Help a clueless newbie choose a bass combo

[CBbass]

Hey,

I'm going to start playing bass at home, I play guitar but at the moment I get far more enjoyment playing my friends bass. I also have a pretty decent budget. I don't know much at all about amps, I will be buying used and will have a budget of £800. I want an all around decent combo, good for recording/home use. The bass I'm getting will be either an l2000 or MM stingray/sterling. I play any genre really but mostly rock/grungy stuff. When I see the huge amount of watts bass amps use compared to guitars and the speaker combinations I don't know where to begin...

Cheers.

[Prime_BASS]

Will it be used for gigs?
If so how big? Pubs, clubs, stadiums?
Does it need to be gigging level loud for these gigs?
If you are gigging with it, are you getting PA support?

I would say that without this knowledge you should look at things like EA micro Iamp and the wizzy10 or the genz Benz shuttle 3/6 plus one of the respective cabs.

They are both solid bits of kit that are suitable for home practice or low level band rehearsals. If used for gigs they can be sent straight the desk aswell.
Trouble is they don't come up used very often.

[JTUK]

My top pick is always the Markbass 102 Combo.

This will be loud enough and good enough quality for your basic uses and will do decent volume gigs ok. You can/will need to, add a extention cab to get 500watts, for loud gigs.

I do think the combo route is a compromise..but this combo, IMV, is about the best and lightest/smallest you can get away with.

If you stay in the studio/bedroom, smaller combos also come into play and will work well, but for decent volume gigs, this is the best, IMO.

SH guide price is around £600.

[Lozz196]

I`d recommend Markbass too, though not from a users perspective, as I`ve never used one. Just that every time I`ve seen a local band where the bassist has a great sound, inevitably it`s been a Markbass combo. They just seem to have the knack of sitting exactly in the right place in the mix, plus very lightweight too, so easy to get about.

[Linus27]

I also recommend a MarkBass combo, something like a CMD112H, especially as you are planning on using a Stingray as they match really well. Top quality combo that you will never ever need to change and you will even be able to gig with it.

Edited August 14, 2011 by Linus27

[thodrik]

Get a second hand Ashdown, Trace Elliot or Ampeg combo or stack for a couple of hundred and save the rest until you know if the bass is going to be a long term thing and you have thought more clearly about what you want out of a bass amp. No point spending the whole lot on an ultra lightweight modern set up if its going to be sitting in a room and you discover that six months later you would rather own a 200 watt valve amp and matching 8x10. Although the amp companies I have mentioned are perhaps not the most trendy of names in the lightweight gear environment, they can deliver in any kind of 'rock' setting and can generally be found for fairly cheap second hand (£300-500 could get you something really good).

In the end it doesn't really matter that much, just buy what takes your fancy, though anything less than about 250 watts (solid state) is usually going to struggle to compete with a 50 watt valve guitar head if it is going through a 2x10 or 1x15 (which many combos use).

[clauster]

£800, used, home use?

I'd say you can pick any two out of the above three criteria.

£800 and used will buy you a lot of gig-able combo: Mark Bass, TC Electronic, Eden, Maybe a Mesa Walkabout, but IMO you won't get the best out of any of these at low volume.

Used and home use: Line 6 110, Roland Cube, smaller Ashdown combos, little Eden Combos, Ampeg Combos. Lots of change from £800.

£800 and home use: Ashdown Little Bastard and one of the matching cabs? Still bloody loud though

[Bilbo]

Eden Metros are going for £500 second hand and, if you ever want to gig it, it will do anything you want it to.

[Merton]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1340000' date='Aug 14 2011, 08:27 PM']Eden Metros are going for £500 second hand and, if you ever want to gig it, it will do anything you want it to.[/quote]
This.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='CBbass' post='1339275' date='Aug 14 2011, 04:28 AM']Hey,

I'm going to start playing bass at home, I play guitar but at the moment I get far more enjoyment playing my friends bass. I also have a pretty decent budget. I don't know much at all about amps, I will be buying used and will have a budget of £800. I want an all around decent combo, good for recording/home use. The bass I'm getting will be either an l2000 or MM stingray/sterling. I play any genre really but mostly rock/grungy stuff. When I see the huge amount of watts bass amps use compared to guitars and the speaker combinations I don't know where to begin...

