Best portable practice bass combo amp?

[Dave W]

I do a lot of headphones playing. I get studio quality tone and I'm easily able to play along to songs or record.

Is that something you'd consider, or do you prefer an amp?

 

[bassbourne]

I do a lot of headphones playing. I get studio quality tone and I'm easily able to play along to songs or record.

Is that something you'd consider, or do you prefer an amp?

Thanks for the reply.

I currently do all my practice with headphones and a laptop once my son has gone to bed, so ideally I'm looking for a small amp for during the day. My current amp is slightly too big, so I'm less temped to get it out and use it.

 

[bassbourne]

At the moment I'm leaning towards either the Hartke HD15 or the Roland Micro Cube. The Phil Jones stuff looks great, but as this is just a simple practice amp for home use, it's a bit more than I'm looking to spend.

The extra features of the Roland are an added bonus, but I'll be mostly playing along to albums, so if the Hartke sounds as good or better I'd be just as happy with that. Anyone had any experience comparing the two?

 

[Kukulkan61]

I've had the Roland Micro Cube for many years and love it. It's small and easy to move around and has surprisingly good sound.

I have one too and it even runs on batteries!!

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

A used Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0 -- they had one with an 8" or one with a 10"

 

[burgerdj]

The Ibanez Promethean 3110 is pretty great - and you can add an extension cab for a 300w output.

 

[LanEvo]

Another +1 for Phil Jones. If there's a better sounding small combo than the Briefcase, I haven't heard it. Look for one of the originals with the "piranha" drivers. The new models with neo drivers and more power are a little louder, but don't sound quite as good.

 

[Ace Of Bass]

I’ve never had an issue with my Rumble 15 that I use for practice when I’m farting around different spots in the house...it’s plenty loud for the most part....I don’t need it to be a beefy sounding boomy combo..it does it’s job as a light low wattage bedroom amp just fine for me...

 

[pcake]

i had a rumble 15 - i hated its lack of bass. my basses all sounded like guitars, and i wasn't expecting big boom - just a little bass when playing quietly.

if you really have to have a very small amp, the hartke HD15 is the way to go. it sounds like a bass amp, which mystifies me since the speaker is so small. people here recommended it to me. it's not expensive, either.

but my rumble 40, which i mostly use at "someone sleeping in the next room" volume (sometimes because someone is, indeed, sleeping in the next room). it sound really nice at low volume, and you can get a lot of variety of tone out of it. if you lack the space, you can put stuff on top of it i have a bottle of vitamins, a supplement, a tuner, an EQ box and a bundle of cables on top of mine right now.

i like the roland micro cube rx. it's heavier than it looks, though. and for less money, i got my rumble 40, which weighs less than the rumble 25 although is a little bigger.

 

[40Hz]

I will never bother with the typical large driver speakers ever again--they're just too slow and colored compared to using multiple smaller speakers to achieve the same volume, frequency response, and move the same amount of air with the same visceral impact.

I think a lot depends on how you see and use an amp. Some people see it as just something to make their instrument louder and prefer to do all their tone shaping on their instrument. If you’re an active bass player that can make sense. But for many players their amp is a much a musical instrument as their bass is. So the response and coloration their amplifier provides is a key component in their own personal sound. Especially if they’re using a passive instrument.

Hifi clean and punchy isn’t everybody’s notion of an ideal sound. So it’s hard to make too sweeping a conclusion about bass tone. Suffice to say it’s best to try everything you can, trust your ears first and foremost, and not get too hung up on the math or specs. They can provide valuable insights and give you some direction. But they don’t tell the whole story.

Or so I think anyway.

 

[Xad]

Hey there,

I currently live in a very small apartment and am looking for a quality practice amp. Just to give you all an idea, my other amp is a Fender rumble 40, but it's too big and loud.

The point is that it has to be fairly portable so that I can move it around the apartment easily and possibly even take it round the corner to a friends (by foot) for an acoustic jam sesh.

I've narrowed it down to the following, but I'm open to other suggestions:

- Fender Rumble 15
- Hartke HD15
- Ashdown Tour Bus 15
- Roland Micro Cube Bass RX

So all my choices are 15 watts or under. That's mainly due to the fact they are smaller. If it's not worth getting a 15 watt amp I don't mind going up to 20-25 watts. Although portability is important to me, it also matters to me that the amp can produce some low end and doesn't sound like a toy. Do any of these fit that bill?

