Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Why did you choose the amp that you use?
- Thread starter PraiseBassing
- Start date
GK 1001RB-II: My current go-to.
It's heavier than my Rumble, for sure, at 40 pounds in the rack setup as described above with conditioner and tuner plus cables, but I ended up bringing 40 pounds of stuff including the head (pedals on a board with power supply, extra cables, utility case on wheels) for my Rumble setup, anyway, and it's already setup and ready to go inside the rack. If I get sick of the weight, I can always take the amp out of the rack and carry it in a mixer bag so it's only 20 pounds.
- I chose it because I already have a Rumble 500 head and wanted to try something with a higher-wattage/different power section without being too heavy.
- It turned out that, thanks to the Boost control, I also don't need to use my compressor or Tone Hammer anymore to get the sound I want so it has allowed me to go pedal-less. I only have a Korg rack tuner hooked up to the tuner out in the 3-space SKB rack with it. I also mounted a compact power conditioner in the back of the rack so now setting up and tearing down is super easy: power cable, speaker cable, instrument cable, done!
- Being in a rack case also is advantageous as our band does a bunch of outdoor gigs. If a tent leaks a few drops of rain on my amp, it'll just hit the case instead of going straight in the chassis.
- Finally, the amp has been around in one form or another for a few decades. If it didn't work and no one liked it, they wouldn't have made it this long!
It's heavier than my Rumble, for sure, at 40 pounds in the rack setup as described above with conditioner and tuner plus cables, but I ended up bringing 40 pounds of stuff including the head (pedals on a board with power supply, extra cables, utility case on wheels) for my Rumble setup, anyway, and it's already setup and ready to go inside the rack. If I get sick of the weight, I can always take the amp out of the rack and carry it in a mixer bag so it's only 20 pounds.
I play an EBMM Stingray through a MB Little Mark Tube 500 and a GK115. I run a post EQ line out into the band PA which is Yamaha powered speakers, take anything you throw at them. We are a party band and I chose the MB primarily because I wanted a vintage tone for soul/funk but with enough punch to push the band along in a live situation and the tube preamp and speaker emulation settings can give you that. It is also light but robust. I use post EQ cos the amp plus the active bass is giving me all the tone control I need and I like to just pump that straight into the board and have the same tone come out the other end. The GK is very clean and quick response for a 15 so whatever you dial into your amp it will reproduce accurately. Thought about extension cabs and all that but TBH going through the PA why would I need it? Cab is really just for backline. What can I say, they all get up and dance so it must work all right!
- Sep 3, 2006
- 4,358
- 6,117
- Disclosures
- Authorized dealer for Dingwall, Genzler, Phil Jones Bass, Cort, Traynor, Yorkville Sound
I choose an amp only if it looks cool. Ah,,, No.
1) Reliability and backup backup customer support.
2) SOUND
3) Power
It doesn't matter what it sounds like if the amp is not reliable of there is no customer support. I want the amp's designer/manufacture on my speed-dial and I want them to realize that the customer is number one.
I like an amp to be CLEAN. If it is noisy then it simply wasn't designed to modern specs. This is my number one problem with some amp's pre-amps. I want ME to be able to decide if I want a frequency bump as well.
If it will not properly drive the cab I am using then why do I want it; I don't.
Lastly, I am fond of dual channel amps, although for the most part I do not need this, it is not a deal-breaker for me, but I like to know I can use it when needed.
1) Reliability and backup backup customer support.
2) SOUND
3) Power
It doesn't matter what it sounds like if the amp is not reliable of there is no customer support. I want the amp's designer/manufacture on my speed-dial and I want them to realize that the customer is number one.
I like an amp to be CLEAN. If it is noisy then it simply wasn't designed to modern specs. This is my number one problem with some amp's pre-amps. I want ME to be able to decide if I want a frequency bump as well.
If it will not properly drive the cab I am using then why do I want it; I don't.
Lastly, I am fond of dual channel amps, although for the most part I do not need this, it is not a deal-breaker for me, but I like to know I can use it when needed.
I'm looking for punch, clarity, warmth. Mostly, old-school tones (rock, blues, country, folk, Americana, etc.)
I don't slap or play metal (nothing against them; they're just not my thing), so ultra clean or overdriven tones are not a requirement. I'm also not a jazz person either, although I find they're usually looking for the same tones as blues, so ...
Amps that have worked for me in the past: Ampeg V4B and SVT (aside from the weight, these were the best sounding old-school amps I ever played through), smaller Fender combo amps (solid state), 50w Fender Bassman heads (tube).
