Looking for a Studio Amp New or Used for 60's-70's warm, punchy p-bass tone $300 or less. Searching on ebay and reverb I've seen a few Ampeg and Fender Rumble amps. What is your recommendation for this kind of tone. An XLR out for recording is highly desirable. Thanks!
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Best studio amp for $300 or less
- Thread starter bassplayerwanab
- Start date
Hi there bassplaywanab,
I answered in your other post. I'll try to answer your question to the best of my knowledge with regards to whether or not a 100 watts is loud enough to sit in a band.
Back in the day I used to play in a band with a Peavey TKO 75 which was rated for 80 watts. It was a combo amp with a 15 inch speaker. It was fine for band practice in my basement but was pretty useless for any live shows. I imagine any 100 watt combo would be ok to use as a monitor but you would want to have FOH support in most gig situations, also a 100 watt combo maybe should be okay for jam nights in a basement if everyone uses restraint. Keep in mind a 100 watt head attached to an 810 cab will sound louder than a 200 watt combo going through one 12 inch speaker. All this to say the number of speakers will net you a bigger gain in volume than going from say 100 to 200 watts. Once I retired the Peavey I got an Ashdown Mag 300 115 combo. It was rated at 307 watts with a 4 ohm load but as a standalone combo it was putting out 180 watts. This was good for band practice and small room gigs say up to 50 people with out FOH support. So without knowing what your goals are it's hard to say whether or not 100 watts will be loud enough to sit in a band situation, but for studio use and jamming with friends in say a basement or garage you should be fine. If you plan on playing out I would look at something bigger than 100 watts, especially if you want to play through a combo.
I think if it were me I would probably look for something used like a used Fender Rumble 200, Peavey Max 115 300 watt, Fender Rumble 350, Ashdown Mag 300, Traynor Dynablock 400, Ampeg BA 210 and so on. If these amps aren't vintage sounding enough you could always add a mild dirt pedal in the signal to warm up your tone.
If I absolutely had to have new and I had a budget of $300 I'd probably go for the Fender Rumble 100. It's light at 22lbs and it has that 3 button tone voicing option with one of the buttons is the vintage button, it has aux in so you can jam along with your phone ect..
I hope this helps.
Cheers
I answered in your other post. I'll try to answer your question to the best of my knowledge with regards to whether or not a 100 watts is loud enough to sit in a band.
Back in the day I used to play in a band with a Peavey TKO 75 which was rated for 80 watts. It was a combo amp with a 15 inch speaker. It was fine for band practice in my basement but was pretty useless for any live shows. I imagine any 100 watt combo would be ok to use as a monitor but you would want to have FOH support in most gig situations, also a 100 watt combo maybe should be okay for jam nights in a basement if everyone uses restraint. Keep in mind a 100 watt head attached to an 810 cab will sound louder than a 200 watt combo going through one 12 inch speaker. All this to say the number of speakers will net you a bigger gain in volume than going from say 100 to 200 watts. Once I retired the Peavey I got an Ashdown Mag 300 115 combo. It was rated at 307 watts with a 4 ohm load but as a standalone combo it was putting out 180 watts. This was good for band practice and small room gigs say up to 50 people with out FOH support. So without knowing what your goals are it's hard to say whether or not 100 watts will be loud enough to sit in a band situation, but for studio use and jamming with friends in say a basement or garage you should be fine. If you plan on playing out I would look at something bigger than 100 watts, especially if you want to play through a combo.
I think if it were me I would probably look for something used like a used Fender Rumble 200, Peavey Max 115 300 watt, Fender Rumble 350, Ashdown Mag 300, Traynor Dynablock 400, Ampeg BA 210 and so on. If these amps aren't vintage sounding enough you could always add a mild dirt pedal in the signal to warm up your tone.
If I absolutely had to have new and I had a budget of $300 I'd probably go for the Fender Rumble 100. It's light at 22lbs and it has that 3 button tone voicing option with one of the buttons is the vintage button, it has aux in so you can jam along with your phone ect..
I hope this helps.
Cheers
i'm not sure i get what it is you're really trying to accomplish:
- if you're using an XLR connection to get to your recording gear = you don't need an amp/speaker in the first place.
- unless you're using two inputs (e.g., 1. mic the amp, 2. go direct with XLR) = you don't need an amp/speaker.
- getting a "60's-70's warm, punchy p-bass tone" on a recording = you don't need an amp/speaker.
since a DI and/or interface (direct to your recording gear) will do: why do you need a "studio amp" to get a "60's-70's warm, punchy p-bass tone?"
how do you record your bass now? (i voted "other.")
Thanks for the reply. I don't record bass now. I have a home studio and have been producing music for some time but I'm historically a guitar and keyboard player. I recently picked up a bass to learn and hopefully at some point laying my own bass tracks. When recording electric guitar, I always record DI + amp and blend the tracks. In the past when I've had bass players play tracks for me, this is also the way I've recorded bass as well with a lot of success. Yes, I have plugins that simulate bass amps but IMO there's nothing like the real thing. I also want an amp I can easily plug into to play in my studio without having to setup my recording gear, DAW and plugins. I jam with some guys once in a while and plan to play bass with them as well. I'm just looking for a relatively inexpensive amp that will get me started with these things.
got it!
that's your preferred (tried and true) method!while i honestly believe (i.e., e.g., my own studio experience) that almost any competent amp would get you where you want to go, i'd think that a P-bass + a fender amp/rumble is an obvious pairing.
whatever you come up with as a plan/purchase: good luck with your recordings!
I have a Rumble 100. I like it but be aware that the cab is very dark and the flat EQ is scooped. I can get any tone I want though because the 4 band EQ has a lot of range.
Personally I love that the DI is post everything + cab simulator. I can dial in my tone in my bedroom and the DI sends the same tone to my DAW.
As for playing live it'll do for a coffee house gig and a light handed drummer, if you manage to find one. Where I live even small bars with tiny stages have a PA so no issue.
I only gig occasionally as a bass player though. The only reason I bought the 100 is that it's just a bit more expensive than the 40, which would've been my preferred amp for home play. No brainer. I'd just buy the Rumble 500 if i gigged regularly.
Personally I love that the DI is post everything + cab simulator. I can dial in my tone in my bedroom and the DI sends the same tone to my DAW.
As for playing live it'll do for a coffee house gig and a light handed drummer, if you manage to find one. Where I live even small bars with tiny stages have a PA so no issue.
I only gig occasionally as a bass player though. The only reason I bought the 100 is that it's just a bit more expensive than the 40, which would've been my preferred amp for home play. No brainer. I'd just buy the Rumble 500 if i gigged regularly.
