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looking for 100W amp combo

U

User2653637

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Dec 10, 2014
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#1
Hi. I need a 100w combo transistor to practice at home and play along with my friends. Right now I have a ampeg ba108. It's good but I really can't hear the bass over the drums, so I need to change the amp.
Looking around online I found these amps:

New:
Ashdown Five15 125W for 320€
Peavey Max100 MKII 100W for 230€
Peavery Max112 MKII 200W for 300€

Used:
Ashdown Five15 100W for 130€-150€
Ampeg BA115 for 250€

Have you got any other suggestion? Between these amp, what would be the best choice? What's the difference between the two five15 (other than the wattage). And peavey's amps seems so cheap..are the bad?
I don't play in gigs right now but maybe in the future it could happen. Are these amp enough to play with a band in small gigs like little pubs?

PS:
I didn't play bass guitar for a long time so I'm still a newbie but I think it would be helpful for you to know that I play different genres but mostly songs from bands such as Arcade Fire, Pink Floyd, Queens of The Stone Age, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, The Smiths, The Strokes, System of a Down, Nirvana etc.
 
#3
My next purchase will probably be one of the Fender Rumble v3 combos. They are almost weightless for their size and rate pretty highly among people who use them. They make a 100 watt and the 200 watt is only $100 more and comes with a 15 inch speaker.
 
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#4
I'd strongly recommend you look at the Mesa Walkabout... it's 300W, and the combo comes apart and allows you to add a speaker cabinet for later expansion.... You'll really need AT LEAST 300W for bass amp in a small gig..
 
#8
I regularly use a 75w combo in my band with a drummer and a 3-pc horn section. Yeah, OK, most of the time I use PA, but there are a handful of gigs we do where I don't. So it's certainly not unheard of a 100w combo to work very well in situations where you're not trying to cause birth defects in pregnant women's fetuses.
 
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#10
bmc said:
Take a look at the Rolamd CB100. Do a search to read the comments. I bought for home practice and have used it for many gigs.
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If that's the case, then I'd have to agree with my old friend Brian, the Roland 100w is a good amp for the $$.. My next door neighbor uses one to practice bass on and it sounds great for the price
 
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#12
GregT said:
My next purchase will probably be one of the Fender Rumble v3 combos. They are almost weightless for their size and rate pretty highly among people who use them. They make a 100 watt and the 200 watt is only $100 and comes with a 15 inch speaker.
Click to expand...

I've been always told fender didn't make great amps for bass. But the reviews of the rumble seems pretty good so I'll give it a look. Thanks!

SamJ said:
I'd strongly recommend you look at the Mesa Walkabout... it's 300W, and the combo comes apart and allows you to add a speaker cabinet for later expansion.... You'll really need AT LEAST 300W for bass amp in a small gig..
Click to expand...

That costs waaaaaaaaaay too much :P

bmc said:
Take a look at the Roland CB100. Do a search to read the comments. I bought for home practice and have used it for many gigs.
Click to expand...

This seems pretty good too. I'll check it out. Thanks

SamJ said:
he DID ask " Are these amp enough to play with a band in small gigs like little pubs?"

100W isn't even going to begin to cut thru a the drummer...
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Yep, actually I don't play in gigs right now, but maybe in the future it could happen (I hope so). So if I can get an amp that's good both to play in my garage with my friend just for fun and play in small gigs too, it would be great. But I can't spend too much so a 100W is the max I can get right now. If it's not enough for gigs nevermind...I'll think about that later, when needed.

B-string said:
From your prices it looks like Euros, where are you located? Recommending a $1600.USD combo may not be much help. ;)
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B-string said:
Yes maybe but really, nothing the Poster mentioned was over 320 Euros. 1385 euros is a long stretch from there? IF Mesa is even available in their (as yet unknown) country.
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B-string said:
Took a look at thomann.de and Roland, Hartke, G-K, Ampeg and TCE all seem to be in the basic price range.
Click to expand...

I live in Italy and I usually buy from thomann
 
#14
SamJ said:
If that's the case, then I'd have to agree with my old friend Brian, the Roland 100w is a good amp for the $$.. My next door neighbor uses one to practice bass on and it sounds great for the price
Click to expand...

My buddy in High School used a Roland 100 watt with a hard hitting drummer and loud guitarist.....It was a powerful amp and had great effects.....It would work great until you are ready to step into a rig with headroom.
 
#16
Fender Rumble 100 is an excellent combo that is both light & LOUD! 269 Euros Yes it is loud enough to play a small pub.
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The Rumble 200 would be a better choice for a band, but it is 449 Euros.
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Rumbles are very well made and are robust. They are both road-worthy and gig-worthy. With tons of fabulous Fender tone the sound quality is second to none. So by all means go try one out and I'll bet you'll be very pleasantly surprized.
 
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#18
SwitchGear said:
I still use my Ampeg B100R for most gigs. Years back an old Peavey TNT 150 combo worked well also. If I was looking for a another combo these days, the new Fender Rumbles sound (and) look good.
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I just sold my B100R about two weeks ago. Only because it weighed about 65 pounds. It was undeniably one of the best bass amps ever made. I just didn't want to carry it any more. I will miss the lush tone. The Rumble 100 is only 22 pounds with a 12 inch speaker. The B100R had a 15 inch. I am also of the thought that 100 watts is plenty for a lot of places with the right amp. I am only wondering if the Rumble's 12 inch speaker will fill a medium sized room full of people. The B100R certainly could and did!! I'd look at the Ampeg BA-115v2 but it is more than twice the weight, but only $100 more for 5o more watts (150). The Ampeg BA112V2 is the same price as the Rumble 100, but it is 75 watts (25 less) and weighs 42 pounds (20 more); it does have the 12 inch speaker. Now I wonder if 75 watts might be enough. Not sure what I'll end up with. Honestly, I am not brand loyal. I just want dependable equipment that sounds good and gets the job done. I know I'd be perfectly content with Ampeg or Fender. They are both great in my opinion.

Does anyone know the thickness of the "lightweight plywood" Fender uses for the Rumbles? Seem like they "forgot" to mention it. Also, what are the Ampeg combos made of?
 
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#20
A friend of mine had a BA115 and I was not a big fan.... Never had enough volume with a loud drummer. While I have never used a Rumble I have used a Fender BXR300C combo. This held up very nicely with a three piece band even with a loud drummer. Not sure if you can find one of those used in your area, but they are usually cheap. They also offer a BXR 200 as well as I believe a 100.

The BXR300C is a large combo at 75lbs, but will handle most situations with a nice tone!
 

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