Your First "Real" Bass AMP (Caution, Old Guy Content)

[rtslinger]

Univox UB250 like this one

 

[deeptubes]

SVT II Pro and 810 in '90. Wasn't really looking, just kind of fell into my lap. $300 of good weed for the pair. Huge step up from a Gorilla combo. I played through that rig for about 10 years. I should've kept that head. Already had the money for my next rig, so I let it go.

 

[Stewie]

An Acoustic 140 sitting on top of a Fender Dual Showman 2 X 15 cab with SROs. Grillcloth was trashed when I bought it so I replaced it with red burlap. There were about 100 screws holding the back of the cabinet on. To replace the grill cloth, I had to open it up. 100 2 inch screws with a phillips crewdriver. My wrists were junk after that job. Sold it when I graduated from High school. It was a pretty good rig

 

[jumbodbassman]

Ampeg V4B sitting on 2 B25 2 15 cabs.

 

[lbbc]

No pics....but my first "real" amp was a Marshall 100 watt amp through a Peavey 6-12 Cabinet @ 1979

 

[DavC]

my first couple smaller practice amps where kinda crap ... in the early 70's ... 73 ish ... 1st gtr amp Univox 25 watt 12" , 1st bass thing = Jordan ( ? ) a box w/an amp & 15" ...

first real amp ( wish i still had it ) Sunn Concert Bass Amp / Yamaha 2 x 15 cab ( soon upgraded to JBLs )

 

[Richard Blair]

Fender Bassman with a JBL 15". Before that - the mighty (or not so mighty) AceTone with a15" folded horn enclosure, branded "Verlage". It was big, but man, was it big. I much preferred the Fender.

 

[Lvjoebass]

Those were the days! 50 watt baseman could handle any gig in '69! Excuse spelc!kr

 

[CryingBass]

Just about the same time ( forgot which one I fried first ), Bassman and a cushy Kustom!

Back when dinosaurs still played bass!

 

[Dale Griffith]

My first real bass amp was a Peavey 400 head with a Peavey 18" folded horn cabinet - about 40 lbs for the amp and 130 lbs for the cabinet. I still have them both, but I gig now with a Fender Rumble 500 combo (2 x 10") and a Fender Rumble 210 extension cabinet - about 30 lbs each. Since I'm now in my 60's I really appreciate the much lighter weight.

 

[Lvjoebass]

Kustum was step up back then! Louder and no pesky tubes!

 

[Haroldo]

A '65 B-15 plus a homemade 15" extension speaker.

 

[McG]

In 1967 when I was first learning I had a crappy no-name hollow body bass and a T-nek combo amp that was so bad it couldn't be called a Real bass amp.

In 1970 I was ready to get some real gear. Quilter (when they were still a small two man shop in Costa Mesa) had a deal to get a free bass or guitar with the purchase of an amp. So I went for the 4x15 Big Bertha and matching 200 watt head. HUGE watts for that time. The free bass was a Gibson EB-0.

The amp and cab are long gone but I still have the bass.

 

[Bassy Davy]

My 1st was a black face Bassman in 1965. Vastly underpowered, it couldn't keep up with band.

Around '74 I scored 2 Acoustic 360's. Funny thing is, I only used one at a time. I can't recall why I thought I needed 2 of them...
Anyway, they were my 1st "Real Amps".
They were monstrous, a real pain to haul around.

 

[Stevorebob]

Browsing here makes me long for the days when Acoustic and Kustom were something.

 

[avalancheMM]

My very first amp was a Traynor YB something or other back in 1973. Heavy and not grounded. Used to give me constant shocks. Didn't buy another amp until the early 80's. A Peavey TNT130.

Exactly my story, old Traynor all tube, ungrounded, one day- lightning and fireworks, took it in for repair, bought a used Peavey TNT, and when I got the Traynor back, I didn't trust it anymore and sold it. Interesting co-ink-ee-dink, methinks, hmmm.


Regards

 

[Johnny Crab]

In 1965, when I was 10, I asked Dad for a bass and amp for my birthday so he brought this amp home with the Japanese P-clone. It had a staggered 4x10 or 6 x 8 cab, also "Gregory".

Maybe the above isn't "real" so............

When the insurance co of the guy who ran over me and my motorcycle in 1971 and put me in a hospital for 3 months(traction, busted hip leg tied in a knot) finally coughed up some $$$$, we went to Sound City in New Orleans to get a Gibson EBOL(1st real bass) and an Acoustic 370 with 301 cabinet(<<<real amp).
Here it is below about 8 years later pushing lows while the SVT(found used with 2 cabs for $800, just had to rebuild the power supply!) gave mids/highs/clarity and a nice teardrop-shaped sound field to stand in. Yes we covered some Wishbone Ash, why'd you ask?

PS: the early Furman PQ3 and Crown 60 on top of the SVT is a "trick" we lifted from opening for Black Oak Arkansas when Shawn Lane was their guitarist(he was underage at some clubs). They didn't travel with a PA and we had one. Heard this amazing guitar sound, saw Marshall's with their lights on on top of stacks(hooked up to nothing) BUT found the Furman/Crown rig out of audience sight. Set the Furman a certain way, crank the gains, and use the Crown as a "master level".....Boston/Al Di Meola sustain and singing guitars before Boston was ever heard of.

 

[Wesley R]

My hopes as a young, naive, broke person was it would be the Gretsch Pro Bass but it really was neither Pro nor a bass amp, the back of the cab was 1/3 open. Next was a BF Bassman

 

[Smashsquatch]

Marshall 115 with a peavey 6x10 extension cab in the mid 90's

 

[Snibborwocky]

GK 800RB. Still have it but it's in storage at my parents house. I have no idea why I didn't bring it with me when I moved out so long ago...