Got my first bass, Need an Amp

[bamboofrog]

Hi

I just got my first bass (squire P Bass) and am looking for a decent amp to help in my learning process. I would prefer to buy an amp that will last me a few years without me GASing over other amps to often.

I have been playing guitar for a couple of years, although still very much a beginner, late starter (30 years old), family, limited practice time, etc etc, excuses, excuses

Long story short I haven't got a clue what I am looking at with bass amps and could do with some guidance.

Cheers

[Merton]

Welcome to the forum!

A couple of qs:

what budget do you have?
what music do you want to play?

[Musky]

What's your budget, and are you looking for something just to practice with or something you could gig with in the future? What sort of music are you looking to play?

Edit: beat me to it Merton!

Edited December 18, 2008 by Musky

[bamboofrog]

Ok should have thought of that.

Music - blues, rock, some funk, bit of punk, I don't tend to play heavy metal.

Budget - preferably as cheap as possible, at present I am looking at about £250, but if this would buy a mediocre quality amp I would rather buy a reasonable/inexpensive practice amp and carry on saving for something a bit better.

As a practice amp I was looking at the Roland Cubes, line 6 amps and Pods but have seen quite a few mixed reviews and as a I said before I haven't got a clue what I am looking at.

[chris_b]

[quote name='bamboofrog' post='357780' date='Dec 18 2008, 12:16 PM']Music - blues, rock, some funk, bit of punk, I don't tend to play heavy metal.
Budget - preferably as cheap as possible, at present I am looking at about £250, but if this would buy a mediocre quality amp I would rather buy a reasonable/inexpensive practice amp and carry on saving for something a bit better.
As a practice amp I was looking at the Roland Cubes, line 6 amps and Pods but have seen quite a few mixed reviews and as a I said before I haven't got a clue what I am looking at.[/quote]
For practice.... check out the SWR LA12 in the for sale section. For gigs.... worry about that later. If the recession really bites, larger combos should be cheaper next year!

[bamboofrog]

[quote name='chris_b' post='357789' date='Dec 18 2008, 12:20 PM']For practice.... check out the SWR LA12 in the for sale section. For gigs.... worry about that later. If the recession really bites, larger combos should be cheaper next year![/quote]

Thanks for the heads up on the for sale section I will have a look at the SWR.

[Adrenochrome]

If you wanted to buy new, then this Ashdown Electric Blue combo could do the job for home practice and also jamming with others if you wanted to:

[url="http://www.imuso.co.uk/ProductDetail.asp?StockCode=EG03447"]Electric Blue Combo[/url]

[clauster]

Those Ashdown EB180s get a +1 from me.

I've had mine for two years - It's loud enough for band rehearsals but can go low enough for practise at home. As a combo I don't really like the tone as much as some other brands, but I take a DI out to the PA for gigs and the tone from just the preamp is great.

[ianrunci]

I bought a second hand Warwick CCL 210 on here for 180 quid and I saw another one go for £180 on fleabay the other day. Well worth a punt if you can find one. They are close to £600 new so if you can pick one up for under £200 you have a bargain. They sound great and you can add an extra cab at a later date

[Musky]

Smaller combos/cabs are never are never going to give you really deep bass but are usually fine for practice, and are often useful portable and compact enough not to take up too much room at home. The Studio 110 and the Roland Cubes (both the 30w and 100w versions) have had the nod from users on hear for practice duties.

But if you want to look at secondhand gear you could go the whole hog at get something you could gig with. Good deals can be had on both Warwick and Ashdown stuff within your budget.

[bamboofrog]

Cheers for the replies, I have seen a few nice amps on evil bay, I would like head and cab amp but I really don't have the space for anything to bulky. I like the look of the ampeg B100R bit pricey though. As mentioned there is a SWR LA12 on the for sale section, are these any good?

[Al Heeley]

Can I interest you in my marshall Bass State combo up for sale in the classifieds here?
It's a great workhorse amp with versatile tones from rock to slap and a deep warm jazz blues tone, 150W, 1 x 15 speaker.
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=34623"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=34623[/url]
this will serve you well while you are settling into your new career path.

[ardi100]

For gigs, you'll need a minimum of around 150W to get over a drummer on stage. You're probably better getting something small and saving for a bigger rig as and when you need it. You can beg and borrow until then (most of us did that until we could afford/justify it).

Or, you could go the whole hog. I sold my Warwick ProFet 3.2 for £80. 300w, nice tone. You could look for something similar. Definitely buy secondhand, the value is unbelievable.

Good luck with the search, it's half the fun!

[bamboofrog]

Thanks for the continued help.

Out of interest has anyone had any experience with the Eden N8 or N8jr?

[Merton]

The N8 is a great practice amp, but that is all. Not enough power for gigs IME.

Shameless plug, I'm selling my Trace Elliot V-Type Combo. 1x15, plenty loud enough on its own to compete with 2 Marhsall 4x12s and when hooked up to a second cab it will destroy walls. Great sound for blues/rock/funk/punk... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=34809"]have a look here[/url]

[bamboofrog]

I wish I was up to gigging yet, but I haven't even begun practicing, my wife has wrapped up my bass and won't let me play with it until christmas

So a practice amp is all I really need at the moment. Although I do like the idea of knocking down walls

[51m0n]

[quote name='Merton' post='361763' date='Dec 23 2008, 10:25 AM']The N8 is a great practice amp, but that is all. Not enough power for gigs IME.[/quote]

+1

[Mr. Foxen]

+1 for the Ashdown electric blue combos. They lack headphone socket though.

[Balcro]

[quote name='bamboofrog' post='361791' date='Dec 23 2008, 11:02 AM']I wish I was up to gigging yet, but I haven't even begun practicing, my wife has wrapped up my bass and won't let me play with it until christmas

So a practice amp is all I really need at the moment. Although I do like the idea of knocking down walls [/quote]

If you're still at the early practice stage, look for a combo with a headphone socket and if possible also a CD/Aux-in socket. Necesary for quiet home practice and domestic harmony.

Balcro

[fekalizatorius]

Hey Had a simmiliar problem when trying to find my first amp myself Too bad I had such a small budget I couldn't go ashdown, so I bought this piece of fail Hiwatt Definetly +1 for the Ashdown EB-180 - has ENOUGH sound for pratice (Damn better than my 10w amp + effect pedal preamp through an epicly bad, almost cardboardish sounding speaker). Not gonna suggest any other amps, just because nothing (Within this budget limit) can beat ashdown, especially when playing different genre music).
Cheers,
Fek.

[The Funk]

I've seen the Line 6 gigged. I'd recommend that one.

[Clockworkwar]

I got a great rig for all of £250 used gear is great.

[RussFM]

I once bought a 300w Trace Elliot head with 4x10 and 1x15 Peavey cabs for £300, there's plenty of bargains out there in the second hand market!