Good guitar head for bass?

[definenredefine]

A lot of folks here who like tube tones seem to get on well with Gallien Krueger heads. I have an 800RB and an MB500 and they're both pretty great. You can usually find the older RB series for a touch more than your budget (like $400...not sure how much that would be euros.) The MBs are a bit less expensive. Those might be worth looking at as well.

 

[Just2play]

Just to be more specific. Although I play metal, a metal band is not my first priority, so I don't need an extra loud rig. Of course it's good to have enough power in case I need it and headroom as well. The cabs I will use have at least 97db sensitivity.
Hope this helps.

 

[el murdoque]

A used H&K Tubemeister 18 could be found for around €300.
The EQ is, of course, more or less useless, because it's geared for guitar. The clean channel can absolutely handle bass and I really liked the tone - I played a bass preamp pedal into it and got something really nice out.

Great feature: you can use it at 18W, 5W and 1W.
For home playing, this is nice.

 

[Guitalia]

Thanks for the reply and the good question. I am looking for an all tube tone. Unfortunatelly all tube bass heads cost much more than the guitar heads and that's the main reason I would prefer them. Of course I left the options of solid state or hybrid open.
Talking metal I would say I like a Voivod kind of tone.

A guitar head would be OK if it has enough power, though the voicing of the tone controls might make it difficult to get the exact sound you want.

All-tube guitar amps and all-tube bass amps generally cost about the same for the same output. The all-tube bass amps that cost much more produce much higher power.

I'm a big fan of solid-state bass heads, but if you're planning on using the head to play in a loud metal band, a 100-watt solid-state or hybrid head probably won't be enough.

 

[Just2play]

A guitar head would be OK if it has enough power, though the voicing of the tone controls might make it difficult to get the exact sound you want.

All-tube guitar amps and all-tube bass amps generally cost about the same for the same output. The all-tube bass amps that cost much more produce much higher power.

I'm a big fan of solid-state bass heads, but if you're planning on using the head to play in a loud metal band, a 100-watt solid-state or hybrid head probably won't be enough.

Thanks for the reply. The amp will be used for practice, rehearsals and maybe medium gigs at best and not with a loud metal band. So I don't need a heavyweight head. I will check out the amp you suggest. Thank you again.

 

[Drredplate]

A Laney Digbeth 200watt version
Would fall within your budget.
I would review that and check out the tones.
It is selectable between “tube tone” and “FET tone”
It’s a class D amp and doesn’t contain any tubes at all just emulates them

 

[Hypocrite]

Neither of the Marshals will make a good bass head and the Laney is probably too underpowered

I respectfully disagree, the Valvestate makes a great bass amp. Depending on what tone you're going for, of course

 

[JonathanPDX]

Thanks for the reply. Tube tone is what I would like for sure. All tube guitar heads cost way less than all tube bass heads and that's the main reason I would prefer one. What bass amplifiers with that kind of tone could you suggest?

Bass speakers move considerably more air than guitar speakers and, as a result, need a lot more power. If you underpower your speakers there are all sorts of negative outcomes, both from potential damage to the fact that you'll have to crank you little amp up so loud it clips like crazy and you have terrible tone no matter how hot those tubes get.

You don't want tube power, you want a tube preamp, which will give you the overdriven sound you want without relying on tubes to actually power your speakers. There are tons of options here, like preamp pedals that either digitally reproduce the sound of tube overdrive (for example, Darkglass) to units that actually have real tubes in them (Ex: EBS Valve Drive). You don't need a pedal for this, either. A preamp like the old BBE BMAX can give you a ton of tube warmth even when driving your speakers with solid state power.

If I were in your shoes I would do some serious homework before spending money on an amplifier, unless you have a lot of extra cash to spend replacing the stuff you buy that doesn't work.

 

[Drredplate]

I respectfully disagree, the Valvestate makes a great bass amp. Depending on what tone you're going for, of course

Obviously we have different opinions
Personally I don’t like the Marshall valve state voice for bass. But that’s just my opinion and many will agree with me.
However if you do like it then it’s good for you
(I have respect for your differing opinion )

 

[poochiecheeks]

The Valvestate is incredible for meshuggah style distorted bass tones, Im trying to justify buying one myself

 

[ac100X]

older fender bassman is the only amp i think can really do well for either guitar or bass.

VOX ac100 is another that will do it , but it's a bit expensive.

 

[Just2play]

Bass speakers move considerably more air than guitar speakers and, as a result, need a lot more power. If you underpower your speakers there are all sorts of negative outcomes, both from potential damage to the fact that you'll have to crank you little amp up so loud it clips like crazy and you have terrible tone no matter how hot those tubes get.

You don't want tube power, you want a tube preamp, which will give you the overdriven sound you want without relying on tubes to actually power your speakers. There are tons of options here, like preamp pedals that either digitally reproduce the sound of tube overdrive (for example, Darkglass) to units that actually have real tubes in them (Ex: EBS Valve Drive). You don't need a pedal for this, either. A preamp like the old BBE BMAX can give you a ton of tube warmth even when driving your speakers with solid state power.

