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Does anybody *not* have an awesome rig?

#241
metdistortion: There are very few music shops in my area, and none of them sell second hand gear.
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That sucks. Is a day trip down into London on the train a practical option for you?

metdistortion:

I'm quite interested in the idea of using that cheap power amp. So I would be able to use it as a bass head, and just need a speaker/cab? Im guessing it would sound awful, but its cheap! . My dad would also be able to help me with it, as he used to be a technical manager at the BBC.
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Youl'd need to add a power supply and a case, but it would be able to drive a cab. Your existing combo would be acting as a pre-amp to give you tone and EQ. This isn't an ideal setup, but it would be very cost-effective.

(I'd also recommend you consider building two of the amp kits. You may end up needing a spare.)
 
#243
That kit might not be so good.
I read somewhere that that kind of thing is not good for pure bass.
Is your bass active? If not you're gonna need a preamp or something to get the signal up to line level.

I'm 16 in two weeks and still have a Crate BX-10 that came in a bundle with a bass I traded in.
Made sense because I played at school and church so I didn't need a better amp.
 
#244
DerHoggz said:
That kit might not be so good.
I read somewhere that that kind of thing is not good for pure bass.
Is your bass active? If not you're gonna need a preamp or something to get the signal up to line level.

I'm 16 in two weeks and still have a Crate BX-10 that came in a bundle with a bass I traded in.
Made sense because I played at school and church so I didn't need a better amp.
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Yeah, my bass is active. But would my 15 watt amp be powerful enough to be used as a pre amp for the 200w power amp?
 
#250
My first amp, 2 years ago, was a Fender Rumble 100 1 15''. Now I'm rocking a SVT-3 pro, SVT-4 pro, and a 810e cab. I also work full time for the government and have a photography business on the side...so I can afford "sweet" rigs. At 16...no way could I afford stuff like this, but at 25 it's pretty easy.
 
#252
I have a Peavey Basic 40 combo amp that I've had for 20+ years (worth maybe $100). It lives at the house where we jam every 2-4 weeks. I hated hauling my amp back and forth, but I wanted to have an amp at home, so I bought a barely used Hartke A70 combo amp a few months ago (for $200).

Both amps are OK, but honestly, I think I still like the old Peavey better than the Hartke.
 
#253
metdistortion said:
I'm 16 and I have a 15 watt Marshall MB. I'm sure it wont be loud enough to play any gigs with, but I'm trying (but failing) to save up for a 150watt Line6 Lowdown combo, which is hard as I don't have time for any kind of job, and my parents would never spend that much on an amp for me. I wish I could find a great second hand bass amp, but there aren't many places to find that in my part of England.

I get really annoyed when people complain about how the tone of their amp isn't perfect, even though they are lucky enough to be able to spend hundreds of £s/$s on a rig. These people must think that great tone compensates for their mediocre ability. But maybe if they spent less time trying to find a perfect tone, and instead stick with a half decent tone, they could become better bassists. A player with real talent can play awesome sounding stuff with whatever resources you give them, instead of acting like women worrying about how good their makeup looks.
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How much money do you plan to spend on an amp? 'Cos £200, EBay and some waiting will buy you a pretty righteous rig my friend.

Sincerely,
Jack (Whose giant rig compensates for something at least)
 
#254
When I was 16, I had an Squier SP-10 amp. I even used it once on stage! I will never forget the soundman's face. Little did I know. At home I normaly play at my 18 watt fender musicmaster basscombo.

I have an killer rig at home an late 60's london city dea-130 head with a 4x15" cab and a 2 x 15" cab. But that beast has little bit to much power for my bassroom so I almost always use the combo.
 
#255
When I was 16 I used to play through a dynaco pas tube preamp and dynaco stereo 70 tube amp into 4 radio shack 15" musical instrument speakers! Sounded pretty horrible but actually I got along with it pretty well...


You can see the 'modified' pas preamp painted red there, the amp is on the other end of the stereo cabinet/coffee table... And the radio shack 15" "musical instrument" drivers, two have a mesh covering over them. Also visible is the homemade bass cord and homemade slayer pickguard...
3450701477_b301289e85_o.png
 
#256
RTL said:
At 16, I was playing through a Fender BXR 300C. Plenty of power - horrible tone. !
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I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask why does everyone seem to bash the Fender BXR 300C? :crying:

When I went looking to buy my very first bass amp, circa '91 -'92, I had saved up about $600 and had no preconceived sense of brand loyalty. I went to all of the music stores in the area, and tried out everything they had. Most of them were Peavey and Yamaha combos, and a couple of places had Hartke 4x10 stacks. Most of the salesmen were really pushing Hartke at the time, and I did think they looked cool, but I thought they sounded too bright and boinky.

I told one salesman, "I want something that sounds like.... "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" by the Four Tops". (Keep in mind I had no idea what Motown was, who James Jamerson was, or even what "Ampeg" was yet). He then showed me a Fender BXR 300C which had been kind of shoved in a back corner and said, "Well you might want to try that out." I plugged in, and within 30 seconds had the tone I was looking for. Big, Boomy, Deep, and it moved a lot of air. I paid $500 for it and wheeled it home.

That amp was my main amp throughout my basement/garage days and also for the first 4 years of gigging in bar bands. I never had any issues with it, and it always sounded great. Later on, I saved up more money and I started getting into Ampegs because they not only had that deep tone I loved, but they looked cool, and all the pros had them. The Fender was never fully retired, but rather it became and remains my practice amp at our rehearsal space.

Recently I learned that the Fender BXR 300C was designed by Bill Huges, who also worked on the original SVT, so in retrospect, it is no wonder why I always thought the BXR was a great amp. And, in a warped sense of reverse engineering, I still compare Ampegs I play through with the tone I was able to get from the Fender! I've used all makes of basses with the BXR, but my Fender and T-birds still sound the best. I think the combination of the vented cabinet with casters, a 15" speaker, plenty of power, and the vari-mid sweep all made for a great all around amp.

:bassist:
 
#257
I play through a Peavey TVX210 Combo, it is a workhorse and is moderately loud but AWESOME? I guess not...

I´m gassing for a Little Mark II hooked up w/ an Ampeg SVT410 HLF, i think that will be more like it, in the basses department i do not complain.
 
#259
Ah, a thread I can identify with. My bass situation is not awesome, it is beginner. I have a no-name Johnson 5-string bass and a 10w Johnson amp. That's it.

Someday, when I grow up, I will get me a bigger/better amp and namer-brand 5-string bass (like that beautiful Traben I toyed around with at the music store). But, for where I do most of my practicing, that little 10w amp is sufficient. The wife is NOT impressed with me when I wake up the kids. :) So, actually, I hear my bass most often through headphones.
 
#260
I got a 15 watt Rougue practice amp with my first bass..Still have it actually.
Currently my practice amp is an Ampeg B100R...Which isn't huge or amazing, but way louder than any practice amp should be! hahah
 

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