• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Bedroom Bass Player Club

#161
Boogie Woogie said:
Has anyone of you guys tried some very small bass amp like..let's say F. rumble 15, Rolland Micro ?
Click to expand...

Yes, I have tried small bass amps with tiny drivers, I find them rather anemic. Tried a couple of the high end lunchbox types that were not too bad, but as a hobby player I can't justify spending that much money on something that does not generate a return on investment.

I tend to like big speakers, and there are plenty of combos with a single 12-15 inch speaker for sale cheap on the used market. My first bass amp was an old SS Sears 20 watt amp with a 15 inch speaker, cost me $10. I picked up a KB12, rated at 500 watts (not sure I believe that) it is way more amp than I will ever need, it is fairly small at about 20 inches square, only 30ish pounds, and though I rarely turn it up past 3 it has the ability to shake all my wife's knick-knacks off the wall when I do turn it up. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: rollie 55
#162
I have the headphone amp too. Works great and has an aux in port.

I don't know about you guys, but it eats batteries for a snack, and it colours the tone.

I use it when needed, but what I usually use is a Tascam US-122 USB interface (maybe outdated now but there's likely other similar USB interfaces out there).

I boot up my laptop, plug my bass into the interface and play whatever song, backing track, fruityloop file, whatever, and play through headphones, or just play solo. It also doesn't colour the tone. I can also send the feed out to some decent computer speakers if I want to play out loud.

You can plug your bass right into it or go through preamps and pedals first... don't think I'd send a feed from a power amp into it though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rollie 55
#163
Smith357 said:
and though I rarely turn it up past 3 it has the ability to shake all my wife's knick-knacks off the wall when I do turn it up. :)
Click to expand...

My thoughts on amps and rooms in general are "small room = small amp".
And I like to compare it with calorifier (heater), so if the heater is small (but again, powerful) I can turn it on to work at it's full capacity. If the heater is too big, then I'd have to turn it off and on more often so I wont drop dead from overheating.

The large speaker is made to push some more air. If I put it in small room, then..it's tricky isn't it? Where all that air would go? (I suppose to the neighbours rather than in our ears)

And I don't believe in that "amp has the volume knob" stories you know. The amplifier should breathe (and possibly turned on near 10). Where I like to deal with the loudness are volume knobs on guitar (or pedals), but..I suppose everyone has his own way..
 
  • Like
Reactions: rollie 55
#165
Matthew_84 said:
I have the headphone amp too. Works great and has an aux in port.

I don't know about you guys, but it eats batteries for a snack, and it colours the tone.
Click to expand...
Well, it's an an amp. It's gonna have a colour of its own. I like how my bass sounds through it.

But then I seem to have lucked out with mine: its eats its batteries gently, and it didn't die from a foor foot drop like some users have reported.
Matthew_84 said:
Don't think I'd send a feed from a power amp into it though.
Click to expand...
That would be sending your signal from a power amp to a preamp. So, indeed don't!
Boogie Woogie said:
My thoughts on amps and rooms in general are "small room = small amp".
Click to expand...
Generally speaking, I agree on this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rollie 55 and Matthew_84
#166
Boogie Woogie said:
can you get deep reggae like sound with it?
Click to expand...
Flamingo21 said:
I don't think so
Click to expand...
I have to revise my answer: yes you can! Close the tone knob on both your bass and the Amplug, dime the gain and BOOM! There it is.

In fact, it has many possibilities for such a small 50 euro amp. There's a volume knob, a tone knob, and an aux volume knob. There are three preamp/gain levels, indicated by an led: red = low gain, amber = mid gain, yellow = hi gain. Also built in is a simple drum computer, not fancy but useful for practice.

Thanks for having me explore this thing again. Even more happy with it now.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: rollie 55 and Boogie Woogie
#168
Boogie Woogie said:
My thoughts on amps and rooms in general are "small room = small amp".
And I like to compare it with calorifier (heater), so if the heater is small (but again, powerful) I can turn it on to work at it's full capacity. If the heater is too big, then I'd have to turn it off and on more often so I wont drop dead from overheating.

The large speaker is made to push some more air. If I put it in small room, then..it's tricky isn't it? Where all that air would go? (I suppose to the neighbours rather than in our ears)

And I don't believe in that "amp has the volume knob" stories you know. The amplifier should breathe (and possibly turned on near 10). Where I like to deal with the loudness are volume knobs on guitar (or pedals), but..I suppose everyone has his own way..
Click to expand...