If I were in your shoes I would do some serious homework before spending money on an amplifier, unless you have a lot of extra cash to spend replacing the stuff you buy that doesn't work.

Thank you very much for your reply and your time. I will take this into serious consideration.

 

[Ria7]

A Laney Digbeth 200watt version
Would fall within your budget.
I would review that and check out the tones.
It is selectable between “tube tone” and “FET tone”
It’s a class D amp and doesn’t contain any tubes at all just emulates them

I'm with you on this. I used a Laney guitar amp through a WEM bass cabinet, gigged with it for years and the sound was stunningly good. But weighed a ton and let the cab go as was just too big. Still have the amp, but it's long been out-of-order. Ah well...

 

[Balog]

There really isn’t one single “tube” tone, an SVT doesn’t sound like a B15 doesn’t sound like a DR201 doesn’t sound like a 2000S doesn’t sound like a Walkabout doesn’t sound like a 400+ etc. This is especially true if you’re going to try to use a guitar head that may or may not have an output transformer capable of putting out good bass. And of course any head will be limited by what cabs you’re playing it through.

Since you specifically mention liking Voivod, have you considered trying a Blower Box? The description specifically calls it out as an attempt to cop that tone.

Blower Box Bass Distortion

At first the Blower Box was my attempt to capture the classic Voivod Blacky sound on the Nothing Face album. They are my favorite band of all time...

idiotboxeffects.bigcartel.com

 

[Balog]

I know it’s easy to overlook the stickies, but this one has a lot of good info on topics like using guitar gear and the myth of underpowering that seem relevant to your questions.

Thread 'AMPS FAQ!! Info on OHMS, Allsize RIGS-OverUnderPowerCabs DIY TechTalk-Links'

Feb 18, 2005

Clink on the links below to view threads on the most frequently asked questions and topics in the amps forum.

If you have threads or links to contribute to this section, please feel free to PM an AMP mod for inclusion!

Warning! Some of these topics are objective and to the point. Most are on much more subjective matters. The one thing you won't get in those threads is a single definitive answer. Like most subjective issues, you're going to get a lot of opinions, hopefully most of which are based upon real world experience. The point of having threads like this...

• IvanMike
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Amps and Cabs [BG]

• 

 

[Guitalia]

By the way, someone mentioned the dangers of "underpowering," where the speakers are capable of handling far more power than the amp can put out. If you're curious and you have a half-hour or so to spare, read up on underpowering/overpowering amps on this TalkBass page.

(Spoiler: the posts tend to group into two factions: those who are convinced that underpowering is dangerous, and those who make a living as electronics engineers/speaker designers/amp designers.)

(Kidding, a bit. The people who do music electronics for a living do concede that, under certain circumstances, amplifiers that are not sufficiently powerful for the application, if they're driven at full volume for a long period of time, can sometimes produce transients that can damage tweeters and, much more rarely, damage speakers. But overpowering, where a too-powerful amp is turned way up and blows speakers with insufficient power handling characteristics, is much, much more common.)

 

[JohnEdward]

Very interesting amp and not totally out of my reach even if I buy it new. Used can be found around in good condition and reasonable prices as well. Lightweight too. Do you think the power would be good enough for the cabs I intent to use?

To be fair, I’ve never tried it outside the home or with a drummer so I can’t comment much on how adequate it is. I’d use it on an acoustic gig, but I’m not sure I’d risk loss of headroom on anything more than that. It was purchased solely for at home practice. Basically, all I can comment on is the tone, and that guitar heads can sound great through a bass cab.

There is a 50 watt Marshall Origin. You may be able to find it used for around $500 or less. That’d probably do alright.

 

[Ondoval]

Musicman HD130 or HD150. These are excellent amps for both guitar and bass. Solid state preamp and a tube power section. Very loud. Beautiful clean sounds for guitar and decent bass tone IMO. I had one for more than 20 years. Never let me down. They will probaby be above your budget, but I think most good options for what you need will be.

 

[Drredplate]

The Valvestate is incredible for meshuggah style distorted bass tones, Im trying to justify buying one myself

I had a listen to meshuggah. I can see it’s a particular tone which fits the genre and if that’s what you want fair enough
Not my type of Music TBH but each to his own

 

[hennessybass]

OP: If you are wanting to play with other folks, rehearsal, medium gigs, etc,,, then I think you are going to have a hard time finding the right amp in your budget. I'd be looking at some of the slightly older, slightly heavier bass amps. Hartke, Ampeg, Crate, Peavey, etc.

For all tube amps, I think you need min 30w to play with folks. And in that case, the 410 would be better just to help with volume.
If your group gets a little louder, then 30 will probably not be enough.

Think about finding more of an AP amp (all purpose), than a "guitar amp." Simple: Volume, and a couple tone controls.