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Bass amp question

A

acoustic58

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Mar 18, 2015
82
8
#1
I am looking for a small amp somewhere around 40 watts. Not looking for something to rock the stadium but enough to get a good level in my house or on a small stage. I have a Ibanez SR500 which puts out amazing sounds and I can dial in just about anything I want. Having an amp that has all the EQ bells and whistles is not needed. All I am looking for is a good quality made and sounding amp. Been a Guitar player for 30 years and just starting with the Bass so the Bass world is a little knew to me when it comes to amps.

I have been hearing good things about the Fender 40 watt Rumble Amp. Has anyone used this? There is also a bass amp made by acoustic that sounds good as well. One of my small 30 watt electric guitar amps is made by Acoustic and it sounds amazing. Also have a 210 Peavy amp with 4 12's but again, it's missing the low end. Plus I don't want to blow the speakers when that low E comes roaring out. If anyone has any comments, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
#3
acoustic58 said:
I am looking for a small amp somewhere around 40 watts. Not looking for something to rock the stadium but enough to get a good level in my house or on a small stage. I have a Ibanez SR500 which puts out amazing sounds and I can dial in just about anything I want. Having an amp that has all the EQ bells and whistles is not needed. All I am looking for is a good quality made and sounding amp. Been a Guitar player for 30 years and just starting with the Bass so the Bass world is a little knew to me when it comes to amps.

I have been hearing good things about the Fender 40 watt Rumble Amp. Has anyone used this? There is also a bass amp made by acoustic that sounds good as well. One of my small 30 watt electric guitar amps is made by Acoustic and it sounds amazing. Also have a 210 Peavy amp with 4 12's but again, it's missing the low end. Plus I don't want to blow the speakers when that low E comes roaring out. If anyone has any comments, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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"in my house or a small stage"
Two totally different things, IMO.
I would get a 100-200 watt combo IF you are speaking of acoustic type "stage". If you are talking about drummer. 200-500w.
For instance, for home I am getting a Traynor SB110 combo for one of my rooms. But if going to an acoustic gig, I take my 200w SB200H with a single 12. And with a drummer I take my 500w SB500H with 12 and 15.
 
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#5
Yeah don't over estimate what a small combo can do. What genre, what budget, what other musicians? With bass you almost HAVE TO have more power than you expect at all times when other musicians are factored in. It's better to have it and not need it than it is to fall short and get buried.
With PA support you can survive more easily with less power.
 
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#6
100% agree with all of the above. Unless it's just you and some acoustic guitars you will want more than 40 watts.

The Rumble is a nice sounding practice amp with more volume than you would think. It has many tonal options and sounds quite nice. I own one of the newer Ampeg practice amps for bedroom work and it sounds great as well if you like Ampeg tone.
 
#7
I played a few gigs with a guitar vocalist rocking a Tiny Terror 12w tube amp and 2x12. Drummer was dynamically sensitive and my 2x10 hung in nicely with around 160w up it. That was the quietest rock gig ever, I play louder doing jazz most of of time. I have zero use for a 40w combo.
 
#8
I should have been more clearer about how this amp will be used. I bought this bass primarily for recording purposes. I would be using the amp primarily in the house for practice and not to be a bass player in a band. If that ever happened, I would definitely buy a much larger set up. So knowing that, I was thinking something around 40 Watts for home use would be fine considering i have a 30 watt guitar amp that is as loud as i need it to be. I will be going to GC to check a few out but I was just curious if anyone had something in the 40 watt range that sounded good just to at least point me in the right direction. Thanks
 
#9
acoustic58 said:
I should have been more clearer about how this amp will be used. I bought this bass primarily for recording purposes. I would be using the amp primarily in the house for practice and not to be a bass player in a band. If that ever happened, I would definitely buy a much larger set up. So knowing that, I was thinking something around 40 Watts for home use would be fine considering i have a 30 watt guitar amp that is as loud as i need it to be. I will be going to GC to check a few out but I was just curious if anyone had something in the 40 watt range that sounded good just to at least point me in the right direction. Thanks
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IMO the Rumble or Ampeg lower wattage practice amps would suit your needs just fine. I use a 25w Ampeg at home and it is fine for low volume practice. Those little amps have come a long way from even a few years ago IMHO. GC should have the Rumble and Ampeg line in stock. Try them both and let your ears decide. Pricing is just about the same on both I believe.
 
