First Bass Amp for Small Gigging

[MrLenny1]

300 watts and a good 15 inch cab was the old standard
for minimal specs in a band.

 

[KickingBass]

You probably don't want the volume at max. I wouldn't want to go any lower than 350 watts at 4 ohms with a bunch of speakers, 500 watts sounds more like it depending on how loud your drummer is and if there's two guitarists. My drummer is really loud so the more power and speaker the better and I play hard rock/metal.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Careful with the TB perspective on volume. Earbleedingly loud isn't fun for very long. The great big drumkit that gets smashed with sticks thicker than your thumb isn't welcome in your local pub. Neither is his pal Marshall Halfwit.

By same token there really isn't such a thing as a small gig. It's all the same production until you get into PA support for the whole band. When you are packing out the pub with 150 people you can open that can of worms.

The Euro metallers are going ampless more and more. Here at talkamp it's verboten.

At talkamp everyone has stadium rigs to blast bars at 120dB minimum at all times unless the frontman is pimping the shot specials.

Your pub patrons and the vocal PA can barely stand for the output from one of those Trace 150w combos with extension cab. Your drummer probably gets it, key is finding a non guitard guitarist.

 

[JimmyM]

Careful with the TB perspective on volume. Earbleedingly loud isn't fun for very long. The great big drumkit that gets smashed with sticks thicker than your thumb isn't welcome in your local pub. Neither is his pal Marshall Halfwit.

By same token there really isn't such a thing as a small gig. It's all the same production until you get into PA support for the whole band. When you are packing out the pub with 150 people you can open that can of worms.

The Euro metallers are going ampless more and more. Here at talkamp it's verboten.

At talkamp everyone has stadium rigs to blast bars at 120dB minimum at all times unless the frontman is pimping the shot specials.

Your pub patrons and the vocal PA can barely stand for the output from one of those Trace 150w combos with extension cab. Your drummer probably gets it, key is finding a non guitard guitarist.

There's some truth to this. On the other hand, you don't want a drummer playing with brushes and a guitarist with a little 5w jazz combo, either Metal's got to be a little louder than a typical band, otherwise it ain't metal. But I do agree that there's no need to thrash a 100 seat bar with Marshall stacks and twin 810's. Even though I've thrashed many a 100 seat bar with an 810, I kept the volume reasonable for the room and didn't try to blow out the PA. But bigger rigs sound better, even when they're run quiet, so it's not a bad goal to have a decent sized rig when you're playing harder rock.

Since you're a first-timer and you'll be playing with other first-timers for a little while at least, you could probably get by with a 100 or 150w combo. They're definitely not as quiet as people make them out to be on here. I don't know if I'd go much lower, though that all depends on who you play with and how loud they are and how quiet they can be talked into going.