Simple enuff I need to find a cheap amp that sounds good and has 100 watts plus. I only have a 20 watt amp, and its been good to me and it has BALLS. Sadly 20 watts just isnt that loud. Give me ideas people. 
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NEED A GOOD, LOUD, CHEAP AMP
- Thread starter bassdude911
- Start date
In before all the other Peavey responses...
Seriously... Find a used Peavey. Best quality bang for buck for power out there.
Seriously... Find a used Peavey. Best quality bang for buck for power out there.
Peavey is a perennial favourite and for good reason. Not the most refined sound and definitely not boutique, but used, they are a great bargain. Also look for a used Traynor. The 400 watt head has lots of power, sounds great and is reliable as a Peavey. A used GK 400 RB is a wonderful amp too.
100 watts definitely isn't enough, go for 300 or so, it's a happy can-handle-pretty much-anything-you-throw-at-it medium.
+1
No matter how ridiculous that sounds to you now if you're playing through a 20W combo, it's absolutely true.
TB, ebay, and craigslist are awash in great 300ish watt amps at various price points.
Buy used and try, resell and try again if you dont like. The big hit on resale was already felt by the original buyer, so going used is closer to cost effective.
Off the top of my head I'd look for a used gk400rb, new/used gk 600/ or used Acoustic from back in the day. all will be 200ish $ and are loud for rating (and $).
Th carvin bass amps are big and cheap and puportedly nice and loud and get huge hthumbs up from some. I never played one.
Obviously PV is the defacto standard for rugged/used/unloved/cheap. an old mark IV could be had for 150ish and will certainly make noise.
up a peg on the scale IMO is the AMP bh420 variants (TBer Quad seems to have a never ending supply thanks to some kind of shady NJ connection) that start around $300ish and go up to 700ish (?) for a used thunderfunk420. The gk800 is in this price range and power range as well.
Man, the economy and housing market arent great in some areas, and there are LOTs of things for sale. dig around. Try stuff out. It is a good time to be in your shoes right now (not so much for some other people!)
Buy used.
Did I mention imo buy used!?
Buy used and try, resell and try again if you dont like. The big hit on resale was already felt by the original buyer, so going used is closer to cost effective.
Off the top of my head I'd look for a used gk400rb, new/used gk 600/ or used Acoustic from back in the day. all will be 200ish $ and are loud for rating (and $).
Th carvin bass amps are big and cheap and puportedly nice and loud and get huge hthumbs up from some. I never played one.
Obviously PV is the defacto standard for rugged/used/unloved/cheap. an old mark IV could be had for 150ish and will certainly make noise.
up a peg on the scale IMO is the AMP bh420 variants (TBer Quad seems to have a never ending supply thanks to some kind of shady NJ connection) that start around $300ish and go up to 700ish (?) for a used thunderfunk420. The gk800 is in this price range and power range as well.
Man, the economy and housing market arent great in some areas, and there are LOTs of things for sale. dig around. Try stuff out. It is a good time to be in your shoes right now (not so much for some other people!)
Buy used.
Did I mention imo buy used!?
I don't know about unloved - I love my Nitrobass 450. Loud as I need @ 4 ohms, and it'll do 2. It's a very uncolored sounding amp, which doesn't appeal to some, but when you're still learning how to control the tone of your bass with your fingers/thumb/pick, I think that's a very good thing.
They are right, you need to go for more than 100 watts. I was looking at combos and tried out a Ampeg BA115 100 watt 15" combo, it was not very loud at all. It also hissed like crazy, so had to pass on it. So I went for one of the new Eden Nemisis N28 combo, 200 watts 2 8" drivers for $400 new. Looking used is always good. Buy the right gear the first time around because you will just end up replacing it down the road.
Oh, I agree with you. I like PV. HOwever they dont carry the prestige, and resale is usually low. thats all I meant.
PV love here!
I tried the New Acoustic set and was pretty impressed. Check out the link;
http://unofficialacousticcontrolcorpmessageboard.yuku.com/topic/1678
http://unofficialacousticcontrolcorpmessageboard.yuku.com/topic/1678
I disagree entirely.
cheap (inexpensive), loud, and good are all relative, there is CERTAINLY a chance.
The difference between very high end gear and medium level gear is huge in price and marginal in performance. Is a new tfb550 at $1400 really 7 times better than a used acoustic or backline 600 for $200? For the average (or especially beginner) bassist? I say no way.
Its about compromise, and I think its complete BS that newer or even typical weekend bassists (like myself) require the best or will even recognize the difference between med priced and top of th eline gear in a gig or while jamming.
You simply do NOT need to spend a lot of money these days unless you want to.
Diminishing returns works in your favor if you can barely recognize what the returns even are.
my .02, but IMO its reality.
Chef
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