That's funny because I play GK. The OP wanted cheap and didn't care much about the quality of his tone. I made the correct recommendation.
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That's funny because I play GK. The OP wanted cheap and didn't care much about the quality of his tone. I made the correct recommendation.
Budget is important here, definitely. Also, is there any kind of PA support?
I have always been fine in bar gigs with 200 watts through a 2x10 or 1x15. Bigger rooms or outdoor gigs I've been able to run that into the PA and let the PA do the heavy lifting. Watts don't really matter as much as speaker area to just being able to be loud, but that's a safe number. A lot of it does depend on how hard your drummer hits and how stupid loud your guitarists crank up their amps - you did say thrash metal, right? Probably a lot, then. I've been lucky to usually be in bands with reasonable drummers and guitarists.
Like others have said - this is a job for craigslist (or whatever the equivalent is where you are, if you aren't in the US). Some big old backbreaking heavy Peavey setup from the 90s will get you there for pretty cheap. 200w and a 1x15 if your band is reasonable about volume, 400w and a 4x10 if they aren't.
I have always been fine in bar gigs with 200 watts through a 2x10 or 1x15. Bigger rooms or outdoor gigs I've been able to run that into the PA and let the PA do the heavy lifting. Watts don't really matter as much as speaker area to just being able to be loud, but that's a safe number. A lot of it does depend on how hard your drummer hits and how stupid loud your guitarists crank up their amps - you did say thrash metal, right? Probably a lot, then. I've been lucky to usually be in bands with reasonable drummers and guitarists.
Like others have said - this is a job for craigslist (or whatever the equivalent is where you are, if you aren't in the US). Some big old backbreaking heavy Peavey setup from the 90s will get you there for pretty cheap. 200w and a 1x15 if your band is reasonable about volume, 400w and a 4x10 if they aren't.
Thats funny because the GK MB110 is only $20 more than the Rumble 100 and the GK MB112 is actually $30 cheaper than the Rumble 200. The Ampeg BA combos are also right around the same price or actually cheaper than the Rumbles too. I made the correct recommendation as well
wmhill
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For me Hartke is the best cheap brand, had a 2500 and a 3500 for years, bought them for $1 a watt and beat the crap out of them for years. Id agree with the avoiding Fender Rumble amp, Ive never met one I liked
Carvin. Incredible amps for the price. Runs circles around any Fender Rumble.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
"How many watts?" is the wrong way to look at it.
Number of drivers, driver efficiency, and cabinet design are more critical for volume. My 100-watt PJB Briefcase combo is nowhere near as loud as my old 65-watt Peavey TKO combo.
The classic Acoustic 360/361 rig puts out an insane amount of volume from a 200-watt head into a single 18" driver. That's mainly due to the design of the cabinet. Feed the same 200-watt head into an Acme Low B4 cabinet and you might have enough volume for a coffee shop acoustic trio LOL.
EQ also makes a big difference. A tone with lots of mids, like a good PBass through an Ampeg B15N, is easier to reproduce cleanly at higher volumes. If you use the typical "smiley face" metal tone (with the low bass cranked way up), your rig will probably struggle to match the same output levels without farting out...even if you throw lots of watts at the problem.
As for what to buy, there are too many choices to list. Peavey, Carvin, and Yorkville are generally pretty cheap on the used market. Any of them would be fine for a gigging bassist. Any good 4x10" or 2x12" cab should be enough for decent stage volume.
Number of drivers, driver efficiency, and cabinet design are more critical for volume. My 100-watt PJB Briefcase combo is nowhere near as loud as my old 65-watt Peavey TKO combo.
The classic Acoustic 360/361 rig puts out an insane amount of volume from a 200-watt head into a single 18" driver. That's mainly due to the design of the cabinet. Feed the same 200-watt head into an Acme Low B4 cabinet and you might have enough volume for a coffee shop acoustic trio LOL.