Amps that have NOT worked for me in the past: SWR/Eden heads (too clean, hard to get warmth), larger Fender combo amps (they get boomy once they get over, say, 75 watts), Behringer (tinny sound).
I currently play mostly MarkBass amps because of the weight and the availability to get warm tones and punchiness out of them. I started with the 300w 12-inch combo, and then picked up the 45w 8-inch combo (an expensive but extremely useful coffeehouse amp), and the 145w 2x8 combo for "in between" gigs. (I even have an SVT/V4B MarkBass replacement in the 300W/500W TTE-500 tube emulator head through a 4 ohm Avatar cabinet. This amp screams and is the closest solid-state approximation of the old Ampeg tube heads I've ever heard.) I know everybody tells me there are newer amps that do lightweight/high power better, but my MB amps still work fine so I haven't needed to replace them yet (after 5-10 years of using them).
I don't slap or play metal (nothing against them; they're just not my thing), so ultra clean or overdriven tones are not a requirement. I'm also not a jazz person either, although I find they're usually looking for the same tones as blues, so ...
Amps that have worked for me in the past: Ampeg V4B and SVT (aside from the weight, these were the best sounding old-school amps I ever played through), smaller Fender combo amps (solid state), 50w Fender Bassman heads (tube).
Amps that have NOT worked for me in the past: SWR/Eden heads (too clean, hard to get warmth), larger Fender combo amps (they get boomy once they get over, say, 75 watts), Behringer (tinny sound).
I currently play mostly MarkBass amps because of the weight and the availability to get warm tones and punchiness out of them. I started with the 300w 12-inch combo, and then picked up the 45w 8-inch combo (an expensive but extremely useful coffeehouse amp), and the 145w 2x8 combo for "in between" gigs. (I even have an SVT/V4B MarkBass replacement in the 300W/500W TTE-500 tube emulator head through a 4 ohm Avatar cabinet. This amp screams and is the closest solid-state approximation of the old Ampeg tube heads I've ever heard.) I know everybody tells me there are newer amps that do lightweight/high power better, but my MB amps still work fine so I haven't needed to replace them yet (after 5-10 years of using them).
After years of trying most of the lightweight, 5 lb , new bass heads, ( and some old school heavier ones ), I have been using Genz Benz heads for a few years now. Overall, I find them easier to EQ in " the sound in my head ", enough power for my needs, and sound pretty good in the studio, also. Never had a problem with any of them. My only complaint is that they are discontinued !
Because they were convenient in size, power, and expense, and easily tweakable to achieve a strong, versatile tone.
Conclussion- A conclusion that hit you right in the head.
I own 2 amps:
1. Ampeg PBC2210 PortaBass Combo
Bought a few years ago (NOS) and I totally overpaid for it. I was fine with that since it's an appropriate size for my needs and sounded great with my basses.
The reasons I bought it: Sound, power, size, sound, effect loop and sound.
2. Fender Bassman Amp 50 watt (~1970) with matching 2x15 cab.
Got it used from local music shop when I got my first bass (~1987). I did not know/understand what I got until later. Neither did the shop owner. The previous owner was some lady that used it exclusively in her house for her keyboard. Paid 300$ CAD. I had to change some tubes over the years but other than that everything is original. I still own it, works great and sounds amazing.
The reasons I bought it: I needed an amp and it was all I could afford. I was more excited by the cheap P copy I got at the time because it had a spider web design (youth...).
1. Ampeg PBC2210 PortaBass Combo
Bought a few years ago (NOS) and I totally overpaid for it. I was fine with that since it's an appropriate size for my needs and sounded great with my basses.
The reasons I bought it: Sound, power, size, sound, effect loop and sound.
2. Fender Bassman Amp 50 watt (~1970) with matching 2x15 cab.
Got it used from local music shop when I got my first bass (~1987). I did not know/understand what I got until later. Neither did the shop owner. The previous owner was some lady that used it exclusively in her house for her keyboard. Paid 300$ CAD. I had to change some tubes over the years but other than that everything is original. I still own it, works great and sounds amazing.
The reasons I bought it: I needed an amp and it was all I could afford. I was more excited by the cheap P copy I got at the time because it had a spider web design (youth...).
'Why did you choose the amp that you use?' One word, TALKBASS 
I have one EBS MicroBass II (with 'trimmings'). What comes out of that, goes effortlessly, if and when I need to up the ante, into almost anything imaginable. I was lurking here, at the time, before I signed up. I think I made a sound choice It gets a lot of work.
