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Bass or Amp - Which is more important?

BulbousMoses

BulbousMoses

Jun 26, 2008
1,412
142
Ottawa, Canada
#1
So I have been thinking lately about amps and I got to wondering if amplification is sometimes overlooked. As an example/question: Would it be better to buy, say, a Squier CV Jazz and pair it with a very good high end amp or is it better to buy a more expensive bass and a middle of the road amp (not great but not crap either)
 
#4
At the end of the day your bass is more important. Take it from someone who has spent a fortune on amps looking for 'the' sound and discovered that a good bass sounds 'good' through all of them whilst a bass that has flaws still has flaws.
 
#5
My apporach is slightly diff. I use processor to create ready for recording tone. Amp and cab are then just monitor for that sound rather then adding to voice shaping. However this means I prefer more hifi type amp rig. Or at least med fi. Lol. So Id vote qaulity amp ansd yes I concider Peavey great qaulity for budget rigs btw. Good bass plus good amp for a win. Between bass and amp for which Id choose for better between the two? Great Bass plus excellent processor. If I was gigging its signal would go to PA. Bass amp then would just be personal monitor and for low volume gigs. Everyone desrves at least medium grade bass and amp imo.
 
#7
I'll tell you wher I'm going with this. I have 3 basses that I'm looking at right now (I'd be buying one of the three...not all three). One is the Squier CV Jazz, next is the G&L Tribute JB-2 and finally, the Godin Shifter. All very different and all at different price points. Which one I get will also affect how much amp I can buy since my total budget is about $1500.00. I will say that I am looking at a combo amp for my current needs.
 
#8
markorbit said:
At the end of the day your bass is more important. Take it from someone who has spent a fortune on amps looking for 'the' sound and discovered that a good bass sounds 'good' through all of them whilst a bass that has flaws still has flaws.
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I'd disagree. To me the change in tone from cheap rig to great rig is much larger than the change from cheap bass to great bass.

Of course both are important, but I absolutely feel the amp and cab make a bigger/more noticeable difference and I think you hit diminishing returns on tone earlier with basses than with amps.
 
#10
Which is more important the bass or the amp, is like asking which is more important body or neck. At least that’s my take on it. For example people will often refer to the electric bass guitar as an instrument, when in reality it’s only half an instrument.
 
#11
Jared Lash said:
To me the change in tone from cheap rig to great rig is much larger than the change from cheap bass to great bass.

Of course both are important, but I absolutely feel the amp and cab make a bigger/more noticeable difference and I think you hit diminishing returns on tone earlier with basses than with amps.
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I think I have to agree. I have had a bunch of both - cheap and expensive basses and rigs - and I think the rig is more noticeable.

Why.

Well, when I play through a nice PA at church, regardless of the bass, I usually sound pretty good. As a matter of fact, I did cheap/expensive/cheap A/B/A comparison on 3 Sundays and no one even noticed - and it was a difference in value of over $1,500 between basses. That was telling to me.

The same bass - cheap or expensive - through different rigs on non-PA supported gigs almost always gets a comment.
 
#12
My two cents. Take it or leave it.

An amp is more "set-it-and-forget-it" than a bass. You might make small adjustments, but mostly you set the amp and leave it alone.

The bass is in your hands. It is an extension of yourself. You are in contact with it for literally hours. And, you are constantly thinking what you CAN do with this bass or what your CANNOT do with this bass. It gets heavy, the neck dive, the weird one note that seems louder or not as loud as the rest, the fret height, the overall sustain, etc. You think about the bass 1000x's more than you think about the amp.

If you have to make a choice, I'd say get the good bass, mediocre amp. But, you listed three decent basses there, and whichever you purchase should leave you enough money for a decent amp, too. (Buy used!!!)
 
#13
That CV Jazz is not a bass to sneeze at. Would I put the money I saved by buying it into the best amp I could buy? Yes, I would.

More to the point, if I had a fixed budget of $1,000 for a bass and amp, I'd try to get as much bass as I could for, say, $300 (CV Squier, f'rinstance) and drop the rest on a nice amp (GK MB combo, frinstance). Used, if possible, to get more bang for my hard-earned.

EDIT: Just read OP's post #7. Get the Squier, then go amp shopping.
 

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