How to play through a practice amp

[Holroyd]

I have a Peavey Max 158 that I got for less than $100 at GC. I play a Music Man stingray and the volume is perfectly adequate to play with an accoustic guitar without any overdrive.

 

[raventepes]

You might want to check out something like a Laney Richter Bass series. I have a 12" 120 watt RB5 that's seemingly very hard to distort. You really have to push it. Trust me, I've tried. This amp is about as clean as they come, and it's all in all a pretty solid practice amp. My little sister has a different model, but I'm not sure which it is. I know it's somewhere in the 65 watt range, and her amp acts like mine. Super clean.

Worth a shot, at any rate.

 

[oldcatfish]

Maybe you should just get a Zoom B1on and plug that into the powered monitor that you have. It would be cheaper, plus you'd have a bunch of different amp models and effects to play with.

 

[Kmay]

Just a thought....did you switch cables? People really abuse those in stores.....

I did not try different cables.
I will do that.
Also turning down on the bass itself.

Thanks.

 

[MFeleki]

Yes and no. I changed basses thinking it may be a bass issue. And replayed them all again.

Active music man style basses. 5 string.

I have experienced this when going from my gigging amp to my practice amp using my bass with active pickups. If I turn down the EQ knobs on my bass a bit it can clean up the tone. Active pickups can be very powerful and the knobs do not need to be maxed out. For me personally, I usually do not boost very high past the flat setting, if at all for bass, mid and treble. Maybe you could try to dial back the EQ a bit on the Music Man and see what happens?

 

[Jolagh]

Maybe I missed it but if all you are needing is eq or light compression why not get something like a sansamp bddi or VT pre- to put In front of the powered pa speaker?

 

[Kmay]

I could definitely build a rig. Sure. I can haul the 210 and a micro head and stick pedals in front of it and BAM! Perfect lil rig.

That's just not what I want/need. I have a live rig. That is plenty for gigs. I have a pedal board.

I was just wanting a small combo, like 10" at the most, that was lightweight, carry with one hand, that I could set in the floor and work on songwriting parts.

The monitor is huge. And zero EQ. Yeah, I could put a pedal or multi effects in front of it, but then I am getting into more cables and power strips, etc.

I was just wanting simple.
So, when I seen the little practice amps for a bill, I thought, "Man, if this will sound just half way good, then I'll be happy."

I was pretty sure it was something I didn't understand about the practice amps. I was unaware that I should cut down volume on the bass itself. Makes sense. Just didn't think of it.

I know how to set gain and volume controls. So that's not the problem.

I didn't play on the distorted amps for long. Pretty much plugged in, hit the low B and unplugged when it distorted.
All the EQ at noon.

I'll return this evening and try some of the suggestions. Ie, cutting down output from the bass, different cable, might even take my bass in and use it. Etc.

Thanks again for the ideas.

 

[Tad]

It is probably something like that.

I have a Peavey Minx 110,
a Fender Bronco 40,
and a Fender B-DEC.

I have never had distortion problems like you describe with any of them.

But, then again, I play passive 4 string basses.

 

[Session1969]

I have a rumble 75 that has a 12" speaker and works great for small get togethers. I have
a Sterling 5 and a 55-01. Just used it 2 days ago. I bought it off c/l for $100. I'd go that route and save a hundy.

 

[Basically Bob]

GK MB110 is another small amp that performs well but it is out of your price range.

 

[Bodeanly]

If your bass is active and you used it to try the amps, check your battery.

 

[yakmastermax]

To maximize clean I would flatten the EQ, turn the volume/tone down on the active bass, turn the volume on the amp up and the gain on the amp down as well as turn off any coloring options that the amp has.

I agree with a lot of the guys, there must be something wrong. You should be perfectly able to get a clean sound out of those smaller quieter practice amps.

I know it is a little out of the budget but check this out:
MB10 Micro Bass Amp 10 Inch – Carvin Amplifiers

26 lbs light.

 

[Peepaleep]

I agree with Bodeanly. It's possible that the battery in the active bass is the issue. I've played many small practice amps and have not had problems with distortion until they were cranked really high.

 

[Oneirogenic]

I could definitely build a rig. Sure. I can haul the 210 and a micro head and stick pedals in front of it and BAM! Perfect lil rig.

That's just not what I want/need. I have a live rig. That is plenty for gigs. I have a pedal board.

I was just wanting a small combo, like 10" at the most, that was lightweight, carry with one hand, that I could set in the floor and work on songwriting parts.

The monitor is huge. And zero EQ. Yeah, I could put a pedal or multi effects in front of it, but then I am getting into more cables and power strips, etc.

I was just wanting simple.
So, when I seen the little practice amps for a bill, I thought, "Man, if this will sound just half way good, then I'll be happy."

I was pretty sure it was something I didn't understand about the practice amps. I was unaware that I should cut down volume on the bass itself. Makes sense. Just didn't think of it.

I know how to set gain and volume controls. So that's not the problem.

I didn't play on the distorted amps for long. Pretty much plugged in, hit the low B and unplugged when it distorted.
All the EQ at noon.

I'll return this evening and try some of the suggestions. Ie, cutting down output from the bass, different cable, might even take my bass in and use it. Etc.

Thanks again for the ideas.

Take your bass with you for sure. I have a little Warwick practice amp that I can rehearse with a five piece bluegrass band and drown them out if I want to. It has the active and passive inputs too.

 

[Real Soon]

Sounds like a dying battery or super duper hot output if the issue happened with your active bass and isn't such an issue with a passive bass.

I have a cheapo Behringer BX108, and as far as I can remember, I've never made it clip once in ~10 years. And I normally have the volume dimed. It does not have adjustable input gain, and I bet many practice amps don't, since they're mostly designed for personal practice, not band rehearsal. Nor will most have an active input attenuation switch.

Thus, as has been said already, that adjustment has to happen at the bass. It's not a flaw or issue, it's simply the way electronics work sometimes. You might just have a loud-ass bass. But...if turning the volume down is still leaving some distortion in the sound, the battery could be giving some sag effect and causing the onboard pre to put out some disgusting sounds.


But yeah, practice amps are great. They're made to be punishingly honest, so you'll hear everything you're not doing perfectly.

 

[morgansterne]

I tried a carvin mb15 used last time I was at a GC. It too distorted at low volumes (passive four string bass, gain kept low). I would not be shocked if every single one of the practice amps you tried were just junked out from abuse.

 

[static0verdrive]

I've got a 15-watt 8" Line 6 LD15... no distortion unless I want it even at high volumes, low B on my 5-er included. Something is strange here.

 

[ofajen]

No mystery here. Turn the volume down on the instrument until the amp doesn't distort. Then turn the amp volume up to the lesser of: 1) loud enough or 2) starts to distort power amp stage.

Otto

 

[loveandbass]

gk MB150 (the aluminum sealed combo)

 

[RED J]

I have contempt for "practice amps" for the very reasons you cite. My practice amp is a 160 watt 1x15 that I got for $150 used. It's small enough for me, and it sounds like a real amp. I tried micro amps and was disappointed . No power, no tone. No go.