Cheers.[/quote]
Good evening, CBbass...
You don't need, or want, high power for home/recording. I would recommend a new Ampeg BA115, 100w, 15" + peizo, which will take out your windows if you open it up (as will most 100w+ bass amps...). They can be found second-hand, but if you have the budget for it, buy new, and get a guarantee, for smething like £300-350.
If there is a music store near by, it would be preferable to go along and try out a few amps; there is a difference between 12", 15", 2x10" speakers, and modelisation may interest you (Roland Cube...).
Just my opinion, of course, but I think you're way over budget for bedroom, or even garage practice, for a beginner. That's a very confortable position to be in. You don't need to spend it all (at least, not right now...). Later on, when you've a bit more experience, and joining a band, you will appreciate having a bit more to put towards a stadium-sized rig. You'll still be enjoying your Ampeg, though.
Hope this helps...

[thodrik]

[quote name='clauster' post='1339988' date='Aug 14 2011, 08:16 PM']£800, used, home use?

I'd say you can pick any two out of the above three criteria.

£800 and used will buy you a lot of gig-able combo: Mark Bass, TC Electronic, Eden, Maybe a Mesa Walkabout, but IMO you won't get the best out of any of these at low volume.

Used and home use: Line 6 110, Roland Cube, smaller Ashdown combos, little Eden Combos, Ampeg Combos. Lots of change from £800.

£800 and home use: Ashdown Little Bastard and one of the matching cabs? Still bloody loud though[/quote]

Just from experience, the Mesa Walkabout is pretty rubbish for home practice (unless you live in a detached house in the middle of nowhere (me in Orkney). The point where it opens up properly is also the point where the neighbours from upstairs and downstairs start banging on the roof/floor (me in Glasgow)!

The advice above is pretty good. Anything beyond 100 watt is going to be overkill for home recording.

[charic]

£800 for learning and home use only seems a little bit steep IMHO.

I'd spend £200-£300 which will get you a home/practice/rehearsal rig until you have need of anything more.

[wateroftyne]

I'd recommend the [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/ibanez_p5110_promethean.htm"]Ibanez Promethean[/url].

It's compact, it sounds great at low (and high) volume, it has an Aux in and headphone out for playing along with mp3's, and if you need to up the ante for a gig you can either add another cab, or take the head out and use it with a larger cab.

I'd agree with what's been said above about the Walkabout Scout. They're not great for plunking around in the house.

[eude]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1340297' date='Aug 15 2011, 08:23 AM']I'd recommend the [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/ibanez_p5110_promethean.htm"]Ibanez Promethean[/url].

It's compact, it sounds great at low (and high) volume, it has an Aux in and headphone out for playing along with mp3's, and if you need to up the ante for a gig you can either add another cab, or take the head out and use it with a larger cab.

I'd agree with what's been said above about the Walkabout Scout. They're not great for plunking around in the house.[/quote]

+1

Incredibly versatile piece of kit at a cracking price!

Eude

[CBbass]

Thanks for all the replies, I was looking at 300w ish amps but am now trying to keep below 150w. A decent combo I've seen mentioned is the Gallien Krueger MB150E-112 combo. Is this ok for my needs? I've seen them go for fairly cheap for my budget (are they all USA made?) To those saying about gigging in the near future, it's very unlikely for the moment so I won't need a loud amp for that.

Cheers.

[alexclaber]

If I were you I'd get something like a little secondhand Peavey or Trace Elliot combo (something sub 50W) and some kind of DI which interfaces with your recording system (Whirlwind passive DIs aren't expensive, sound good and are bombproof). That'll all cost about £100.

Keep the other £700 for when you have more idea of what you want (note that a little 1x10" combo can work really well for studio micing and many great bass tracks are DI'd, so the rest of your budget could be entirely wasted from a recording quality context) and/or need something louder for gigging.

Another choice would be the Line6 LowDown Studio 110 which will deal with the DI and micing side of the recording process in one box.

[charic]

The Line6 110 is a great little amp with the DI out aswell allowing for practices

[JTUK]

Not sure how much of GK is U.S made. I would hazard a guess that most is Pacific-rim/China etc etc.

Maybe their top line stuff in U.S made..maybe not.... but then you might get a price break on it and that is fair enough.
What I REALLY object to is paying top $ for a 'name' and it is still made in China/Far East.

I would exempt Japan from that, somewhat.