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Good bass vs good amp

Which has better tone

  • Good bass

    Votes: 91 36.4%

  • Good amp

    Votes: 159 63.6%
  • Total voters
    250
#41
There are guys on here playing $69 Ebay basses through high dollar amps and using them for gigging, but don't see any playing a $10k Fodera through a cheap Crate or other super cheap amp. I prefer a decent bass through a decent amp. No need to spend a fortune on either IMHO.
 
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#44
B String said:
As a famous bassist once answered when asked a similar question.... "Jaco took an older, somewhat beat up bass. Ripped the frets out himself and put a marine lacquer coating on the fingerboard. He also played out of numerous stage, rental, and his own amps when touring. He sounded amazing! He made it all work because he transcended the gear." He played the music.
Click to expand...

And I would say... none of us is Jaco...
If we could do what he did, we would have had another career...;)
What is true for him might not apply to us...
Unfortunately...

Another thing:
_One//Man//Mutiny_ said:
That goes without saying that nowadays it's pretty hard to find junk gear.
Over the past 10 years basses and amps have really gotten very good at all price ranges. The 100 watt amps now blow away the 100 watt Crate that I got when I started 15 years ago, right around 2010-2011 things have been getting nicer and nicer on all fronts!
Click to expand...

True... nonetheless 90% of the bass players would swear there's nothing better than a fifty years old SVT with a fridge sized 8x10 cab...

:eyebrow:
 
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#46
Basta-bass said:
And I would say... none of us is Jaco...
If we could do what he did, we would have had another career...;)
What is true for him might not apply to us...
Unfortunately...

Another thing:


True... nonetheless 90% of the bass players would swear there's nothing better than a fifty years old SVT with a fridge sized 8x10 cab...

:eyebrow:
Click to expand...
I got an Acoustic 371 and a Peavey Super Festival 800B, which ARE awesome!
That being said, the Darkglass leaves the house! ;)
 
#49
I would opt for a good bass over a good amp. The reason for this is that over the decades I've used many configurations for a wide variety of gigs both indoor and outdoor. With proper EQing it is possible to get a pleasant enough tone out of almost any type of gear provided it's in good working order. Dialing in good tone isn't that difficult but adjusting to a poor room can be a bit of a challenge. The bass is the only tactile connection you have to your music. You play the bass, not the amp. A POS combo or a farting twin 15 cab can be a nuisance but unless it catches fire or quits completely you can usually put on a good show despite not having your dream rig. If I have a lousy instrument I play poorly. A great instrument allows me to do my best. Isn't that what it's all about? Worst case scenario: let the FOH deal with the tone and have the PA do the heavy lifting.
 
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#50
I don't have a ton of experience on that since there were only so many instruments and amps i've owned through the years, but:

1. My GSR200 ('99, passive, PJ powersound pups) sounded just like you would expect through my old basic Kisound amp (EQ set to flat), considering it's a budget instrument and a budget amp.

2. Later i purchased an Ashdown MAG 300 EVO II, which makes GSR200 sound pretty good when the EQ is flat, but can sound more articulate & generally *a lot* better with some EQ fiddling.

2. The same GSR200 sounded really great in the Ampeg SVT 4x10 (sorry, can't remember any more details) that my local recording studio used to sport back in the day. I used to get compliments on the tone, and folks from other local bands didn't believe the bass was so cheap.

3. My SR600 ('11, bartolini MK1 pups, NTMB pre) never sounded good in my Kisound amp; surely it was more articulate than my GSR200 did, but the sound came out pretty thin.

4. The same SR600 sounds great in my Ashdown MAG 300 EVO II, even when EQ set flat. Didn't have the chance to play with that Ampeg SVT, as i can't play in a studio environment or live anymore (i joined the tinnitus & hyperacusis club a while ago), but i'd bet it'd sound great as well.

So, that said, i've found that a good amp makes even a budget bass sound a lot better. I didn't find the opposite (good bass in a budget amp) to be true.
 
#52
baxter_x said:
I do find the opposite though.
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I cHange my amp before my bass.
That’s my foundation upon which I build.
My bass feels good, plays well and is not expensive.
I change the amp my basses sound a little better.
My playing stays the same my sound changes with the amp.
Better basses do sound better through better amps, but I don’t want to be chasing the ultimate tone or sound. Because my sound has changed and will continue to evolve as my playing and ears change. I just need to improve my playing, and all should sound good.
Having said all that, I must have a decent competent bass just like me.
 
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#56
 
#57
Short answer: A good bass. If it feels good, and sounds good, and you love it, then the music that comes out, even without an amp, will be glorious.

Let me put it another way. The tone comes from your fingers, and your fingers are in direct contact with the bass. If your fingers and bass don't jibe, then it ain't happnin jack.

Long answer: I faced this question back in 1972. I had a Harmony hollow body bass playing through a Realistic (Radio Shack) amp, which was 15 watts into a cheap 15" speaker. I had been asked to join a local up-and-coming band and desperately wanted a Kustom 200 amp with the 2x15 speaker.

While I was saving money to get the amp, a friend of mine, who was in another highly regarded local band, offered to sell me his 1968 Fender Precision bass for $125. He was a cool dude, and was really trying to help me out, but, I knew I could only afford either the amp or the bass, so I ended up getting the amp, and while it was nice, and yes, I did need that extra volume for the gigs we played, I've been kicking myself ever since for not listening to my friend and grabbing that P-bass.

Oh well, live and learn.
 
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#58
Everyday, bass players get to use less and less amps... we are, for good or bad, entering a time of FOTH PA and in-ear monitors... when we get our amps on stage, the more often, they are are just there for monitoring, for the bassist satisfaction or even (yes I've seen it) for the look!!! Modelisation preamp and cab-sim tends to become the norm.
If you own a good amp, good for you! Keep it preciously!
But if you're a beginner or intermediate player who wants to invest, I'd say don't spend too much on a giant 55kgs piece of gear that will remain home 99% of time because you'll just won't need it enough to bother moving it...
 
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#59
I think a good sounding bass is key, followed by a good sounding speaker. The amp is still important but not as important as the other two.

But the question in the OP conflated, and falsely in my opinion, “high end” with good sounding. I think it is easier to find a low end - read: inexpensive - bass that sounds good than to have a low end amp, and particularly, a low end speaker sound good.

So in terms of how to OP is phrased I voted amp, but in terms of getting a good tone, you have to start with a bass that produces the signal you want. Fortunately you can find such basses in the low end of the price spectrum.
 
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#60
From an objective standpoint, the cab is usually the limiting factor as theres always some roll offs occurring. Subjectively, I've played through some piss poor amplification and always found I could get a pretty decent tone with minimal fuss. I'm gonna go with bass.
 

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