Amps on a budget

[DJ Bebop]

I always find it perplexing.. a small amp, when you turn it up, produces some distortion..and this has always been true, from my first Supro Thunderbolt, to my Ampeg B-15's.. and on, and on. So, when looking for a bigger, more powerful combo to use to practice, jam, or play gigs with- we all watch these demos- like the one posted here with the Acoustic. And what is the area most covered in that, and so many other reviews?
THE DISTORTION the amp is capable of making! Seems every amplifier manufacturer feels it is a must have in all their products! They all tout their specific distortion circuits as selling points! Is it just me, or is that something that I've been trying for 50 years to get rid of? Yeah, I know, it's popular now, but I have a pedal that'll do that. I like clean, powerful, undistorted bass that projects.

Yup!

Hated using a B-15 against Fender Twins or half stacks cranked up because of the distortion

Now that "sound" is what all the kids crave and look for, "How is the distortion circuit on this Bass Amp?" or "Will this Amp grind!" or my favorite, "I don't get enough grind or distortion out of this Amp, back it goes!"

These youts of today can...

 

[allen_m]

Another endorsement for a twenty year old Peavey combo. If it was gonna break it would have done so by now. They offered the most “bang for the buck” back in the day and even more so in the used market. There’s a couple or more in every market on Craigslist so no shipping. And best of all…they are going to make you a stronger bass player (not musically, but physically)!

 

[CosmicRay]

Lots o' used combos on Reverb....and also here in the classifieds....good luck!

https://reverb.com/marketplace?product_type=amps&category=bass-combos

and IMHO - get something with at least a 12" speaker.

 

[jimmydean]

Due yourself a favor and get a Fender Rumble 100 , any 50 watt combo is a waste of time and money and IMHO , the new Ampeg line is third rate .

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Ampeg BA10.

 

[DJ Bebop]

So this is what I did, YMMV.
I had a cabinet, an old Aguilar GS 112 that I bought used for $200.
Then after a long while, I extended myself and bought a new head, Mesa WD 800.
The only reason I got it was, Sweetwater had a deal like 36 months, the same as cash.
It worked out to $28 a month, even I, on my fixed income could make that
Used equipment normally you can't find a deal like that but on new, you can. Try that for a better amp you may not afford all at once

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I'd really recommend something along the lines of the old rule of thumb of an older 15" w/ 300W. When you see 300W, you think "That's 30x louder than a 10W combo!!" But, it doesn't work that way. You need 10x the wattage to double the SPL and even that's a simplification. If you're patient you can find an older combo on Craigslist that will allow you to be heard for $200 or so, less if you can negotiate. The older stuff will be heavier than today's Class D / Neodymium combos, but it you want that you'll need to up your budget considerably. Please don't waste money on a tiny amp if you plan to play with anyone. Your guitars will come in with 20W combos that will drown you out, when you play with a live drummer you won't be able to hear yourself with a tiny combo. It's tempting to buy the small combos because the price is right, but the laws of the physics of low notes will leave you unheard unless you're playing with acoustic guitars and some bongos. I've seen a lot of people do it (myself included when I first started) and you end up developing some really poor techniques as you try to be heard with your tiny amp.

 

[Analogeezer]

Piling on. Every guitar, bass, drums, amps, etc. I’ve bought has been done so used.

He edited the post an hour before you posted that he was only looking at used gear. It's the FIRST line in his post.

Analogeezer

 

[Mike Marshall]

Edit: All the amps I'm talking about would be bought used.
I need a bass amp, but the problem is that I know almost nothing about amps. I went to my local Guitar Center to test some amps out, and I've narrowed it down to a few.
I love the Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-108 and its tone, but my biggest problem with it is speaker size. It has an 8" speaker, which I know is not supposed to be able to produce as good of a bass frequency as its larger counterparts. I didn't notice much of a problem with producing bass... until I turned the amp up a little bit. At around 1/4 of the volume with the bass dial in the middle, I noticed the speaker struggling to produce bass. A rattle started emanating from the amp. Upon trying the 10", 50W version of the amp, this problem was not present. Unfortunately, the larger speaker model rocket amp is out of my price range.
The other biggest competitor is the Acoustic B50C, a 10" 50W amp at around the same price as the Rocket 8" 30W mentioned previously. While this amp has more power and doesn't suffer from the rattling problem the Rocket does, its tone is far inferior. There was much less versatility in the sound I could get, and somehow I felt that it was less full of bass than the Rocket. Again, I have no idea what I'm doing.
Just for context, I don't need to turn up either amp really at all for practicing - it's just that I like to jam with some people, and being able to turn the volume up a bit would be great.
What do you guys think I should choose, and am I missing out on any other great-value amps? Thanks.

