I’d like to try one of those some day. Btw, was that tube guard brought to us via OSHA requirements?
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45/50W bass head
- Thread starter justinien
- Start date
I’d like to try one of those some day. Btw, was that tube guard brought to us via OSHA requirements?
OK, I thought you had your heart set on an all-tube amp. You can actually make your Rumble 200 significantly louder by adding another 115 to it. That will be the least expensive and quickest way to cover larger venues. Plus, if you don't need two of the 115's for a particular gig, just take your combo by itself. The second 115 will give you the same jump in sound as doubling the watts of the amp would do. Just make sure it's an 8 ohm cab. Two 15's will push a lot of air and anywhere you need more than that they will hopefully supply a FOH system to plug into.
I say to go with the 115 instead of the 210 because sometimes mixing cabs causes problems in your sound with different dispersion and sometimes phase or sonic cancellations. The 115 won't do that because it exactly matches what you are already using.
Personally, I'm using an Eden WT500/800 into a DNS-410 by DNA. That's an 800 watt amp and my cab will handle up to 1400-watts rms both thermally and mechanically. Don't really need anything else because it is crazy loud, but I have a DNS-210 cab on the way to use at small to medium venues. My Eden amp is also a hybrid with a tube in the preamp and it definitely has a warmer sound than my Eden Nemesis RS400 which has an all FET (Field Effect Transistor - solid state) front end. My RS400 sounds great but my WT500/800 sounds even better - I like hybrid preamps.
I used to own a 1974 Fender Bassman 50 with a 1x15 cab (bought new). I used it for 40's big band and orchestra gigs, and loaned it to friends for their high school and pub gigs. It worked fine. My friends played 70's rock and punk.
I understand it's not exactly what OP's after, but the hartke lh500, 'vintage'/dark voiced 115 and some kind of subtle/dynamic drive pedal (I use tc spark booster) does it for me!If you can live with only a preamp tube why not check out some Hartkes? Cheap, Fender tone stack, and 10 times the power.
Not that I wouldn't enjoy a little 50w all tube amp
This. Since you are on a budget. A tube sound emulating pedal will get you the best bang for your buck. Right into your fine Rumble that you already own.
Are you keeping or selling the Rumble 200 combo if you get a valve amp and cab? Can you revert to the Rumble 200 if the 50w valve amp doesn't work out for you?
I've gigged a 1970's selmer T'n'B 50 watt amp with an efficient TL606 1x15 cab and it worked well for me. Having a second TL606 cab makes it louder.
A ported cab helps with bass response.
A 50w amp will run out of volume faster if you expect bone-crunchingly deep bass response.
I've gigged a 1970's selmer T'n'B 50 watt amp with an efficient TL606 1x15 cab and it worked well for me. Having a second TL606 cab makes it louder.
A ported cab helps with bass response.
A 50w amp will run out of volume faster if you expect bone-crunchingly deep bass response.
Only costs a lot if it’s new and light. Plenty of monstrous old cabs built to work with low wattage tube heads are very cheap, they just weigh more than a small car.
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If you're playing very mellow stuff it could work I guess but generally no, 50w is not enough in my opinion, even if we're talking about good vintage tube amps that generally delivers a lot more volume than anything they call 50w today. A 50w tube amp won't even cut it at rehearsal if you've got a loud drummer in a loud band IMO.
I'm personally a big fan of vintage 100-150w tube amps for bass though. They've got enough volume for most venues I play and can be pushed hard enough to hit the sweetspot without the walls coming down. However, lots of people insist you need even more power for bass. It depends how clean/uncompressed you want your signal and how large venues you play I suppose. Personally I like my sound a little dirty/compressed/sagging and would only go bigger than 100-150w for large outdoor stages. But 50w just isn't loud enough in any live setting for me, even with proper PA support on a small club stage. I generally play in rather loud bands though.
For studio/recording I absolutely LOVE vintage 50w tube amps for bass. My favourite sounding bass amp EVER is the Selmer Treble'n'Bass MkI (Croc skin version). But it's not quite loud enough for gigs or even rehearsals.
If price is an issue perhaps you could look for vintage tube PA or "all purpose" heads? Many of them sound GREAT for bass, in fact they're often just as good as the "bass" version of the same amp but usually a LOT cheaper. Just make sure it's got at least one HiZ instrument jack input and not just mic/line inputs.
