Best Amp For Reggae- Small Venues

[btmpancake]

I totally agree with PTLEFTYBASS about the fender rumble 200watt 115 combo,best bang for the buck imo & can add an ext cab if needed. btw-way below your budget @ GC. for the size of venue you wrote about it's perfect,but be aware that lots of reggae gigs maybe outside/outdoors,so an ext cab may come in handy and still be obtainable in your wallet or close to it.

 

[Joebone]

At Musicians Friend, the brand new Acoustic BN3115 300 watts and a 15" Neo speaker. $599 plus free shipping. These amps are loud for the money.

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This looks interesting. I like the idea of more power than the 200-watt 1-15 combos out there...

And it brought back fond memories of a bassist with whom I played a lot of salsa and afro-brazilian jazz back in the late '70's through the mid-'80's. He had some sort of Acoustic 1-15 combo with a slotted port along the bottom. It weighed a ton but totally brought it; even in largish clubs that could accommodate 3-400 folks, with no FOH support. He/we did not play reggae, but that rig, with his '62 stripped P-bass with maple board (George Porter's thing, now that I think of it!) would totally have ruled in that world.

This seems most promising for the OP.

 

[crust_cheese]

I've pulled of my first and second gigs (reggae, dub) with some TC Electronic 210 and a 210 Fender Rumble 500 combo respectively. I was honestly surprised with the volume of the TC, but didn't get to play that loud on the second occasion (was more of a background music kind of thingy).
Both, however, were small gigs (first one outdoor, second indoors). So, for a small venue, a powerful 210 will get you there, I'd say. Since reggae is all about that clean, fat bass though, you'll want tons of headroom and speaker area, which is why I'll pick up a 410 extension for my Rumble combo sometime.

 

[firechariot]

I got my Ampeg 410hlf and Pf-500 for under $600. They work great for reggae.

I perform ALOT of reggae, and this suggestion seems best except I would use a PF800(the most trouble free of the newer PF series). Ampeg puts out the best tone for reggae right out-d-box, without apology. SWR got it right too with some of their higher wattage combos. Robbie Shakespeare endorses MarkBass, but not me. His standard tone is a bit more 'mid-rangey', where I like to put alot of bass on the stage platform for everyone to feel.
Plenty o non-reggae players here are endorsing the 1x or 2x15" speaker but thats not your best move for small/mid sized venues. You wanna hear yourself close to the amp, and so does your drummer. A high-wattage 2x10 may work(ehh.....), but I never play with less than 4 10" speakers. I also never hit the stage with less than 300w(tube) or 700w(Solid State) of juice... regardless of the venue. Reggae Bass requires tons of headroom(live) and a strong showing in the 28-100hz range to have Belly Presence, Tsunami Swell, and Earthquake Effect(with aftershock) so that all the big booty people get up and WHEEL!

 

[crust_cheese]

I perform ALOT of reggae, and this suggestion seems best except I would use a PF800(the most trouble free of the newer PF series). Ampeg puts out the best tone for reggae right out-d-box, without apology. SWR got it right too with some of their higher wattage combos. Robbie Shakespeare endorses MarkBass, but not me. His standard tone is a bit more 'mid-rangey', where I like to put alot of bass on the stage platform for everyone to feel.
Plenty o non-reggae players here are endorsing the 1x or 2x15" speaker but thats not your best move for small/mid sized venues. You wanna hear yourself close to the amp, and so does your drummer. A high-wattage 2x10 may work(ehh.....), but I never play with less than 4 10" speakers. I also never hit the stage with less than 300w(tube) or 700w(Solid State) of juice... regardless of the venue. Reggae Bass requires tons of headroom(live) and a strong showing in the 28-100hz range to have Belly Presence, Tsunami Swell, and Earthquake Effect(with aftershock) so that all the big booty people get up and WHEEL!

To support that statement, I remember reading in the comment section of this () video that the guy playing uses Ampeg himself (it was the video uploader's own response, so I assume it's true).

On the other hand, I thought the whole "this and this driver size = this sound" thing has kind of been laid to rest?

 

[btmpancake]

I totally agree with PTLEFTYBASS about the fender rumble 200watt 115 combo,best bang for the buck imo & can add an ext cab if needed. btw-way below your budget @ GC. for the size of venue you wrote about it's perfect,but be aware that lots of reggae gigs maybe outside/outdoors,so an ext cab may come in handy and still be obtainable in your wallet or close to it.

You wrote-small venues. 6oo dollar budget? Lead&background vocals;Please let us know what you decided & how its going-GOODLUCK!

