I say go for it, I used to use an ampeg V4B 100w amp with a 2x15 cab and it was loud as hell. The important thing is the efficiency of your cab, if the speaker is sensitive enough it will be plenty loud
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Bassman 100: Loud enough for gigs?
- Thread starter Vendetagainst
- Start date
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
As you understand well, it also depends on one's tonal goals. A 100 Watt amp with high-sensitivity cabs may be loud enough if your tonal goal includes some audible distortion. A clean sound may not be achievable. My mid-sixties Bassman blackface with 2x12 sounds fantastic at low volume, but is unsuitable for bass when more volume and clean tone are desired.
Haha sweet! Yeah it's a small club
I got mine in I think '94 or '95, for $200 out of a classified ad in the newspaper, if you are old enough to remember those. It was when these amps could not have been more out of style and it was the most watts I could get for the least money as a broke teenager. I've been through a decent number of amps over the years but the CFA7002 remains the champ for me.
The answers are there above. I used a v4B with 2 115 cabs for many loud gigs.
Clean(ish) at low dynamics, crunchy when playing hard.
I liked riding that line
Clean(ish) at low dynamics, crunchy when playing hard.
I liked riding that line
Sure. To each his own. I play alternative rock (like OP), I like my sound "clean, at the edge of distortion". My 50W tube amp sounds just perfect (for my taste) with my moderate drummer and 2 guitars (in a small room, with an efficient 1x12 cab).
If everyone took such an intelligent approach to EQing 100-watt tube amps for bass, you'd see quite a few more of them on stages. Especially since most FOH sound engineers ruthlessly cut the bass guitar signal at 80 Hz anyway, if not higher, to make sure the kick drum reigns supreme and sounds like the subs in a Celica.
Haha yeah I won't get started on kick drum EQ in most venues with a decent system. It drives me nuts even more as an audience member than as a performer.
I will take the compliment without claiming any particular intelligence LOL but yeah I think usually for most styles of guitar-centric music there's nothing down there that's going to help you or the FOH engineer. ~100-400Hz belongs to me. ~400-800 I share with the guitar. Above that is a place I visit only briefly.
I also play a P with flats and use a tweeter-less cab. If those factors changed the treble would probably need to come down a bit.
Well, this is Talkbass…your chances of finding a super Bassman owner are actually not so bad here.
They only made them for three years, so I suppose the rarity of a nearly 60 year old amp with limited production runs is a limiting factor.
You're not wrong but I do imagine the majority of surviving SBs are on guitar duty these days.
It does make a brutal guitar amp with a bass cab. I've loaned my rig to a few guitarists over the years. (Nobody wants to hear me play guitar that loud.)
when playing with guitarists I believe in headroom, like, more power than you need and not relying on the amp for overdrive but clarity to cut. Fuzz/distortion/overdrive whatever from a pedal so I have the Kind of drive I want (there are many kinds beyond a tube amp pushed.) Two overdriven guitars I want 700w at least 1000 would be fine...
I gig with a Bassman 100T with the Bassman 410 Neo cab for medium to large stages (up to festival-size. I use a 50 watt tube rig for small to medium rooms) and I never feel underpowered, mainly because I’ve got foh and monitor support as needed. Mic the cab, don’t use a DI, or do both, but micing the cab will get you all the power tube glory. After years of reading about your exact situation, the majority seem to have volume issues in rehearsal more than onstage. Of course how dynamic everyone else plays is a big factor. Also, the 100T is not the silver face 100 you’re talking about, different animal. But just saying a quad of 6Ll6s pushing out 100 watts can do the job. How well it does the job depends on the design, and I’ve never used one live so I can’t comment there.
That's a very good point that it's more about rehearsal than on stage for most people. A hundred watts and a 4x10 is plenty of stage volume for most places. Either the room is so small that your amp can carry it, or they're gonna have a decent PA and the power of your amp is largely inconsequential. My last gig was punk rock in a 500 capacity room. I played it with a 25 watt Stromberg Carlson AU34 PA head with my 2x12. They just put a mic on it. Sounded great.
However, if your practice room has two half stacks and a crazy Bozzio drum kit in it... Yeah you're gonna be hurtin'.
Also, as was mentioned previously, "alternative rock" is just too big of a gamut to say, really, anything. Like are you in 10,000 Maniacs or Dinosaur Jr?
The big question is whether the rest of the band are grown up enough to turn down a bit if they start drowning you out. You can read the poll in my sig for what folks about here do gigs with. Suffice to say a lot of us use considerably smaller rigs than the vocal consensus for 500W amps would have you believe. Also what speakers you have is at least as important as amp watts. 50W into an 8x10 cab is roughly equivalent to 400W into a 1x10.
Let's explore this supposition:
50W into an Ampeg 810E which has a 100dB 1W/1m Sensitivity rating = ~117dB
The decibel change you get from raising the power from 1W to 400W is 26dB
To achieve 117dB with 400W, a requires a 91dB 1W/1m Sensitivity rating. That fairly low. However finding a 110 that can handle 400W is probably more of a challenge.
GR Bass AT110 is rated for 300W with a claimed Sensitivity of 98dB 1W/1m. Calculated SPL at 300W is ~122.8. My guess is this is a bit optimistic.
Aguilar SL110 is rated 175W with a 94.4dB Sensitivity rating = ~116.8dB. This is pretty believable IMHO.
50W into an 810E is roughly equivalent to 175W into and Aguilar SL110.
I think in practice an 810E is going to fill out the mix a lot more than an SL110.
Yeah, I should've been more specific. We are a loud band with elements of post-hardcore, shoegaze, hell we even have a sludge metal-esque song, but we also get really quiet at times too. Dynamics are a big part of our sound.
"modern" bass cabs are usually smaller than older ones, and ...the tradeoff for smaller size is they don't go down very low. That often means you eq more bass into your signal, and now the amp runs out of gas quicker, because it's trying to push low end through a cab that is not efficient down there. An older (bigger) cab is more likely to work well with a 100 watt head than a modern one.
I played through a Yamaha B100 for my college band (decades ago). I had a pair of big, efficient 115's. 90 watts (what that amp put out) was more than enough with those cabinets - plenty of level, plenty of low end. And it was solid state - a tube amp would get you more SPL before the clipping sounded bad.
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then no, the 100w tube amp will be disappointing for bass unless you use huge cabs and don't mind a fuzzy tone with lacking low end (think lemmy)
Yeah I think with that description you're likely to find it a bit underpowered. If you have the opportunity to audition it you might as well though. You might be surprised.
I had one of these for many years. Many years ago. No. For me it wasn't loud enough. If I EQed it right I could cut (barley) through the mix. BUT I was limited to that setting. I had it on a Bassman 215 (cab)/ A Bassman 412/ SVT 810/Hartke 410/ and many others. We played 60s/Beatles ect. The guitarists didn't have big loud amps ( mostly Fender/Sunn combos). No Marshalls or other bigger amps. Finally I just went and bought an SVT. Done Deal !! I had a Bassman 50 for awhile too. Not Bad . But still not loud enough. ( No Duh) I remember them distorting alot. We were not that loud. It just didn't have enough to fill most rooms.
I'm sure many will comment. But this was my (long ago) memory of them ( Bassman 100)
I'm sure many will comment. But this was my (long ago) memory of them ( Bassman 100)
are you getting FOH/PA support for bass ? that would make a big difference in the answers you get.
FWIW, I gigged in a 5 piece club/cover band for several years in the 70's using a Fender 100 into 2 JBL D140 loaded cabs. Band was not low volume, but also not ear drum splittingly loud. Make of this what you will.