I would buy used and I would avoid that GC acoustic label brand, they lack any mids and the tone is way too bassy they sound like mud nothing resembling the original Acoustic brand at all. An Ashdown electric blue combo with a 12" speaker is a good sounding combo and can keep up with a group

 

[Analogeezer]

Some people have mentioned the GC Acoustic brand combos. In particular they seem to really like the B100C but that one is $300 new.

BUT it's not too hard to find one used at GC (just have them ship to your local store) for under $200. If you have it shipped to your local store and it turns out to be a piece of crap, just tell them you don't want it and they will be ok with that and put it on the showroom floor.

You can return it if shipped to your house but it's WAY EASIER to just leave it at the store if it's not up to snuff.

Brand new a B50C is $200.

The downsides to a GC Acoustic?

1. I don't think the company will be around for a lot longer, they seem to be blowing out what is left and not replacing stuff that is out of stock. That means your warranty will be GC offering you another amp if yours blows but new does have a warranty.

2. GC Acoustic depreciates pretty badly but not so much if you buy used.

I bought one of their Class D heads, the 300 watt one (B300HD) and like it a lot, I like it a WHOLE lot more for the $208 with tax I paid (it was on a sale for $179, normally $279 but now $299).

The GC Acoustics are worth a shot if you like the tone, sure it will not be a "forever amp" but in your price range nothing is going to be a forever amp.

I'd personally not buy anything under 50 watts, preferably 100 watts.

Analogeezer

p.s. As people have said used Peavey is a good bet, hard to kill, ugly as all getout and easy to unload on another low budget shopper if you decide you don't like it.

I've found most of the deals on gear these days have moved over from CL to FB marketplace so you might want to look there if you don't want to buy from a store

 

[Standalone]

Another endorsement for a twenty year old Peavey combo. If it was gonna break it would have done so by now. They offered the most “bang for the buck” back in the day and even more so in the used market. There’s a couple or more in every market on Craigslist so no shipping. And best of all…they are going to make you a stronger bass player (not musically, but physically)!

You’re gonna feel old when I point out that you might be talking about 30-35-40 year old amps, not 20…

 

[Standalone]

I don’t understand the “I can’t transport a head and cab” — this may be outdated or misinformed. It is easier to carry two lighter things than one big bulky thing. Cabs are not always big and bulky!

Here’s a take from left field — and not advice anyone is likely to follow, but this approach will work — A head can be plugged into any speaker. An old PA speaker from someone’s basement. A bulky ratty floor monitor no one wants. An orphan $5 1980’s stereo speaker from goodwill (cut the wire to the tweeter) etc. if you get a good one like a GK BL600 Backline 600 you can literally use that head gigging until you have a record deal. Just get a real cab later.

 

[Astre]

Some people have mentioned the GC Acoustic brand combos. In particular they seem to really like the B100C but that one is $300 new.

BUT it's not too hard to find one used at GC (just have them ship to your local store) for under $200. If you have it shipped to your local store and it turns out to be a piece of crap, just tell them you don't want it and they will be ok with that and put it on the showroom floor.

You can return it if shipped to your house but it's WAY EASIER to just leave it at the store if it's not up to snuff.

Brand new a B50C is $200.

The downsides to a GC Acoustic?

1. I don't think the company will be around for a lot longer, they seem to be blowing out what is left and not replacing stuff that is out of stock. That means your warranty will be GC offering you another amp if yours blows but new does have a warranty.

2. GC Acoustic depreciates pretty badly but not so much if you buy used.

I bought one of their Class D heads, the 300 watt one (B300HD) and like it a lot, I like it a WHOLE lot more for the $208 with tax I paid (it was on a sale for $179, normally $279 but now $299).

The GC Acoustics are worth a shot if you like the tone, sure it will not be a "forever amp" but in your price range nothing is going to be a forever amp.

I'd personally not buy anything under 50 watts, preferably 100 watts.

