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8" vs 10" Home practice combo


theyellowcar
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Hello!

I'm in the midst of researching practice combos as I need to pick one up for home use (currently ampless!) and I've boiled my search down to the Ampeg BA range.

Herein lies the dilemma - I'm unsure as to whether the 8" model would be sufficient for fart-free practice at home (bearing in mind I'm running an active bass with pretty hot pickups) or whether trading up to the 10" model would be worthwhile.

Budget is not too great a concern (as long as I stay sub-£150) but space is, hence the 8" model is still a consideration.

I would greatly appreciate your advice and input whether it be more generally around speaker performance or specifically around the Ampeg BA range so that I can feel as though I'm making a more informed purchase decision!

Cheers,

Dave

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Combo amps can sound bad because the amp is not powerful enough and is clipping, or because the speaker is being driven beyond its design limits, and hitting the end stops. You will also get distortion if the preamp is overloaded and clips.

If the amp/speaker overloads, turn it down - if the preamp is overloaded, turn down the volume on your bass. None of these is dependent on the size of the speaker.

If you want a combo amp to plug the bass into, while you play along with MP3s or whatever, either speaker size will do the job, The problems start when you practice with another instrumentalist - piano or whatever, and you have to match their volume.

As always, only you can tell whether the sound it produces is the sound you want.

David

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1376335536' post='2172425']


It depends entirely on what you've been eating.

...Sorry. :D
[/quote]

Regretted that the second I hit post! Easy target!

David - thanks for the comprehensive reply, I would ideally like to know I had enough headroom to keep up with an acoustic guitar, but not a lot more than that.

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M experience of small combo amps is limited - My short list at the time included 20-30 watt combo amps by Hartke, Ibanez, Fender and Peavey. I originally went for a Hartke B30, but the buzz from the transformer bothered me, so I returned it and bought a 120W Hartke Kickback 10 instead. It's quite small (and quite loud), but probably bigger than you want.

For the sort of volume at which you are likely to be playing, any of the mainstream models should do, providing that you like their sound, and do not turn up the low end and expect it to sound like an 8 by 10 fridge.

David

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Iv recently given a couple of small 8" practice amps a go in shops. I've been extremely impressed by the bass response and over all sound. volume wise very good indeed too. my experience of practice amps ceased about 15 years ago and they were all second things from late 80s early 90s. all ill say is they've come on leaps and bounds since then.

after i did a bit of research it seems the peavey microbass is the fans favourite although i didn't get to try one. i loved the small ampeg one i tried- can't remember the model.

i once turned up to a gig where the amp supplied was a 10" Roland microcube and it done the job perfectly as a stage monitor so an 8" modern practice amp will be perfect for home use!

Edited by lefrash
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I`ve got the BA108. For home use, with both passive and active basses (Precisons, Jazzes, Stingrays), I`ve never had the volume on more than 3, and never had any issues with it not being able to handle lows. Great little amps.

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So it arrived, looks great (can't post photos from mobile?!) but I think the input is dodgy - two or three times I've fired it up and not been able to get any output, despite there being an obvious hum. Tried 3 leads and two basses (and my bass through a different amp to make sure it wasn't that) and no dice. It's oddly intermittent because other times it's powered up just fine. Needless to say it's going back this week...

Edited by theyellowcar
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