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How low can you go (combo wattage)?

Raman

Raman

Feb 19, 2003
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Montreal, Qc
#1
I'm looking for a compact combo amp that I could use to jam with 1 or 2 electric guitarists (no drums). Something light that I can easily carry in the trunk of my car.

How low can you go in terms of wattage before you lose all tone and depth?

The Orange Crush Bass 50w seems interesting and quite affordable, but they don't have it in store so I can't try it. And how about the 25w version?

Thanks for any input.
 
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#4
IME 25 should be fine if guitars are being reasonable. Ive taken my Ampeg BA108 to bluegrass jams; all acoustic but sometimes a dozen pickers in a very big room, and it did fine. Also used it for rehearsals with electric guitar and cajon, also no sweat. Ive taken my Rumble 25 to a bluegrass trio gig (guitar, banjo, vocal PA single 12”) and it did great.
 
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#6
CallMeAl said:
IME 25 should be fine if guitars are being reasonable. Ive taken my Ampeg BA108 to bluegrass jams; all acoustic but sometimes a dozen pickers in a very big room, and it did fine. Also used it for rehearsals with electric guitar and cajon, also no sweat. Ive taken my Rumble 25 to a bluegrass trio gig (guitar, banjo, vocal PA single 12”) and it did great.
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Thanks a bunch!
 
#8
Raman said:
I'm looking for a compact combo amp that I could use to jam with 1 or 2 electric guitarists (no drums). Something light that I can easily carry in the trunk of my car.

How low can you go in terms of wattage before you lose all tone and depth?

The Orange Crush Bass 50w seems interesting and quite affordable, but they don't have it in store so I can't try it. And how about the 25w version?

Thanks for any input.
Click to expand...

To better answer your question, what are the guitar players using for a rig? What type of music are you doing? (Basically wondering if they need to crank up to get the tone they want)

do you foresee a drummer getting added to the mix sooner rather than later?
 
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#9
Bill Murray said:
To better answer your question, what are the guitar players using for a rig? What type of music are you doing? (Basically wondering if they need to crank up to get the tone they want)

do you foresee a drummer getting added to the mix sooner rather than later?
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Really, it's for a couple of co-workers to be able to jam after work hours. I can't ever see a drum happening there.
 
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#11
Sweet, than as long as the fellow jammers aren’t utilizing high gain (think punk, metal, aggressive rock or blues). 25-50 watts is fair game.

If you’ve been playing a bit and know what you like focus on an amp that compliments those attributes. If you’re still exploring tonal options and abilities then I say grab the orange and enjoy. (Definitely worth having the extra headroom with the 50 Watt. The louder a bass cab can go the better it sounds at low volumes, 25 watts should be totally useable though)
 
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#12
I've got a 40W Ampeg BA-110 v2 that I'm enjoying thoroughly, and while it sacrifices a bit compared to that Orange (10" speaker vs the Orange's 12", + the wattage difference), it's also too loud for my apartment when dimed and able to keep up with a light-playing (rods/brushes or good stick control) drummer in a dry room. And the price is already not bad, even better used, since they're on the way out; the Ampeg Rocket line is replacing them, and there's a 50W flavor of that for $249 US.

Another thing I like about my particular combo is that it's pretty doggone lightweight for its size/output. The Orange is going to have some heft to it with that 12" speaker in it.
 
#13
Raman said:
I'm looking for a compact combo amp that I could use to jam with 1 or 2 electric guitarists (no drums). Something light that I can easily carry in the trunk of my car.

How low can you go in terms of wattage before you lose all tone and depth?

The Orange Crush Bass 50w seems interesting and quite affordable, but they don't have it in store so I can't try it. And how about the 25w version?

Thanks for any input.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't do less than 50w. I had a pretty decent little behringer 35w 112 combo, over 15 years ago. It really wasn't half bad, and it's actually still going strong with the buddy I gave it to. But, it sounds more like a guitar amp when you turn it up to the volume you're looking for. Then, I up'ed to the 75w 115 version. Much much better. Like, night and day. So, 50 watts, into 112 should be just fine.
 
