Punk Bass Amp

[InhumanResource]

I used a 350H for years and it was fine until I needed more juice. You can get an SVT 6-pro (tube preamp and drivers, 1100 watt @ 4ohm power amp) for about $500. You could also do separate pre and power amp setups as others have suggested. A dedicated power amp often gives you the opportunity to get 2 channels bridgeable, which makes a lot of flexibility for future setups. Depends on what you want to do and how much amp you really need!

 

[rufus.K]

True that! Mike Watt uses Eden and DNA rigs. "Boutique" amps for punk?!? Seems to work just fine for Watt.

Just find an amp you like that's in your price range. Any amp is good for punk.

I agree, but in his early days, it was whatever was around, always changed. Early fIREHOSE I see him using PA cabs

 

[woodyng2]

This is the closest I could find.................

View attachment 713993

I think that's more Punky Brewster......

 

[srxplayer]

And what ever amp you choose you must use a coiled guitar cord...That's "Punk"

Seriously though. Probably Ampeg or something that sounds like an Ampeg. The Peavey suggestions are good. You can get them cheap and they are built like tanks but they weigh about the same as a tank. Peavey is probably the only company that figured out how to build solid state amps heavier then Ampeg tube amps.

 

[woodyng2]

Hey, so I'm in a band that's starting to do some more serious professional stuff, so I'm looking to get a new bass amp. I was wondering if an Ampeg SVT-350 H would be a goos amp for a punk tone. I have about $550 to spend, and was initially going to get a loud combo, but I'm intrigued by the concept of a solid state SVT head. I'm playing a MIM P Bass with a maple fretboard and Quarter Pound pickups.
Tl;dr Good punk amp for ~ $550

I think the new VT amp would be excellent for that,(and you could put a large saftey pin on it for street cred!),plus it just happens to be in your price range.
I use markbass heads and cabs preamped with a VT pedal,and can get anything i want out of them.one of my bands is pretty much punk/pop. I play my beat up Rick 4000 (1-pickup) most of the time for that.

 

[Bodeanly]

I would stick with your original idea and get a loud combo. Of course, when I was your age, I didn't want to hear that. I wanted big and heavy and ugly... And I'm not just talking about the ladies.

 

[woodyng2]

Some of the best sound i ever got was from an old Peavey Mark combo that had a 150 watt amp with a 4 ohm 15" Peavey Black Widow speaker. I couldn't believe how loud and full that thing sounded. (I did set all the amp controls to neutral and used my trusty VT pedal to preamp the tone).

 

[packhowitzer]

GK all the way.

 

[dalkowski]

And what ever amp you choose you must use a coiled guitar cord...That's "Punk"

Amen and amen! In fact, you should back-burner any amp shopping until you've procured the cord. To try out amps with. Because tone.

 

[Muddslide]

I rolled in punk bands throughout the 80s playing mainly an old Peavey TNT 150 combo amp. Thing weighed as much as a collapsed neutron star, but was built like a tank, pretty versatile and louder than the voice of an angry god.

In your situation, though, if I could do a head/cab setup, I would. And Ampeg SVTs are killers.

 

[cfsporn]

True that! Mike Watt uses Eden and DNA rigs. "Boutique" amps for punk?!? Seems to work just fine for Watt.

Just find an amp you like that's in your price range. Any amp is good for punk.

When I played in a punk band, I used my GK 1001 and either my Alembic of my FBass. Why not sound awesome?

 

[stajki]

what amp and cabinet are you using now?
i would get ampeg v4 or similar( svt cl is the best, but i dont think you need that monster),ampeg 810 cabinet (avoid dark era) and sansamp, thats what all the punks use. be patient, get all of that and start making some anarchy! you wont regret it.

 

[Milo's]

I played in a hardcore band that had some pretty heavy punk influence. I had the SVT450H and got rid of it because it couldn't keep up with the two Mesa playing guitar players in my band. I ended up with a SVT4 Pro and stopped looking. The price was quite a bit higher than what you were looking to spend. That being said, a SVT3 Pro and a SansAmp BDI should give you the tone you are looking for. There are a lot of other options out there that would be a bit less, but in my opinion, that combination would be hard to beat. The SVT3 Pro is known for being an industry standard for a reason. That is just my $0.02. The Ampeg PF stuff would work as well. I would recommend at least the PF 500 or PF 800. Either way, get yourself a SansAmp. Good luck!

 

[Bunk McNulty]

If Sid Vicious were alive today, he'd be spinning in his grave. Thanks, I'm here all week.

 

[higain617]

A V4B would be my pick.

 

[pudgychef]

imho - avoid the SVT350H - I would, as others have said, go with you original idea of a decent combo.

Save some $$ and get a Rumble 500 V3 (or save even more and go with the V2 Rumble 350) both will cover any gig most punk bands will play, sound good, are versatile and easy to haul around...and they don't sound anything like the old 'rat fur' V1 Rumbles people loathe...

 

[Lo-E]

Thing weighed as much as a collapsed neutron star

Know that I will be stealing this line from you.

 

[ChronicPyromaniac]

VT Bass into the loudest power amp you can find. If you're trying to do it on the cheap, that's the way I'd do it.

 

[static0verdrive]

True that! Mike Watt uses Eden and DNA rigs. "Boutique" amps for punk?!? Seems to work just fine for Watt.

Just find an amp you like that's in your price range. Any amp is good for punk.

Maybe previously, but he uses a TC Electronic Blacksmith now (at least with Il Sogno del Marinaio when I saw them last year). Just to reinforce the "forget the ring, I found it in a box of crackerjacks. The punk is in YOU Lonestar!"

 

[10cc]