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Amp Choices???

gsprice696

gsprice696

Feb 7, 2014
82
25
Southeast Georgia
#1
:help: Okay so some of you may have seen my posts on the bass forum that I'm new to the bass (I haven't bought one yet or started playing) but with that said I also know that'm I'm going to need and amp. I don't really know which would be a good one to go with. I do like the GK Amps but I think they r a little out of my price range. I'm trying to get an amp that's no more than $100-$150 but if I could find a really good one fore less then I'm all for it also. Please Keep in mind I'm in an apartment so I don't need to blow the doors off this place but I don't want to sacrifice great sound either. any help would be great. Thanks!

PS I'm not above using a used amp either but new is always good.
 
#3
If you're just learning, it sounds like you need just a decent smaller amp for practicing. I'd go for a solid state combo, but something with enough power that you can go jam with a drummer and a guitarist and your bass will cut through the other instruments. Even if you are just starting out, once you figure out a few baselines and how to keep time, playing with other musicians will help you get better quickly.

Hit craigslist for used gear. Decent brands for used: Peavey, Crate, Behringer, Ampeg, etc.. At this point the brand doesn't really matter that much. Go play a bunch of amps and find one you like. Make sure to play it and fully test it before handing over any money! Turn it up and play it loud to make sure it has decent tone and that its not jacked up. You want something that has good tone, even when played loud. When you go to check out any amp. Bring your bass, and your cable! Don't expect the seller to have this stuff. When playing the amp, put all the knobs at neutral (12 o'clock) and then see how it sounds before making adjustments.

I don't know where you are located, but heres a few cheap amps $100 or less that I found on my local CL:

A beater Crate. Not much to look at, but it might sound decent. Don't pass up ugly amps because they might sound good and be a great deal.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

A couple more crates
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Check out this little ampeg combo for $60! Can't go wrong with ampeg.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

peavey 110:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#4
kookykrispy said:
If you're just learning, it sounds like you need just a decent smaller amp for practicing. I'd go for a solid state combo, but something with enough power that you can go jam with a drummer and a guitarist and your bass will cut through the other instruments. Even if you are just starting out, once you figure out a few baselines and how to keep time, playing with other musicians will help you get better quickly.

Hit craigslist for used gear. Decent brands for used: Peavey, Crate, Behringer, Ampeg, etc.. At this point the brand doesn't really matter that much. Go play a bunch of amps and find one you like. Make sure to play it and fully test it before handing over any money! Turn it up and play it loud to make sure it has decent tone and that its not jacked up. You want something that has good tone, even when played loud. When you go to check out any amp. Bring your bass, and your cable! Don't expect the seller to have this stuff. When playing the amp, put all the knobs at neutral (12 o'clock) and then see how it sounds before making adjustments.

I don't know where you are located, but heres a few cheap amps $100 or less that I found on my local CL:

A beater Crate. Not much to look at, but it might sound decent. Don't pass up ugly amps because they might sound good and be a great deal.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

A couple more crates
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Check out this little ampeg combo for $60! Can't go wrong with ampeg.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

peavey 110:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

I'd love to get some of these amps from craigslist but right now I'm Stationed in Korea so that's a little hard to find used stuff but I'll be looking at a couple of locale shop and hopefully find something decent in my price range. Thanks so much for the advice!

One more thing. Any thoughts on the Fender rumble V3 series?
I found one on a site for $99 and it's a 25watt.
Thanks again!!

Invalid Link Removed
 
#7
Thick McRunfast said:
Can't go wrong with Ampeg BA-108

Less than a hundred bucks brand new. Loud enough to PO all your neighbors if you're that kind.

RCA input so you can play along with CDs or MP3, headphone jack.
Click to expand...

^This.

Those little Ampeg BA-108 amps are well respected, they have a frickin' GREAT TONE, way better than you may expect from a practice amp. :bassist:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/ampeg-ba-108-25w-1x8-bass-combo-amp

Invalid Link Removed

And the RCA input jack has a separate volume knob -lots of amps miss this important and obvious feature.





Word of advice, any bass amp, even a small practice size, is more than enough to piss off the neighbors in an apartment setting.

Do yourself a BIG favor and factor in a decent set of headphones with your purchase and use them more often than not when playing in your apartment. Nothing fancy, something like an AKG K44 or similar.


A few other things:

If you want to buy new over the internet, send an email to [email protected] and tell them you are a talkbass member and ask for a deal on your new amp.

Within a few hours or so they will probably write you back giving you a substantial talkbass member discount. :cool:

The only "catch" is they do not want you to advertise what your deal was (cause they can't do it for everyone in the world you know).

Just keep your actual deal under your hat and everyone at talkbass can continue to enjoy the good thing. :cool:

Good luck.
 
#9
DogBone said:
^This.