#14
I wouldn't buy anything for bass with a single 8" speaker in it. To me this isn't even a practice amp. It's the trash amp you put on your workbench so you have something to test the electronics of the instruments you're working on.

You can probably get by with a single 12" speaker, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with 50w driving it. That is a practice amp, meant for solo play. You might get away with that with two electric guitars at lower-than-drum-kit volume. But it's really easy to get outgunned as a bass player. The minute you're called upon to do something outside of this unique situation, you're done for. Buy something that could potentially used to play in a small ensemble with a drummer–even if you don't need it right now. For that you'd probably want 150-200w into that 12". I myself have a Hartke KB112 that can do the job.
 
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#15
If you're counting pounds, as well as watts, the small Rumbles are lighter than the comparably powered Orange Crushes. The Rumble 40 is actually lighter than the Rumble 25 (plywood vs. particleboard). Mine weighs only 14 pounds (contrary to the stated 18) -- less than half of the 50W Orange. For the price, size, weight, and sound, I'm super happy with it. The 1x12 Rumble 100 is only a few pounds heavier and not much larger.
 
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#16
I used to have a 150W combo amp that I used for rehearsals and sometimes gigs too. I used it with both Upright and Electric bass, would not consider the stuff I play high volume but I have used it for more pop sounding stuff with drummers on electric too. Have not tested it in a rock or metal situation though so your mileage might vary depending.

I feel that the times I needed to play in bigger places, someone or the venue had a PA anyways so the amp ends up being just another monitor.

I would say you would be fine with 150... but I feel this topic is relative for everyone here so I could be totally wrong..
 
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#17
Speaker surface area and cabinet tuning matter a LOT more with regard to volume and oomph of a bass combo than watts.

Watts are ALMOST irrelevant. We used to keep a 1W 9V battery powered amp in the music store I worked in. It had a 1 1/2" driver. But it also had an extension cabinet output. We would hook that sucker up to a Marshall 4-12 cab and it got respectably loud. Too loud to play very long when the store was open. ONE WATT.

I run a 30W Ashdown LB30 with my Mesa Subway 115 sometimes. I can't turn it more than about a third of the way up. That cab is just ready to get loud. When I would run that same 30W head with an Epifani UL 410 I would get asked to turn down by sound guys all the time. But, again, 4 10" speakers in that cab were itching to be loud. I also used to own an Ampeg 610 HLF. I took the LB30 and that thing to a gig one time. The house sound guy to this day believes I somehow "hotrodded" the head to put out more watts. When I left the show he still thought I had lied about it being a bone stock 30W head. It got STUPID loud.

You need as much speaker surface area as you can lug (unless your budget allows for PJB or some other higher end combo). For "regular" budgets I would get AT LEAST a 12" speaker. Honestly, 2 10" speakers would he even better. Several companies make 210 combos.

You get a 25-40W 8" combo combo and you are going to be disappointed. There may be a few nicer 10" combos in your budget. Other than that, drop some serious coin on a PJB or equivalent, or get yourself a slightly larger combo with more speaker surface area.


AND FORGET WATTS. They mean way less than you think in the bass world. You get the right driver and cab under relatively few watts and you'll be just fine. I could do any gig I do with that 30W head and the right cab.

Edited to fix half a dozen typos.
 
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#20
I just got a rumble25 that I would be more than comfortable taking to a guitar jam. If I were buying one specifically for a guitar jam I’d go with a rumble40 or rumble100.

Wattage is not really a concern. You just need a well designed cab. Rumbles are cheap and designed well for the price. If you’re going with anything bigger than a 110 you may as well go with a 115 or 210 cause you won’t be saving but a few pounds in weight with most brands and you’ll be able to use it at small to medium gigs with a reasonable drummer.

ETA: If you plan on scooping the crap out of your mids just go straight for a 115 or 210.
 
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