First bass amp?

[moosie]

My son and I are guitar players, and I work on guitars and amps. But aside from him playing bass as a teenager 15 years ago, neither of us have experience with bass gear, aside from basic setup and fretwork. I'm pretty handy, and have a small wood shop in my garage.

We just bought a beater bass, thinking to get back into it a bit. But we haven't figured out the amp side of things yet. Budget is tight, of course. We have a couple metal cone 10" Hartke bass speakers that we could use...

While building a cab seems fairly straightforward, it's still a fair bit for good materials, and in the end we'll still only be plugging it into a 70s Fender guitar amp.

Are we better off to get a SS bass amp and call it done?

 

[soulman969]

You can buy small bass amps pretty inexpensively and save yourself some time and effort. I paid $100 for a used Line 6 Lowdown 10 I use as a practice amp and can also for unplugged gigs and/or jams. But that's just one example. There are a ton of them for sale on Reverb and GC will always have some as well.

"bass combos" between -0

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Tube guitar amps of 100 watts and up can make for a good bass amp.
Decent used cabinets can be had inexpensively.

 

[moosie]

You can buy small bass amps pretty inexpensively and save yourself some time and effort. I paid $100 for a used Line 6 Lowdown 10 I use as a practice amp and can also for unplugged gigs and/or jams. But that's just one example. There are a ton of them for sale on Reverb and GC will always have some as well.

"bass combos" between -0

View attachment 3066684

Hey soulman, I didn't know you hung out here.

I'm looking at SS combos and need a refresher on wattage. I know what a 40W tube amp can deliver, but how about a 40W SS bass combo? The Sweetwater write up for the Fender Rumble 40 says "basement friendly". I'm thinking this is a 'large' bedroom amp, yes?

We need to end up with something larger than a practice amp. He'll likely be gigging it at places where he'd normally play guitar through his DR.

 

[soulman969]

Hey soulman, I didn't know you hung out here.

I'm looking at SS combos and need a refresher on wattage. I know what a 40W tube amp can deliver, but how about a 40W SS bass combo? The Sweetwater write up for the Fender Rumble 40 says "basement friendly". I'm thinking this is a 'large' bedroom amp, yes?

We need to end up with something larger than a practice amp. He'll likely be gigging it at places where he'd normally play guitar through his DR.

Hey moosie, how are things in The Land Of Steady Habits?

Actually I'm more of a bassist first and a guitarist second and I needed a change of scene. I've still lurk to catch up on the Tele Forum. I just haven't posted lately. To much same old, same old and I needed to broaden my view.

For me the big thing with a bass amp, even a small one is the speaker. When it comes to these smaller less costlt amps IMHO a 10" is a minimum for handling a bass. As far as wattage 40-50w is plenty for home play. At that level yeah, they're essentially a "bedroom" level bass amp.

For gigging or rehearsal even in something very low volume I'd start with a 1x12 and 100-150w although by using a preamp to boost a passive signal it could probably handle gigs in a very small venue. For bands with more volume I'd suggest 250-500w in either a 1x15 or 2x10 speaker configuration.

There are a lot of nice combos in that range running from as little as $250 or so used to maybe $400 and from $400 to as much as $700-$800 new. I've been using a TC Electronic BG250 1x15 for several years and it's always been enough to handle any club venue I've played. They run around $350-$400 or so new and maybe $250 used. The 2x10 runs $100 or so more.

Ampeg and Hartke also have some nice 1x15 and 2x10 combos you could look at.

You might even look at buying an unloaded cab for those two Hartke 10"s and then go with a separate head. That's another popular option. These days it's all about weight vs output. The lighter but more powerful the better. Lot's of good ideas and feedback to be found here from many "experienced souls" like me. LOL

 

[JimChjones]

Back in the days when I was playing live regularly a 100-150W bass amp was always plenty good enough for small gigs where I am, but that doesn't seem to be received wisdom around here.
Where I am used bass kit, especially heavy pre Class D solid state amps seems to go for almost no money. Its hard to believe that you won't find something like an older used 100W combo for what it would cost you to buy the wood and all the fittings for a new cab if you keep your eyes open for a few weeks.

 

[moosie]

Good info, thanks guys. I'll pass some of the brand suggestions on, and we'll keep our eyes peeled.

 

[JimmyM]

If you could find an empty 210 bass cab around the same size of a Hartke 210, it might be cool to throw those Hartke speakers in it.

 

[moosie]

If you could find an empty 210 bass cab around the same size of a Hartke 210, it might be cool to throw those Hartke speakers in it.

That might be a follow up step, once we get a combo amp. I'm thinking having an optional external cab will allow for more flexibility, using a smallish amp, like 100-200w.

 

[nilorius]

I bought my 1rst. combo because i had to. The band i was courently playing with in her practice room had no bass combo and i had no too. So i decided - TC electronics BG250 112 toneprint. In my view it not expensive/cheap for the options. I think it's good for everything.

 

[PneumaticFrog]

My son and I are guitar players, and I work on guitars and amps. But aside from him playing bass as a teenager 15 years ago, neither of us have experience with bass gear, aside from basic setup and fretwork. I'm pretty handy, and have a small wood shop in my garage.

We just bought a beater bass, thinking to get back into it a bit. But we haven't figured out the amp side of things yet. Budget is tight, of course. We have a couple metal cone 10" Hartke bass speakers that we could use...

While building a cab seems fairly straightforward, it's still a fair bit for good materials, and in the end we'll still only be plugging it into a 70s Fender guitar amp.

