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Amp for home

Gabriel51

Gabriel51

Sep 30, 2008
1,673
116
Texas
#1
I have not played much in 20 years, got burnt out in the 90's from working 5 nights a week until 2am.
Still have two of my Basses, A 4 string Moonstone and a 4 string Schecter plus a Peavey amp with a 15".
I have never liked the sound of solid state amps compared to tube. My question is what amp would serve the purpose listed above. Not looking for volume just a warm sound from a tube amp or if there is a SS amp with tube technology so I can get the warmth I'm looking for.
Thanks for the help, I have been out too long to know what is out there. Gabriel...
 
#4
I'd recommend the Mesa Boogie Walkabout Scout 12" combo. The sound is absolutely stellar in virtually any setting from the basement to a medium size club (I've even used it in 1,000 seat venues on a full size stage—it's got a fantastic DI built in). The sound is warm and full with lots of power, 300 Watts @ 4 Ohms featuring 6 Tube Driven Power MOSFET’s (2x12AX7's). It's light and extremely portable. I don't recall how much the combo weighs, (under 50lbs—I think) but my back—which is not in great shape—absolutely loves this amp!

My main bass is an EB Sterling but I sometimes use my American Jazz Bass Deluxe playing rock, blues, Motown and R&B. It all sounds great through this little workhorse.

I've used SWR, Hartke, Eden, Ampeg, Peavey (and a few others that don't come to mind right now) and I'll never look back. I plugged into the Walkabout at my local music store, liked what I heard, they let me use it for a show that night to try it out live and I bought it the next day.

Check out the specs here:

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Bass_Amps/walkabout/WalkaboutScout/WalkScout.htm

If you have the chance, try one out. You won't believe your ears...
 
#5
Wow! 300 watts for my living room? I played in a dance band and if was a 300 seater or less I used 300 watts, If larger I used a CS 800 bridged and a 1810 peavey (2x18,2x10). In the studio I used the console and headphones (making demos for other bands) I have a 130 watt now with a 15 but it is very sterol.
I was hoping for something about 50 watts or so?
I will check into it.
Thanks for your input. BTW. I used a Fender Bassman 100 head and a 4x10 box in the 60"s
I noticed that amp has tube pre and MOSFET output finals
 
#6
The Walkabout sounds great at either low, medium or high volumes. It's very versatile. I find that some amps sound pretty thin when the volume is low. The Walkabout is full no matter what. 'Course, I am pretty biased:smug:.

If you get a hankerin' to jam with your buds at some point, you've got all bases covered.

At one point my only amp was an all tube Fender Bassman 20 1x15" combo (I still kinda regret selling that one...). It was a great little practice amp, but it had some problems keeping up when a couple of guitarists and a drummer were added to the mix.
 
#7
Gabriel51 said:
Wow! 300 watts for my living room? I played in a dance band and if was a 300 seater or less I used 300 watts, If larger I used a CS 800 bridged and a 1810 peavey (2x18,2x10). In the studio I used the console and headphones (making demos for other bands) I have a 130 watt now with a 15 but it is very sterol.
I was hoping for something about 50 watts or so?
I will check into it.
Thanks for your input. BTW. I used a Fender Bassman 100 head and a 4x10 box in the 60"s
I noticed that amp has tube pre and MOSFET output finals
Click to expand...

do you have any electronics experience? if so, you might want to look into getting a kit from someone like weber. you could get a jtm45 head kit (which was pretty closely "copied" from the famous bassman. or ted has a 4x6v6 version. you could put in a switch to give you all 4 power tubes or only 2 for playing lower volumes.

there are all sorts of options and if you have the experience, they are a great cheap platform to build your own amp on. i have done that in the past with great result.
 
#12
dean owens said:
do you have any electronics experience? if so, you might want to look into getting a kit from someone like weber. you could get a jtm45 head kit (which was pretty closely "copied" from the famous bassman. or ted has a 4x6v6 version. you could put in a switch to give you all 4 power tubes or only 2 for playing lower volumes.

there are all sorts of options and if you have the experience, they are a great cheap platform to build your own amp on. i have done that in the past with great result.
Click to expand...

Yes I do, I'm a Ham radio operator and I taught High school electronics at one time.
You know, my memory of what these amps sound like is at least 30 years old, the first time I heard a CD I thought the same thing also, dry, no dynamic range. i got used to that but I still miss the warmth of tubes and after reading around I see a lot of people think they sound good also. This must include a lot of young (40 or less) people too who never were around at the time that tubes were all there was.
I do not play modern rock, I play Jazz blues and for many years played a fretless precision with a jazz v neck. But after playing 50-60 gigs I just took a fretted neck( I got lazy)
 
#15
You could run a Sansamp Bass Driver DI in fron of your amp.
A similar pedal, the MXR M-80 always made my old combo sound a world better. Maybe others can comment on that specific application.

I would keep my eyes open for a good used SWR Basic Black combo. It has a tube preamp and I always hear good things about them.

