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Post subject: Maybe you guys can help me?


maxrossell
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Hey guys.

Due to recent developments that I won't go into because it'll bore you, I'm taking over on bass in my band.

Now, it's been some years (like eight or nine) since I played bass in a band. And last time I did, I was playing a Hohner fretless Jazz (nicest bass ever, I could kick myself into next year for selling it) into a Fender BXR100 solid state combo.

Okay, so here's my question:

Just how big does a bass amp need to get before it's loud enough to compete with a coupla 100w stacks and a mid-loud drummer? We're not playing particularly loud, either.

Now in the interim between last time I played bass, I've gotten older, and to be honest I've been through a number of wattage permutations with my guitar amps, ending up with all of 15 watts from my Orange head. On the other hand, I've very rarely stood in front of a bassist who was carring much less than 180w. Usually more like 300w.

In my dim recollection, the BXR100 (100w 1x15") did okay when competing with two 100w 1x12" combos and a fairly loud drummer, as in I had clarity and I could be felt and so on.

So what's the score? I'm not exactly dripping money, if I was I'd just get a 300w stack and turn it down, but I wanna know how little I can get away with, given that price increases according to wattage.

I'm talking solid state here, of course, I'm far from being able to swing valve stuff.

Cheers.

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There's no set rule for how much power you need, but I personally wouldn't go below 100w, and definitely at least a 15" speaker, as most 12" don't create enough bottom end unless you buy something really expensive. Sounds like you are playing rock or similar, so it's also determined by how loud your drummer is. If you have a decent enough PA system, you could use the backline amp as a monitor and let the PA do some of the work.

You could go into a music shop and try a 50w 1x12" combo and it would sound pretty loud on it's own. Trust me, it will get lost in a band situation.

In a nutshell, get the most power you can afford, as it'll give you more headroom and a cleaner sound.

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