Which Amp Should I get?

[Bentfield]

I have a Fender Rumble 100 and I like it.

It's not too loud for home use. And has enough power for small gigs if the band isn't too loud.

Last summer I used it on a gig in an auditorium filled with around 150 people and it worked just fine. I could clearly hear myself on stage. And other musicians in the hall said the sound was fine. The choir and solo singers which we were accompanying had enough support on stage. We played some pop and jazz style songs.

But I also play with a rock band where I doubt the rumble 100 would cut it during the repetitions.

 

[Mark Andrew]

I have a Fender Rumble 100 and I like it.

It's not too loud for home use. And has enough power for small gigs if the band isn't too loud.

Last summer I used it on a gig in an auditorium filled with around 150 people and it worked just fine. I could clearly hear myself on stage. And other musicians in the hall said the sound was fine. The choir and solo singers which we were accompanying had enough support on stage. We played some pop and jazz style songs.

But I also play with a rock band where I doubt the rumble 100 would cut it during the repetitions.

Usually an old rule of thumb I always tried to live by was 100 w minimum for gigging purposes. Going second hand and getting as much headroom as possible in a small package (this seems an important factor to you) is the way I would.go. Sure if the genre you play is quiet the lower powered amps you mention could work but leave you without that little extra to play with if needed. Good luck in your search.

 

[MarkM13]

I owned the Rumble you are looking at for about 2 years. It was fine for practice. But, if I had to push it at a gig, say above '6' it really started to fart out and sounded like hell. If it's just a practice rig though, you'd be fine. In that situation I never had any issues. Plus, it's unbelievably light.

FWIW: I replaced it with a Phil Jones 2x7 combo. Comparison to the Rumble would not be fair. It would be like comparing a Sadowski to a MIM Fender. Thing is, the PJ wasn't that much more.

HTH

 

[bassliner50]

I have used the Fender rumble 100 for some time now. Practice, small to medium gigs etc. It is light (easy to transport. very important to me). Reliable and I can get good tone (intuitive EQ) and projection from it with my P-bass. Strong recommendation for Rumble 100 v3. (I also have the Rumble 40. another small marvel).

 

[el murdoque]

i currently have an Ampeg BA108 v2 and am looking to upgrade to the next size up for practice purposes. My budget limit is about $300 and am looking at the Ampeg BA112 75 watt, the Orange Crush 50 (50 Watt) or the Fender Rumble 100 (100 watt). They are all in hat same price range with 12 inch speakers and am curious if anyone has any experience with any of these?

It's quite easy: You're looking at practice amps.

Those are used by you, alone, at home.

So what features are important? You tell us - not the other way.

 

[Jon Herring]

It’s looking like Fender will be the way to go.

It's quite easy: You're looking at practice amps.

Those are used by you, alone, at home.

So what features are important? You tell us - not the other way.

Mainly I want to have a deep sound which my current amp struggles with and would like some versatility in tones without being a one trick pony. I’m leaning towards the Fender I think because I like the XLR out option in that price range.

 

[Pathfinderer]

Check local or guitarcenter.com used amps. I’m about to pull the trigger on a TC Electronics BG250 1x15 I found used locally for $100. It’s supposed to sound great at low volume and it’s loud enough to gig with if I ever need it, plus it has a direct out. It’s got favorable reviews and it’s only a $100 risk if it craps out.

 

[SactoBass]

i currently have an Ampeg BA108 v2 and am looking to upgrade to the next size up for practice purposes. My budget limit is about $300 and am looking at the Ampeg BA112 75 watt, the Orange Crush 50 (50 Watt) or the Fender Rumble 100 (100 watt). They are all in hat same price range with 12 inch speakers and am curious if anyone has any experience with any of these?

Jon: if you like Ampeg tone and just want more low end oomph, I would recommend using your $300 store credit and add $100 to it and get the 150 watt Ampeg BA115. I tried out one of those and I was really impressed!

Next time you are in the store, give it a whirl and see what you think!

 

[scottfeldstein]

I hate practice amps. I mean the ones that have 8" drivers and inadequate watts - they just sound like sadness to me. They aren't even good for practice at home. I think the only difference between the amp in your bedroom and the amp on your stage should be how loud they can get - not how they sound. A practice amp should be a real bass amp and it should sound like a real bass.

Case in point, I have a Fender Rumble 15 that I bought years ago on a whim. I think I'm just going to dump it at a garage sale. Worthless. And I'm not picking on Fender. They all are worthless.

Having said all that... if it at least has a 12" driver, you maybe on to something that is worthy of at least the bedroom. Or even a coffee shop gig with acoustic guitars. Something with a 15" could probably hang with a drummer using multirods or light sticks.