EQ also makes a big difference. A tone with lots of mids, like a good PBass through an Ampeg B15N, is easier to reproduce cleanly at higher volumes. If you use the typical "smiley face" metal tone (with the low bass cranked way up), your rig will probably struggle to match the same output levels without farting out...even if you throw lots of watts at the problem.
As for what to buy, there are too many choices to list. Peavey, Carvin, and Yorkville are generally pretty cheap on the used market. Any of them would be fine for a gigging bassist. Any good 4x10" or 2x12" cab should be enough for decent stage volume.
Ric5
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Looking for advice on a cheap amp for gigging?
Go to your local Music Go Round and scope out the used stuff and look for deals
Go to your local Music Go Round and scope out the used stuff and look for deals
wintremute
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That depends, is there PA support? Meaning will your amp only be responsible for supplying the bass for stage volume, or do you need to fill the whole club? Those are vastly different responsibilities that require different specifications. Also, how many guitarists? Do the guitarist(s) and drummer understand volume control control, or is it all chaos on stage?
If you're plugging into the PA and you're playing musicians that understand stage dynamics, you could get away with ~200 watts in a 115 or 210 combo.
If you're responsible for supplying all the bass for the club and/or you're gonna be competing just to hear yourself on stage all night, I would say at minimum, you're gonna need to be pushing at least 500 watts through a 410 or a 215.
That's hard to answer without knowing your exact price range. But let's assume you're trying to stay under $500.
With this setup, you'll have no problem being heard in any small club.
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Ignore the fanboys that will blindly recommend a brand just because. They rarely know how to type anything else.
Interesting. I've owned Ampeg heads, cabs, and combos, GK heads, cabs, and combos, and my Fender Rumble 500C. I currently have an Ampeg combo, a GK combo and a GK head/cab, and my Fender. My go to amp for gigs is the Fender.
A very large amount of people like all of those brands. To say one sucks because you don't like it, just makes you look uneducated and narrow minded.
I've been running an old Peavey Megabass head (200 watts per side). Into a Gallien Krueger 212 cab for a moderate loud 80-90's pop metal band and it's doing well at covering. We have pa support which is doing most of the work, but so far so good with the cab/amp.
This is a testament to Peavey. It's heavy and old, but the peavey amps will kill a lot of the same wattage rated amps of today.
Their stuff may not be cool any more, but at least it's heavy! Oh wait... Crap... Never mind, we are bass players.
Well it still works great and is cheap
This is a testament to Peavey. It's heavy and old, but the peavey amps will kill a lot of the same wattage rated amps of today.
Their stuff may not be cool any more, but at least it's heavy! Oh wait... Crap... Never mind, we are bass players.
Well it still works great and is cheap
Walked into my fave water hole recently to hear some old guys hadn't heard in awhile. Was very impressed with bass sound..no foh awesome tone, twas a rumble 500 2-10! Before I looked could of swore was ampeg!
Peavey Max 115.
300w at a bargain price with a decent DI out. Thrash it till it dies!
300w at a bargain price with a decent DI out. Thrash it till it dies!
My first bass amp was a 80s or 90s Peavy TNT 115 with the sheffield 15". I got it from guitar center for $150. The thing was heavy as hell, but loud and built like a tank. Definitely enough to keep up with a drummer in practice or play a small gig. Roommates ended up killing it using it as a PA for college dance parties. Fast forward 4 years later I just bought my second Peavy combo amp. 80s one this time I think, TNT 150 with a BW driver? 15" and 150 watts? Thing is damn loud. Heavy too. Tone isn't to die for but it'll work just fine.
Check your local craigslist or give the stocking guitar center a call for a used one and see if they'll cut $25-$50 off.
Otherwise a used Fender rumble will get you pretty far.
Check your local craigslist or give the stocking guitar center a call for a used one and see if they'll cut $25-$50 off.
Otherwise a used Fender rumble will get you pretty far.
Good point! And it's got more headroom than it has any right to be for the size and cost.
