Quality or quantity?

[Nicolas Moreno]

I managed to scrounge up enough money to buy a decent amp and i'm now faced with a dilemma, should I buy a fender rumble 25w or a wenstone 45w amp (amp manufacturing company from my country argentina)?

wenstone is relatively good and i could definitely use a bigger amp but i trust fender's quality much more, any advice?

 

[Nicolas Moreno]

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[Killing Floor]

The Rumble 25 is not very loud. But I don’t know the other brand. Good luck.

 

[BigDrew]

Save for a Rumble 40. Super amp.

 

[Nicolas Moreno]

Save for a Rumble 40. Super amp.

I would but sadly due to inflation by the time I got enough for a rumble 40 i would probably need double the amount I'd acquired so i'd like to do this now.

 

[Gearhead17]

What are your goals with the bigger combo amp? If you are looking to be louder than a drummer, neither one of your choices will get you there. What are you using right now and why do you want to replace it?

 

[abarson]

Judging solely on photos on the Wemstone website, it looks like the cabinet is sealed and possibly too shallow to provide good bass response. I have no idea how it sounds or what it’s reliability is like. It does offer a bigger speaker and more watts. Are you familiar with how it sounds?
Buying from a local manufacturer may mean easier repair or replacement if something goes wrong.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Either way, it's just a practice amp. I'd get the Fender. It will be easier to sell/trade if/when you move up.

 

[SJan3]

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The Wenstone has almost identical feature set to the Ampeg BA110v2. I wonder if Wenstone didn't cop a bit of Ampeg's Secret Sauce. For your budget, I'd probably look for a USED amp. You'll get much more for your money. .

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[Nicolas Moreno]

What are your goals with the bigger combo amp? If you are looking to be louder than a drummer, neither one of your choices will get you there. What are you using right now and why do you want to replace it?

I just need something capable to be able to practice with my band and actually hear myself + potentially gigging in small venues. Right now I'm using an exploded 10w amp for band practice, an audio interface for practicing at home and if I have to gig and the venue can't provide an amp, I tend to steal a 25w from my school.

 

[Nicolas Moreno]

The Wenstone has almost identical feature set to the Ampeg BA110v2. I wonder if Wenstone didn't cop a bit of Ampeg's Secret Sauce. For your budget, I'd probably look for a USED amp. You'll get much more for your money. .View attachment 4981761 [

The Rumble would be used whereas the Wenstone would be new. Buying anything new by fender here is way too expensive to be viable.

 

[Nicolas Moreno]

Judging solely on photos on the Wemstone website, it looks like the cabinet is sealed and possibly too shallow to provide good bass response. I have no idea how it sounds or what it’s reliability is like. It does offer a bigger speaker and more watts. Are you familiar with how it sounds?
Buying from a local manufacturer may mean easier repair or replacement if something goes wrong.

I am familiar with how they sound since at my school we use a 25w Wenstone, they sound good and probably the only thing I could complain about is that they get pretty distorted if you push it too much, which I usually did.

 

[Gearhead17]

What does your local used market look like? Trying to upgrade to a 40w combo for band practice is a useless endeavor. You will likely have the same thing happen with that rig - you will QUICKLY push it too far.

What kind of band situation are you in? How many players and what type of music are you playing?

You need something with 100 watts or more and designated for bass guitar. I suggest finding something used and posting the ad/link here. Myself and many others will GLADLY tell you which unit is best for YOU.

 

[Al Kraft]

I am familiar with how they sound since at my school we use a 25w Wenstone, they sound good and probably the only thing I could complain about is that they get pretty distorted if you push it too much, which I usually did.

Given this information I would want to be sure the Wenstone 45 won't do the same thing...it might be a shortcoming of their designs.

That said, it sounds like budget is an important consideration for you. I don't know the Wenstone brand, but you seem to know them and appear to feel they are generally reliable. Buying new and local would give you a warranty and presumably easy access to parts and qualified repair techs if you need them.

As a final thought I also think there is a lot to be said for supporting manufacturers in your own country if they are producing quality products and providing good customer service.