My new "practice" rig is as follows: Ampeg PF-500 through a GK 112 MBX. I bought that GK 112 off the GC website for $99. The amp I'm getting in trade for my GK MB500 from another TB user this week.

The 12" speaker I could use at an acoustic gig at a coffee shop. It will sound full range and won't make me sad at home when practicing. The Ampeg mini head will also serve as my backup amp if my big Carvin ever suddenly craps out right before a gig.

And there you have it. I have a proper sounding practice amp that takes up almost no room and costs very little. I have avoided combos of any kind, thus increasing the utility, and I have established a backup for my stage amp. This, in my opinion, is how you do "practice amp."

 

[el murdoque]

It’s looking like Fender will be the way to go.


Mainly I want to have a deep sound which my current amp struggles with and would like some versatility in tones without being a one trick pony. I’m leaning towards the Fender I think because I like the XLR out option in that price range.

I tried that one once while I was looking for a practice amp myself. My opinion was that it was incredibly light for what it can do, it faithfully reproduced even the low B on a 5 string and the total volume is more than enough for practice. I found, however, that I could dial in a pleasant and usable sound quite fast, but nothing much apart from that. So for my personal taste, the Rumble IS a one trick pony - YMMV, though.
Most Orange amps I played were the same - you get that typical Orange sound and usually there aren't too many knobs to manipulate. As long as you're into that, that's pretty golden.

The general vibe in this thread seems to suggest you save up more money to get a bigger rig, but I can totally relate that your 8" speaker is not enough. A single 12 is able to do any sound you wish without sacrificing.
I myself advocate the luxurious home practice amp. All in all, that is one of the settings where I play a lot and don't have to compromise in order to get a good band sound - I can dial in any sound I desire, because I am the player and the entire audience at the same time.


If you were into pedals and could imagine getting one or more preamps in the future, you could watch out for an FX loop in the amp, so you can totally bypass the pre section and run the amp as a powered cabinet with a pre of your choice.

 

[Nighttrain1127]

If you buy a 100 watt combo that is what you have if you buy a Head and cab you can change out or add pieces when you need to and keep the same general sound or change it completely. It is just more versatile. and a 112 or 115 cab and head won't take up much more space than the combo. Just my 2 cents

 

[Jon Herring]

I hate practice amps. I mean the ones that have 8" drivers and inadequate watts - they just sound like sadness to me. They aren't even good for practice at home. I think the only difference between the amp in your bedroom and the amp on your stage should be how loud they can get - not how they sound. A practice amp should be a real bass amp and it should sound like a real bass.

Case in point, I have a Fender Rumble 15 that I bought years ago on a whim. I think I'm just going to dump it at a garage sale. Worthless. And I'm not picking on Fender. They all are worthless.

Having said all that... if it at least has a 12" driver, you maybe on to something that is worthy of at least the bedroom. Or even a coffee shop gig with acoustic guitars. Something with a 15" could probably hang with a drummer using multirods or light sticks.

My new "practice" rig is as follows: Ampeg PF-500 through a GK 112 MBX. I bought that GK 112 off the GC website for $99. The amp I'm getting in trade for my GK MB500 from another TB user this week.

The 12" speaker I could use at an acoustic gig at a coffee shop. It will sound full range and won't make me sad at home when practicing. The Ampeg mini head will also serve as my backup amp if my big Carvin ever suddenly craps out right before a gig.

And there you have it. I have a proper sounding practice amp that takes up almost no room and costs very little. I have avoided combos of any kind, thus increasing the utility, and I have established a backup for my stage amp. This, in my opinion, is how you do "practice amp."

That is some good advice for sure!

 

[AcridSaint]

What store is it?

I liked the other suggestion of just keeping what you have and putting more money towards a bigger rig later. Honestly, there's not much point in stacking up practice amps. You are going to spend $300 and then need to spend money again when you hit the stage. $300 will get you into a perfectly gigable head (all of which will have XLR out). Then when you come into more cash, you can put it towards a cabinet to go with it. Even 1-200 bucks will go pretty far on the used cabinet market, especially if you're willing to go with heavier cabs.

 

[SactoBass]

I hate practice amps. I mean the ones that have 8" drivers and inadequate watts - they just sound like sadness to me. They aren't even good for practice at home. I think the only difference between the amp in your bedroom and the amp on your stage should be how loud they can get - not how they sound. A practice amp should be a real bass amp and it should sound like a real bass.

Case in point, I have a Fender Rumble 15 that I bought years ago on a whim. I think I'm just going to dump it at a garage sale. Worthless. And I'm not picking on Fender. They all are worthless.