K
 
#16
I have a YBA - 200 (for sale in the GFS..) but I really can't recommend it as a tube amp for home. Some of the nicest, most character filled tone I get in my project studio is from a mic'ed Fender Princeton Reverb guitar amp... So if it were me, I'd think about an old Showman Amp, maybe a Bassman - I prefer Fender's with the Reverb circuit though, the extra gain in the pre adds character and doesn't seem to rob much in the way of headroom.

The cab is important. A sealed small box 1x15 (with D140) or 2x12 with (D120's or EV's) is a classic. Set the tone controls on 6 and revel in the warmth and the scoop. They just drip tone in a way that very few other amps do.

Amp's like that as you know are a shot in the dark - you're probably up for a re-cap, maybe a re-tube but once resurected. Yowza. That's an amp for home.

The YBA - yeah, fine it's 200 watts loud. Tonally it doesn't have the character of a well maintained Fender though. It has the grind and the SAG - it's not all bad - it's just not spectacular. Still for the dough, there isn't much better for a rocker or blues guy who is gigging.

I've been working to get mine recorded to show off what I consider it's strengths. I'll get some samples up shortly.
 
#18
4Mal said:
I have a YBA - 200 (for sale in the GFS..) but I really can't recommend it as a tube amp for home. Some of the nicest, most character filled tone I get in my project studio is from a mic'ed Fender Princeton Reverb guitar amp... So if it were me, I'd think about an old Showman Amp, maybe a Bassman - I prefer Fender's with the Reverb circuit though, the extra gain in the pre adds character and doesn't seem to rob much in the way of headroom.

The cab is important. A sealed small box 1x15 (with D140) or 2x12 with (D120's or EV's) is a classic. Set the tone controls on 6 and revel in the warmth and the scoop. They just drip tone in a way that very few other amps do.

Amp's like that as you know are a shot in the dark - you're probably up for a re-cap, maybe a re-tube but once resurected. Yowza. That's an amp for home.

The YBA - yeah, fine it's 200 watts loud. Tonally it doesn't have the character of a well maintained Fender though. It has the grind and the SAG - it's not all bad - it's just not spectacular. Still for the dough, there isn't much better for a rocker or blues guy who is gigging.

I've been working to get mine recorded to show off what I consider it's strengths. I'll get some samples up shortly.
Click to expand...

You are probably right since that is what I remember and I always liked a closed enclosure for nice tight deep base. I have played for over 40 years and when I hear it I know it.

On another note: How long have they been making fretless with position markers? not the dots but fake frets. Hum, I probably could not play it unless I never looked. Now that is just weird to me:D
 
#19
I always had problems playing bass in the house before I built my studio. I still play in the house sometimes but it's for sure not with a 100 watt or 300 watt combo with multiple speakers. I now use a Line 6 studio 110. It's 75 watts to one 10" speaker, a compressor and some tube amp modelling. I can actually turn it up without rattling everything in the house. The little lady doesn't complain eaither. the studio 110 sounds absolutely perfect for your situation in my oppinion. Try one out in the store but keep in mind that it will really shine in smaller places such as a living room or even in a studio. It also has headphones out and a CD/Mp3 in to jam along with and if you start gigging on occassion it has a D.I. out so you can run straight to the P.A. The tone achieved with this thing is awesome for such a small amp.
 
#20
Gabriel51 said:
Yes I do, I'm a Ham radio operator and I taught High school electronics at one time.
You know, my memory of what these amps sound like is at least 30 years old, the first time I heard a CD I thought the same thing also, dry, no dynamic range. i got used to that but I still miss the warmth of tubes and after reading around I see a lot of people think they sound good also. This must include a lot of young (40 or less) people too who never were around at the time that tubes were all there was.
I do not play modern rock, I play Jazz blues and for many years played a fretless precision with a jazz v neck. But after playing 50-60 gigs I just took a fretted neck( I got lazy)
Click to expand...

well dang, just have yourself some fun and start building.

yeah, i'm an under 40 type (31) and before my kids came along my hobby was building tube guitar amps. i never thought i'd like tube amps for bass. i figured tubes for guitar (cause i like to crank them and get the natural breakup of the tubes) and ss for bass (because i like a nice solid, clean sound). this weekend i had to play using my blackface fender tremolux. let me tell you, i think i'm a convert now. only problem is, i don't have the room for a good all tube bass amp that i could play out places. i wish i did. who knows, maybe after the kids grow up i'll be able to build a good 200 watt amp.

i don't know now much you're willing to spend but my tremolux did a pretty good job. it's 35 watts. which held up surprisingly well. they can go for 600ish on ebay. as others have mentioned, there are the bassmans. to be honest, if you have the knowledge, you can just start scouring ebay for amps that need a little attention. something like this would be a great platform. it has two 6l6's and 4 preamp tubes. you could make whatever you want.

anyway, happy looking. i hope to one day join the tube crowd with a bass amp. soon i won't even be able to play it through the tremolux i so enjoyed. it's got to move out to make room for my kids. :crying:
 
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