Or do some research and find the "sleeper" brands/models. I assume you're in the US? I'm not sure which vintage amps are the best bargains in the US. The budget US vintage amps I own (stuff like the Valco manufactured Supro/Silvertone/etc) aren't really that great for bass. They have their quirky charm for guitar but they were built to be cheap and most of them aren't really suitable for bass by todays standards. Plus they've gotten far too expensive lately. I'd look for brands that made GREAT amps in the 60s/70s (not budget brands) and later went bust or ruined their reputation by manufacturing cheap junk. Carlsbro is an great example here in Europe. Their 60s/70s amps are easily comparable to Hiwatt or Marshall from the same era but a fraction of the price because everyone thinks Carlsbro is junk these days. Watkins/WEM and Selmer are some other examples but their vintage tube amps seem to have gotten more attention (meaning expensive) lately. Dynacord made amazing amps back in the 60s/70s too. There are others too. Any equivalent US brands could be worth checking out. Meaning brands that used to make QUALITY amps, not bargain brands, but went out of business or somehow ruined their reputation.
(That's if you're in the US. If you're in Europe search for a bargain on a Carlsbro 100TC and thank me later!).
But I wouldn't go lower than 100w.
I'm personally a big fan of vintage 100-150w tube amps for bass though. They've got enough volume for most venues I play and can be pushed hard enough to hit the sweetspot without the walls coming down. However, lots of people insist you need even more power for bass. It depends how clean/uncompressed you want your signal and how large venues you play I suppose. Personally I like my sound a little dirty/compressed/sagging and would only go bigger than 100-150w for large outdoor stages. But 50w just isn't loud enough in any live setting for me, even with proper PA support on a small club stage. I generally play in rather loud bands though.
For studio/recording I absolutely LOVE vintage 50w tube amps for bass. My favourite sounding bass amp EVER is the Selmer Treble'n'Bass MkI (Croc skin version). But it's not quite loud enough for gigs or even rehearsals.
If price is an issue perhaps you could look for vintage tube PA or "all purpose" heads? Many of them sound GREAT for bass, in fact they're often just as good as the "bass" version of the same amp but usually a LOT cheaper. Just make sure it's got at least one HiZ instrument jack input and not just mic/line inputs.
Or do some research and find the "sleeper" brands/models. I assume you're in the US? I'm not sure which vintage amps are the best bargains in the US. The budget US vintage amps I own (stuff like the Valco manufactured Supro/Silvertone/etc) aren't really that great for bass. They have their quirky charm for guitar but they were built to be cheap and most of them aren't really suitable for bass by todays standards. Plus they've gotten far too expensive lately. I'd look for brands that made GREAT amps in the 60s/70s (not budget brands) and later went bust or ruined their reputation by manufacturing cheap junk. Carlsbro is an great example here in Europe. Their 60s/70s amps are easily comparable to Hiwatt or Marshall from the same era but a fraction of the price because everyone thinks Carlsbro is junk these days. Watkins/WEM and Selmer are some other examples but their vintage tube amps seem to have gotten more attention (meaning expensive) lately. Dynacord made amazing amps back in the 60s/70s too. There are others too. Any equivalent US brands could be worth checking out. Meaning brands that used to make QUALITY amps, not bargain brands, but went out of business or somehow ruined their reputation.
(That's if you're in the US. If you're in Europe search for a bargain on a Carlsbro 100TC and thank me later!).
But I wouldn't go lower than 100w.
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Is that so? I somehow never ran across old cabs that boasted super high SPL when I had no money and serious volume needs in the early nineties. The first stuff that I ran across was the yellow markbass speakers that seemed to be way too loud for their size, but those were new and expensive then. The one cab that could get away with less than 100 Watts was the Ampeg Fridge and that cost an arm, a leg and two kidneys - even used.
Yeah, since neo speakers became more common and watts became so cheap plenty of 70’s and 80’s monsters are being practically given away. Who wants a 200lb cabinet optimized for 50w heads when kilowatt PA amps and 800w heads are <$500?
Edit: for example, there’s a thread up right now about a guy selling his Ampeg 8x10 for $250.
LOL...well it's not a great idea to have exposed tubes on an amp. But it was a lot about the original B-15 having a tube cage as well, and they wanted something that recalled the B-15 but had a more workman-like look to fit the more spartan vibe.
Oh no doubt a cage is needed, but I do prefer the older steel cage from days of yore. This one reminds me of something like an air spoiler on a Toyota Yaris from a visual outlook.
I played many gigs with a Invalid Link Removed or a Invalid Link Removed. You have to use cabs with more than one 10" speaker.
I played that amps with a 410 cab.
I played that amps with a 410 cab.
Well who doesn't prefer the old cage? But guess which one fits the "B-15 for the proletariat" vibe better and is cheaper to make...
I have a lead on an 1970's Ampeg v22 in NY. Guy had it serviced a few years ago, head works fine, one speaker is torn. asking $400 hasn't had much interest . I inquired about it and he said he could go down to $350.
the v22 IS the v4 in a 410? combo.
the v22 IS the v4 in a 410? combo.
