Small amp for recording?

[vvvmmm]

I recently accidentally bought an EBS Session 60 and for the price I paid it is a lot of amp for quiet playing.

"accidentally"?

 

[Teijo K.]

"accidentally"?

That is what I said at home and I am sticking with it.

 

[DonaldR]

I'm running direct to FOH with an Avid Eleven Rack (nice SVT and 8x10" model) or Ampeg SCR-DI and both are very good for recording.
For home practice I plug the 11R and the SCR-DI in an EV ZLX12P with great result, better than a lot of practice amp I tried, might be loud enough with a (not too hard hitter) drummer.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Man, that Fender Rumble 40 looks like a lot of amp for $200. Now, would something like the Ampeg PF-50T be a whole other league of tone....or are they more comparable than their price tags allude to?

No offense to Fender lovers but the Rumble is the Volkswagon and the Ampeg the Mercedes.

 

[Phil508]

Don't forget this, used might be 150ish. Then you don't need the amp (and you can use this in front of any amp and get close to the SVT sound)

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Man, that Fender Rumble 40 looks like a lot of amp for $200. Now, would something like the Ampeg PF-50T be a whole other league of tone....or are they more comparable than their price tags allude to?

They are completely different animals. The Rumble is a good "bang for the buck", but it's not going to perform tonally like an Ampeg PF-50T (which also has great tube DI options as well) or a B15. There are alternative options that get close to the real thing, but that would be more along the lines of DAW plugins than a value-tier combo.

 

[goldenglory18]

I'd vote Mesa Walkabout for this purpose 95% of the time....

The other 5% would be a good DI.

 

[40Hz]

"B-15"...Are you talking about the 30w Tube amp?

Yep. “B-15” means an Ampeg B-15 in all its 30W glory.

 

[DonaldR]

No offense to Fender lovers but the Rumble is the Volkswagon and the Ampeg the Mercedes.

Will never trade my GTI for a Mercedes

 

[Joe Nerve]

For me, its hands down this:

 

[CameronJohnson]

For me, its hands down this:

View attachment 3311714

View attachment 3311715

I reckon @ped would agree!

 

[Slough Feg Bass]

I brought my old Hughes and Kettner Blues Master which is a 1 watt tube amp with a built in speaker emulator, but it does have a speaker jack as well. No problem in getting grind from subtle to obnoxious. I plugged that into a Bergantino 1-12. Works great with the emulator, too.

View attachment 3311202

omg, I have an old H&K Cream Machine, very similar, never though to use it for bass though! I'm gonna try that this weekend!

 

[LoTone]

• Audio interface
• Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
• One of either:
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  • Guitar & Bass | UAD Audio Plugins | Universal Audio

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

Go DI. If you decide later that you’re unhappy , you can re-amp the track. KILLER is a tough term to describe. If you feel the tone at the time of the recording influences your playing, that’s something else - you amp quest continues (if you don’t like amp sims in your daw).

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hi, I'm a guitarist/writer and I've been playing bass a bit lately. The DI thing is ok...but it's missing something. I need a practice amp anyway...so, is it possible for me to get a KILLER "recorded" bass tone with a small amp? I'm not interested in any sonic compromise. However, I do record in the wee hours....and bass carries If I could get a really good tone from a small mic'd amp, that would be great. If not, so be it

Tons of options. You know, a tube amp sounds increadibly great recorded, and for most recordings, you are going to want to have a flat setting, which mean you don’t need a lot of low end. That gets added in during post production. A small low wattage guitar amp works great and can be had reasonably cheap. 10-15 watts max.

 

[Briton]

Another vote for the Ampeg PF-20T. You will get great recorded Bass using the Transformer Balanced Line Out, and obviously no Cab is needed. Combine this with something like an Ampeg B15 R 1x15 Cabinet in Amplitube and its even better.

 

[WarBeer]

New perspective....

What would be the minimum amp/speaker needed to fill up a living room and jam with a drummer?

Would the "minimum" allow for it to be turned down low enough for late night practice? ...or am I really talking about two different amps here?

I ask, because I spent some time last night working on my DI sound...and I was actually able to dial in a KILLER sound. In fact, as previously suggested...I could easily just re-amp IF I feel I need it.

So, I still need something for practicing...but I don't want to be underwhelmed. Big, fat and warm...not necessarily loud...just full.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Many engineers would say that you need a decent DI and bass long before you need an amp.
The vast majority of pop music bass tracks were either recorded with a DI only, or a DI and some amp mix.
As far as practice & good, Fender Rumble 100 would be my suggestion

Now, if you've got some money to throw at an amp that will more than just practice, gice us a budget.

The DI with a built-in preamp is a good choice. I carry an Eden WTDI with me wherever I go because it's comparatively inexpensive ($149) and I can plug it into any backline amp's effects return and get the same sound (presuming it has decent speakers) that I get out of my Eden gear with it. Kind of funny to hear a GK rig or an Ampeg rig, which both have pretty distinct voicing, produce an Eden sound because of my little WTDI stompbox.

It has both 1/4" unbalanced out as well as the normal 3-pin balanced, dead-quiet, DI connector, so you can send to both the power section of a backline amp as well as the sound board for recording or reinforcement. It also has an adjustable compressor and an enhance control built in. Three way EQ - bass, mid, and treble, with switchable 500Hz/2.2Khz button on the mid control as well as a bass-boost button that some folks like a lot. It also has adjustable gain and master controls. It's a handy thing that fits in my gig bag.

I did just plug my headphones into the 1/4" out to see if that would work by itself with my headphones and it does. It's not loud because it's just a preamp signal, but I can hear it just fine in my Bose headphones, certainly well enough to practice my parts with.

 

[Linnin]

So, I still need something for practicing...but I don't want to be underwhelmed. Big, fat and warm...not necessarily loud...just full.

Fender Rumble 200 1x15 combo. Big; Fat, Warm, and Full. Has volume knob. Jam & Gig Worthy. Records very well.

 

[WarBeer]

So...reporting back. Several of you suggested the Fender Rumble...a couple of you suggested the Rumble 200 1x15. Well, that's what I ended up getting...lol.

I don't know how it's tone compares to the Ampegs in the same $$ range...but man, I'm glad I didn't go for any less wattage. 200w solid-state bass amp...isn't really that loud. I mean, yeah it get's loud enough in my living room. (I guess Sure the low-end vibrates some nearby loose junk. But honestly, it's about minimum for competing with drums. And the volume knob is plenty linear to be useful...I can turn it down to supper low and it's still useable for practice.

So, thank you very much for the recommendation. I'm really starting to dig the bass...maybe I'll end up with a better rig down the road, but for now...this will do just fine. I'll never be gigging on bass anyways The amp is surprisingly versatile in it's tone control.

I ended up getting this bass as well. My old bass (that sat in the closet, un-played for 2.5 decades) developed some bow (go figure. I'm probably more of a P-bass tone guy...or at least old school buttery. This isn't bad in the neck with EQ bypassed. I'm in a wheelchair and wasn't sure how a P-bass was going to work. My old Ibanez fit me well (physically)...so, I stuck with the form. As it would happen, one of my good friends stopped by today and brought his P-bass with him...and...it fit darn well! Much better than strats (which I don't play anymore). Not quite as well as the Ibanez...but, good enough that I'll probably be getting one down the road

I really appreciate all the recommendations here...seems to be a lot of good people on this forum!
Cheers!!!