45/50W bass head

If the space is small &/or quiet and the drummer can lay off a little and your cab isn't garbage, then yes. It'll have pretty limited utility unless you have a sizable or efficient cab to pair with it, though, IME.

 

I use a 40w Traynor head with a 2x12 and it keeps up fine with 15-30w guitar amps and is more than enough for small to medium sized stages.

 

Vintage Bassmen and Showmen can be very expensive nowadays. Have you checked out the new Ampegs? If you're not set on the fender tone, these are lighter and cheaper and the V-4b is 100 watt.

 

Promise not to make fun, but how about the VOX Mini Superbeetle bass rig for four Benjamins? It’s a 50-watt head that Premier Guitar said “surprisingly powerful” in a review a couple days ago. The dug the tone as well, plus you get a cab that might work for small gigs if miced. Yeah, it may not sound as serious as an all-tube head, but I love my NuTube combo because it’s got some tubey vibe to it, IMHO, and is a cool-looking piece of kit.

 

If you can live with only a preamp tube why not check out some Hartkes? Cheap, Fender tone stack, and 10 times the power.

 

If you are going to have low wattage for the head, you need efficient cab(s) to be heard over an acoustic drum set. Ive been runnin the PF50T since it came out (2015?) with various cabs and have had great success!

Cabs ive used:
SVT212AV
Aguilar SL212
Aguilar DB412
Bergantino NV610

If you do NOT have FoH support, i wouldnt recommend anything less than a solid 210 cabinet.

 

I believe the Ampeg Portaflex PF-50T would do the job. I played small-medium sized gigs with mine and a Barefaced Two 10s, and never had any issues with volume.

A plus is that if you're at a larger gig with PA support, you can feed the post-power-tube line out to FOH and still get all that tubey goodness.

 

I played many a gig with a B15S. That should be in the wattage range you are looking for.

 

I would look for a used V4b & 212av. I wouldn't be comfortable with a tube rig smaller than that. Plus it's future proof.

 

I've gigged an Ampeg B25 with a single 12 and have done fine. I was competing with a 40 watt Fender 212 combo, 50 watt Marshall half stack, and a loud drummer.

The key is having a sensitive and efficient cab.

 

DV Mark Micro 50 CMT

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/amp...-cmt-ciro-manna-signature-50w-guitar-amp-head

I know this is a guitar amp, but it really works well as a bass head! And it has that vintage feel you are looking for

These DV Mark guitar heads have a lot of bass response for a guitar amp.

I have plans to include this in a Youtube video, but have not had time.