• 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.

Best Amps for Jazz Bass?

T

tonesponge

Oct 31, 2010
74
0
#1
My background is in guitar, and my experience in that realm is that certain amps are a good match for certain guitars. For example, I'd pair a Vox with a Strat, but not a Les Paul.

I'd like to know if there are certain bass amps that are especially well suited for pairing with a Jazz Bass, or if there are certain bass amps that do not pair weel with a jazz bass. Opinions?
 
#2
Someone will inevitably chime in and suggest an SVT. (I'm looking at you JimmyM!) :p

There are tons of excellent offerings out there for bass players. There aren't so many equivalents of those common knowledge pairings like a Ric 360 + AC30, Gibsons with humbuckers and Marshalls, etc.

What are you asking from your amp? See the off the top of my head list below...

What's your budget?
What tone are you striving for? (Examples help! What styles will you play? Artists you enjoy the tone of?)
Do you like "plug and play" or are you a knob tweaker? (Is versatility important or do you enjoy one trick ponies?)
Is weight or size an issue?
What size venues do you want to play?
Will you have PA support?
 
#7
For me, the burpy, nasal sound that comes from emphasizing the bridge pickup on a J-bass seems to match very nicely with the Mark Bass stuff. I ultimately find the LMII a bit colored for my overall purposes, but it sounds great with the J-bass.
 
#8
Joebone said:
For me, the burpy, nasal sound that comes from emphasizing the bridge pickup on a J-bass seems to match very nicely with the Mark Bass stuff. I ultimately find the LMII a bit colored for my overall purposes, but it sounds great with the J-bass.
Click to expand...
colored...lol! that's pretty funny because the lmii is one of the very few amps on the market that scopes flat with all the controls nooned and the filters turned off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GrapeBass
#10
tonesponge said:
For example, I'd pair a Vox with a Strat, but not a Les Paul.
Click to expand...
why not? that's britpop all day long.

tonesponge said:
I'd like to know if there are certain bass amps that are especially well suited for pairing with a Jazz Bass, or if there are certain bass amps that do not pair well with a jazz bass.
Click to expand...
not so much.

if you think about it, the revised P-bass (1957) and the jazz (1960?) were designed to push a "good" bass tone through weak-ass open-back tube combo amps with fragile speakers. they're inherently engineered to sound good through anything.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FretlessJon
#11
I second the motion. Its been moved and seconded that a J bass sounds pretty good no matter what it is plugged into.

My experience is the bigger the better ie: a 1200 watt amp always sounds better than a 600 watt amp which sounds better than a 300 watt amp which sounds better than a 150 watt amp which sounds better than a 50 watt amp.

YMMV
 
#12
Chris K said:
Jim, could you explain 'scopes flat' for me?
Click to expand...
sure thing, chris. bass gear mag tested it in their first issue, and they hooked it up to something that measures its frequency response, and it doesn't have any frequencies boosted or cut with the controls nooned and filters off. so it's freq response chart is a straight horizontal line, referred to as "flat." flat is about as uncolored as it gets. to me it's neither a good thing or bad thing since amps come with eq knobs that let me dial in whatever i want, which invariably ends up being not quite flat.
 
#14
I remember one of the old timers over on FDP mentioning a long time ago that a Fender Jazz likes 15" speakers ... funny thing is I have never used 15's other than in one folded horn bin ... used to be 18" and now 10's ... FWIW, which probably isn't much ... other than to say speaker choice may almost be as (if not more) important than brand of power supply to get your tone .. JMHO
 
#15
JimmyM said:
sure thing, chris. bass gear mag tested it in their first issue, and they hooked it up to something that measures its frequency response, and it doesn't have any frequencies boosted or cut with the controls nooned and filters off. so it's freq response chart is a straight horizontal line, referred to as "flat." flat is about as uncolored as it gets. to me it's neither a good thing or bad thing since amps come with eq knobs that let me dial in whatever i want, which invariably ends up being not quite flat.
Click to expand...

Thanks, man, more or les what I figured. Works quite the same on my MB 151 combo. Like it for that quality, because, like you said, it leaves all options open.
 
#17
tonesponge said:
My background is in guitar, and my experience in that realm is that certain amps are a good match for certain guitars. For example, I'd pair a Vox with a Strat, but not a Les Paul.

I'd like to know if there are certain bass amps that are especially well suited for pairing with a Jazz Bass, or if there are certain bass amps that do not pair weel with a jazz bass. Opinions?
Click to expand...

There are as many J Bass type tones as their are guitar tones.

For the modern funk guys with stainless steel roundwounds and ash/maple J's, it is hard to beat the Epifani UL cabs and the Markbass heads... big down low, smooth in the mids, beautiful upper treble. This combination has become a bit of a classic with the modern funk and gospel guys.

For the nickel roundwound modern rockers or pop players, it is hard to beat the Bergantino AE line of cabs with a nicely voiced solid state head (Genz, Markbass, GK).... punchy, hit you in the chest, grindy/bright up top.

For the more classic rock J guys with nickel rounds or flats on alder/maple Js, the Bergantino HS or NV cabs (depending if you want a bit more 'contemporary' tone with the HS ported cabs with tweeters, or go all the way old school with the one way sealed NV's) with a warm sounding head like the Aguilar heads, some of the Mesa heads, the Thunderfunk heads, etc.

I've found the key to my personal 'J tone' (which I would put more in the 'modern pop/R&B' sort of thing) is to have a rig that can be voiced for a bit of low mid punch to fatten up the low end of a J in a mix. I use various Bergantino AE cabs, and mostly a Markbass F500 head.

LOTS of different combinations sound very good, but I guess I've made a bit of a study in matching J basses to rigs, at least to achieve my version of a J tone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bassomane
#18
Per my above post, there are of course, many additional rigs that do a great job in each of my categories. My choices/recommendations are based not only on tone, but also size, weight, build quality, and also 'true performance' (meaning that the amps are honestly rated and that the cabs have the specs...the mechanical ability due to high quality drivers and great design.... to deliver the goods without farting out or blowing up, even in extreme conditions). I don't factor price into the equation.
 
#20
James Judson said:
I second the motion. Its been moved and seconded that a J bass sounds pretty good no matter what it is plugged into.

My experience is the bigger the better ie: a 1200 watt amp always sounds better than a 600 watt amp which sounds better than a 300 watt amp which sounds better than a 150 watt amp which sounds better than a 50 watt amp.

YMMV
Click to expand...

My mileage varies. A big amp played so soft that i can't get colour from the preamp sounds lifeless to me.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back