Marshall origin 50h for bass?

[Chrisbassman]

Was looking at all tube low cost guitar heads and i was going to play bassboit of it as there are no bass equivalent amps like the marshall amp im asking about. I also saw a video on the orange all valve small head someone played bass with but both videos they didn't use jist the amp and a bass cab they all did computer trickery. Anyone know if anyone uses guitar heads with bass cabs and bass guitars?

 

[anderbass]

I gigged a few times with my old 50 watt Marshall JMP head, SWR Big Ben cab & a P-bass.
It wasn't a very loud bass rig but it worked fine and sounded cool with lower volume levels bands.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

I play a Marshall 50c for low volume practice/recording/acoustic settings. The only issue you’ll have is that it’ll be voiced differently than a “normal” bass amp, but it will certainly work. I love my combo, and the reason why I bought it is near precisely the same as your predicament...there weren’t any lower priced tube combo bass amps available.

That 50 watts is quite a bit, as well. I’ve never gone past 25 on my combo (5/25/50 watt options), and I don’t go past noon on volume. Bass rarely go past 9 and it still sounds phenomenal (with certain basses).

 

[Chrisbassman]

I play a Marshall 50c for low volume practice/recording/acoustic settings. The only issue you’ll have is that it’ll be voiced differently than a “normal” bass amp, but it will certainly work. I love my combo, and the reason why I bought it is near precisely the same as your predicament...there weren’t any lower priced tube combo bass amps available.

That 50 watts is quite a bit, as well. I’ve never gone past 25 on my combo (5/25/50 watt options), and I don’t go past noon on volume. Bass rarely go past 9 and it still sounds phenomenal (with certain basses).

Oh that amp kinda sounds like a 59 bassman lol. They are also 50w tube power and volume never goes past 3. I put the amps eq B8 M6 T6 into the normal channel with a mxr 10 band eq with the 32hz and 1000hz bumped up but basically transparent just adds extra sub frequencies. I also swapped the stock vintage jensen's with modern bass speakers so i can crank it up if need be for giging. I have had great experience with the 59 bassmans as true bass guitar amps but i would like a marshall or orange all tube head under 700usd i can connect to two 8 ohm bass cabs. I saw a video on youtube of someone playing bass with the origin 50 but they didn't use it like a bass amp they just DI'd a bass into the amp and signaled back to their DAW. He also just played with the gain up and didn't try to get a good clean tone. Same thing with the video i saw of a OR15 head. Both amps i mentioned are good candidates but i don't have experimental amp money lol. I completely forgot about bugera which still sells their plexi copy. I want the bugera because its cheaper, has more power, and the infinium tech. is neat. I had a v22 head and loved it (For guitar of course). Im just waiting to pay off a second 59 bassman i just got recently. If i can get a bugera 1960 infinium ill let everyone know what i think of it as a bass head.

 

[DoctorDistorto]

I definitely prefer 50w and 100w all tube guitar amps for bass. I’ve had actual bass amps (Peavey Alpha Bass, Hartke 2000…good amps) but I’ve found most modern bass amplifiers focus too much on low fundamentals at the cost of mids and low-mids, which is really where we humans can hear better anyway. But I can always get a GREAT tone from, say a Fender Showman, Bassman (50w or 100w), Marshall 1959 Plexi Super Lead, etc… Even a Peavey ValveKing makes a great bass amp (specifically clean channel) Kind of a poor man’s Showman. In fact, I’ve decided to start using a first generation ValveKing 100 head instead of hauling my ‘71 Dual Showman Reverb around.

I recently picked up a Bugera 1960 Infinium. Craigslist for $200. Since I’ve had Marshall 1959SLP heads in the past and used them expressly for bass, I wanted to see how the Bugera did. It’s been almost 17 years since I had a Marshall 1959SLP so I had to go off of memory, but I was very impressed on how good the Bugera sounds as a bass amp! It sounds good for guitar, but nothing my little Crate Vintage Club amps couldn’t do IMO. For electric bass the normal channel on the Bugera sounds very full and solid with LOTS of headroom. Upping the volume control and dialing back the master a tick allows for juuuuust a touch of “fudge”…not distortion per se, just some smooth warmth and character.

That being said, I purchased the Bugera with the idea of selling my ValveKing 100 head. In the end, I kept the ValveKing and sold the Bugera after just a few days, not due to any fault or issues with the Bugera, but I only needed one of them and the ValveKing was more usable overall as a bass amp for me. The ValveKing has a “Resonance” control that affects the damping factor on the lower frequencies, allowing the speaker to move a little more freely. For bass guitar it adds more “punch” compared to just upping the bass knob, and I really like this feature.

One thing that I both liked and disliked about the Bugera, which brought back memories of the Marshall 1959SLP, is that the Normal channel, while very full and punchy, has very little top end, even with the presence and treble maxed out. Great for lots of things, but you must use the Bright channel along with it to get any top end. And when you do, it adds almost too much top end, even if you dial back the treble and presence completely. It doesn’t take away the lows, but that bright circuit is BRIGHT!! So with the Bugera 1960 Infinium I could get R&B and Led Zeppelin on one end, or Yes on the other, but not much in between. A lot of guys would have kept both amps, but selling one of the 2 heads was the caveat to buying the Bugera to begin with.

I can’t say you would really go wrong with the Bugera, and your experience may vary. If all I had was the Bugera 1960 I’d be happy, but side by side with the ValveKing, I found the Peavey to be more versatile is all.

There’s also the matter of reliability. Peaveys are known for being pretty bullet proof, Bugeras not so much. Although it seems that the bugs have been worked out with the Infinium series amplifiers. The bright channel on mine made a rather noticeable high pitched hissing noise when the bright channel was turned up even the tiniest bit, although it was drowned out when played. I recall one of the two Marshall 1959SLPs I had doing something similar, so it may or may not be a universal issue.

If you’re interested in a Bugera 1960 Infinium and can find one for $300 or less you can’t go wrong. And you can easily get your money back if it’s not for you. Same goes for the Peavey ValveKing 100 head, and they can be found for as low as $200. Both sound great and are a good way to get that classic 100w all tube tone!