Help! Best amp solution for a small studio

[lucamusic]

Hi all

i am a producer looking to get a small amp for a small studio (5 x 4 meters) 

its decently treated . Im a guitarist (sorry:) but i like to have a real amp to to practice with / play some linea while arranging and possibly record through it. Loudness is not necessarily a problem here but there is no nees to be too loud … it will always be just one person playing / no drums to compete with . Mostly do mainstream music , pop rock dance funk etc. 

budget would be around £500 happy with second hand . In fact i had a look online and so far ive found ampeg b100r , ampeg b200r, mark ass mini cmd 115, markbass 200w speaker (what preamp would i need) , acoustic 126 amp, mark bass alain caron super combok1 (this one streches to 800euros but probably over kill)
happy to go to a local shop also but i have zero experience on bass amps so please give me some advices. 
i have a p bass copy at the moment , looking to get a jazz too. 
thanks a lot!!!

[BassmanPaul]

Ampeg B15N is one of the best studio bass amps ever made.

[Dan Dare]

In the size of room you have and with the requirements - no drums to compete with, etc - you describe, 100W should be perfectly adequate unless you want to shake the walls. Just about any decent quality combo rated at 100W or more with a 10" or 12" speaker would be fine. If you plan to record through it, an onboard DI would be useful if you want to capture the sound of the amp itself (although an external DI box would work for this if the amp has a preamp out).

 

In your shoes, I'd visit a few local shops, try things out to find out what you like and then look for it second-hand.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

You may not need an amp. An emulator pedal or preamp with a number of presets direct to the board will be more versatile. One of the most prolific bass players of all time, James Jamerson, was always recorded direct at Motown. He had an Ampeg B-15, but that was only for monitoring.

Edited January 20 by Bill Fitzmaurice

[Jack]

In that situation I'd be keeping an eye out for an Ampeg B100R or a GK MBE. 

Edited January 21 by Jack

[SamIAm]

I would suggest looking at some of the PJB combos, very compact, neutral sound, some have DI out and they are built like proverbial brick outhouses.

 

Sam x

Edited January 21 by SamIAm

[BigRedX]

Is this for recording?

 

If so I wouldn't bother with an amp at all. A good pre-amp or channel strip, or even plug-in will be far more versatile.

[fretmeister]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

Is this for recording?

 

If so I wouldn't bother with an amp at all. A good pre-amp or channel strip, or even plug-in will be far more versatile.

 

 

This.

 

For my little recording set up I go straight into the interface. My interface is a Helix and sometimes I use that for the sounds but I always record a bare signal too so I can use other plugins or reamp etc.

 

Interface, Plugins and a pair of good monitors is all that is needed. I use a pair of Yamaha HS7 monitors and they are great.

[Japhet]

Fender Rumble 100 would hit the spot in my opinion. Lovely little amps.

[Skybone]

If it's for recording, then I would agree that a digital solution may be better and potentially more versatile in the studio environment. Assuming that there is already one digital solution for the guitar to use, then adding another would be a good idea, if the plan is to record multiple sources (be it bass or another guitar). Something like a Helix Stomp/Headrush GigBoard/Kemper Profile Player would be ideal, especially if you have access to one of their full blown siblings.

 

You could have a small practice amp kicking about as well.

 

Big amps and small live rooms don't always get the right sounds for the job.

[JoeEvans]

You could do a lot worse that a Trace Elliot Elf combo. For recording I find that I get batter sounds by recording clean and straight in, then using virtual amps within Logic. But for noodling by yourself, rehearsals and small gigs, the Elf is pretty perfect (allowing for personal taste obviously).

I say small gigs - I would personally take mine to any size gig, run a DI out to the PA and get whatever extra stage volume I might need from the monitors. I can't see the point of big backline.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I recently used the DI out from my Two Notes Le Bass preamp for a bit of recording work with a band. I engaged the cab sim that it offers, settled on a tone that I liked and just got in with it.

What came out the other end was most gratifying. 

I used my head/cab for monitoring on that occasion.

[Beedster]

As above the only reason to have an amp if you have a recording studio and are not recording live in the room is if you’re also going to gig. Otherwise into the desk with sims or at most spending the money on a decent preamp that you can run into the desk or into a PA beats an amp on nearly all fronts 👍