 

[KidAmnesia]

I have the Wenstone B600 (hola, bienvenido a talkbass) and really like it. It's a 60w 1x12 combo with a nice mid rich tone, DI out, and enough kick for my needs of low volume rehearsals and even some small gigs with a quietish drummer. And it's pretty portable.
As for reliability, I bought it used about ten years ago and it's still working fine, just had to replace a blown resistor once.
I highly recomend it, for that kind of money I don't think you can get anything better.


A 25w bass amp is way too small even for me. You can't get any decent low end out of it and it will distort when pushed. The 45 w Wenstone will probably sound better (I don't know if I ever played one though) but it's still fairly small, going from a 10" to a 12" speaker makes a big difference. If you can find a b600 within your budget, go for it.

 

[Nicolas Moreno]

What does your local used market look like? Trying to upgrade to a 40w combo for band practice is useless endeavor. You will likely have the same thing happen with that rig - you will QUICKLY push it too far.

What kind of band situation are you in? How many players and what type of music are you playing?

You need something with 100 watts or more and designated for bass guitar. I suggest finding something used and posting the ad/link here. Myself and many others will GLADLY tell you which unit is best for YOU.

My band has 2 guitarists, a keyboardist, 2 singers, the drummer and myself. We play mostly covers but let's say mostly post-punk, grunge or other genres of the sort.

As for the used market and amps, sadly there are no 100w amps that fit my budget which I'm already going past
I've looked at 70w or so amps and the only thing I could find was a peavy basic 112:
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Keep in mind the second one doesn't even have the original speaker, also, my budget is around 75000 ARS (200USD)

 

[Nicolas Moreno]

I have the Wenstone B600 (hola, bienvenido a talkbass) and really like it. It's a 60w 1x12 combo with a nice mid rich tone, DI out, and enough kick for my needs of low volume rehearsals and even some small gigs with a quietish drummer. And it's pretty portable.
As for reliability, I bought it used about ten years ago and it's still working fine, just had to replace a blown resistor once.
I highly recomend it, for that kind of money I don't think you can get anything better.


A 25w bass amp is way too small even for me. You can't get any decent low end out of it and it will distort when pushed. The 45 w Wenstone will probably sound better (I don't know if I ever played one though) but it's still fairly small, going from a 10" to a 12" speaker makes a big difference. If you can find a b600 within your budget, go for it.

Couldn't find a be600, but I did find a used be1200 which is 120w (Invalid Link Removed) though I'm not sure what state its in.

 

[Al Kraft]

My band has 2 guitarists, a keyboardist, 2 singers, the drummer and myself. We play mostly covers but let's say mostly post-punk, grunge or other genres of the sort.

As for the used market and amps, sadly there are no 100w amps that fit my budget which I'm already going past
I've looked at 70w or so amps and the only thing I could find was a peavy basic 112:
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Keep in mind the second one doesn't even have the original speaker, also, my budget is around 75000 ARS (200USD)

If the Wenstone 45 has a DI out or you can use a DI to get a little help from the PA system on larger gigs, you may be fine. If the keys are going through the PA, there should be no problem having you in there as well and it might even help your house sound be more balanced while not requiring you to push your amp beyond its capabilities....now your amp is doing more of a stage monitor function with some contribution to FOH.

 

[Ostie]

I have a Rumble 25. It’s very good for what it’s designed for: a practice amp. The Rumble 40 is better, but not big enough for what you are describing. I agree that you need at least 100 watts. I have a Peavey Delta Bass 150 watt that I really like. Also have a Peavey Max 115. Are there no Peavey amps in your country? I thought Peavey was everywhere.

 

[Nicolas Moreno]

If the Wenstone 45 has a DI out or you can use a DI to get a little help from the PA system on larger gigs, you may be fine. If the keys are going through the PA, there should be no problem having you in there as well and it might even help your house sound be more balanced while not requiring you to push your amp beyond its capabilities....now your amp is doing more a stage monitor function with some contribution to FOH.

The 45w does not have a DI, but I already have a preamp pedal with it so it's not necessary