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Recommendations and questions - first bass combo amp


Minininjarob
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Bought my first bass and borrowing a little Fender amp which is pretty useless and worn out so I need to get my own. 
 

I’ve tried Fender Rumbles, they seem good, a MarkBass I tried didn’t really float my boat but an Ashdown combo I tried (I don’t think it was a new one) sounded amazing but their new ones are different to the one I tried in a shop (must have been 2nd hand). 
 

Thing is I am not sure what size of amp to go for. The perfect sound for me would be Mike Dirnt (Greenday) - clean and sharp. 
I don’t want something massive but weight isn’t an issue really as I won’t be carrying it round many places. I want something with some kick that I could maybe use in a local gig but also ok at home. 

 

What sort of driver size should I be looking at? 12? 15? Amps? 
 

Bare minimum is XLR output and headphone/line in connections. 
 

I do know some electronics and have a friend who rents out back line equipment who can repair amps so 2nd hand doesn’t scare me but I don’t want to buy something unreliable. 
 

Any advice gladly received!!
 

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The larger Fender Rumble combos get a lot of love, but seeing as you loved the sound of the Ashdown I`d take a look at the Amps For Sale on here, one of the guys @FinnDave is selling a few at present. If looking for a gig-worthy combo I`d go for a 210 and 300watts as a minimum.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I went to PMT in Leeds - very helpful there - and tried out a few sub £400 combos. I found out the one I tried when I first went in was a very expensive Ashdown which might have explained why it sounded good but to be fair I was so excited with buying anything I was a bit blinded. 
I was underwhelmed with the Ampeg sound, just a bit unexiting really, and the volume on the one I tried wasn’t great despite a decent size driver. 
Tried an Ashdown Studio 12 and I wasn’t that impressed. It was ok but that was it. Also it was really hard to see where the level knobs were on them as they were so shiny. Weird I know but it bothered me. 
The staff said they were getting a lot back faulty too which is a shame. 
The Fender Rumble 40 was excellent, such a great open sound, punchy and clear. Controls were a joy to use too. 
So that’s what I would choose if the 2nd hand option doesn’t work out but I’d probably look for one 2nd hand as they are expensive new. 

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11 hours ago, Minininjarob said:

The staff said they were getting a lot back faulty too which is a shame. 

I am not sure it is a good idea to put third party comments on here about a manufacturer’s reliability. If you buy an Ashdown, and it goes wrong, that is fair game.

 

Remember that staff in a music shop have”skin in the game”. They may be on a on some sort of sales incentive to sell one manufacturer’s products of just have that inbuilt bias that we all have. 
 

Sorry for the rant and good luck with your search. 

 

 

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First of all Ashdown will offer you the best after sales in the business. You'll find plenty of tales here about them repairing amps bought second hand and sometimes not charging. They even come on BassChat from time to time. They don't have a particular problem with reliability and most bass gear is pretty reliable. You can buy Ashdown with confidence but choose your amp on how it sounds. If you like the sound then the amp is good. So much just depends upon taste.

 

Go for used, you are probably going to be trading up as we never find out perfect amp first time and circumstances change anyway. You may get all your money back when you trade or only lose a fraction of your purchase price. 

 

Unless space at home is an issue go for something gig-able. 2-300W and at least a single 12" driver or a 2x10. There isn't a hard and fast rule but most of these will be loud enough and a 'proper' amp is going to sound better than most practice amps even at practice amp volumes, but you found that out for yourself with the little Fender. 

Edited by Phil Starr
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1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

If you're in the Oxfordshire area, FinnDave is selling a 2x10 Ashdown combo at a reasonable price in the Market Place (no connection to me, so not trying to boost a pal's sale). It has a tweeter, so should do your required clean and sharp.


I had seen them but it’s a long way from me in Yorkshire. 

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