Double Bass Replace the old amp or go with something new

[Mark Mac]

Last Saturday, the practice space my band was renting burned to the ground. Luckily most of my gear was at home but my Ampeg v4B and 2 SVT 212 AV cabs were destroyed. The good news is that I have all of my gear insured with Music Pro and less than a week later I have a check in my hands for the full replacement value of $3k.

I really liked the way that rig sounded but to be honest we never play a gig without a PA (with sub) so I didn't really ever need the second cab. I'm also getting older and even though the V4B is half the weight of an SVT it's still a 45lb head. Those two cabs were another 120lbs on top of that.

I'm thinking about taking the opportunity to invest in a lighter / smaller rig and am very interested in the Mesa TT 800.

The band plays all original music with a mix of rock / Americana / country.

If you were in my situation, what amps would you consider?

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Why would you amplify a doublebass with a Mesa?

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

You might like the Ampeg B100R rocket. It’s not my preferred amp for DB but it works pretty well and delivers a warm and fat tone.

 

[Ric Vice]

You might like the Ampeg B100R rocket. It’s not my preferred amp for DB but it works pretty well and delivers a warm and fat tone.

Wonderful amp, I remember when Jerry Cherry got his first one directly from St. Louis, Music. All the good things about a B 15N without the 65 lbs. weight and the low power (25 to 30 watt power section)

 

[Stewie]

I play through a Rocket Bass 210 using a Krivo pickup. Sounds great with a fairly loud blues/roots band. 39 pounds, a one hander.

 

[Zbysek]

There are plenty of amps to choose from.

What I want to point out is that if you wanted to stay with all-tube amp, it does not need to be heavy. I am using Ampeg PF-20T. It's powerful enough for most of my gigs. When I feel I need more horsepower, I send the signal from PF-20T into a class D amp (Markbass LMIII).

It works well for me.

Good luck!

 

[Jefenator]

I like tube amps for DB sometimes. (I started a thread here about using tube heads for DB.) V-4B might be a little overkill - especially the heavy vintage one I used to have!
The tube heads I've used for DB (Mesa Bass 400, Traynor Bass Mate, Ampeg PF-50T, Valvetrain Brandywine) all imposed a lot of their own character on the sound in ways bad and good. That "amp flavor" should work for rock / Americana / country. And on a good day, IMHO there's just nothing quite like that musical dynamic response I feel with tube power. I've been happy downsizing to 50 watts with a good line out - even for rock shows!
For maximum acoustic nuance for Jazz sometimes I like a nice, neutral solid state rig. Bergantino does that really well. Though they tout some kind of "Big Fat Tube" algorithm, I think of my B|Amp as being the polar opposite of my tube heads. (I can't get it to respond like them & vice versa.)
And then there's all the other class Ds somewhere between the two. Mesa & Demeter are on my short list to try but there are so many others...

 

[Ric Vice]

Considering the fact that I own a B-15N(C) circa 1964 that I purchased around March of 1974, I’ve had ample opportunities
to use the amp with Double Bass. While it sounded great, the next amp I purchased was a Walter Woods MI-100-8. It had 4x the power,
weighed 7.5 lbs. and with the EQ on that amp, you could dial in any tone and timbre you wanted. Just my take of course.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

AI Focus

 

[neddyrow]

I own 2 Acoustic Image amps. Tried so many amps out there and nothing beats AI when it comes to DB amplification. EA works well but Acoustic Image plus an MAS cab is my secret sauce.

 

[Ric Vice]

I think Rick's amplifiers are great, if you have a fairly decent bass, and the better your bass sounds, the better they amplify that sound. If I didn't already own the Grace Felix and powered MAS 1/8's I might
own one. Rick's customer service is unrivaled in the industry. Euphonic Audio is gone as they shuttered their doors recently.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I think this post was left here by mistake as there is another one up in the BG forums.