I'm unflinchingly small scale these days. My only 'bass amp' is an early open-back Fender Sidekick Bass 30 combo but it's still parked — shows promise, needs work. I got that so it would become part of a little family of Japanese Fenders — very handy for our humble purposes. Selection of the next contraption I get will be (is being) again, most likely, heavily influenced by the multifarious luminaries here. Who knows. But, I'm applying Moore's Law, keeping my ear to the ground, so that one may not have even been made yet
I have one EBS MicroBass II (with 'trimmings'). What comes out of that, goes effortlessly, if and when I need to up the ante, into almost anything imaginable. I was lurking here, at the time, before I signed up. I think I made a sound choice
It gets a lot of work.I'm unflinchingly small scale these days. My only 'bass amp' is an early open-back Fender Sidekick Bass 30 combo but it's still parked — shows promise, needs work. I got that so it would become part of a little family of Japanese Fenders — very handy for our humble purposes. Selection of the next contraption I get will be (is being) again, most likely, heavily influenced by the multifarious luminaries here. Who knows. But, I'm applying Moore's Law, keeping my ear to the ground, so that one may not have even been made yet
My rig is modular Ampeg stuff, consisting of a v-4B, a MicroVR head, 2 of the 112AV cabs and 2 of the 210AV cabs. Depending on the needs of the day, I'll take whatever config fits the bill. Lately, I've been using the 210AV cabs with the V-4B head for gigs. After going through lots of rig manufacturer and setups, I ended up sticking with the Ampeg stuff because I don't have to fight it to get the tone I want/need. It just sounds right. Brand-name recognition is of little importance to me, and I've wasted far too much time money and effort on Talkbass flavor-0f-the-month recommendations that I can't try or that don't fit what I need, and/or are not in my budget.
I bought my current rig new in 1986 because it said 'Trace Elliot' and had a UV light!
Besides looking cool as funk, it sounded (and still sounds) utterly fantastic.
Another 'plus' is the reliability factor - I haven't ever had to take it to a shop for any kinda repair work at all in over 30 years. Now that's reliability!
On the down side, the head and both cabs weigh more than a small planetoid!
Besides looking cool as funk, it sounded (and still sounds) utterly fantastic.
Another 'plus' is the reliability factor - I haven't ever had to take it to a shop for any kinda repair work at all in over 30 years. Now that's reliability!
On the down side, the head and both cabs weigh more than a small planetoid!
I use an Arkham Abyss Preamp with a Demeter Minnie 800d. Nice and portable. Very clean and very warm. Using the amp / preamp with two Michael Arnopol 1,8 cabs. Really loving this setup right now. Best tone e-v-a.
Had a custom Studio Slips bag to carry both in one bag. Being compact is very important in the city when you need to take transit.
Last edited:
My main rig is an Ashdown EVO III (hybrid amp) through a Marshall VBC810 cabinet. I think the Ashdown is a nice and functional combination of old school and new. It has tons of options to modify the sound and I tend to use the 7-band EQ pretty heavily to achieve my tone. Also its pre-amp produces a highly usable, dynamic overdrive. This "base-overdrive" I tend to boost with pedals to grinding levels when needed. The amp itself is quite affordable and maintaining it is easy enough. Also looks cool with the VU-meter and whatnot! 500 watts seems to be more than enough especially with the large cab.
Running it through the old school-ish, enclosed 8x10 cabinet complements the amp perfectly in my rock bands setting (vocalist, guitarist, drummer & me) as I don't need too much (i.e. tons of) definition or clarity. I can let the tone be a bit mushy and thick as poopie all I want! And still it remains tight. To be honest, I love the wall of sound throwing punches behind my back. Playing with only one guitarist gives me the courtesy of filling lots of space and being heard loud and clear
The rig isn't really the most practical when it comes to moving it around but it fills its purpose as we don't gig that often.
Running it through the old school-ish, enclosed 8x10 cabinet complements the amp perfectly in my rock bands setting (vocalist, guitarist, drummer & me) as I don't need too much (i.e. tons of) definition or clarity. I can let the tone be a bit mushy and thick as poopie all I want! And still it remains tight. To be honest, I love the wall of sound throwing punches behind my back. Playing with only one guitarist gives me the courtesy of filling lots of space and being heard loud and clear
The rig isn't really the most practical when it comes to moving it around but it fills its purpose as we don't gig that often.
1963 Epiphone Constallation EA72 for bass and 1965 Epiphone EA35T for guitar. I also own some fender rumbe amps and own a orange bass amp, i reccommend them all.
I went from a GK MB200 > Schroeder 12PL to a TH500 > Hartke HyDrive 115. I enjoy/ed each for the tone and portability. The former was very clean, articulate and mid focused without deep bass + a very easy transport. The latter is much rounder and deeper which is what I was looking for and while the cab is large, it is fairly light. Would like to get a second for outdoor gigs.