Thanks!

PS I'm not looking to spend too much so a Phil Jones or Markbass isn't really an option. I'd buy the Roland with all the extra features if it's worth it though.

I used a Yamaha THR10C for years as my late-night practice amp. Not easy to find today, but a newer version - the Yamaha THRII - is available. For quiet practice it's great. Has an Aux in for your computer/phone/mp3 player. The built-in "models" are largely guitar oriented, though there are a few built-in bass models that are fun for a minute. I generally found the "bass" or "flat" settings to be best.

Remember, this is a 20W amp, with 3" drivers, so it does not produce thunderous lows by any stretch. But it has a solid bass response, and you can hear what you're playing in open air, which I vastly prefer to headphones.

 

[squeaker]

Another vote for Phil Jones...

I use a Micro 7 for home practice. I don't think anybody makes a bass amp that's smaller physically, but at 50 watts it's still capable of playing along with a Stratocaster and an acoustic guitar, both amplified (as I did yesterday with friends in a garage studio). It also has a very convenient volume control for the aux input.

 

[DukeCC]

Hey there,

I currently live in a very small apartment and am looking for a quality practice amp. Just to give you all an idea, my other amp is a Fender rumble 40, but it's too big and loud.

The point is that it has to be fairly portable so that I can move it around the apartment easily and possibly even take it round the corner to a friends (by foot) for an acoustic jam sesh.

I've narrowed it down to the following, but I'm open to other suggestions:

- Fender Rumble 15
- Hartke HD15
- Ashdown Tour Bus 15
- Roland Micro Cube Bass RX

So all my choices are 15 watts or under. That's mainly due to the fact they are smaller. If it's not worth getting a 15 watt amp I don't mind going up to 20-25 watts. Although portability is important to me, it also matters to me that the amp can produce some low end and doesn't sound like a toy. Do any of these fit that bill?

Thanks!

PS I'm not looking to spend too much so a Phil Jones or Markbass isn't really an option. I'd buy the Roland with all the extra features if it's worth it though.

You forgot to mention Cool Factor, which is most important, so a used Danelectro Nifty Seventy is the answer!

 

[getBAK]

I love the idea of Phil Jones stuff.

I seriously doubt for a combo amp that a Genzler could be beaten at this point. Lots of power, good cab design, built-in tilt-back.
Magellan 350 Combo - Genzler Amplification

<edit> just reread the OP. This is way more than you were asking for. But if you want a combo you can legit gig with, this is it.

 

[MrLenny1]

IMHO headphones. Buying another combo is redundant.
I got a computer interface and I can go live or headphones
for silent practice and have full access to YOUTUBE.

 

[Playbyear]

The OP states that he "doesn't want to spend too much"
That rules out most of the small, higher performing choices. (unless they can snag something used)

 

[conrad H]

Hotone Nano Legacy Thunder Bass- 5 Watt head. You can use headphones or plug into whatever cab you choose.

 

[dramatwist]

...I don't know if they make them anymore, but I use an Acoustic B15... 15 watts into a 10" speaker... unbelievably loud... built-in compression, overdrive and 3-band EQ... picked it up for $60 on a visit to Austin, TX...

Acoustic B15 Bass Combo | Acoustic Amplification

 

[dave_bass5]

Fender Rumble LT25 gets my vote. Very cheap, very light and although not loud enough to keep up with a drummer ive never been able to turn it right up at home. Some cool built it amp sims and effects as well.
Aux in and headphone out as well, plus USB.
Fender Rumble LT25 review | Guitar World

 

[SwitchGear]

Thanks for the reply. For now though, I'm looking for a very small practice amp (that still has some low end) for practice at home. As mentioned in my original post, I currently own the rumble 40 and it's too big and loud for my apartment, so the rumble 100 will definitely be too much. I'm planning on selling my rumble 40 and buying the rumble 100 for gigs once we've moved to a bigger apartment though.

The small 15 to 25 watt bass amps are fart machines. If you want to jam with buddies stay away from the little guys. Dont waste your money. Just get the 100 combo.