Good bedroom/garage band 10-15W amps for reasonable prices?

To jam with buddies, I'd start looking at 100w and more. 15w won't get you too far unless there's no drummer, and even still, it could struggle.

 

1) You wont be a casual teenager forever. Early in your bass playing career everything progresses faster than you think.

2) Power with a bass amp vs a guitar amp is not a 1 for 1 formula. If your friend is using 15W on guitar you will need 100W on bass (esp once you add a drummer).

 

When I was your age & in the same situation, an old second hand 30 watt amp worked for me fine.
Then we found a drummer & got him to dampen his kit so it wasnt so loud as he didnt have much choice because of the 30w bass amp, 15w guitar amps & vocals running through an old stereo system. Everything was fine until we started getting part time jobs & could afford louder amps... that's when the volume wars commenced.

 

Agreed. Look for a 100 watt 1x15 combo. This is bare bones minimum for any jamming. Add drums, and you'll need even more.

 

A 15-30w amp will be ok for quiet practice in your bedroom, but will not cut it even with only a 15w guitar amp (unless you guys are playing quiet dinner music or light jazz). And you can bet that once you guys start playing, the guitar player will be upgrading pretty quickly. Then you're really going to be in trouble. As others have said, get at least 100w. If money is a factor, scour craigs list and come back here asking about possible choices. There are definitely some exceptional choices and some real dogs. And don't be afraid of power. You're going to need it once you get a drummer (and you will). There are some very good 1x15 combos with 200+w for very reasonable cost.

Good luck!

 

Depends entirely on how considerate everyone is for the quietest member to be heard equally well. If that's accoustic guitar or vocals unamped, a little practice amp is fine.

 

Just look at what is available near you second hand (ebay, cl, tb, whatever) and ask here if you need to know about anything in particular. As everyone is saying, a 10-15w bass amp is a very limited thing - don't waste your time.

 

Yes 15w is limited, but don't get the idea that 100w will automatically have your back at a next level.

 

+1, as I said, a 100 watt 1x15 combo is the absolute smallest amp you want. More is always better.

 

I've managed to use a 38W Fender Rumble amp with a jazzy drummer (not too loud) and with a guitarist who used a 2x12 and another occasion with two acoustic players and a pianist. Though the amp got pushed a bit with the 2x12 I managed to make it work. Although a 100W amp would work better, you can make lower wattages work

 

That's a good reason to

- not waste their money on useless crap

- buy things second hand that you can sell second hand for the same money, or only a small loss, down the road.

You might be fine with a Rumble 15 or something if you guys practice very quietly, just don't buy something like that new!

 

I rehearse (play drums) with a band where the bass player plays an SWR VINTAGE LA SERIES AMPLIFIER 30 Watt 1x 10" combo amp... and I can make him out, so it works in the lounge room space we use... he actually loves it and says it's his sound... maybe something like that (second hand) might work, you can worry about bigger rigs when you need to.

EDIT: actually it's an 8" speaker... wow...

 

Derp, take the advice from people around here, it's all sound and reasonable. Surf your local Craigslist and eBay, and choose the best brand combo (I would buy any well-known brand, e.g. Fender, Peavey, Ampeg, Hartke, Ashdown) with 100W or more that you can find. Avoid no-name/unknown amps.

 

If you look at the Janky Rigs of Doom thread there is at least one inspiring rig cobbled up from "dumpster" parts. Some of the old fashioned hifi tower speakers had half decent woofers in them. They would give you some good practice in not blowing stuff up if you get drums in.

I hesistate to recommend Behringer but their sansamp bddi ripoff plus an old home hifi amp would complete a super cheap "rig".

 

If we are to offer more appropriate help, we will need to have a better feel for what resources are available to you. Knowing approximately where you live (country, province), and what you feel is your budget will be very helpful. Also, are you interested in how radios or hifi equipment work? Do you have access to wood working equipment (or know of people who do)? Are there any pawn shops nearby? Is there any old hifi equipment that your family, friends or neighbors have and no longer use?

 

I totally get a better bass sound out of my micro hi-fi than the rumble 15.