njr911 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 about bass amps. I was a guitaris until about 5 years ago when I gave up to get married have kids. Got back into a band playing the bass and have a lovely Squier CV Jazz. As a guitarist I've had some lovely stuff...Marshall Bluesbreaker, Vox AC30, Fender Silverface Twin. Are there comparable bass amps ? I love vintage valve combos, portable and sound sweet. I don't like big bloated 70's stacks. Cheers Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 There's a whole host of stuff, from old (& new) valve combos from the likes of Ampeg, SWR, Ashdown & Mesa Boogie to Solid State lightweight stuff from Markbass, GenzBenz, TC Electronics, etc. Depends on your budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njr911 Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 MMMmm magic words...Mesa Boogie. Not really shopping as yet, just trying to find out what's out there that's similar to what I already know coming from combos. I think I'll probably start with a Roland Cube for gigging but would like to feed my knowledge base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 The best place to look is in the "For Sale" section on here. A lot of good stuff for whatever budget & usually at decent prices. I went with a Markbass combo as it weighs very little. I carry bass over my shoulder, combo in one hand & pedal board in the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njr911 Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 thanks will have a look at the Markbass combos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Also up there in the lightweight stakes are PhilJonesBass (PJB), although the design philosophy (essentially HiFi) does divide opinion somewhat and it is quite pricey (though not as much as Markbass). If money's not too much of an issue there's some seriously good heads out there with bags of power and next to no weight (TC, Genz Benz, GK, etc. etc.), that you can hook up to equally impressive and lightweight cabs (Barefaced is a great example of this - run by Alex Claber who just so happens to be a member of this forum). I speak as a guitarist of many years and numerous bands by the way. In case you don't already know, generally speaking bass players need more power than guitarists - 300w or so seems to be a benchmark for stage work (but again opinions will vary). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njr911 Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 300w !! Wow I didn't know that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 [quote name='njr911' timestamp='1331053837' post='1566941'] 300w !! Wow I didn't know that [/quote] It's the sort of numbers (and up!) that the majority of people talk about for their own rigs. PJB's are lower powered generally, but are something of an exception to the rule. My last gigging rig was made by TC Electronic and had a 450w amp powering a 2x10" cabinet - oh, that reminds me - bass speaker chassis units are built to handle a lot more power than their guitar equivalents. Don't be fooled by the 2x10 cab mentioned above - it could handle the 450w just fine. 2x12 bass cabinets can usually handle 600w or more, and a 4x12 would be 1000w or more (try putting [i]that [/i]through a Marshall 4x12 and watch what happens! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) [quote name='njr911' timestamp='1331046221' post='1566786'] . . I don't like big bloated 70's stacks. General rule of thumb,you'll need to be twice as loud as the guitarist(s).And run your amp at around half volume to avoid farty speaker destruction. [/quote] Edited March 6, 2012 by Spike Vincent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 [quote name='john the pond' timestamp='1331063872' post='1567160'] I can't recall Marshall and Vox making bass combo's so its the Marshall Superbass 100 or Vox Foundation stacks. Fender did bass combo's and the Bassman 4x10 combo is probably closest to a Twin. You dont need all the power modern amps put out and volume is not measured in watts [/quote] +1 The Ampeg B15 is a classic bass combo that comes to mind as well, though that is no good live. And you'll need to remortgage to buy a reissue. By and large there's a good reason why old combos aren't in vogue amongst bass players in the same way they are with guitarists - they simply weren't capable of producing decent bass, and mostly couldn't achieve a usable volume either. The simple fact that getting decent bass output used to mean large cabinets, amps with big transformers capable of producing a high wattage and heavy speakers capable of handling that wattage. Which is why there aren't many classic combos still available for bassists - certainly not ones that fancy keeping there spines intact. If you're set on a combo then maybe the Mesa Boogie Walkabout might hit the spot: if not check out some of the suggestions above for small, light and loud rigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 [quote name='njr911' timestamp='1331046221' post='1566786'] As a guitarist I've had some lovely stuff...Marshall Bluesbreaker, Vox AC30, Fender Silverface Twin. I love vintage valve combos, portable and sound sweet. I don't like big bloated 70's stacks. [/quote] Bloated 70s stacks are the equivalent to those amps, fortunately, things have moved on, part of what has moved on is choice though, which is now huge. Pic out some players/tracks with tones that you are after, work from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Very good advice there, Mr Foxen, No matter what the pro uses, there will most likely be something in the price bracket that will give a good approximation of that sound, from then on, it`s a case of finding it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 [quote name='john the pond' timestamp='1331063872' post='1567160'] You dont need all the power modern amps put out and volume is not measured in watts [/quote] I agree - up to a point - with the first part. Headroom is the name of the game. Guitar amps are actually better to be pretty low in power and preferably valve-powered, because you can then crank them enough to get the power valves working properly without deafening everybody in the immediate vicinity. (My current guitar amp is a Cornford with 20 watts, and my favourite amp before that was a MB Studio .22, with a heady 22 watts - actually a bit too loud TBH.) Bass gear, on the other hand, works best with plenty of power in reserve, because although it's not uncommon to have overdrive available in the preamp section, it's not normally a good idea to work the output stage too hard. As to volume being measured in watts, it's actually not quite as simple as that. In one sense that's exactly how it works (more signal = more power drawn = bigger cone movement = more volume). In another (fairly trivial) sense volume is measured in deciBels whereas power is measured in watts so the units of measurement are different - but, all other things being equal, more watts still translates into more deciBels. What I think the poster is getting at here (with apologies if I'm wrong) is that being heard on a stage is not just a matter of power or volume. Balancing the sound tonally so that people don't get in each other's way is a standard procedure in recording, but tends to get forgotten in live performance. If you get the balance right, you won't need as much volume. Sadly, this is all too often easier said than done in practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krysh Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1331072189' post='1567352'] Very good advice there, Mr Foxen, No matter what the pro uses, there will most likely be something in the price bracket that will give a good approximation of that sound, from then on, it`s a case of finding it. [/quote] +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njr911 Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 all very interesting and informative! Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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