Having said all that... if it at least has a 12" driver, you maybe on to something that is worthy of at least the bedroom. Or even a coffee shop gig with acoustic guitars. Something with a 15" could probably hang with a drummer using multirods or light sticks.

My new "practice" rig is as follows: Ampeg PF-500 through a GK 112 MBX. I bought that GK 112 off the GC website for $99. The amp I'm getting in trade for my GK MB500 from another TB user this week.

The 12" speaker I could use at an acoustic gig at a coffee shop. It will sound full range and won't make me sad at home when practicing. The Ampeg mini head will also serve as my backup amp if my big Carvin ever suddenly craps out right before a gig.

And there you have it. I have a proper sounding practice amp that takes up almost no room and costs very little. I have avoided combos of any kind, thus increasing the utility, and I have established a backup for my stage amp. This, in my opinion, is how you do "practice amp."

Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig +1

For some reason, "practice amp" in the minds of many folks translates to "beginner amp". And perhaps for some folks, it is indeed a beginner amp, which is fine. I'm 62 years old, and I've been playing bass for the past 46 years. I'm not a beginner. I like having a practice amp at home to play through at lower volumes without any other musicians involved (just playing music by myself). But here's the key thing: I want a home practice amp that sounds freakin' fantastic rather than pathetically anemic. Playing through a tone machine at home inspires me to play, and it puts a smile on my face. *THAT* (IMO) is what a home practice amp should do. At least, that's what *I* need it to do for *me*.

The budget models may be a fine choice for a beginner (for some folks), but not for someone with my personal preferences for mouth-watering tone.

 

[patrickj]

10” seems to be the minimum for a decent sound. My daughter has one of the silver faced Rumbles with a 10” driver in it, sounds fine. I don’t think it’s terribly loud, but it sounds the way it should.

 

[Jon Herring]

Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig +1

For some reason, "practice amp" in the minds of many folks translates to "beginner amp". And perhaps for some folks, it is indeed a beginner amp, which is fine. I'm 62 years old, and I've been playing bass for the past 46 years. I'm not a beginner. I like having a practice amp at home to play through at lower volumes without any other musicians involved (just playing music by myself). But here's the key thing: I want a home practice amp that sounds freakin' fantastic rather than pathetically anemic. Playing through a tone machine at home inspires me to play, and it puts a smile on my face. *THAT* (IMO) is what a home practice amp should do. At least, that's what *I* need it to do for *me*.

The budget models may be a fine choice for a beginner (for some folks), but not for someone with my personal preferences for mouth-watering tone.

That is sort of my belief as well. The current amp I have obviously doesn’t produce the “feeling” and sound I’m looking for so it doesn’t inspire me when playing. But I feel like the ones I’m looking at could accomplish his for me. Of course if I had the money to get the amazing head and cabinet combo of my choosing that would be great but my situation right now is that I do not have a job (recently let go) so my income is limited and I’m basing all my decision making on what I can trade in to accumulate enough $$$ to get something that will produce better quality for home playing.

I do appreciate the advice that I should just keep what I have and save up for better stuff that I could gig with in the future but I guess I’m just impatient haha.

 

[scottfeldstein]

Incidentally, I picked up my Carvin BX1500 about a year ago, lightly used off eBay, for $378.

 

[Jon Herring]

Incidentally, I picked up my Carvin BX1500 about a year ago, lightly used off eBay, for $378.

 

[Jon Herring]

Incidentally, I picked up my Carvin BX1500 about a year ago, lightly used off eBay, for $378.

My only issue right now is I MAY be limited to store credit but maybe the shop will actually just return my money in a trade that I did.

 

[Jim Carr]

...My dad has a Fender 200 Watt rumble with 15 inch speaker and he said it’s way too loud around the house.

The thing I like about the fender 100 (at least on paper) is that it has the xLR out so if I wanted to use it somewhere with sound board just plug it in there.

Orange makes the 100 watt version 15 inch speaker of the crush series but it’s $500 (my range is $300 right now). So I just don’t understand how Fender gets away with selling their 100 watt 12 inch speaker for $300.

Two words for you when your amp or your Dad's amp is too loud: "turn down."

But seriously, I suggest you save a little more $$$ (being patient is a virtue). Another $200 will take you to another performance level and do what you are seeking. Let's face it, small practice(ish)-sized bass amps hold very little of their value. A $300 "practice amp" is IMHO, very expensive—because it has so little utility and isn't likely to sell used for much more than $80.

A larger, giggable amp (whatever that may be for you) will automatically be more attractive on the used market, if and when it is put up for sale or trade.

Since you have to use the store credit, can it be applied to better quality used gear?