I guess I just believe in "Headroom". Even though the speed limit is 65 I like to have the ability to go double that if I ever feel the need. :)
 
#170
Smith357 said:
I like to make money from my hobbies, so that I can continue to do them. If I never sold any of the knives I make at a fair profit, I could not afford to buy all the tools and supplies needed to produce better quality knives.
Click to expand...
That seems more like an avocation than a hobby, if you are making and selling the stuff you make.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Paula Warren, Boogie Woogie and rollie 55
#171
Smith357 said:
I guess I just believe in "Headroom". Even though the speed limit is 65 I like to have the ability to go double that if I ever feel the need. :)
Click to expand...
True, but there's still a difference between headroom for the stage and headroom for the bedroom. If I had a 1000 W 412 rig that got me through any large outdoor fest without PA, I'd still want a bedroom rig. Which would be 40 W rather than 10 W, because headroom.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Guzzi Toad and rollie 55
#172
Question for you guys... What gear should I get next?

I have fretless bass I love (strung with flats), a Source Audio Aftershock EQ/Drive pedal, and a USB interface to connect to my laptop.

I want to start making some jazz standards and play along to them with hip-hop style drums and basslines.

Got the bass covered, and the drums I can arrange through software on my computer, but have no idea what to do about melodies. I can use a sequencer (and may for comping chords), but would rather play a real instrument for the melodies.

A keyboard would probably be best, but I don't really want to learn a new instrument. I was thinking getting a fretless short scale bass to tune an octave higher, but not sure if it would sound different enough.

Would a good pedal (like a synth, thinking the Source Audio C4 Synth) be enough to turn my bass into a different sounding instrument? I don't mind if it's not very true to jazz. Looking to do a modern version of my favourite standards anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: instrumentalist
#174
Boogie Woogie said:
So, let's see..Small room - what would be your choice?
1.Phil Jones Bass Combo M-7
2. Markbass Micromark 801
3. Fender Rumble LT25
4. Fender Rumble 40
Click to expand...
like, how small? My son has a Rumble 30 that is plenty loud for church gigs and even small auditoriums. He used it all through college in Jazz band. I can't imagine wanting it any louder in your bedroom. If you are playing with a drummer you'd need a lot more horsepower, of course.
 
#178
Indiana Mike said:
What's the best amp for bedroom metal...

Seriously
Click to expand...
ASAT 02.JPG This one; Rumble 500 combo amp w/ a Rumble 115 cab. And the Tom Hamilton Sig. G&L ASAT works nicely for Bedroom Metal, too. I can attest to this, because this computer/music room actually is a bedroom. Or was, until the original owner removed a wall and the door...
Dano Longhorn.JPG 330 Ric 1.JPG Lefty Duke 4.JPG I haven't been in a band since the early '70s (yeah, I'm kinda old..), mainly because, after that one time, my military career made it pretty much impossible. And when I could have been in one again, I... just didn't want to, any more. So, I play in here. Behind the Dano Longhorn, you can see where the doorway used to be; the wall that would be to your right is gone, too. I have a motley collection of old combo amps that I play thru. The Rickenbacker TR-25 amp's been converted for a bass (still sounds good with a guitar, though); I use it quite a bit. The Marshall Bass 12 amp behind the Kramer Duke is my first amp. Bought it when I was stationed in the UK back in the 1980s. And, just behind the Rick 330 is a hot-rodded Gretsch Electromatic guitar amp. Lotta Classic Rock and Rockabilly recorded with one of those...
So, yeah, I'm definitely a Bedroom player - and proud of it, too. Number, please...?:whistle:
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Paula Warren and rollie 55
#179
I'm a former office player - when I began practicing after a decade off due to wrist issues, I played for myself in my home office for a couple of years. I then wrecked my chance to be in this auspicious group by gigging constantly (pause for gasps of horror).

One thing that I ran into recently in a music store. A decent store in my hometown has little demo rooms where you can try stuff out. I went in there with a bass, plugged into the amp, and...everything was so uneven - this note stuck out, these notes were almost gone..... I realize it had been almost a decade since I heard a bass played through an amp in a small room - I play gigs where I hear myself through in ears, I practice in headphones, and the sound is so much smoother than when a cabinet is driving a little room.

Anyway, for those struggling to get an amp that sounds good in a small room, I give the following advice:
Give up, play through a good set of headphones. You (and the neighbors) will like it better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Scott
#180
micguy said:
Anyway, for those struggling to get an amp that sounds good in a small room, I give the following advice:
Give up, play through a good set of headphones. You (and the neighbors) will like it better.
Click to expand...

I see what you're saying, but my expirience with headphones is, with headphones you get the sound as an "information", but you don't get the feeling. You don't get the air moving.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dmt and rollie 55

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back