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Which would you upgrade first? An amp or a bass?

Which would you buy first? An amp or a bass?

  • Amp

    Votes: 1,211 48.2%

  • Bass

    Votes: 995 39.6%

  • Carrots

    Votes: 308 12.3%
  • Total voters
    2,514
#121
Definitely upgrade the amp first. The amp you are using is, putting it in not so nice terms, crap. It may be fine to practice at home with, but there is no way in Hades you can gig with a 35 watt amp. The bass is probably a fine piece of equipment, but obviously doesn't fit you. I'd say your amp needs are more dire though.

Have you considered an amp somewhere in between? Perhaps you could save a little money by buying something smaller than an SVT with an 8/10, and use the extra to get another bass. For example, new GK 1001RB II can be had for $600, and they are a fine, powerful head. Avatar cabs sound decent and are very reasonably priced. There are alot of nice used cabs available for a reasonable price, Edens, Aguilars, etc. Either way, a 4-10 can cover almost any gig outside of extremely large venues.
 
#122
Well, I have considered doing that, but I relized that becuase of the way I am, OCD maybe, I will want to sell it and buy the SVT within a month. The SVT has been the head/cab combo that I've wanted sinse I started playing, and now that I can actually afford it, I think im going to buy it. And like recomended before I'll buy an SX Bass for now, and a musicman later on in the year if I have the money. I doubt I will, if I dont I'll go SUB.
 
#129
This is a tough question. Yes, the amp should always be nicer than your axe, as far as I'm concerned... Of course, I'm breaking that rule right now, but I do still really like my amp.

The right axe has a LOT to do with your sound. I don't care what amp you have, my old j-bass copy will always sound muddy and dark. That's the pickups for you. And a Rick will always sound different, regardless of your amp.

It's a question of what you like better, your amp or your axe. I see guitarists all the time playing on rather nice Gibson guitars through Marshall MG series (read "crappy") amps. Of course, if you're happy with your bass, then an amp upgrade might be in order.

For the record, I started by buying a bass. About 3 years later, I was able to pick up a great amp REALLY cheap. I didn't like it because my axe sounded muddy through it. Then I discovered that my axe sounded muddy through ALL amps, and resigned to the fact that it couldn't sound any better. Then about 3 years after that, I picked up a groovy 5 string bass that cost 5 or 6 times what the original cost (and WAYYY more than I paid for the amp, but ok). So much difference. I found myself inspired to play. I found that I was instantly playing better simply because it was easier to play. Now will I upgrade the amp? Maybe. I've found my bass for a few decades, so if I buy anything for my bass rig, it'll be either an extension cabinet for the old amp or a new amp altogether. It's just too big for small gigs and really heavy. But I LOVE the tone. Ah well.
 
#132
Amp first if I can help it, otherwise Bass.

And now I'm upgrading bass first because :
#1 I don't have a gig coming
#2 The church I play at has a rather nice PA for me to run direct (with Mesa V-Twin for now, I want a PODxt Live)
#3 Bass amps are too much of a hassle when moving
 
#134
All_¥our_Bass said:
Could someone explain the carrots thing to me? (is it related to GAS or something?)
Click to expand...
It's the Standard TB joke option. It's an old TalkBass tradition whose origins are lost in history, bordering on legend.

One day, if there's time, I'll tell y'all of the fad we once had of avatars of pictures of cats wearing pirate hats.

Yes, I'm serious.
 
#135
Depends on whether you are:
1.playing alone
2.Playing with others
3.Playing at clubs with a full P.A.
4.Playing shows with just a vocal P.A.
5.Recording
If you are playing out/recording, are you miking and/or going direct?
Its always best to try out basses and amps without any brand prejuidice.
I would always have a bass that played well and that could produce an appealing sound. You can do this for as little or as much as you want to spend. Sad to say that some truly great all around basses are around and well over $1,000. I toured with a Yamaha BB450. A $150 bass that has a great growl tone that I noticed after only playing one note, but could not take abuse, temperature, and elevation shifts. I don't tour with it currently because it needs constant maintenance. My Ernie Ball MusicMan is a tank but really needs newer strings to shine.
I used to only play basement shows and also practiced in one. These were only vocal P.A. shows and my amp was very important. I had all kinds of big cabs to have presence among one to two guitars, drums, and vocals. Now I primarily play situations where the whole band is being amplified through mains and the singers/guitars get monitors and the drummer gets a monitor. Also, usually the only sub-monitor on stage that can handle bass in its mix is the drummers. Bass players usually have to create their own monitor with their amp; but the catch is that the louder you are on stage the softer you are in the mains and the less control the sound person has over you in the mix and they are the one sitting out where the best mixing decisions can be made. I always go direct in these situations so a good bass is key as I am just using an amp to create a monitor.
Most distortion, clipping, and bad sound from a bass amp is from it being overworked(Trying to make a 1x8 30 watt amp compete with drums and a guitar by turning every knob to the far right). I am currently using a 120 watt wedge combo amp for a monitor because of having to Tetris everything into a van. If space is not an issue I use and recommend getting a good powerful head and adding speakers according to what you are playing and what you can transport.
More speakers mean more air being moved and a bigger sound.
Oh, my answer is bass.
 
#137
Bass first. It's the single largest contributor to my tone, feel, comfort, possibly even my self-esteem :D My wife is more easily impressed and less testy if I have a pretty new bass than yet another "rubber-covered box with knobs and a speaker" as she sometimes puts it.
 
#138
I'm going to have to say bass, because I played through a rumble 60 watt with my SX100B (I don't know if you guys have seen the pictures, but it could've been in the ASSes on fire contest), but then when I got my KSD I love how my rumble sounds.
 
#140
KSDbass said:
I'm going to have to say bass, because I played through a rumble 60 watt with my SX100B (I don't know if you guys have seen the pictures, but it could've been in the ASSes on fire contest), but then when I got my KSD I love how my rumble sounds.
Click to expand...

I say, it depends on the amp you already have.....I bought my Rick before my Mesa, because I already had an amp that I could use to gig with, and everyone loved the sound of my new bass...
 

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