#11
DD Gunz said:
IMO the Rumble or Ampeg lower wattage practice amps would suit your needs just fine. I use a 25w Ampeg at home and it is fine for low volume practice. Those little amps have come a long way from even a few years ago IMHO. GC should have the Rumble and Ampeg line in stock. Try them both and let your ears decide. Pricing is just about the same on both I believe.
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thank you
 
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#12
It is still worth noting the volume difference between guitar and bass with the same wattage amp. My guitarist has a 30w combo that can destroy the mix if he wants to. My 250w 1x15 combo couldn't quite keep up with the drummer, so I had to upgrade. If you are using your 30w guitar amp as a metric for how loud a 40w bass amp will be, you will be disappointed. Nothing wrong with a low volume practice amp, but don't expect it to be anywhere near the volume of your guitar amp.
 
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#13
I have not tried the Rumble 40, but... I am currently practicing with the Acoustic B15. Perfectly adequate for low volume with decent tones. No issues with build quality at this point, but the aux input and headphone jack don't seem to be the stoutest. I tried out the equivalent Rumble the other day at a music store when I was looking at a couple basses, and it seemed fine as well. I do have an older version Rumble 150 and it does great with a restrained drummer and guitar player. For your needs, I would honestly recommend the newer Rumble 40 from what I've read and my own experience with a Rumble. But... just to throw it out there, a Rumble 40 is going to cost around $200 new. I got my Rumble 150 off Craigslist, practically new, for the whopping price of... $200. Lots of low buck options that will get the job done. Sorry for rambling a little, but I hope this helps. Good luck!
 
#14
acoustic58 said:
I should have been more clearer about how this amp will be used. I bought this bass primarily for recording purposes. I would be using the amp primarily in the house for practice and not to be a bass player in a band. If that ever happened, I would definitely buy a much larger set up. So knowing that, I was thinking something around 40 Watts for home use would be fine considering i have a 30 watt guitar amp that is as loud as i need it to be. I will be going to GC to check a few out but I was just curious if anyone had something in the 40 watt range that sounded good just to at least point me in the right direction. Thanks
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Given that 30W amp is good enough (and I assume you never turn it up past maybe 3) you could probably get away with a 150W or even 100W bass amp. IMHO, 40W bass amps are for use in the bedroom for people who *hate* headphones.

Edit: Something else that hasn't been brought up yet is that a bass signal has a huge spike when the string is first hit. Something like 10x a guitar. You need lots of headroom if you want a clean sound. Way more than a guitar amp needs.

If you like the sound of solid state distortion or are looking at a tube amp, you can ignore this.
 
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#15
Speakers are your bigger concern here. Do you have a combo with a hard-wired plug from the drivers that plugs Into the back? If so, you might just pick up a decent 1x10 cab and be good to go with the amp you already have. Just unplug the guitar speakers and plug in the bass cab. It's just for bedroom and recording...
 
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#16
budget comes to mind first for me ... try not to get stuck on those 'watts' numbers ... thake them with a grain of salt ... trust your ears more than those specs on smaller amps ...

if you're recording most things direct ... then get what fits your needs best ...

I am in a similar situation ... I want an amp for the studio ,... but I might wanna take it out ... rarely ... maybe ... and I want to ad an external cab if wanted/needed ... play bass/keys/gtr thru it ... so that leads me to look at amps around 100-250 watts ..! from Fender to TC to Phil Jones , etc , etc ...

I have come across a few nice looking amps in that 40-60 watt range ... Ashdown , Fender , Hartke ... the Hartke 75 looks pretty nice ( has a tweeter, graphic eq ) but if you want some nice warm low end to your bass amp , extra power really helps that a lot , as that power helps control the speaker better ... tight/low
 
#17
I didn't spend a huge amount of time shopping them, but the amp I got for the same purpose you have was a Hartke A35. To me and the 2 other guys I had listen it sounded better (and louder) than the Rumble 40. It will also easily vibrate everything in my office/practice room if I turn it past 3! Sounds fine played that low for practice, has aux in and headphone and XLR out, and as I remember from the store, it will sound fine played louder, too. $199 new -Oh, and it's nice and light, too.
 
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#19
I'll put it this way, my guitarist uses a 25W Egnatr on top of an old school ADA 2x12 and it's loud as fuuuu! I was using a PF-800/PF-410HLF and recently upgraded to HSVT-CL/SVT-610HLF and for sure I have nooooo problems being heard.
 
#20
Thank you for all the great comments. I also have a 210 watt Peavy head with a 4 / 12 cabinet for my guitar. It's a beast of a cabinet and not something that makes sense using it just to play around the house. It's also a Guitar amp so the low end is not going to be there. Plus i am afraid of blowing out the speakers on those bottom E notes. I never knew that there was a difference between the power and volume of a guitar and Bass amp. I will have to go to GC and try them out. I did play around with Acoustic 100Wt bass amp and it sounded great. I will need to put some thought into this one. Thanks again.
 

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