Basses vs Amps?

[Mushroo]

I'd say it's more important to have an (appropriately!) loud amp than an expensive amp.

On a gig with drum kit, guitars, etc. a 1,000 watt Peavey is going to sound better than a 100w botique amp due to headroom.

I gig with a $150 SX bass, $175 Peavey 4x10 cab, and the most powerful solid-state amp I can afford. Not to brag but everyone always compliments my tone. My theory, it's not that my tone is better than the other guy's, it's that you can actually hear me!!

Full-disclosure: I am a P-bass with flats and flat EQ guy. If you have a different ideal tone then YMMV.

 

[chadhargis]

In-ears do take getting used to. I had to audition with them for my church band because they don't do onstage monitors for anyone. That was a little strange, but at least I could control my own mix and volume. I missed the "rumble" though.

I run a Markbass LM Tube 800 with two 210 cabs. I've never had an issue being heard with that rig. Played a gig once and they didn't even run me through the PA. Just my rig supplying the low end. It was plenty. Small place though.

 

[addylewis]

I think REALLY they're just as important as each other, but I'd put more money into the amp because in reality - guitars are USUALLY covered in drive/distortion and basses are usually played clean...and therefore have to be played into something which gives the nicest possible amplified clean tone, you could play (and many people DO) a cheap Squier into a £1000 rig and get it to sound way better than it actually is, but the other way round just doesn't work IME...getting a MIJ jazz sounding good plugged into a knackered old crate or peavey amp isn't that easy, I believe half of it's to do with the preamps within the amp itself which moulds the overall shape of the sound before you even touch the EQ

 

[the wako kid]

I find that a lot of my sound comes from my bass.I have an acoustic b100,and it seems like where I have my quarter pounders tweaked to has a bigger effect on my sound than my eq settings.the amp is good,but the pickups cause the more drastic and noticeable changes in my tone than tweaking the eq.

 

[KingRazor]

I place far more importance on the bass than the amp.

 

[gjbassist]

I play a modded SX Jazz bass through a GK 1001RBII and GK Neo 212 rig. So I guess the amp is more important to me.

 

[deeptubes]

I agree that the amp does a lot for your sound. For example, suppose you play a $300 Squier VM Jazz through an expensive Aguilar amp and cabinet. I think you'll sound better than if you play a $4000 Warwick through a 5 watt Peavey combo amp.

+1

 

[nashman]

Perhaps the cab/s are the most important. No matter how good the bass/amp - the speakers are what you hear. Between amp and bass - I think they are equally as important.

 

[wideload]

First, I placed more importance on the amp, so I got a good amp. Then, I placed importance on the instrument, so I got a great bass. Now when I suck, I sound great! Maybe I should place some importance on practice...

 

[basstoven]

Victor wooten says (paraphrasing here) that amps are for tone and the bass is for comfort and playability. Easy for him to say he has a fodera. Though I think he made a good point

 

[soulman969]

The double bass utilizes a big hollow body to make itself heard. With the electric bass guitar, the big hollow body is replaced by an amplifier an a speaker cab. Thus, amp and cab are part of the instrument, which means, bass, amp and cab are equally important.

Same thing holds true for electric guitars, IMO.

All part of the same signal chain. Bad Bass/Good Amp = garbage in garbage out. Good Bass/Bad Amp = garbage out only.

A bass rig is a bass rig and all of the components count. Bass, cable, effects (if any) amp head, speakers and cab or combo. All part of the whole.