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Bassman 100: Loud enough for gigs?

#41
ardgedee said:
What kind of alternative rock band? A band that plays like Yo La Tengo is going to be controlled and dynamic and you'll fit in fine. A band that plays like My Bloody Valentine is going to make you sound like you're clearing your throat in a typhoon.
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Well, that’s like comparing apples to jackhammers. I mean, this is just Kevin Shields’ rig alone…
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Yeah, I love the SWR Cali Blonde, I wonder what that’s for.

Debbie’s got at least a couple of stacks…
IMG_5502.webp


I saw both bands back in the 90’s, both sounded great their respective contexts.
 
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#43
pfschim said:
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.
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90% of the time we do have a PA, wedge monitors and a soundguy, but some that ask us to play don't have a soundguy or a PA sometimes.
 
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#45
My Bassman 100 (late 70s) sitting on top of a Bergantino CN212 cab.

I did a LOT of gigs with that rig. Before the Berg cab I had an Aguilar DB212 - with was about the same as the Berg, but weighed a whole bunch more.

I played in what I would call "rock bands" - two guitar players who would use amps in the 20 - 50 watt range. Not crazy loud, but loud. Bars, small - medium clubs, etc... Some small outdoor stuff.

I though the fender did just fine along with an efficient 4 ohm cab. The cab is going to do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of volume / tone output.

Bassman.JPG
 
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#46
hennessybass said:
My Bassman 100 (late 70s) sitting on top of a Bergantino CN212 cab.

I did a LOT of gigs with that rig. Before the Berg cab I had an Aguilar DB212 - with was about the same as the Berg, but weighed a whole bunch more.

I played in what I would call "rock bands" - two guitar players who would use amps in the 20 - 50 watt range. Not crazy loud, but loud. Bars, small - medium clubs, etc... Some small outdoor stuff.

I though the fender did just fine along with an efficient 4 ohm cab. The cab is going to do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of volume / tone output.

View attachment 7520595
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It's like looking into a mirror...

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#47
mikeswals said:
OP, ypu need to tell us about your cab(s) for us to really know.

I used to bring my 100w tube Ampeg head and play thru a Mesa Boogie 215. Kept up just fine.

I see you said shoegaze... I know typically you guys like very hard-driven and growly, you'll easily push it into that, if thats what you're after.
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I've got a Markbass 4 ohm 212 cab. I do have a 500 W power amp, but I'm a bit suspicious of it being 500 W due to me having to turn up to almost full volume at gigs a few times, in small venues. Either that or my cab's speakers aren't very efficient, I got it used.
 
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#48
Vendetagainst said:
I've got a Markbass 4 ohm 212 cab. I do have a 500 W power amp, but I'm a bit suspicious of it being 500 W due to me having to turn up to almost full volume at gigs a few times, in small venues. Either that or my cab isn't 4 ohms, I got it used.
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Y'know that's a funny thing too, manufacturers claims about watts.

I mostly play pretty low wattage amps. My Big Iron is a Mesa D180, which I guess is about 200 watts. I almost never need that much power, but it's fun sometimes.

Whenever I get to play some big monster rig on a backline that's 500+ watts I usually get excited like "okay time to bring the thunder!" And then it's usually very underwhelming. I guess it's noticeably louder? But never as much as I'm expecting.

Admittedly these are mostly random modern era SVT Pro Whatevers and I don't have much time to tweak them, or sometimes feel like I shouldn't, so there could be significant user error there. But I do feel like there is some grain of truth when people say watts were bigger back in the day.
 
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#49
Vendetagainst said:
90% of the time we do have a PA, wedge monitors and a soundguy, but some that ask us to play don't have a soundguy or a PA sometimes.
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so, with PA support for bass, you could get away with very modest bass rig really. And the 100w Fender into a decently efficient cab will be fine to gig with IMO/IME.

good luck
 
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#50
pfschim said:
so, with PA support for bass, you could get away with very modest bass rig really. And the 100w Fender into a decently efficient cab will be fine to gig with IMO/IME.

good luck
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With a great PA and a competent audio tech, you don't even need an amp. The thing is, with an appropriate rig you can still get the job done when the PA is inadequate and/or the audio tech sucks.