Analogeezer

p.s. As people have said used Peavey is a good bet, hard to kill, ugly as all getout and easy to unload on another low budget shopper if you decide you don't like it.

I've found most of the deals on gear these days have moved over from CL to FB marketplace so you might want to look there if you don't want to buy from a store

I agree that there is a large amount of used B100Cs for incredibly cheap (one for just $130!!), but people seem to generally be agreeing that Acoustics don't have a great tone. The real reason I liked the Rocket amps over Acoustic was that I felt that they had a much better, bassier tone - even with an 8" speaker. There's also a consideration of weight - I need an amp that I'll be able to carry to practice and back home - and the B100C is considerably heavier than its counterparts.

 

[AncientNoob]

I have a Rumble 25 8” for home which is fine for my tastes. I also have a Rumble 100 12” for rehearsals. For “jam with friends” I’d get a 12”.
Peavey, Hartke and Rumble are good, and I particularly like the Ampeg BA amps. Both v1 and v2. Now that the Rockets are out, plenty of them available cheap. Check GC used too, they only charge like $25 to ship.

This all day long. You can get the “old” Ampeg BA series combos for dirt cheap. I use an og BA110. Does it sound like an SVT through an 810? No. Period. But it does sound good at reasonable levels and has just enough of that Ampeg flavor that I can tell I’m playing through an Ampeg. The kickback style cabinet is nice for the friendly jam sessions so you can direct the sound towards where you hear instead of your ankles. My other recommendation would be one of the newer Hartke combos. Very reasonably priced new or used and, to my ears, a really nice punchy sound. I bought an HD25 for my daughter who is just starting out on bass. For an 8”25 watt amp, it gets surprisingly loud with very little distortion. If you have a local GC or other place where you can try some things out, you can determine what you like and then shop on the classifieds here, or on reverb and often find some killer deals. Take a look at your local Craigslist as well, but don’t buy anything from CL that you can’t power up and try before exchanging cash money. Once their tail lights are gone, you’re on your own.

 

[LHbassist]

O.K., I'll make another post here, because we all share our experiences, and of course our opinions. I have owned an incredible amount of basses, amplifiers, combos, speaker cabinets, stands, cables, headphones, mixers, power amps, preamps pedals, gig bags, cases, and.. well, everything it has taken to play bass professionally for half- a Century. I owned an Acoustic B200 first gen, and loved it.. it was a bit heavy, but sounded great. UNTIL one of the cheap Chinese capacitors inside reached the end of its life span, and blew up- I had it repaired, and sold it. I now have a Rumble 200 combo. It fits in a VERY narrow niche' for me, but when that application arises, it's excellent. The criteria for my using it- electric bass only, light to medium volume rehearsals and MAYBE a gig in a small club, with a drummer who isn't chain drinking Red Bulls and smokin' skunk weed on the breaks.
The other time, is when I have to ride with another band member due to economics- gas is well over 4 bucks a gallon here in Nevada, and almost 5 bucks in places... and there's limited room in their small vehicle. That seldom works out. One gig, I took only the Rumble 200, after I was PROMISED by a friend who was doing sound for us- that I'd have "plenty of bass" in my monitors. Take a wild guess what was inaudible, even after repeated requests for ANY bass at all in the foldback? So, combos- have major limitations. I'd suggest purchasing an obsolete, well used, cheap but dependable head (Peavey Hartke, original Acoustic, Ampeg, Carvin)... and a couple of old school cabinets. You can find them on your local Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace. Take one to jam, and more if you need to.

 

[BassGH]

If you’re jamming with a rock drummer, something like a 100w amp with a 15” speaker might be a good minimum. Many of the peavey combos people mentioned will do that. As you go smaller on speaker size, you have to go up in price/quality and probably in amp wattage.

 

[AceOfBassFace]

A used Peavey is the way to go bang-for-buck wise. I'm using a TNT 115 to rehearse with and it's pretty good.

 

[DJ Bebop]

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[pica]

Gallien Krueger makes some great combo basses. Also check out TC Electronics.

 

[Hounddog409]

Fender Rumble is a great value. Consider a used amp.

Both are better options.

You forgot to add IMO.

Ive owned a rumble. I own a Ampeg RB.

IMO the Ampeg is infinitely better than the rumble mud box..

To the OP.....the RB comes with 10, 12 and 15 in speakers... try on of those.