First Bass Amp?

[njr911]

After being a guitarist or 20 years I'm now playing bass and looking to gig very soon.

I've had some amazing amps over the years and I know whati like for guitars (fender silver face twin, Vox AC30, Marshall Bluesbreaker) valve vintage sounding combos.

What would be a good amp for giging and practice? I've been offered an ashdown 500 head for £100 but would need a cab.

Or should I go for a combo?

Valves or solid state ?

Mesa boogie. Mmmmm

[Lozz196]

For a bit of guidance, there are a few more bits of information needed:

1. Budget - many will advise on top end gear, no point if your budget doesn`t stretch
2. Type of music - most amps will do most genres, but no doubt, some are better at certain areas than others
3. Transport - if you have a small car/back problems, no point in recommending the big & heavy stuff

Combo or head/cab? Personally I prefer the latter, but that`s because I like at least a 410, and 410 combos are too heavy, so it`s practicality, rather than sounds.

[isteen]

A combo is often cheaper, but the weight...
If you are dragging your gear around a lot, I think you will replace a combo with a head/cab soon. I know I did.

[njr911]

Thanks. Interesting stuff. Budget would be less than 500 ideally. For rock covers..

Maybe the ashdown would be a good choice.

[Musky]

[quote name='njr911' timestamp='1337032286' post='1654505']
Thanks. Interesting stuff. Budget would be less than 500 ideally. For rock covers..

Maybe the ashdown would be a good choice.
[/quote]
Seems like a decent price for the Ashdown, a MAG presumably? If it's an ABM I'd snap it up.

It would leave you plenty of cash left over for a decent cab (or two).

[phil.i.stein]

yep. separates. plenty of good amp-heads out there for the taking, particularly now there are plenty of micro's about.

plus... if you're likely to be a support act, you may well end up using other people's cabs with your own amp..

so be sure to buy different speaker cables that will accomodate other people's cabs. (i.e. neutrik>jack,xlr,neutrik)

that way you won't get caught short.

[Marvin]

Cheapest thing you can find. No one listens to the bass player, so no point in wasting good money.

[Bassman Steve]

Take the amp and buy the Boogie 4x10 on sale here and use the 20 quid change for the diesel for the trip - job done!

[Lozz196]

Yep, the amp for £100 sounds good, and with £400 for a cab, Boogie, Schroeder, SWR, Epifani - there are a few of these on here at the moment in that price range, all good makes, all will be more than good enough for rock covers.

[Beer of the Bass]

Buying new, it's quite hard to beat the Gallien Krueger MB200 package deal at Thomann at the moment.
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/gallien_krueger_mb_200_bundle.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/gallien_krueger_mb_200_bundle.htm[/url]
The only major limitation is that with the 4 ohm cab, you can't add a second cab to the rig.

[Jack]

I'm the world's biggest GK fan, but I would be hesitant to gig that MB200 and 1x15" rig for rock covers. Might struggle a bit with volume. FWIW, I just sold my pristine 1001-II for £400, and there are any number of 4x10s for £100-200. You can get a decent rock rig for that money.

[njr911]

Missed out on the Ashdown unfortunately. So still looking.

The g&k looks great value but I'd always go second hand if possible.

So a nice (valve) head and cab it is. Unless anyone suggests a vintage Fender Bassman

[daveparker123]

I use an Ashdown Mag at the rehearsal studios and it sounds great. Get a 500 though as the 300 needs to be cranked. I've read some great reviews for the Ampeg SVT 7 Pro too but haven't tried one myself.

When you say 'valve' I take it you mean a valve in the preamp rather than all valve. All valve would be a lot more expensive.

[rogerstodge]

Treat yourself to a tech 21 sansamp bass driver, it can make most amps sound great

[Paul S]

On Friday I used a Peavey 15" cab at a rehearsal studio that I don't usually go to - just because it was there, really - I had my Barefaced Midget in the boot. Put my TC Electronic Classic 450 through it and it sounded absolutely huge. That is for a classic rock covers band with a loud drummer and even louder guitar player. The big heavy stuff like this and Trace Elliot can be picked up for peanuts secondhand and are worth considering if lower back, transport and storage space aren't an issue.

[bassmachine2112]

+1 on the sansamp or go cheapo and get the behringer one s/h it doubles as a DI box as well.It makes any amp /combo sound good and great for recording.
You can get a lot of combo/amp/cab/cabs for your budget.
Here,s an idea-behringer bdi21/bass floor pod,power amp and full range PA cab/s,DI into PA-sorted.I do this sometimes and sounds great.
Combo,s are good-all in one box-wheels are a bonus
Head and cab/s are good,i prefer 2 2x10 cabs cause they are lighter than a 4x10 and give you as much bottom end as a 15"
Watch out for Ohms if you are running extra cabs-a 4 ohm amp/combo will not like 2 4ohm cabs as the amp section will see 2 ohm.this is a seperate issue which needs a seperate thread or you can search for this.Eeeh another can of worms.
Back to subject-plenty of advice on here-just ask.Most brands have their followers,nobody is wrong .
Go and see some bands playing in pubs and listen to their rigs and see what sounds good to you and have a talk with them,mosy of us are gear heads and love talking about gear.