Given the choice between using my own rig, using a provided back line, or running through monitors, I almost always chose to use my own rig.

Edited to add: When I use my own rig, I generally prefer to not have bass in my monitor wedge. Adding bass to the wedge may make the bass obviously louder, and yet harder to hear clearly.
 
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#52
Wasnex said:
With a great PA and a competent audio tech, you don't even need an amp. The thing is, with an appropriate rig you can still get the job done when the PA is inadequate and/or the audio tech sucks.

Given the choice between using my own rig, using a provided back line, or running through monitors, I almost always chose to use my own rig.

Edited to add: When I use my own rig, I generally prefer to not have bass in my monitor wedge. Adding bass to the wedge may make the bass obviously louder, and yet harder to hear clearly.
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Unless you have a REALLY good monitor!
 
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#53
Why would I want my bass coming out of a whatever-brand-powered-speaker-monitor, when I've got tone for days with my beautiful vintage Bassman 100 and killer cab that sounds just right.
I try to avoid bass in the monitors. If the stage is outdoors, and huge, and the sound is getting lost, maybe,,, but even then, my habit would be to stand close to the amp (where I always stand) so I can hear myself just how I want.
 
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#55
I spent a week meditating in a cave and typing out (most of) a much longer answer, but it was lost (mostly true).

Just as well. Here's my shorter answer: Try the Bassman 100 with your bass and cab (and a different cab, if there's one handy to try). If you really dig what it does and are willing to roughly double (or even 1.5 X) your effective cab-age, you might be surprised at what it'll cover.

If you're currently pushing an honestly-rated 500 Watt amp (which amp, specifically?) near its limits through a 4 Ohm Markbass 2x12 (if it's the NY 122 or similar), you might benefit from more cab, anyway.

Bear in mind that the Bassman 100 will want to see a 4 Ohm load. Might be that, with more cab, it would cut it for a lot of stuff, but not everything -- for that (and as a backup to the Bassman) it might be good to keep a more powerful (and compact) solid-state amp.

An HPF can help squeeze a little more from head and cab(s) when things get loud and/or low.

Whatever you do, be honest with yourself about what you want and are willing to make work.

Good luck, have fun, and let us know how you get on!
 
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#57
Vendetagainst said:
I decided against buying the Bassman, some bills came up and I need to save the money for now. Some other time!
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Understandable! Sensible, even. ;)

Forgive me if I missed it, but I don't believe you ever said, specifically, which 500 W amp and which 4 Ohm, Markbass 2x12 (though I'm not sure if they made many different ones) that you're using, currently.

Bassman or no, good luck and have fun!
 
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#58
MarkA said:
Understandable! Sensible, even. ;)

Forgive me if I missed it, but I don't believe you ever said, specifically, which 500 W amp and which 4 Ohm, Markbass 2x12 (though I'm not sure if they made many different ones) that you're using, currently.

Bassman or no, good luck and have fun!
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Oh, my apologies! Totally forgot to say what amp and cab I was using. I'm using a Jay Ganz Straight Ahead Power Amp, into a MarkBass New York 122 cab! I'm actually suspecting the speakers in my cab may be busted: I have a mudbucker in my bass and the cab farts out sometimes when using it, despite the amp and cab in the practice room or the DAW working fine. I'll have to do some further testing. I'll bring the SAPA to practice next week and test it with the cab in the practice room to rule out the amp.
 
#59
Vendetagainst said:
Hi all,

I have the opportunity to buy a silver panel Bassman 100. I'm going to try it out before I buy it. I was wondering, for those of y'all with experience with this amp, would it be loud enough for gigs? I play in an alternative rock band with two guitars and and a drummer.

Thanks!
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Oh yeah. My guitar player plays through one and is plenty loud. It's had a few mods including tubes recently but it's a beast
 

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