 

[HolmeBass]

Speaker area/volume is the key. I'd get that fEARful, or a 212 with a larger enclosure. There's no faking it when it comes to deep bass. No 210 is ever going to cut it for this kind of bass tone.

 

[FlatwoundFunk]

I've pulled of my first and second gigs (reggae, dub) with some TC Electronic 210 and a 210 Fender Rumble 500 combo respectively. I was honestly surprised with the volume of the TC, but didn't get to play that loud on the second occasion (was more of a background music kind of thingy).
Both, however, were small gigs (first one outdoor, second indoors). So, for a small venue, a powerful 210 will get you there, I'd say. Since reggae is all about that clean, fat bass though, you'll want tons of headroom and speaker area, which is why I'll pick up a 410 extension for my Rumble combo sometime.

Contrary to SOME beliefs, Raggae music is not about subsonic bass waves. It's about a feel and riddem' in conjuction with lyrics that swim through the vibe. No matter the size of the cabinets, it's gotta have that riddem'. Here's an example of my point. Enjoy

 

[crust_cheese]

Contrary to SOME beliefs, Raggae music is not about subsonic bass waves. It's about a feel and riddem' in conjuction with lyrics that swim through the vibe. No matter the size of the cabinets, it's gotta have that riddem'. Here's an example of my point. Enjoy

Incidentally that video just doesn't do a whole lot for me, I'm afraid. Sounds more like modern singer/songwriter kinda stuff which is just something I don't really like - and for my taste, there's actually not enough bass in it. Different folks, different strokes, I guess. Plus, for the dub we play intermittently I need *face melting gut punching bowel evacuating* clean bass. Not boomy so it drowns out the others in a wave of mud, not too trebly or middy so it interferes with the guitar - just that nice, defined, DEEP punch to your nads which gets your pants flapping when paired with those groovy, melodic, trippy basslines! That's what reggae/dub is about to me (at least, speaking of bass).

 

[FlatwoundFunk]

Incidentally that video just doesn't do a whole lot for me, I'm afraid. Sounds more like modern singer/songwriter kinda stuff which is just something I don't really like - and for my taste, there's actually not enough bass in it. Different folks, different strokes, I guess. Plus, for the dub we play intermittently I need *face melting gut punching bowel evacuating* clean bass. Not boomy so it drowns out the others in a wave of mud, not too trebly or middy so it interferes with the guitar - just that nice, defined, DEEP punch to your nads which gets your pants flapping when paired with those groovy, melodic, trippy basslines! That's what reggae/dub is about to me (at least, speaking of bass).

I feel yah. What I was emphasizing is the overall concept of raggae. Not just the "dub" or "dancehall" feel that is commonly associated with raggae music. With the band set up that the OP was describing, it seems as if it will be more melodic in nature. I could be wrong though.
FF

 

[macmanlou]

I don't want to be too loud but I want to be felt! I'd rather be felt than heard if that makes any kind of sense, LOL!

I suggest a decent head and 2x10 would be perfect, as long as people could feel the bass! It's really important to the feel of our band!

I'll suggest a vertical stack of 2 2X10s and separate bass amp. That way the audience and _you_ can feel as well as hear. Lots of suggestions and photos of rigs here: I am a 210 vertical stack believer!! | TalkBass.com

 

[Session1969]

I had a very nice reggae rig that consisted of an old Carvin 2-15 cab loaded with Emenince Deltas that I bought off of c/l. I then bought an Eden WT-400 from the classifieds on Talkbass. I paid $200 for the cab and $400 for the amp. It was amazing.

For reggae, if you don't have P.A. support all the time, 15's work out the best, ime.

 

[FlatwoundFunk]

Incidentally that video just doesn't do a whole lot for me, I'm afraid. Sounds more like modern singer/songwriter kinda stuff which is just something I don't really like - and for my taste, there's actually not enough bass in it. Different folks, different strokes, I guess. Plus, for the dub we play intermittently I need *face melting gut punching bowel evacuating* clean bass. Not boomy so it drowns out the others in a wave of mud, not too trebly or middy so it interferes with the guitar - just that nice, defined, DEEP punch to your nads which gets your pants flapping when paired with those groovy, melodic, trippy basslines! That's what reggae/dub is about to me (at least, speaking of bass).

