Double Bass Which amp for double bass

[Mart]

Hi,
I am a newbie to the double bass but have been playing electric bass for longer than i can remember. I am in the process of checking out amps but need a little help perhaps from people with experience. I have heard fair comments about the Hartke 5500 and the Ampeg SVT-PRO-4, and recently discovered Aguilar heads and cabs. I play chicago blues and west coast swing so i am looking for that natural earthy accoustic amplification. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. At last, a bass forum. Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ctxbass]

"I play chicago blues and west coast swing so i am looking for that natural earthy accoustic amplification."

I've found that a quality tube pre-amp coupled with a solid state power amp gives a warm natural sound. Smaller speakers (10" and 8") tend to give the most accurate reproduction, but adding a tight 15" cabinet will give you the big low end you may want for Chicago blues, etc.
A stereo power amp, running the 15 with one side, allows you to easily adjust the low end .

"Any feedback is greatly appreciated."

The opposite, actually.

 

[DaveB]

Not to get hung up on semantics but, to me, "natural" and "earthy" are contradictory when describing upright bass tone. If "natural" is your thing then uncolored tonal clarity that simply amplifies the tone of your bass would call for a Clarus/Euphonic/Walter Woods kind of solution. If "earthy" is your thing, then a lot of unnatural coloration (especially in the midrange) could be provided by Ampeg/Hartke/ and other bass guitar amps. I'm not sure you can do both.

 

[Adrian Cho]

I'd have to agree on that. "Natural" is normally used with "accurate" or "transparent" and guys that want that are looking for a rig that reproduces the acoustic sound of their instrument as closely as possible, regardless of what that sound is. The term "hi-fi" is often used too. Get the sound you want from you and the bass itself and with an amplification rig like that, you can reproduce that sound as well as any other sound if you change your strings, setup, bass, etc.

 

[bassbgruven]

Walter Woods (small and powerful - transparent) OR
Tube Power amp and a Schertler pickup (very "natural" sound)

In either case I play through a Euphonic Audio 10" speaker (or 2 for loud occasions)

I haven't played professionally in a couple years so there is likely better stuff out today. But these gave me the sound I was searching for when I was playing a lot.