will screw the speaker), it will sound good and its cheap as chips :D

But not the best, just good as a cheapy, an older small ampeg combo would be nice (id really like one too right now :( )
 
#14
MrBonex said:
Fender Bassman reissue. I know it's 40 watts. So sue me.

At low volumes, it is so rich, it can make you fat. It won't go too loud, though. Those lightweight alnico 10s and the all-tube classic circuit are yummy beyond belief. Very quick to respond yet never harsh or sterile. Not exactly portable in the sense that it'll fit in your glove compartment, but it's not too bad. And not exactly a budget box.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about this?
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
It's 50 watts. Isn't it a guitar amp?
 
#16
I have a Fender Bassman 25, a GK MB150S, and I used to own an SWR WM10.

Of the three, I prefer the tone of the Fender Bassman 25 by a long shot. I actually sold the WM10 because it didn't sound as good as the GK to me. I still have the SWR WM1x10 ext cab though, and I use it with the GK to puch a little more air at louder gigs.

But seriously, the Bassman 25 is a fantastic little amp. The tone is thick and warm, and it really sounds much bigger than one would expect. I bought mine based on the fact that just about everyone on this board has nice things to say about it.

I've tried it as a monitor (it has a tilt-back feature), and it works nicely for that. I sent a signal to the PA via my SABDDI, and had the Bassman 25 as a personal monitor in addition to the standard PA monitors from the board.
 
#20
I would say that if it's a reissue of a bass amp, it would still be a bass amp. Otherwise it's not a reissue. :smug:

In any case, it's about 45 watts with the solid state rectifier and about 40 watts with the tube rectifier.

Either way, it's still a bass amp -- albeit one that guitarists happen to like (a lot).

I've done lots and lots of bass gigs with mine and it's just a great sounding amp. It doesn't like going loud, though. Jazz and "unplugged" are fine.
 

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