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Recommend Bass Amp for Classic Rock Band

AlanC

AlanC

Jun 16, 2014
13
15
Colorado
#1
Hello,

I'm a guitar player in a classic rock band and I'm trying to help our bass player pick out a new amp.

He's not sure what he wants or needs, so I'm trying to help him research and what would work best for him.

We are a 5-piece band with 2 guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. We play rock covers, everything from Sublime to Green Day to Van Halen. We mostly play restaurants and smaller club sized venues. We do play outside patios often, so we need enough power to fill a typical restaurant patio setting. 100-200 people max.

His budget is around $600. He is currently playing through an Ampeg BA112 50w combo which is terribly under-powered. He plays a Fender Jazz style bass with Duncan active pickups.

I'm thinking he wants to buy new so he'll have some sort of warranty, but if we could narrow down the options we could watch for a deal on a restock.

How many watts should he be looking for at a minimum?

What speaker configuration would work best for this type of band?

Thanks!

Alan
 
#4
Hey Alan. $600 will buy you a fair amount of amp, and you'll be seeing a lot of options real soon here. I'd probably go with a separate cab and head; say a used 4 X 10 cab and 200-300 watt amp. That'll give him decent quality at a reasonable price, the volume he lacks right now, and versatility down the road. Good luck!
 
#5
If he likes his Ampeg tone, then he might want to look at an Ampeg PF-350 with one of their single 15 or 2x10 HE cabs. They are a hair out of his budget, but with sales/coupons he may be able to get it down some. (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php?s=ampeg pf&Go=Search).

Our band plays in almost the identical situation as you guys (add a keyboard player and another singer) and I personally am finding tremendous success with a Carvin MB1515 stack. Good and loud (I've not had it past 4), really light, great sound and totally in budget. I like having a 2x15 stack as it allows for a lot of thick tone, even at lower volumes. Plus, it's scaleable and I can take just the combo part when needed. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#7
AlanC said:
Hello,

I'm a guitar player in a classic rock band and I'm trying to help our bass player pick out a new amp.

He's not sure what he wants or needs, so I'm trying to help him research and what would work best for him.

We are a 5-piece band with 2 guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. We play rock covers, everything from Sublime to Green Day to Van Halen. We mostly play restaurants and smaller club sized venues. We do play outside patios often, so we need enough power to fill a typical restaurant patio setting. 100-200 people max.

His budget is around $600. He is currently playing through an Ampeg BA112 50w combo which is terribly under-powered. He plays a Fender Jazz style bass with Duncan active pickups.

I'm thinking he wants to buy new so he'll have some sort of warranty, but if we could narrow down the options we could watch for a deal on a restock.

How many watts should he be looking for at a minimum?

What speaker configuration would work best for this type of band?

Thanks!

Alan
Click to expand...

You said your bassist is shopping for an amp. Do you mean an amp - or an entire rig? People constantly use those terms interchangeably.

His purchase budget is $600. Is that for an amp? Or again, for an entire rig?

If it's his total budget for an entire rig, and he wants to stick to brand new merchandise, then yes it will definitely whittle down his options considerably. From what I can see, Grateful's suggestion of the Carvin mini-stack is a very good one.

Fortunately, for the small-venue gigs your band plays, your bassist won't require any kind of big rig. Around 300 watts into two 2x10s, two 12s, or two 15s ought to do the trick.

MM
 
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#11
If your drummer even hints at overpowering the stage volume, a 2x10 cab won't cut it IMHO. I would steer him towards a 2x12 cab of some sort (or 1x15). Sadly, I can't recommend anything in his price range due to my overwhelming G.A.S attacks aimed at high-end gear :-)
 
#13
Not an endorser, but this Fender Rumble I've got can really get as 'classic' rock as you want... push the 'vintage' button and it does a credible job of the generating the whomp (technical term) of the stadium sized mega rigs I remember from forever ago.
 
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#17
To keep up with 2 guitars, in an outside patio environment, I don't think 2x10's will be able to keep up. With a $600 budget, I strongly recommend going used. I'd also highly recommend going with a brand like Peavey, which provides a huge bang for the buck. I'd also be looking for 2x15's, and 300 watts minimum. I saw a Peavey rig locally with a ~300 watt head, and a single 18" cab for $250, so the deals on Peavey are out there. And they are built as solid as a tank.
 
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#18
mapleglo said:
To keep up with 2 guitars, in an outside patio environment, I don't think 2x10's will be able to keep up. With a $600 budget, I strongly recommend going used. I'd also highly recommend going with a brand like Peavey, which provides a huge bang for the buck. I'd also be looking for 2x15's, and 300 watts minimum. I saw a Peavey rig locally with a ~300 watt head, and a single 18" cab for $250, so the deals on Peavey are out there. And they are built as solid as a tank.
Click to expand...
No, 2x10 will not. I am here to tell ya - I've tried.
 
#19
SanDiegoHarry said:
No, 2x10 will not. I am here to tell ya - I've tried.
Click to expand...

I have an Ampeg Micro VR stack, with the 2 2x10 cabs (4x10 total), and was having trouble keeping up with 2 loud guitarists. That's now my practice amp - I use the PF800 and SVT810e with the band. No trouble keeping up now.

Actually, I paid $375 for the cab used, and $400 for the amp when they were running a special on Amazon not too long ago. If the OP's bass player has a little time, they may be able to get something similar for just a little more than their budget.
 

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