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Half-stack for a student.

T

thecapm

Dec 27, 2007
101
1
Los Angeles
#1
I'll be heading off to college within the next year and want recommendations for a new amp. Right now all I've got is a little Fender Rumble 15 practice amp and I want something that will not only do my new Stingray justice but also will be jamable, gigable, and space-efficient. This is because I know that in college both the amount of space I have in my room as well as the amount of money I have in my wallet will not allow me to get a new amp for quite a few years. I'm leaning towards a half-stack only because I feel like it gives me a lot more options in terms of plugging the amp into other speakers, plugging other amps into the speaker, etc. Let me know if you have an alternate suggestion.

I'm looking to pay about $400. I'm willing to go higher if I need to, but just know that I'm in the market for a Telecaster and a few other miscellaneous parts as well so I don't really want to. What I want from this amp is something that I can grow with for the next four years. Something that's not going to limit me in any large way because there's no way I'll be able to afford another amp for a long time. I will be plugging guitars into it, though that's really a secondary thought because I am a bass player primarily and have external guitar effects. It's got to fit in my dorm room and make my Stingray sing. It's a tall order, but that's why I'm asking for your help.
 
#4
Do you mean a full-size half stack, as in a 4x10? Because that will definitely not fit in a dorm room, at least any that I've been in. For a cab I'd go with a single 15 personally, and a used Ashdown MAG 300 head. There's a few on ebay that are going for $200 or less. That's a pretty good all-around head IMO, it's powerful enough for most gigs (unless you're playing with a metal band) and quiet enough to use without pissing off your neighbors. I had some issues with it for a little bit, turns out they just had the wrong fuses in there, easy $2 fix. That was two years ago, and since then it's worked perfectly.

I live in a dorm room too, and I just use a small Behringer 35 watt combo for practicing. I leave my Ampeg half-stack at home. Anyways that's my two cents.
 
#5
Oh no, 1x15 is perfect. Thanks for the input. I can't believe I never even considered just leaving it at home, although it depends which school I go to and how far I am from home. One of the things I find appealing at one of the colleges I'm applying to is that each dorm building has a sound-proof practice room :D

Pissing off my room mates is something to think about to, but headphones or lighter volumes are an easy fix to that.

Keep throwing brand names at me, I figure I'll be l'll be checking some stuff out at GC soon.
 
#6
Colleges are often a good place to find used gear. With that said, an option is to put the money away somewhere safe and wait until you land on your feet before doing anything. This will let you decide whether something as big as a half stack is practical or necessary. It will depend on things like whether you have a car, where you end up having to park it, and so forth.

Unfortunately at the present time you pay for portability.
 
#7
fdeck said:
Unfortunately at the present time you pay for portability.
Click to expand...

I'm sure I could get a nice combo amp like a Bassman 150 and be perfectly happy with it. I'm just thinking as big as a half-stack because of the long run. It's the same reason I got a Stingray. So many people buy a lot of midrange basses and equipment between their starter and their "someday bass", ultimately spending more money in the end. I just bought exactly what I wanted, knowing that I'll never need another instrument for a very long time and that the feel and sound of it is going to make me always want to play it.

I'm going about my amp search the same way. I'm looking for something I can grow with no matter what I want to do, something that's going to make me always want to play. This is why I'm thinking a two part rig is most practical; The amp and the speaker are independent of one another allowing me swap what needs to be swapped and thus increasing the life and usefulness of the gear in the long run.
 
#9
I now run a Carvin BX600 head into a Carvin BRX10.2 (2x10 neo) cabinet. It's quite compact, light, expandable, and puts out more sound than you'd ever guess. The head also has a headphone jack for quiet practice and a nice DI output for recording and running into a PA system. It will easily keep up with a loud drummer and a guitar half-stack, yet takes up very little space. And it sounds good with guitar, at least an acoustic one. The downside to all this? It's a bit more pricey than what you stated at $800, but I think well worth it.
 
#11
You might get a dorm room on the 5th floor. Hauling anything around that takes more that two trips, a couple of friends or a truck probably won't be practical.


Here's something I found on Craigslist that I posted in another thread that applies here:
I'm sure it would do you fine through school, be more portable and easily replaceable should it be stolen or damaged.
There are a lot of deals out there now that you can take advantage of and meet all your needs and save some money as well.

Peavey TNT 130 Bass or Guitar Amp - $125 (Glendale, CA)
Reply to: [email protected]
Date: 2008-10-05, 2:12PM PDT

130 Watt solid state amp with 1x15" speaker and a 3" tweeter/horn for pop and slap in a close cabinet.

Can be used as either guitar or bass amp or both at the same time.

2 input jacks for Hi or Low gain.

2 knobs for Pre-amp (pull for bright)and Post-amp (pull for punch).

6 knobs for Active EQ: Low,Mid,Hi,Shift,Bandwidth & Presence.

2 jacks for Hi & Low Crossover output and 1 control knob.

2 jacks for power-amp in (or effects) & pre-amp out.

Built in compressor, All knobs have been replaced because 3 of them were missing during the move. Only play a little at home. Very good shape and working condition. Extremely loud and warm.
 
#12
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I have the full stack, and I have to say it's simply amazing. And I especially love the gain on this amp - it's really more of a growl until you get into the higher part of the knob, which is perfect for me.
 
#14
Stumbo said:
You might get a dorm room on the 5th floor. Hauling anything around that takes more that two trips, a couple of friends or a truck probably won't be practical.
Click to expand...

+1

I live in the shadow of a major state university. Most universities make it pretty onerous to own or use a car. The chances of parking near your dorm, near a rehearsal space, or near a gig venue, are slim. Even rehearsing off-campus might not help, because it can be difficult-to-impossible to park in the typical student neighborhood.

On game days, it might be impossible to get around at all.

In my view, a "grab and go" setup is a must. When I play a gig near the university, I pare my rig down to the bare essentials, in case I have to walk a couple blocks with everything. For me, that's an electric and a tiny combo.

A "grab and go" setup might also change how you think about what sorts of playing you do. If it's easy to get around, you might be more inclined to experiment with different groups, informal jams, and so forth. I suspect the majority of playing opportunities at a university are not traditional club gigs.
 
#17
Get a Used Mesa Boogie Walkabout Scout off of Ebay, you can take the head off of the radiator cab and put it on anything you want. My Scout 1x12 combo feels around 60 pounds and it is plenty loud (300w), it will also fit into a dorm room. I see them go for around $400 on Ebay sometimes. Search for "mesa bass" so you don't have to sort through all the rec's that are constantly being sold on there. Best of luck in school.

-Doug
 
#18
Get a Yamaha BBT500 1x10

with a 4ohm cabinet it turns into a 500 watt rig @ 2 ohms.

Otherwise, it has a headphone out and it's not big...250W/1x10

Sounds good and won't leave you needing anything more.

If you want to gig with it you can take the head out and rent a cabinet or use the combo and a not so giant cab.

I like mine.
 
#20
Combo examples that might fill the bill:

Here's a GK Backline 115 combo for $300 - something like this might work. Put some casters on it, get a cover and you'll be ready to go.
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or this Peavey might work:
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