Here's another one. Not to prove a point. Just because I love it

 

[Session1969]

I perform ALOT of reggae, and this suggestion seems best except I would use a PF800(the most trouble free of the newer PF series). Ampeg puts out the best tone for reggae right out-d-box, without apology. SWR got it right too with some of their higher wattage combos. Robbie Shakespeare endorses MarkBass, but not me. His standard tone is a bit more 'mid-rangey', where I like to put alot of bass on the stage platform for everyone to feel.
Plenty o non-reggae players here are endorsing the 1x or 2x15" speaker but thats not your best move for small/mid sized venues. You wanna hear yourself close to the amp, and so does your drummer. A high-wattage 2x10 may work(ehh.....), but I never play with less than 4 10" speakers. I also never hit the stage with less than 300w(tube) or 700w(Solid State) of juice... regardless of the venue. Reggae Bass requires tons of headroom(live) and a strong showing in the 28-100hz range to have Belly Presence, Tsunami Swell, and Earthquake Effect(with aftershock) so that all the big booty people get up and WHEEL!

I do agree that the throw of 15's need to be taken into consideration but to say non-reggae bass players recommend 15's is silly.

 

[bass12]

I perform ALOT of reggae, and this suggestion seems best except I would use a PF800(the most trouble free of the newer PF series). Ampeg puts out the best tone for reggae right out-d-box, without apology. SWR got it right too with some of their higher wattage combos. Robbie Shakespeare endorses MarkBass, but not me. His standard tone is a bit more 'mid-rangey', where I like to put alot of bass on the stage platform for everyone to feel.
Plenty o non-reggae players here are endorsing the 1x or 2x15" speaker but thats not your best move for small/mid sized venues. You wanna hear yourself close to the amp, and so does your drummer. A high-wattage 2x10 may work(ehh.....), but I never play with less than 4 10" speakers. I also never hit the stage with less than 300w(tube) or 700w(Solid State) of juice... regardless of the venue. Reggae Bass requires tons of headroom(live) and a strong showing in the 28-100hz range to have Belly Presence, Tsunami Swell, and Earthquake Effect(with aftershock) so that all the big booty people get up and WHEEL!

I guess it depends on the sound you're going for. The head I've used the most on reggae gigs (backing visiting Jamaican artists mostly) is an Ampeg SVT-3 Pro (450 watts) both on large stages and in fairly small rooms.

 

[BurningSkies]

15's don't 'throw' any more or less than any other speakers. Sound happens at the cone and goes from there.

 

[One Drop]

This looks interesting. I like the idea of more power than the 200-watt 1-15 combos out there...

And it brought back fond memories of a bassist with whom I played a lot of salsa and afro-brazilian jazz back in the late '70's through the mid-'80's. He had some sort of Acoustic 1-15 combo with a slotted port along the bottom. It weighed a ton but totally brought it; even in largish clubs that could accommodate 3-400 folks, with no FOH support. He/we did not play reggae, but that rig, with his '62 stripped P-bass with maple board (George Porter's thing, now that I think of it!) would totally have ruled in that world.

This seems most promising for the OP.

That was my first bass amp, but it was an efficient speaker and a huge cab, really got the most out of a hundred or however many watts the amp was. I'd happily dub a small room with that combo. It weighed a ton, of course.

Be aware the current Acoustic stuff is entry level gear, decent but sharing only the name with the Acoustic amps of yore.

 

[RiZzBot]

I perform ALOT of reggae, and this suggestion seems best except I would use a PF800(the most trouble free of the newer PF series). Ampeg puts out the best tone for reggae right out-d-box, without apology. SWR got it right too with some of their higher wattage combos. Robbie Shakespeare endorses MarkBass, but not me. His standard tone is a bit more 'mid-rangey', where I like to put alot of bass on the stage platform for everyone to feel.
Plenty o non-reggae players here are endorsing the 1x or 2x15" speaker but thats not your best move for small/mid sized venues. You wanna hear yourself close to the amp, and so does your drummer. A high-wattage 2x10 may work(ehh.....), but I never play with less than 4 10" speakers. I also never hit the stage with less than 300w(tube) or 700w(Solid State) of juice... regardless of the venue. Reggae Bass requires tons of headroom(live) and a strong showing in the 28-100hz range to have Belly Presence, Tsunami Swell, and Earthquake Effect(with aftershock) so that all the big booty people get up and WHEEL!

PF-800 next on my radar. Thanks Firechariot!

 

[NightCat]

What does this mean? "Belly Presence, Tsunami Swell, and Earthquake Effect(with aftershock)"

 

[matante]

What does this mean? "Belly Presence, Tsunami Swell, and Earthquake Effect(with aftershock)"

That you feel the bass, not just hear it.