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Bring me up to speed on the world of bass amps


richardjmorgan
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Hi everyone. I've jumped back into playing bass seriously for the first time in a long while, and need to get myself amplified.

Since I was last paying attention, it seems that small amps are rather the thing, and the idea of being to carry my bass, amp and pedalboard around relatively easily is hugely appealing.

My only reservation is whether or not one of these tiny amps is going to be loud enough for my purposes. Need it for rehearsal/gigging in a stoner/desert rock kinda band – the guitarist's going through an old 70s or 80s valve amp that doesn't have a master volume, so we run pretty loud.

My main other consideration is having something that'll play nicely with a variety of cabs, as I'll either be using what's in the venue/practice room or hiring something.

My initial thought was the Orange Terror Bass, as I'd heard good things about it and liked what I heard on the occasions I've seen it being used, but it seems they don't make it any more.

TL;DR: Recommend me an amp / loud stoner rock / as small and portable as possible.

Cheers in advance.

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I'm not convinced by most of the new Class D amps/heads - they may make the volume but lack the tone.

I bought into the "Emperors Clothes" myth around these but was ultimately disappointed and went back to Trace Elliot, who, ironically, have just brought out a Class D head, The Elf, on a different chassis to most of the others.

Many choices - My suggestion is to try as much gear as possible before making any decision. EBS Reidmar is certainly work consideration.

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The best small amp/Class D amp I`ve used for bigness of tone has been the Ashdown Rootmaster - and there`s one up for grabs on here at present, the 800 watt version, for about £350 which is a great deal (I`m not the seller btw). I have the 500 and it`s plenty powerful.

That said sure, in direct comparison to Class D amps both solid state and valve amps have more presence but I wouldn`t be able to walk into a pub gig and determine an amp from any of those categories by the sound alone. Get the amp that fits your needs, if its a tiny Class D amp that fits in your gig-bag pocket so be it.

Edited by Lozz196
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[quote name='richardjmorgan' timestamp='1497529887' post='3318892']
My initial thought was the Orange Terror Bass, as I'd heard good things about it and liked what I heard on the occasions I've seen it being used, but it seems they don't make it any more.

TL;DR: Recommend me an amp / loud stoner rock / as small and portable as possible.
[/quote]

Have they discontinued the OTB? That's a shame, it's probably ideal for the job, but it's probably worth scouring the second-hand market for one. Alternatively an Ashdown Little Bastard 550 would probably fit the bill, and I think there was one floating 'round the marketplace here recently at a good price. If I remember rightly, both are a valve preamp and a SS power stage - so you'll probably need to hit the pre quite hard to get the benefits of the valves, but the 500/550W power stages will handle the deep bass frequencies* without making the amp a back-breaker. I think both have got 4 and 8 Ohm outputs, which should give you some flexibility hopping between cabs.



*Ashdowns seem to be particularly good at pumping out sub frequencies - I have two of their all-valve models and I nearly always find myself backing off the bass control.

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[quote name='acidbass' timestamp='1497531434' post='3318910']
Lightweight gear = lightweight tone!
[/quote]

which is also not true/subjective.

second for the ashdown rootmaster rm 800, big tone with plenty of volume, the drive feature is very useable without going over the top and is footswitchable (sold seperately from all good retailers)
but in and around that kind of price pint you have a huge choice of amps to look at, just find what you like

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Having been through an awful lot (10+) of heads over the last few years, there's been very very few, Class D or not, which haven't cut it in loud bands.

It's true that the new generation of Class D power modules (the giveaway's usually '800w') found in newer small heads seem to have more to them than the first generation, but there's dozens of heads which, with a decent cab (or two) will compete with a single guitarist. I use both a small Genzler Magellan and a bigger Mesa Walkabout with loud bands (one of which has TWO guitarists with 100w Marshalls and 412s) and either of them will win... :D

You'll kind of struggle to go wrong with your budget if you buy secondhand, and you can always move it on and try another...worked for me... :D

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GK mb500 and GK mb800 are very light, small and insanely loud. Great punchy tone and a boost knob that makes it go all growly wowly, if that's your thing (you can tell I've never used that particular knob).

You can drown out any puny, guitarist with these boys.

Edited by gjones
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[quote name='richardjmorgan' timestamp='1497529887' post='3318892'] Recommend me an amp / loud stoner rock / as small and portable as possible.
[/quote]

I'd second the Aguilar TH500.

Aren't you going to ask about cabs?

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[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1497555087' post='3319126']
I can't believe no-one's mentioned [b]heft[/b] yet.
[/quote]
[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1497557347' post='3319149']
Isn't that something to do with the wife? :ph34r:
[/quote]
You are Les Dawson and I claim my £50.

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[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1497593542' post='3319263']
the most ridiculous statement ever made here
[/quote]
It's certainly up there. I found my old MarkBass rig to sound far better than the TE rig I had before it.

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Another shout out for GK here.

The MB800 is a great head, small, light, lots of tones and bloody loud.

If you're unsure of the class D thing for some reason, the GK700RB is a great amp,
and can be had for around £300 ish s/h. Weighs 18 lbs too so not a back breaker.

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[quote name='acidbass' timestamp='1497531434' post='3318910']
Lightweight gear = lightweight tone!
[/quote]

I think once upon a time that would be justified but not anymore. I recently made the switch from all valve, to hybrid and now solid state class D with the Trickfish. There is more low end, punch, heft or whatever than the hybrid Eden and I felt that punched more than the ad200b - it's also the warmest head I've ever played - go figure!

Those amps are all great however, and people have different tastes but I don't think there is anything missing with regards to tone anymore with light gear.

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[quote name='richardjmorgan' timestamp='1497529887' post='3318892']
Hi everyone. I've jumped back into playing bass seriously for the first time in a long while, and need to get myself amplified.

Since I was last paying attention, it seems that small amps are rather the thing[/quote]

I was in exactly the same position about eight years ago! Having spent most of the eighties and nineties using a huge Trace Elliott stack I found myself with only a practice amp and needing bigger gear to get gigging again. It seemed like an absolute minefield as things had certainly changed from the days when Carlsbro and H/H were everywhere, and the "serious" guys used Fender, Ampeg or Trace...

To be honest, there has never been a better time to be a bass player. The amount of inexpensive (I won't use the word "cheap" as that implies low quality) gear is astounding, and you can kit yourself out, from scratch, with quality equipment for way less than a grand - in fact, for less that £500 if you are prepared to research and shop around. And that's buying new! Look at used gear and the possibilities are endless B)

Using Basschat is a really good starting point, however do be aware of a couple of things:

1. Those with loudest and strongest opinions are not necessarily the most knowledgeable.
2. Most people will recommend what they themselves use. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but needs to be taken into account.
3. What sounds good in a shop, bedroom, house or practice room may not work so well in a gig situation.
4. There is no short-cut. Try as much gear as you can until you are satisfied*

*Note, this almost never works, as you will never be satisfied as there will always be something else that you always wanted to try... :gas: ;)

The Basschat marketplace is a very good place to start. If you buy used gear, and find that it is not right for you, you can usually sell it on again without taking much (if any) of a financial hit.

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This

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aguilar-Tone-Hammer-350-Bass-Amplifier-Amp-/263035106110?hash=item3d3e1d333e:g:nREAAOSwDrNZP41w"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aguilar-Tone-Hammer-350-Bass-Amplifier-Amp-/263035106110?hash=item3d3e1d333e:g:nREAAOSwDrNZP41w[/url]

...and it's not me that's selling it BTW

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