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45/50W bass head

#24
justinien said:
well thank you everyone ; I'll check out everything you've sent to me, i found 700$ used V-4B and a 700$ 212 AV, so I'll continue to check everyday lmao

so in conclusion : if you wanna have a 45/50W bass head, you'll need an efficient cab

thank you Soo much
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nilorius said:
No, 45/50W would keep you only on stage, but not for the listeners.
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Assuming your playing in small places where PA support isn't needed, the OP should be fine. If playing in a larger venue, having a DI will always help level out the playing field.

I'd be as bold to say that an Ampeg SB-12 (22 watt) will keep in a blues trio playing in a small coffee shop. Emphasizes on small meaning the guitar and drum rigs are smaller as well and the music has room to breathe.
 
#25
Kriegs said:
Invalid Link Removed
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Came here just to drop the same thing--the PF50T was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the title of the post.

I played one about a month a go through a GK 1x15 cab. The tube tone was amazing, and it didn't hurt for lack of power.

Turns out, I'll probably be picking up a PF50T and the Portaflext 1x15 cab where the head can be mounted to the lid as my amp upgrade.

OP, let us know how the hunt goes!
 
#26
justinien said:
hello everyone, i've got a question for you :
are 45/50W bass heads enough for little gigs with a drummer, a guitarist (with a 22W Fender amp) and a keyboardist (with an unknown wattage lmao) so, we're playing little gigs and i have now a Fender Rumble 200 (1×15", 200W bass combo) but I want to "upgrade" with a more vintage sound (an all tube vintage sound to be precise) like Fender Bassman or even Fender Bassbreaker 45 Head (I know it's a guitar head but hey why not?)

i just want your thoughts about it

cheers
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It depends on the drummer

I know a drummer who can drown out a full Marshall stack with 2 4x12 cabs
 
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#29
justinien said:
yes i've already looked on Reverb, Bassman, Showman and Bandmaster are like 1300$ the problem is that I only have 900$ (i'm in Europe so it's like 750/800€)
and yes I've checked out the Ampeg Cabs but how expensive (but awesome) they're! like 1000€ just for the head (plus 400€ for a 1×15" cab)
it's not in my budget (sadly) but yes Ampeg was my first go to
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Why not check out the Ashdown CTM100 I see them used in The U.S. for 700
 
#31
jbd5015 said:
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.
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I bet that NV610 was a great paring!
 
#32
thanks for all of your answers but yeah for now i'm playing small gigs and I don't need a 1200W 8×10" Ampeg cab with enormous SVT-CL so i think that i'll go with a Fender Bassman 50/70/135 with a 2×12"/2×15" cabs
 
#36
justinien said:
hello everyone, i've got a question for you :
are 45/50W bass heads enough for little gigs with a drummer, a guitarist (with a 22W Fender amp) and a keyboardist (with an unknown wattage lmao) so, we're playing little gigs and i have now a Fender Rumble 200 (1×15", 200W bass combo) but I want to "upgrade" with a more vintage sound (an all tube vintage sound to be precise) like Fender Bassman or even Fender Bassbreaker 45 Head (I know it's a guitar head but hey why not?)

i just want your thoughts about it

cheers
Click to expand...
I bought a 1966 blackface Fender Bassman amp in 1966. It was a 50-watt all-tube amp and it was great back in 1966. Was fine for high school dances and playing in college. Then in 1971 I started touring with a nightclub band playing 5-nights a week, 50-weeks a year for 3 years. It worked fine for about 3 to 4-months. Then the keyboard and guitarist both got Vox Super Beatle amps and drowned me right out. Their amps were 125-watts RMS. So I then traded in my Fender Bassman amp and bought a Standel amp that was more than I needed anywhere.

I would say that you will find the 50-watt amp head weighs a lot and doesn't deliver that much. It will not be an upgrade from your Rumble 200. It will be a sideways move at best and really a move down from your current amp. It will work fine as long as you don't have a loud drummer, guitarist, or keyboard player. But speaking from experience with a 50-watt Fender Bassman head, it won't hold up if they go anywhere near 100-watts.