Are we better off to get a SS bass amp and call it done?

I got this for $170 AUD, and you can probs barter with a music store for even cheaper.

 

[retslock]

Back in the days when I was playing live regularly a 100-150W bass amp was always plenty good enough for small gigs where I am, but that doesn't seem to be received wisdom around here.
Where I am used bass kit, especially heavy pre Class D solid state amps seems to go for almost no money.

If you don’t mind the weight, a pre D class SS amp of around 100w is all you’ll need.
I still have my 130w Music Man solid state from the early ‘80s. It goes very well indeed. I never have to wind up far. Yes it’s not light but I’m 68 and still use it. Hand trolleys are pretty useful.

 

[zon6c-f]

My son and I are guitar players, and I work on guitars and amps. But aside from him playing bass as a teenager 15 years ago, neither of us have experience with bass gear, aside from basic setup and fretwork. I'm pretty handy, and have a small wood shop in my garage.

We just bought a beater bass, thinking to get back into it a bit. But we haven't figured out the amp side of things yet. Budget is tight, of course. We have a couple metal cone 10" Hartke bass speakers that we could use...

While building a cab seems fairly straightforward, it's still a fair bit for good materials, and in the end we'll still only be plugging it into a 70s Fender guitar amp.

Are we better off to get a SS bass amp and call it done?

All of my Amos are solid state

One is a 71 Kustom
Another risk 74 Acoustic 370. Others are newer

No issues with my newer rigs and issues with my older amps were caused by me

Asdrofndznke as a loyal lap dog and near zero maintenance

SS my way to go

 

[armyadarkness]

Hey soulman, I didn't know you hung out here.

I'm looking at SS combos and need a refresher on wattage. I know what a 40W tube amp can deliver, but how about a 40W SS bass combo? The Sweetwater write up for the Fender Rumble 40 says "basement friendly". I'm thinking this is a 'large' bedroom amp, yes?

We need to end up with something larger than a practice amp. He'll likely be gigging it at places where he'd normally play guitar through his DR.

@soulman969 is cunning. They say he walks here and there...

 

[soulman969]

That might be a follow up step, once we get a combo amp. I'm thinking having an optional external cab will allow for more flexibility, using a smallish amp, like 100-200w.

If you get an amp that can handle an extension speaker and a 4 ohm load that would work as well.

 

[soulman969]

@soulman969 is cunning. They say he walks here and there...

And unseen whenever possible for I live in the shadows. Except for the eye holes that is.

 

[klejst]

Getting into bass I would not suggest spending a lot of money on a rig in case you don't like bass or whatnot, however most times you can pretty much get your money back out of something if you sell it outright. I'd say a cheap little combo amp like a 1x10 or 1x12 combo would be great for starting out. Or cheap 1x10 or 1x15 cab and SS amp. Used obviously but just something to get your feet wet and then upgrade from there as you progress.

 

[Flabass]

Fender Bassman 50, piggy back.

 

[moosie]

Getting into bass I would not suggest spending a lot of money on a rig in case you don't like bass or whatnot, however most times you can pretty much get your money back out of something if you sell it outright. I'd say a cheap little combo amp like a 1x10 or 1x12 combo would be great for starting out. Or cheap 1x10 or 1x15 cab and SS amp. Used obviously but just something to get your feet wet and then upgrade from there as you progress.

Normally I'd agree to get feet wet slowly, but this is more a case of rekindling a long-standing interest, and adding one more instrument to the musical bag. My son has been playing for 20+ years. Bass and guitar for the first five years, gradually shifting completely to guitar. His old bass rig is gone now. EB Stingray to the pawn shop during a low period, and a Crate / JBL rig that no one remembers where it went. He's the guitarist in a couple of bands, but also has offers to play bass.

The newbie questions are because I don't know bass gear very well, and when he was playing, he was a teenager. If it got loud, he was happy. He's got all the chops in the family, and I'm better on the technical side. I got involved in this because he has these old Hartke speakers, and wondered if I could make them work somehow.

From what I'm reading, I think a used 200W SS combo will work well. Ideally with the ability to run an additional cab.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Hey soulman, I didn't know you hung out here.

I'm looking at SS combos and need a refresher on wattage. I know what a 40W tube amp can deliver, but how about a 40W SS bass combo? The Sweetwater write up for the Fender Rumble 40 says "basement friendly". I'm thinking this is a 'large' bedroom amp, yes?

We need to end up with something larger than a practice amp. He'll likely be gigging it at places where he'd normally play guitar through his DR.

40-watts is pretty tiny no matter how you slice it for bass. I'm actually playing through a Peavey Max 112 in a small brew pub each Friday where we host an open mic. I run an Eden WTDI into the effects return so I'm bypass the Peavey preamp and can get a nice clear Eden sound out of the amp. I run the power up at 2 o'clock, which in a lot of amps is almost as much power as it can deliver. That Peavey is the older version that just has 40-watts, not the later version that had 200-watts. It barely makes it there.

Before they moved the stage from a wall in the center of the room to one end of the room instead, I use to run that master at 10 o'clock and it worked fine. But there's a big beam right across the ceiling at the edge of the stage where it is now and it traps a surprising amount of the sound. Now I have to run it at 2 o'clock to be heard.

I really wouldn't look at anything SS under 200-watts or all-tube under 100-watts or you'll find yourself going back for more amp pretty quickly. Personally I use an 800-watt amp because it's always better to have too much than not enough.