Those little Ampeg BA-108 amps are well respected, they have a frickin' GREAT TONE, way better than you may expect from a practice amp. :bassist:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/ampeg-ba-108-25w-1x8-bass-combo-amp

Invalid Link Removed

And the RCA input jack has a separate volume knob -lots of amps miss this important and obvious feature.





Word of advice, any bass amp, even a small practice size, is more than enough to piss off the neighbors in an apartment setting.

Do yourself a BIG favor and factor in a decent set of headphones with your purchase and use them more often than not when playing in your apartment. Nothing fancy, something like an AKG K44 or similar.


A few other things:

If you want to buy new over the internet, send an email to [email protected] and tell them you are a talkbass member and ask for a deal on your new amp.

Within a few hours or so they will probably write you back giving you a substantial talkbass member discount. :cool:

The only "catch" is they do not want you to advertise what your deal was (cause they can't do it for everyone in the world you know).

Just keep your actual deal under your hat and everyone at talkbass can continue to enjoy the good thing. :cool:

Good luck.
Click to expand...


That's really cool, I'll look into that amp and a huge thanks for the heads up on the discount!
 
#11
So far no bad advice, so you're probably going to get hooked up pretty well.

The reason I'm posting is to highlight a few things that, as a new player (or soon-to-be) you should know. Many of these things I myself have learned by doing them wrong, and having the TB collective (or other sources) bail me out.
1) Practice is practice. There's no substitute or shortcut, and you will suck. Just hang in there.
2) There is no "best" anything. There are higher quality things, more popular things, and more expensive things, and often what you LIKE is none of them. It's OK. If you like the way a bass feels, it is good. If you like the way an amp, pedal, type of string, or pickup sounds, it is good.
3) Watts ratings are, unfortunately, the standard way amps are classified. There can be vastly different amounts of volume put out by amps rated to have the same power. Speaker efficiency (dB), and cone surface area (the size and number of speakers) can make drastic differences in volume. Adding speakers (see #4) is the best way to get louder.
4) Learn about ohms (Ω). For the most part, bass speaker cabinets come in 8Ω and 4Ω, and bass amps like to see these "loads". When you are connecting amps and cabinets, more cabinets make the ohms go LOWER. Two 8Ω cabinets will show your amp 4Ω. Not many amps like to be used below 4Ω. Adding anything to a 4Ω load will drop the total amp load below 4Ω. It gets way more complicated, and tricky, but that's a good basic overview. Most manufactured products will use parallel connectors and the math as I've shown applies. This means that even hooking up a cabinet FROM another cabinet will still drop the Ohm load. Read the stickies for more detailed information.
5) When the time comes that you find yourself wanting to play with other musicians, it is likely that a practice amp will not be enough. This will be especially true if you intend on playing with live acoustic drums. The frequencies where the bass guitar lives don't like to play nice with small speakers, and require more power to reproduce at louder volumes. A 20 or 30 watt guitar amplifier (music genre and playing style are factors, too) is perfectly capable of burying a bass through a 50 watt 1x10 combo amp, and even more easily if there are drums involved as well.
6) When shopping for bigger, more giggable (or band practice-able) gear, the speaker cabinet is every bit as important as the amp. More cones equals more volume. Bigger cones equal more volume as well, but not necessarily deeper bass; that is a function of speaker and cabinet design.
7) HAVE FUN, DO WHAT YOU ENJOY, and IF YOU LIKE IT, IT IS GOOD.
 
#12
kookykrispy said:
If you're just learning, it sounds like you need just a decent smaller amp for practicing. I'd go for a solid state combo, but something with enough power that you can go jam with a drummer and a guitarist and your bass will cut through the other instruments. Even if you are just starting out, once you figure out a few baselines and how to keep time, playing with other musicians will help you get better quickly.

Hit craigslist for used gear. Decent brands for used: Peavey, Crate, Behringer, Ampeg, etc.. At this point the brand doesn't really matter that much. Go play a bunch of amps and find one you like. Make sure to play it and fully test it before handing over any money! Turn it up and play it loud to make sure it has decent tone and that its not jacked up. You want something that has good tone, even when played loud. When you go to check out any amp. Bring your bass, and your cable! Don't expect the seller to have this stuff. When playing the amp, put all the knobs at neutral (12 o'clock) and then see how it sounds before making adjustments.

I don't know where you are located, but heres a few cheap amps $100 or less that I found on my local CL:

A beater Crate. Not much to look at, but it might sound decent. Don't pass up ugly amps because they might sound good and be a great deal.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

A couple more crates
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Check out this little ampeg combo for $60! Can't go wrong with ampeg.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

peavey 110:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...



Don't mean to stray too far off topic, but if I lived near you I'd jump over several of those craigs deals.

Mint Ampeg BA-108 for $60?



And yeah, I'm loving that vintage Crate 1B. Wow, check out the original "crate" framework.

Kids today have no idea, being all amps all looking the same now, it was not so in the '70s.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]



If that was local I'd pick that one up today (I'm an SLM Crate/Ampeg junkie) :p
 

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