If you really want tube, then check out the Ampeg V4b, 100-watt amp (weighs 41 pounds - yes tube heads are heavy). Street price looks like, $1,299. Or check out the Fender 100T all-tube 100-watt tube amp weighing in at 48½-lbs. for a street price of $1,499. And by the way, those may not be loud enough for large venues.

RE: Bluesbreaker head - as you noted that is a guitar head. The amp they based thier whole series on was originally the 1959 Bassman 410 with the open back speaker cab. That cab shredded speakers in short order when used with a bass, but quickly became a guitarist favorite. The entire bass breaker series is based on bass amps that guitar players loved...just say no. Would also be terribly ironic to buy a guitar amp that came about because it was a poor bass amp, just so you could use a guitar amp as an imitation of a bass amp. Just wrong on too many levels...;)
 
#37
Rip Van Dan said:
I bought a 1966 blackface Fender Bassman amp in 1966. It was a 50-watt all-tube amp and it was great back in 1966. Was fine for high school dances and playing in college. Then in 1971 I started touring with a nightclub band playing 5-nights a week, 50-weeks a year for 3 years. It worked fine for about 3 to 4-months. Then the keyboard and guitarist both got Vox Super Beatle amps and drowned me right out. Their amps were 125-watts RMS. So I then traded in my Fender Bassman amp and bought a Standel amp that was more than I needed anywhere.

I would say that you will find the 50-watt amp head weighs a lot and doesn't deliver that much. It will not be an upgrade from your Rumble 200. It will be a sideways move at best and really a move down from your current amp. It will work fine as long as you don't have a loud drummer, guitarist, or keyboard player. But speaking from experience with a 50-watt Fender Bassman head, it won't hold up if they go anywhere near 100-watts.

If you really want tube, then check out the Ampeg V4b, 100-watt amp (weighs 41 pounds - yes tube heads are heavy). Street price looks like, $1,299. Or check out the Fender 100T all-tube 100-watt tube amp weighing in at 48½-lbs. for a street price of $1,499. And by the way, those may not be loud enough for large venues.

RE: Bluesbreaker head - as you noted that is a guitar head. The amp they based thier whole series on was originally the 1959 Bassman 410 with the open back speaker cab. That cab shredded speakers in short order when used with a bass, but quickly became a guitarist favorite. The entire bass breaker series is based on bass amps that guitar players loved...just say no. Would also be terribly ironic to buy a guitar amp that came about because it was a poor bass amp, just so you could use a guitar amp as an imitation of a bass amp. Just wrong on too many levels...;)
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yep but the biggest problem is money and i can't afford any Fender Bassman 100T/Ampeg SVT-4B it's too expensive for me right now, but i found a hybrid Bassman (the preamp works with tubes, the eq is solid state) and it's 500W, wich is
1 : pretty loud but HEY WHY NOT
2 : also expensive (1050€ ; ≈ 1100/1200$) (but i found one in Germany for 665€ ; ≈ 750$) wichis pretty good BUT i'll not have enough money for a bass cab)
'cause i have the possibility to combine my Rumble 200 with a Fender Rumble 115, 210 or 410 but that's not what i'm looking for right now and we're not "loud musicians" in my band, the max is 22W with the Fender Silverface of the guitarist, and the drummer isn't that loud
 
#38
justinien said:
hello everyone, i've got a question for you :
are 45/50W bass heads enough for little gigs with a drummer, a guitarist (with a 22W Fender amp) and a keyboardist (with an unknown wattage lmao) so, we're playing little gigs and i have now a Fender Rumble 200 (1×15", 200W bass combo) but I want to "upgrade" with a more vintage sound (an all tube vintage sound to be precise) like Fender Bassman or even Fender Bassbreaker 45 Head (I know it's a guitar head but hey why not?)

i just want your thoughts about it

cheers
Click to expand...

I have been bassin' with Fender Rumble @ 25W with a drummer. As far as "vintage" is concerned, no one really hears it, all they hear is bass.
 
#39
Hi, you could go the way of a sansamp VT bass DI or the likes and Di it into the effects return of your amp .. thus bypassing the pre-amp section of your amp .. I do this with my amp... I wouldn't go any lower than 100watts RMS with drums and keys ... The rumble will be fine and give you the head room you will need..
 
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