Simplest no-frill Bass Amp. Does one exist?

[Robroy]

To the poster who suggested the Behringer with power amp, I do see your point and it does seem to fit my original request, but I've since come to realize that a small eq section is probably better to have. Plus, carrying around that small pre and a power amp and a speaker is a little overkill. I'd rather have it all in one head.

Yep. That's exactly why I paired the amp with the BBE.

 

[gjbassist]

OP here. Thanks. So how's this for progress. I've made a decision.........LH500

Reasons:
1) Simplest front panel layout of any of the offerings
2) Enough power for all my needs.
3) Fairly neutral loud, clean tone (I can get my grit and tone coloring from pedals)
4) Not too heavy
5) Affordable price.

I think you made the right choice! IMO there isn't a more simple to use amp, and it sounds great too!

 

[Joshua Pickenpaugh]

Does Pignose make a bass amp? Those are pretty simple to operate.

 

[Chef]

The LH500/1000 are nice, great sounding amps.
The only _i_ don't like about them is the Fender-ish interactive tone stack.
Just a personal preference. I was happy gigging the LH1000 when I reviewed it for BGM.

 

[AMJBASS]

Very valid point. This is why after reading the responses I am changing my tune a bit. EQ is totally cool, but my main thing is simplicity. I don't need a knob for every frequency. Just a simple 3 band works. The Hartke LH is looking like a winner for this very reason. Tons of power, extremely simple circuit, musical and flexible eq. Great price point too.

I would also recommend the Hartke, but it does not have that flexible of an EQ IME. It uses the Fender tone stack which is flat with the EQ at 2-10-2(or mids all the way up, bass and treble almost all the way off). Personally I do really like this EQ, and the Hartke heads sound just great, but its not for everyone.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Fender Rumble 500.

 

[Chili Bo Billy]

Traynor make a simple 500w amp, have you looked at their line of amps?

 

[Quilbert]

The Now Orange OB1 looks sweet in either 300 of 500w. Looks simple to use and has a blender so you can dial in some OD. I'm not a big fan of compressors, graphics or on-board effects and this is the top of my GAS list.

 

[chunkstyle]

Ashdown just came out with the Retroglide 800
Has input gain knob, 12 band EQ, and an output knob. Doesn't get much simpler.

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At first glance this seems the opposite of simple, until you realize that you can just set the eq to flat and forget about it. All you're left with then is an input and an output knob. I like it.

 

[Alban]

Since budget isn't an issue, there would be one top contender for your needs, the Vanderkley Aurora amplifier. No input gain knob, both the EQ and fxloop can be taken out of the signal chain, so you are basically left with the speaker damping control and a master volume knob.

Oh, and it sounds like the voice of god, too.

 

[Schlyder]

At first glance this seems the opposite of simple, until you realize that you can just set the eq to flat and forget about it. All you're left with then is an input and an output knob. I like it.

Yes. And if you want to make a little tone adjustment, a graphic EQ is about the easiest, as you can see exactly where you are cutting or boosting.

 

[SirMjac28]

I chose the V4B over the Bassman 100T because it was a much simpler amp I love the features the Bassman has but I figured "more parts = more problems"

 

[el murdoque]

This is, to my knowledge not in production any more, but Markbass had a concept called Mo Mark.

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Rigged with the S1 pre, The EQ0 and the M0 would get you where you want.
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On/off, Gain and Master controlls in a 250, 500 or 800 Watts frame.

 

[MGR]

OP here. Tried out an LH500 today and was blown away. Thanks for all the suggestions. Decision made. Money being saved......

 

[Ron Johnson]

Just get a power amp and run your bass through a tuner or cheap multi-effects pedal? (Vox has one for 60$ with simple controls). Otherwise you can just find a good deal on an amp head and keep all the controls taped level.

 

[kevteop]

I think the LH500 will be perfect for you. It's not particularly light but it's very simple, very powerful, and it sounds good. I gigged one for a couple of years and cannot fault it.

 

[madjazzbass]

OMG! I think you're the first OP in forever that's asked a question, made a decision and replied to the thread. Sweet!

(Nothing against you. Congrats on the soon to be new amp.)

Yeah, That's pretty awesome that he was able to do that; to have a place (I'm guessing) nearby that had those particular amps at the store so he could test/A/B them. A lot of times (at least for me), when someone suggest a particular amp/Bass, You don't have a place anywhere near you that has that item in stock ...so you sometimes rely on sound bytes or videos to get an idea of what it may or may not sound like.

 

[phillybass101]

Kustom KXB 500

 

[MGR]

Yeah, That's pretty awesome that he was able to do that; to have a place (I'm guessing) nearby that had those particular amps at the store so he could test/A/B them. A lot of times (at least for me), when someone suggest a particular amp/Bass, You don't have a place anywhere near you that has that item in stock ...so you sometimes rely on sound bytes or videos to get an idea of what it may or may not sound like.

OP here. Yes, luckily I live in NYC and had no trouble finding an LH500 to test against a whole array of amps suggested here. LH came out the winner. My only question is what is the purpose of that square or wooly/felty material on the front right?

 

[The_Janitor]

OP here. Yes, luckily I live in NYC and had no trouble finding an LH500 to test against a whole array of amps suggested here. LH came out the winner. My only question is what is the purpose of that square or wooly/felty material on the front right?

That's the dust filter over the air inlet. There's a fan on the back that pulls air in through the front, across the heat sink and out the back. The fabric square is supposed to keep dust and foreign objects from getting inside the amp.