Hey, I'm new to bass but have been playing guitar a few years. Decided to start playing bass w/ a band because our other guitarist is better at lead, so I figure I'd be the bass man. just recently picked up a warwick corvette and a fender rumble amp, but I'm looking to upgrade (the amp) within the next 6 months or so. What's the ultimate bass amp brand? The best quality? Best priced? etc. Looking for maybe... 200 - 300 watt cabinets? How loud does a bass setup need to be vs. the guitar and drums? I've heard 100 to play with drums, and 4x as much as your guitar player is at. looking to spend maybe 1Kish max for the setup. At most we would be playing infront of 50-75 people at a time, so I mean.. i don't need anything that would fill a stadium.
There is no decent amp brand. Any amp that you buy will be liked by some and hated by some. Therefore, accept the fact now that whatever you buy will sooner or later be branded "[email protected]" by someone on this board, or elsewhere. That said, for 1K (are you talking head and cab?) you can get a really nice rig, one that I will not call [email protected], I promise. Some well known and trusted brands are Ampeg, Eden, SWR, GK, Peavey, Fender... Ultimately it depends on what kind of sound you would like to project. While most modern amps are pretty versatile, each brand does tend to have a characteristic tone that may or may not work for YOU. What kind of music are you playing? Oh, yeah, before I forget, definitely go with used gear. Way more Bang for the $$.
probably going to be somewhere around a mix of blues rock/alternative metal/vintage rock sound anything from cream and zeppelin to system of a down and tool Been looking at an Ampeg head. B2RE Rack http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ampeg-B2RE-Rack-Bass-Head?sku=481491 Quick question though... (never used heads + cabs before) Says that one can put out 450watts, so does that mean it could possibly damage a 200watt cabinet? Or will the 200watt cabinet only go so loud and stop trying to go louder? Do two 200 watt cabinets make 400watts of sound, or just 200 watts? I ask cause I'm thinking about leaving a 200watt at my drummers house, and a 200watt at my house, and just putting them together to play infront of people, that way for practice I would only have to carry my bass and a head, instead of a 70 lb+ amp
Definatly, everyone's got their own idea of what a bass should sound like, just like everyone's got their own idea of what a guitar should sound like (however I've found bass players have less of the "Lemmings" mentality). I'd say just keep a good eye out for a good deal and stay within the more known brands and steer away from most things made in China (there are good things made in China but with questionable reliability in some cases).
I'd say Ampeg is the safe choice although I would advise you to go to a music store to at least check out some stuff BEFORE you plunk down the dough. You never know, you may find something else that really works for you. As for the technical questions, check out the Sticky FAQ at the top of this forum, all the answers you seek will be found there. In short though, a 400W head will blow a 200W cab if you turn it up too high. Two 200W cabs put together will be able to handle 400W. Cabs don't put out watts, they convert watts to sound.
I'd go with hartke, especially with the warwick. The preamp really helps you keep the bass in check. Try to get a 15 with it also, it's like buttah. Greta for all styles. And Jack Bruce's plays it.
if you have 1k to spend and do not know what you want ... try to be very conservative and spend about 5-700.00 on something that you can either expand on if you like, or dump for what you paid for it if you find you dont like it ... a few very conservative used heads are Hartke 3500 (250.00+), Ashdown Mag 300 (200.00+), GK 400xx/700xx (200-350.00+), etc ... others will probably chime in with their fail proof buys ... the prices I have seen these sell for used are in parenthsis ... you will be able to get very near what you spent on these, when you decide to sell them ... now put something like these on top of a 410 or 212 (better resale?) bottom of 'decent' quality (like Avatar) used (200-350 range) and you will be set to go ... then take the time to try everything you can get your hands on, while you evealutate if what you do have is meeting your needs .... very safe way to spend money when in doubt .. trust me, if you stick with this, there is a good chance that you WILL change your mind over time and want to try other things ... ... then, if you really want to improve your sound ... spend the other several hundred dollars that you have on improving your technique and knowledge with a very competent teacher ... I know, I know ... it is a LOT more fun (and easier) just to buy more gear ...
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