Combo amp? Size? Wattage? (newbie bassist question)

[PTV]

Hi All, 

Been starting playing bass after years of playing the guitar. Originally started playing bass 15 years ago, but sold my bass and ended up being a guitarist in many bands since.

I need a bit of help with buying an amp for when my latest band gets out on the road. We'll only be playing small pubs, or clubs, venues up to 150 capacity for example.

Now in terms of a guitar amp, I know a 100 watt 1x12 combo would be great for such gigs, but I see lots of bass combos go up to higher watts.

What would you recommend?  Would an Orange Crush 100 watt 1x15 do the job? Is 100 watts enough for onstage monitoring?

Apologies for such a noddy question.

 

Edit: The venues I would there would be the bass going into the PA. 

Paul.

 

Edited May 23, 2018 by PTV

[Lozz196]

Depends on how loud your drummer is really, a 100 watt 1x15 should be loud enough but will it have the depth of sound you want? Ideally I like to have more power than I need, so that I don`t push my amp, with that in mind for the size venues mentioned I`d probably look at 300 watts or so. The Fender Rumbles are great amps in this range, as are the Ashdown Rootmasters. Both are lightweight as well - but not on sound I should add.

[chris_b]

Bass needs more power from an amp to create a better sound. I'd start at 500 watts not because I need to be loud but because I want a clean powerful sound at whatever volume the band plays at.

If you've been out of bass playing for the last 10 years, you might have noticed that the bass world has changed. You can still buy the old stuff, but it really is the old stuff. Modern bass gear is smaller, lighter, louder and sounds light years better than the average stuff of years gone by.

I'd look in the BC classifieds (because you can find great gear at a good price) and look at separates because you can change your mind about your sound (and you will) an be able to upgrade each piece individually.

[PTV]

Thanks for the help so far guys. 

[casapete]

+1 to both posts above. As Lozz said, Fender Rumble range all punch above their weight in volume and tones available, are lightweight and priced fairly IMO. Great amps - the 200 or 500 combos will see you well through most gig scenarios.

[Jack]

Yeah, 300W into a 15" or 2x10" at a minimum really.

If you can handle the weight, something like a GK 2x10" combo would be great, I've seen used ones for less than £250. You can point it at your face and the GK DI outputs to feed FOH are superb. Otherwise, there's the new TC Electronic combos, the Mesa Boogie Scout (if you're a gentleman of means), an old Ashdown MAG combo (if you're not!) and plenty more to pick from.

[jezzaboy]

Fender Rumble 500 all day. Great sound, light, 350 watts on it`s own and you can stick a cab under it to get the full 500 watts.

The 200 Rumble would be good enough for monitoring but the price difference between it and the 500 isn`t that great and I always like to have enough power for any eventuality. 

[machinehead]

On 23/05/2018 at 13:14, PTV said:

Hi All, 

Been starting playing bass after years of playing the guitar. Originally started playing bass 15 years ago, but sold my bass and ended up being a guitarist in many bands since.

I need a bit of help with buying an amp for when my latest band gets out on the road. We'll only be playing small pubs, or clubs, venues up to 150 capacity for example.

Now in terms of a guitar amp, I know a 100 watt 1x12 combo would be great for such gigs,

Paul.

 

100 watt 1x12 combo for guitar seems like far too much power to me?  Even 15 to 22 watts 1x12 is deafening.

I agree with the recommendations above on the 500 w Fender combo.  They are excellent gigging combos.

Frank.

Edited May 24, 2018 by machinehead
spelling

[PTV]

8 hours ago, machinehead said:

100 watt 1x12 combo for guitar seems like far too much power to me?  Even 15 to 22 watts 1x12 is deafening.

I agree with the recommendations above on the 500 w Frender combo.  They are excellent gigging combos.

Frank.

I’m currently using a Peavey XXX 2x12 which is 120 watt (I think). It is ridiculous 🤣

[kendall]

Peavey XXX is a beast.  

[Japhet]

As a very general rule of thumb I always reckon you need 10x the wattage of a guitar amp in your bass rig. A 30 watt guitar valve amp is a loud piece of kit and a 100 watt guitar amp is way too much for pub gigs unless you can get the sound you want with the volume rolled right back. I'd say a minimum 300 watt bass amp is your starting point but more power gives you more clean headroom. The Rumbles are made for the job.

[Chaddy]

Depends what you want to pay! Ashdown Combos around £300, or Fenders / Blackstar ones are £500 for anything decent. 

 

Might be ideally to go on FB bassplayers market etc and grab a 2nd hand one if you want to save  

[PTV]

So I got myself an amp. Nothing spectacular but managed to get a Line6 LD400 2x10 combo with the FBV footswitch for £160. In great condition. 

Never played a gig as a bassist, done 300+ as a guitarist so if this thing does me well and the bass playing takes off then I’ll think about upgrading. 

 

Was happy to go with Line6 as I’ve had a Spider Valve 112 combo for years and it’s never let me down and I’ve got some great tones from it. I’m also a fan of their recording interfaces and PODFarm software.

I’ve also got a EHX Battalion pedal on the way. I like the options on the pedal, especially the overdrive blend feature. So can keep the clean tone running at the same time. 

 

 

Edited June 1, 2018 by PTV

[Jack]

Good choice. That should be more than loud enough if the pa is adequate.

[Bigwan]

Good buy for the money. My fav small combo ever is the Line 6 Studio 110, the baby brother to this one.

[PTV]

Cool, I'll take a look. 

[stingrayPete1977]

Have you got an amp stand that tilts back? It will make a difference on stage imo, if your band can keep the stage volume down to match your combo you'll have a great sound out front from the pa without everyone ruining the mix. 

[Al Krow]

On 23/05/2018 at 13:54, chris_b said:

Bass needs more power from an amp to create a better sound. I'd start at 500 watts not because I need to be loud but because I want a clean powerful sound at whatever volume the band plays at.

If you've been out of bass playing for the last 10 years, you might have noticed that the bass world has changed. You can still buy the old stuff, but it really is the old stuff. Modern bass gear is smaller, lighter, louder and sounds light years better than the average stuff of years gone by.

I'd look in the BC classifieds (because you can find great gear at a good price) and look at separates because you can change your mind about your sound (and you will) an be able to upgrade each piece individually.

+1^^ 

My two-penny worth - I'd just add make sure to also focus as much on the quality of the cab as well as the amp head, which often gets much more of the attention when making a combo purchase. The cab will potentially have as big / bigger impact on your sound (for good or ill) than differences between amp heads.

Edited June 3, 2018 by Al Krow