Small amp for a bedroom bass player

[Jvagiar]

Hello,

After 30 years I come back to play the bass. I have been saving for a bass guitar and finally, today I got a new Fender Mustang PJ (Mexican made) I will play at home only, in my living room (10 feet x 17 feet) and I have no plan to join a band, not now and not in the future. I just want to enjoy re-learning to play, practicing, doing music and playing the bass of songs that I love

I have enough left for an amp right now. Maybe I could buy a Fender Rumble v3 15W but I thought to wait a little bit more and save for a Fender Rumble v3 25W and maybe to stretch for a Fender Rumble LT25. Meanwhile, I could practice without an amp or with my acoustic six-string.

I have tried these 3 amps and if I had enough today I would buy the LT25 but maybe for my need, and my living room the v3 15W could OK.

Which one between these three, do you think, would be good enough for my purpose? Is it worth to wait a bit and save for a v3 25W or LT25 even for my purpose?

Thank you very much

 

[CallMeAl]

I’d pick the 25 out of that list. More watts = better tone. I’m not really into the modeling offered on the LT25, so if I was stretching my budget, I’d be looking at a Rumble 40 or an Ampeg BA110
Ampeg BA-110 40W 1x10 Bass Combo | Reverb

 

[Nimzowitsch]

Hah, this is unbelievable. I am in the same situation as you. Getting back into the hobby after 15 years and looking for a bedroom amp.

Posted this 17 minutes ago:
A bassist at heart, getting back into it after 15 years. Amp suggestions

I'm also considering the Fender Rumble 25. Let's see what the sages have to say.

 

[Jvagiar]

Yep, let's wait for the sages!

 

[StyleOverShow]

Rumble 40 is about the lowest wattage I would go. They’re not the best but def good enough.
Alternatively something bigger and older, like an Ampeg 115 used, might be the ticket as it will double as a jammable amp too should the normal progression exhibit itself.

 

[pie_man_25]

the rumble 25 is an alright piece of kit. people really seem to like the 40. I haven't seen any of the modelling amps in the wild, so can't comment on those. What I can say, though, is you can stand to save a few bucks grabbing used from a pawn shop or local classifieds. Also, when I went to China, I got myself a hartke hd25. The only reason I don't have it now is because of the difference in plug and power voltage.

Honestly, you might appreciate the extra features from a 40 watt combo, the tone might be better too, but if all you want to do is play solo (which is great), your money might be better spent elsewhere, and those slightly bigger combos have a tendency of not QUITE being loud enough for a rock band with a loud drummer and pair of guitarists - so you might be better saving a few bucks and getting a slightly smaller model until some jam comes along that's bigger than a couple dudes with acoustics.

 

[Hot Rats]

Hello,

After 30 years I come back to play the bass. I have been saving for a bass guitar and finally, today I got a new Fender Mustang PJ (Mexican made) I will play at home only, in my living room (10 feet x 17 feet) and I have no plan to join a band, not now and not in the future. I just want to enjoy re-learning to play, practicing, doing music and playing the bass of songs that I love

I have enough left for an amp right now. Maybe I could buy a Fender Rumble v3 15W but I thought to wait a little bit more and save for a Fender Rumble v3 25W and maybe to stretch for a Fender Rumble LT25. Meanwhile, I could practice without an amp or with my acoustic six-string.

I have tried these 3 amps and if I had enough today I would buy the LT25 but maybe for my need, and my living room the v3 15W could OK.

Which one between these three, do you think, would be good enough for my purpose? Is it worth to wait a bit and save for a v3 25W or LT25 even for my purpose?

Thank you very much

There is a rumble 25 with an upgraded speaker in the classifieds, looks like a pretty good deal.

 

[braud357]

skip the Rumble 15 - the amp is powerful enough for practice, but the 8" speaker does not cut it ! Save and get the Rumble 25 or bigger ! (I know this from experience - I have a Rumble 15 that was part of a package deal. I am a tinkerer, so I removed the Rumble head from the combo, and installed it into a 12" bass cabinet I had laying around - it makes a good practice amp only if you can use a bigger speaker !

 

[jallenbass]

Is the physical size of the amp a consideration?

 

[Bassquest]

Best bang for your buck would be an Ampeg BA-108 v2. I've owned the Fender Rumble 15, 25, 40 and 100 and have the Vox Amplug v2 too which I like.

 

[equalizin]

I feel 40 watts is a good minimum for home amps. Fender, Ampeg, etc etc all make good ones. I have an Ampeg BA110V2 in my living room and the deep lows can be very satisfying. I'm not sure a 25 watter could do the same.

 

[fourstringdrums]

Phil Jones Double Four. The size of a shoebox, 8lbs. Very full sounding. I'm currently using mine as a music speaker in my music room since I decided to get a small head/cab setup, but I'll always keep it for the tone and portability when I need something even smaller.

 

[el murdoque]

There are some amps on the market that manage to get away with less than a 10" speaker.
IMHO those that sound good are quite expensive (such as the Phil Jones amps).
The three popular speaker sizes are 10, 12 and 15 inch. I'd not go below that on a budget.
So I'd look for a rumble 40. Actually, I'd not buy the 40 because that's 269 in my neck of the woods while the 100 is only 3o bucks more @299.
I think there is some benefit when you leave the toy speaker sizes and enter the real speaker territory. A capable speaker at low volumes sounds better than a small speaker trying its best but just not getting all the way down there where the thick strings are vibrating. The Rumble 100 might even be sufficient for smaller gigs or rehearsals, should that happen anytime in the future. I don't know about you guys, but in most places, bass players are a rare breed and finding a guitar and drums is easily accomplished. The last band I joined actually found me and asked if I wanted to play. Might be worth considering a future outside the own living room.

 

[Yahboy]

Vox VX50BA

Vox VX50BA 1x8" 50-watt Bass Combo Amp

 

[NortyFiner]

Acoustic B50C. 50W, 10" speaker, OD and 4-band EQ, line in for a music player and headphone out, $199. Small enough for bedroom practice, big enough for a coffee shop.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Acoust...Back-Cab-Black-1500000218511.gc#productDetail

 

[brianrost]

You said you liked the LT25 best, so save up and buy it. Getting what you want rather than settling for what you can afford today is always the right move.

Between the 15v3 and 25v3, it's only $20 in price so unless that's a deal killer, I would get a 25 over a 15.

 

[the federalist]

As many others have suggested in the umpteen other threads about this topic, buy whatever combo or amp/cab you'd like and adjust the volume knob as needed.

If you're set on a combo and smaller size is a plus, consider the Gallien-Krueger MB150S/112 or MB150E. Apparently discontinued new, but usually several used are available at GC. Relatively pricey, even used. That said, you'll want to keep this unit forever, whereas with the others you likely won't.

 

[Jvagiar]

You said you liked the LT25 best

I like the 25 over the 15, but not the LT 25 in particular. I did not hear any difference in sound quality between the LT 25 and V3 25. The LT just offers more options (many presets and effects) but now that I think of it, I do not need these bells and whistles.

 

[bassliner50]

Sweet spot is Fender Rumble 40. same preamp the more advanced Rumble models. Usable on controlled gigs. Fine for recording and practice. Weighs as little as your best dress shoes. You can find them everywhere. Seek no more my friend. Time to aquire and plug in.

 

[kmon]

Gonna jump on the bandwagon...rumble 40. I had one for a bit and wouldn’t hesitate if I was looking for a smaller amp. Loud enough for a casual jam too.