• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Nice starting amp?

#21
GK MB200 would do the trick!

It has a line out for your PA, you can use headphones for practice without a cab, and can plug in an iPod.

2 lbs. and it goes everywhere I go.
It's my backup amp at gigs.
(Chihuahua sold separately)
image.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Robb Fesig, sheltjo6, BadExample and 4 others
#22
Sunset Shalom said:
So your saying something with lower watts would be better to start with?

I honestly would rather spend more to get an amp that I will use longer so I was looking for something I won't want to replace for years.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily something with lower watts, just threw in a couple of combos in your price range.
GAS = Gear Acquisition Syndrome. You know... Jonesin' for something. Chistmas list without it being Christmas.
Gotta habit, gotta habit now. Coveting. Drooling ---> drool
 
  • Like
Reactions: S-Bigbottom and Sunset Shalom
#26
Sunset Shalom said:
Seems like carvin makes some nice stuff, I am going to try and find a deal on one of their combos for now I think. A stack would be nice but I should start with something simple. Plus if that auction price doesn't go up I may settle with the BR510 just becouse I can get a decent deal on it.
Click to expand...
Good luck and welcome to the forum.
Score that Carvin and let us know what you think.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sunset Shalom
#27
You can always start out with an old Peavey combo. Sure they weight a lot, but they are cheap (50-200 mark) and they deliver some volume too! For me, as money was always (and it will be) a problem, I bought a Peavey TNT 130 for around 100 dollars, and I still have it! It might be old af, but it souds loud enough with loud drummers, it has a nice eq and stuff. Only problem is the weight.
Anyways, good luck finding a great amp!
(Never forget the MB 200 and the PF 350 tho)
 
#28
So you can start with a 20 watt practice amp, and quickly outgrow that and replace with a 100 watt combo amp. Then need something that you can actually use in a band, so you upgrade to a 300 watt head and 2x10 cab. But then you discover you're not loud enough, so you get a bigger cabinet and a more powerful head.

So you buy all those things over a couple years, wasting money as you build up a collection of gear you will no longer use, or jump to the ending where you buy an 800 watt head and an 8x10 cabinet. Enjoy! ;)

(mostly joking, but seriously - if your plan is to join a band, having a big enough amp as your first amp isnt a bad idea - though a 410 or 212 would likely do just fine.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dougie44
#29
If you intend to be playing in a band
think about something big enough to do that.
You can turn down a big amp,
but you can only get so much from a small amp.

A seperate amp and cab mean you can upgrade one or the other
without replacing both.

You might want to start with a good bass cabinet.
Bass can be real hard on speakers and
depending on your PA, might blow a
speaker before you ever get very far.

Used gear is normally the best bang for the buck.
You can often find a good, but older rig that someone is replacing,
not because it is bad, but because it is heavy.
That is an issue when you've been playing 40 or 50 years and your back gives out.
Not so much when you are young and just getting started.

Carvin makes good stuff.
Probably the the best bang for the buck, new.

Try out as many amps as you can find.
That will give a batter idea what you like,
what has what kind of sound,
how easy it is to dial in what you want, etc.

When you find something you think you are ready to buy,
run it by us and we'll try to keep you from going wrong.
Not that we will ever agree on what's best,
but we might come close to agreeing on what is bad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Plectrum72 and Interceptor
#30
Sunset Shalom said:
That is why I was thinking the carvin would be nice, I usually don't care about having a warranty but it seems handy if I have any issues or want to send it back.

Thanks for the welcome, I had been meaning to join a music related forum for awhile and figured this would be a good way to ask questions and learn from more experienced people.

I was originally leaning towards a cheaper amp to start but I am considering waiting/ saving up and just getting a nicer used rig.
Click to expand...
that last plan, that's a very good plan. The worst thing that could happen is you need to drag half a PA to a gig to serve as your bass rig. Some of us do that routinely.
 
