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Tell me everything....

Discussion in 'Amps and Cabs [BG]' started by wroot, Oct 24, 2001.

  1. Oct 24, 2001 #1
    wroot

    wroot

    Sep 14, 2001
    England
    Well I've just bought a decent bass, which is all well and good, but I know nothing about amps.
    at the moment i'm running it through a 60W guitar amp-good for home use but I need a proper bass amp. Could you tell me about the kinda stuff I should be looking at? For instance: there always seems to be like a top speaker with buttons and knobs on and a bigger speaker underneath- what the hell is all that about?
     
  2. Oct 24, 2001 #2
    JMX

    JMX Vorsprung durch Technik

    Sep 4, 2000
    Cologne, Germany
  3. Oct 24, 2001 #3
    Muttluk

    Muttluk

    Jan 19, 2000
    Oakland, California
    We already told you everything... you just werent here to read it all :D

    In all seriousness, do a search from the past. What you speak of is a Head, and a Cab situation. The top smaller speaker isnt a speaker at all, but a pre-amp, and poweramp, which then goes to power thet cab, which is the big thing with speakers in it. Search the Forums, and read as much as your mind will allow. that how i learned everythign i know, you'll thank yourself later, just do it now. trust me.
     
  4. Oct 24, 2001 #4
    lo-end

    lo-end

    Jun 15, 2001
    PA
    I can tell you a couple basic things because I have the patience to and I am eating spaghetti o's right now so whatever :)

    -The "top speaker with knobs and buttons on it" is called a head. It doesnt actually have a speaker in it, but is rather an amplifier in a little box that is sometimes wrapped in black speaker cloth. That is probably whats throwing you off.

    -When you buy a head, you'll need around 300 watts to cut through a band with drums + guitar if your amp in question has a MOSFET or solid state power section. Tube power sections tend to be louder, which is why you see bassists with 300 watt SVTs playing in stadiums...

    -Check out speaker cabinets with 4 ten inch speakers. These are commonly called 4x10's or "four by tens" and are the favorite around TalkBass.com

    -Amps are expensive!!!