Info needed about replacement speakers

[Bass-ic]

Hi all.
Am trying to figure some stuff out and could use a few suggestions.

I am new to Bass playing although in the last few monthsI have bought a new Bass.Its been really good. mostly I play this through my Tascam.

However, I have been given an old Peavey keyboard combo (KB100) which seems to deal with the bass ok. After all there are lower notes on a piano. Am I right in thinking that I need to change the speaker for a dedicated Bass speaker and what is a good one to buy. I see that Maplin make a 12" Bass cone, but it is rated at 300W which is way over the 75W that the combo puts out. Is this a problem or should I get a different or more matched cone?

Also, is the amp going to cope with the Bass frequencies ok?

Many thanks in advance.

Cheers
Matt

[Hamster]

For low level practise at home, leave it as it is. You don't need power there. For gigging, even with a replacement bass biased speaker, it won't cut it. Buy a dedicated bass combo, or better still make your speaker cabinet using some of Bill Fitzmaurice's plans.

edit: Forgot to mention the amp. Probably ok for home practice, but buy a bass amp for gigging.

When you are ready to buy or build your first bass rig / combo, use the search function and/or Wiki, or ask away and we'll all do our best to point you in the right direction.

Edited December 6, 2008 by Hamster

[Bass-ic]

Cheers Hamster.
I realize that the unit probably isnt going to cut it for playing a gig. But it does sound better than the drive 10w practice amp that i bought although it must be said that it aint so bad for what it is. I just thought that i might be damaging it by using it in its current set up.

A 'proper' amp/speaker/combo is something that I have been mulling over for a while. I know bugger all about them! Going into a shopo full of them dont help, 'cos I am, a bit embarressd about not being able to play anything worthwhiile yet to get a proper idea about what the amp 'shoul' sound like.

thanks for your help !

matt

Edited December 6, 2008 by Absolute-beginner

[Balcro]

[quote name='Absolute-beginner' post='347593' date='Dec 6 2008, 11:21 PM']Cheers Hamster.
I realize that the unit probably isnt going to cut it for playing a gig. But it does sound better than the drive 10w practice amp that i bought although it must be said that it aint so bad for what it is. I just thought that i might be damaging it by using it in its current set up.
A 'proper' amp/speaker/combo is something that I have been mulling over for a while. I know bugger all about them! Going into a shopo full of them dont help, 'cos I am, a bit embarressd about not being able to play anything worthwhiile yet to get a proper idea about what the amp 'shoul' sound like.
thanks for your help !
matt[/quote]

FWIW I agree with Hamster.

PS. learn 2 or 3 lines or parts of songs. Play 'em to death. Then walk in the shop. Just like me. Base camp 1.

Cheers, Balcro

[Lfalex v1.1]

Last time I bought a piece of amplification, I had someone else play into it with their bass, whilst I "adjusted" it to see what we could squeeze out of it.
Then we worked our way through all the equipment I wanted to try. Works quite well if you realise that no two players are the same and bear that in mind!
He'd just had his bass modded, and ultimately we disagreed on what amp was best.
Needless to say, I bought the one I liked, as it was my money.
Interesting exercise, though.

[Bass-ic]

Hey
Thanks everyone for all the info.
Matt

[Merton]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='347768' date='Dec 7 2008, 11:17 AM']Last time I bought a piece of amplification, I had someone else play into it with their bass, whilst I "adjusted" it to see what we could squeeze out of it.
Then we worked our way through all the equipment I wanted to try. Works quite well if you realise that no two players are the same and bear that in mind!
He'd just had his bass modded, and ultimately we disagreed on what amp was best.
Needless to say, I bought the one I liked, as it was my money.
Interesting exercise, though.[/quote]
Good way to do things. When I bought my first cab for my first "big rig" I took a couple of friends and we spent 4 hours in Electromusic in Doncaster playing EVERYTHING. We all came to slightly different conclusions based on our own ideas but we all agreed it was between 3 cabs. Great fun, would love to have the time, money and need to do that again

[chris_b]

I think the keyboard combo is fine for practise but don't spend any money on "improving" it. Save your dosh for the next amp.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='chris_b' post='348528' date='Dec 8 2008, 12:47 PM']I think the keyboard combo is fine for practise but don't spend any money on "improving" it. Save your dosh for the next amp.[/quote]

Indeed. In fact I suspect that combo would work ok for playing in any band that's not too RAWK! There's something about old Peavey combos that makes them far louder than you'd expect for the money. I think that keyboard amp is just like the TKO or TNT bass combo from the same era but with a tweeter added and those amps are renowned for their loudness and durability.

Alex