Whats the worst combo you've ever owned?

[Batmensch]

To be honest, I'm not totally sure it even was a bass amp ...
But it would have to have been my very first amp, No brand name on it anywhere, no idea how many watts, it had a 6" speaker, no back (which makes me unsure whether or not it was a bass amp), had less than a dozen actual electric components, and of course, sounded horrible, the fact that I got it for free with my first bass (actually a decent factory second Univox EB-2 for $50) at a pawnshop over 40 years ago, you can probably figure it out for yourself what kind of crapfest it was.

 

[comingxcurse]

I wasn't too fond of the SWR head that was back-lined at a recent gig, it wasn't the worst thing I've played on... but I would need to be given one to get one in my collection.

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

As title states, what is the worst combo amp you've ever owned or used and I don't mean a guitar combo that you had to use for bass I mean what is the worst bass combo.

Hartke 1415 combo. What a great combo!

I've other bass combos I'm using right now which I like, but I'm lucky in that picking a "worst" combo is like picking the "worst" piece of Godiva chocolate. Nothing wrong with that Hartke, but I guess if I had to pick SOMETHING, then I guess that's the "worst"... ...and that ain't bad at all.

 

[Achtane]

The first response being a Crate 15w made me laugh, because that's what I came in here to post.

 

[calebbarton]

some piece of crap johnson 8" "bass" combo. I could only turn it up to about 3 before it started distorting. After that, I went the peavey TNT 160 route. That sucked too.......sad.

 

[drewfunk]

Berhinger 1200 or something, i play one every week at a youth group, its terrible sounding no matter what you do with the eq and can barely keep up with an electronic drum set.

 

[Kwesi]

So far it's a tie between a Fender Rumble 60 combo and a Markbass LMII head w/ a Markbass STD104HR cab. I'd argue that the Markbass rig was the worst of the two imply because it costs an arm and a leg and sounded like poo. The funny thing is that the LMII is one of the best sounding heads I've ever played through that cab was ugh... The Rumble combo actually wasn't bad considering that it only costs like $200 new though.

 

[okcrum]

The first response being a Crate 15w made me laugh, because that's what I came in here to post.

...and a big +1 for most awesome (somewhat) pompadoured avatar!

 

[magnus90]

A Behringer BT108: http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend...LTRABASS-BT108-Bass-Practice-Combo?sku=481091 This was ultra-crap.

 

[crustychef]

Ampeg Ba115hp 220 watt. I sounds good for basic rock thumping eighths and such but lacked definition and enough volume to keep up with a crunchy guitar, keys and drums. Plus it hummed like hell and the active input jack crackled and popped on me after only 3 months.

 

[groove_druid]

Worst amp...some no name 15W I got back in the 90's.

I'm really shocked at all the Gorilla hate. Granted the funk button is silly...but I actually really like the sound on mine and I see no problem with getting beefy lows on it. Now the volume I will somewhat concede on(not super loud but I can't talk over it either), but I only play at home so I really don't care about that. Meh, I like it.

 

[Tampabass]

Roland

 

[Bardley]

I owned a Crate BX15 on 2 different occasions for different reasons...

I have played through worse, though.

 

[sanderic]

OK, I know I'm going to get bombarded for this one, but the truth is: the worst amp I ever had was an early sixties Ampeg B15N, that I bought used (my first bass amp) for $80 back in the mid seventies when I was in high school. That amp, although it sounded good, wouldnt keep up with anything. Every band I auditioned for, I lost to someone who had a Kustom or Peavey with a 215 cabinet. I later sold that amp around 1980 for $100. Nowdays I understand that amp would cost me + or - $1000.00 to buy back (although I'd love to have one for nostalgia sake).

 

[Korladis]

It's a 25 watt amp with a single 15" speaker. What did you expect? I think playing a B15 live kinda requires the whole band to be good about keeping the overall volume under control.

 

[bassteban]

Crate 1B. 30 watts+12" in a modified wooden WW-II surplus .50 ammo crate- hence the name. WEAK as all get out, but actually nice for guitar- say what you will about SS distortion, this thing is quite pleasing to my ears when overdriven(again- on gtr; not so much w/bass). Bought new in 78 or so, I still have it- and actually use it for MICRO-volume gigs. It can get *a little louder* than an unplugged P-Bass w/o sounding awful.

 

[sanderic]

FOR YOUR INFORMATION, back in the mid 70s there was no internet for information, and only one guitar magazine, (That was unheard of in my area, and unavailable until 1978), and a complete lack of education from music dealers in my area. Many amps, such as a Peavey TNT, or Acoustic, had only one fifteen, yet could keep up with Yamaha 212 amps, et c.. So logic would have it that my 1 15 should keep up with someone elses 212. Remember, that back then, the B15 was not a collectors item, it was just an old amplifier. No one knew who Jamerson was back then. All I am saying was that that amplifier was unable to keep up with other amps of the day, and was thus the "worst" amp I ever had. Note: Jamerson himself used a Kustom 215 for all of his live gigs.

 

[lowfreq33]

Peavey TNT 100. 100 watts into a single 15, ridiculously large with no power or headroom at all. Couldn't keep up with a power trio without distorting like crazy.

Of course this was about 20 years ago.

 

[Korladis]

FOR YOUR INFORMATION, back in the mid 70s there was no internet for information, and only one guitar magazine, (That was unheard of in my area, and unavailable until 1978), and a complete lack of education from music dealers in my area. Many amps, such as a Peavey TNT, or Acoustic, had only one fifteen, yet could keep up with Yamaha 212 amps, et c.. So logic would have it that my 1 15 should keep up with someone elses 212. Remember, that back then, the B15 was not a collectors item, it was just an old amplifier. No one knew who Jamerson was back then. All I am saying was that that amplifier was unable to keep up with other amps of the day, and was thus the "worst" amp I ever had. Note: Jamerson himself used a Kustom 215 for all of his live gigs.

Someone's getting a little defensive.

 

[sanderic]

Not trying to be defensive, I just dont think some of the younger folks understand the economic or music industry climate of the mid 70s. We didnt dream of being studio musicians back then, we wanted to emulate the look of the Hendrix trio with stacks of Sunn amps. Back then Ampeg B15's were common and inexpensive, and unable to keep up with Jimmy Page wannabees. PAs were primitive, If you had a crown DC300 with Altec A7s (150 watts into one 15 and a horn), you were the king of the hill, bass players had to pull their own weight directly from the stage. No one wanted an Ampeg B15 (SVT yes, but B15 no.) I mean no disrespect to these old amps. I learned to play on and owned one for four years, but it was unable to compete in the musical climate of the day. All the big dogs on the club scene in those days used Acoustic 360s, Sunn Concerts, Ampeg V4B, or Peavey 400. Looking back now, sure I wish I still had that old amp, but back in the day, it just didnt cut it.