#33
In your situation, I'd go with a decent sized combo. Fender rumble 500. Maybe an Ampeg ba. Idk what kind of sound you play, but speaker size is important. When I bought my first real amp, I went with the Ampeg 8x10E and the Svt-3 pro. Also picked up a Ampeg b4r head used. I bought once, been playing the same amp for 14 years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sunset Shalom
#35
As a lifelong guitarist who has gotten interested in the bass side of things over the last several years, I've tried out a lot of used / bargain rigs. I've been gigging with a BX250 and various cab configurations for the last 18 months. Based on that I think you'd be happy with one of the lower end BX heads or maybe a similar / based-on combo. They are tonally neutral with a reasonable amount of flexibility from the front panel. I am personally a head-cab person, because the cab / speaker in use can make such a huge difference and I do like to experiment. But there's nothing wrong with a combo, especially if that combo can effectively be used as a head (ext spkr output) if you *do* want to try your amp through someone else's cab.

You could, as some have pointed out, also get some kind of preamp (if even that!) and use your existing PA stuff to learn on. Bass is definitely doable running straight to the board. There are lots of good preamp options to be had too in the < $200 price range, and if you should ever fall in love with one, then it can easily scale to the desired volume / venue via a power amp or the loop return jack on the amp of your future choosing.

I like Peavey gear generally - especially their older made-in-USA basses, absolutely incredible bang for buck - and at the price they tend to sell for, the older combos are usually a good deal for what you get. But you would likely regret going with one as soon as you find yourself in a situation where you need to take it back and forth to rehearsals. I've long wondered if Peavey had secret subsidies from the gov't in the 70s through early 90s to help dispose of toxic waste by sandwiching a layer of lead into their cabinets, because I've never met an old Peavey amp / head / cab that wasn't like twice as heavy as it probably needed to be. If you avoid even one visit to a doctor / chiropractor, you've already made up the price difference between something like a Carvin MB combo and a used TKO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sunset Shalom
#36
Carvin has a terrible warranty
Carvin Audio Warranty Policy
I don't know why they have better warranties on their pro-audio gear, over their bass amps.
Maybe they last and sound good anyhow, but they don't seem to stand behind them with a decent warranty.

Look for 3year minimum warranty with actual services centers, reasonable shipping, and phone numbers where you can talk to intelligent people.

5 year transferable warranty is top of the line these days. And offered by manufacturers who fully stand behind their product and quality.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sunset Shalom
#37
My amp came with a 3 year warranty card, although the website says one, can't smell like smoke, etc. 15 day return, 30 day replacement, 3 year warranty. I've examined it quite closely, the only thing that doesn't say quality is the cover is held on by self tapping screws. That's not bad in itself, but can produce some metallic debris if you are taking them in and out. I'm sure other manufacturers do the same. They are competing for light weight, and thin metal is important to marketing that value. Tapped threads would be stripped out quickly. During warranty, it's their problem. After warranty I'll just add MIL-spec anchor nuts. The press in civilian version, "Pems," suck too. Work OK when used perfectly, but on the production floor, it's hard to get the right pem in the right hole and pressed in correctly. It makes for a lot of fun having a spinning pem inside a box where you can't grab it with pliers. I never charged for that work even out of warranty, unless the customer did it and the screw head looked damaged.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sunset Shalom
#38
If your PA sounds good and is conveniently setup already, just get a Sans-amp BDDI since it's a pedal you'll likely want later anyways. Then when you're ready to play out, get a 500W head and a 4x10 cab or something similarly sized.
 
#40
orangejulius3 said:
GK MB200 would do the trick!

It has a line out for your PA, you can use headphones for practice without a cab, and can plug in an iPod.

2 lbs. and it goes everywhere I go.
It's my backup amp at gigs.
(Chihuahua sold separately)
View attachment 867097
Click to expand...

+1 for a GK MB200. great amp for practicing and gigging. Clean tone and pretty loud for a 200 watt amp.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back