How to play through a practice amp

[radioface]

If it is still being manufactured, I recommend an SWR Working Man's 15 which is what I use for my daily practice amp and, to me, it's great.

 

[madmanmerc]

Not sure how much my input will count seeing I am new to this, but I have the ampeg ba108v2. sounds good to me

 

[Sean775]

First,
I have searched the forums and everyone suggests their favorites or recommendations, and I tried...them all!

I went to GC today and played probably 6 small amps. They all distorted at low volumes. My price range was a couple hundred bucks...

I played

Ashdown
Fender
Ampeg
Peavey
Acoustic

Terrible sounding. Then, I decided to go out of my range and played the little bitty markbass (@$500) and it too distorted at low volumes.

Am I doing something wrong? Maybe I'm not playing them correctly? Is there a different technique to practice amps?

I play a five string, so I tried various ones that GC had. I made sure all the EQ was set at noon. And I could never get the volume past 4.

My needs:
My guitarist and I like sitting around writing songs. He plays acoustic and I work up bass lines. Right now I'm using a cheap powered monitor (like $70) and it sounds ok, but lacks an EQ and is huge and heavy. So I was hoping to get a small bass combo practice amp.
Small
Lightweight
Easy package.

Advice?

What kind /wattage was the Fender? 100 watt Fender Rumbles sound great for the price.

 

[bnolsen]

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.

Uhh, yeah. I have a sterling sub ray5. The B string puts a big hurt on my ampeg ba108 even with an eminence alpha 8a.
My ubass low E string also hurts the ampeg probably because of the strong fundamental.

 

[PortlandBass77]

The problem is you are playing on a 5 string (practice amps cannot handle the low B) and I bet you have the bass eq setting up to high. I have a lil' Peavey and it never distorts when I play it at high volumes, though I have played some amps that will distort no matter what you do.....

 

[Kmay]

I appreciate everyone giving their input. But a lot is getting repeated. Same advice or assumptions that I have already said I didn't do.

Thanks

I'll try them again with some suggestions. Maybe tomorrow or Friday. Got tied up today.

 

[greengoblin]

There was a thread on here about picking up an Ampeg BA108 for $50 or so and doing some upgrades to turn it into a cool small combo... I think they squeezed in a 10"......... Will see what I can find... May be a good option for your under(or around) $100 small practice amp...


**EDIT** Here is the link: Ampeg BA-108 Coffeeshop Micro Rig | TalkBass.com

 

[MojoPenguin]

My Phil Jones Double Four does not distort with my 5...

 

[sl0pch0p]

Ampeg 1x10 should be fine, i think theyre $150. MarkBass combos are awesome, I want one. Orange combos are awesome.

I play through a poopy Line 6 Spider 3 Amp at home i got used off craigslist for $50 and it's fine. All I'm trying to do is hear notes, it gets pretty loud before it starts breaking up and sounding bad so I imagine you could do a lot better than that for $100-$200.

I used to use my friend's crappy Peavey "TransTube" combo that is also like $50 and sounded fine.

 

[Kaden Daniels]

Hartke HD50 or 25 Mine dose not distort and will bet louder than any acoustics

 

[Downunderwonder]

I appreciate everyone giving their input. But a lot is getting repeated. Same advice or assumptions that I have already said I didn't do.

Thanks

I'll try them again with some suggestions. Maybe tomorrow or Friday. Got tied up today.

Bass knob at noon can be enough to distort with low B at relatively low volume.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

You want Cheap, Small, and Good (Sound). The Holy Grail. Sorry, the immutable law of bassdom says you can only have two of the three at the same time.

1. If it's Cheap and Small, it won't be Good.
   
2. If it's Small and Good, it won't be Cheap.
   
3. And if it's Cheap and Good, it won't be Small.

 

[Foz]

Ignore these fools - be a pussy and eschew bass - play mid!

 

[bnolsen]

Ampeg 1x10 should be fine, i think theyre $150. MarkBass combos are awesome, I want one. Orange combos are awesome.

guitar center is selling used ba112s for 130 to 150. Probably that would do the trick nicely.

 

[BazzTard]

you must be doing something wrong.

MarkBass amps do not distort, ever !