Top 3 bass amps in your opinion

[joel406]

The GK MB800 (not fusion). Just sounded great through 10s.

 

Mesa Subway D-800+. Best tones anywhere. Having a HPF and mid volume control makes this a true Swiss army knife. Power to spare with 2 ohm capability.

 

Epifani UL901 v2. Off the shelve models will bring a smile to any bassist pie hole. That being said. 1000 watts. More clean tones than I knew there actually were. Still easy to get the bite. Through Subway cabs or Epifani cabs the results seem the same. Frank Epifani custom made 2 for a player you may (or may not) have heard of. Stanley Clark. Both with a custom tone stack. And the only 2 rated to go to 2 ohms. I was lucky enough to fall backwards into one of them as it was being tested by a friend of mine. Who let me borrow it to give my opinion. I replied with "name your price". He did, I paid.

 

While I foolishly let go of the MB800 I once owned. I now have just 3 heads. 2 Subway D-800+. And my Epifani. All run through Subway cabs. I keep a pair of 212s and a pair of 410s. 

 

Performances these days are ampless. 8 driver IEMs and the Quadcortex make all my amps useless. But I hold on to them. Just in case.

[Ed_S]

Interesting question, because I was about to say...

 

[Ashdown ABM1000]

Because it's just the most hard-hitting clean amp I've ever owned. It fires notes like bullets and never seems to run out of power.

[Orange Terror Bass 500 - original model]

Because it has nearly as much on tap as the ABM1000 but with some power and control traded for bark and aggression.

[GK MB200]

Because with everything at noon it captures one of 'the sounds in my head' - it's just the perfect rock tone with a Precision.

 

But then you specified "for gigging", and that's a different trio because the ABM is overkill, the original OTB is unreliable and the MB lacks power, so...

 

[Markbass Nano Mark 2 - or Nano 300]

Because it's light, loud, and with everything at noon it has that characteristic Markbass sound which I find works really well live to cut through and be heard.

[Hartke HA5500 - or HA3500]

Because it's just so easy to get a useable sound from no matter where or what you're playing, and it's a loud, reliable workhorse of an amp.

[Fender Rumble 500 v3 - Combo]

Because the 2x10 combo is a light, loud and great-sounding "put it down, plug it in and play it" rig, which can be an invaluable thing to have at a gig.

 

But in all honesty, the answer is actually a Sansamp Bass Driver DI v2 sent to the PA in one direction and any amp you didn't have to cart there yourself in the other.

[chris_b]

8 hours ago, joel406 said:

Mesa Subway D-800+. Best tones anywhere. Having a HPF and mid volume control makes this a true Swiss army knife. Power to spare with 2 ohm capability.

 

 

The HPF is a very handy option. I don't know why it isn't installed on more amps.

[ern500evo]

Aguilar DB750

EBS TD650

GK Fusion 550

I’ve owned a TD, currently own the GK, and got the opportunity to play through the DB at a multi band gig. All fantastic amps 

[MrDinsdale]

I’ll be honest I forgot about the “for gigging” part of the question, the Marshall VBA400 doesn’t don’t the criteria as it’s around 40kg.

 

The Handbox WB100 I have delivers about 95% of what I loved about the VBA400 at a much more manageable 15kg so I guess I’d have to swap them out. 

[Raslee]

Favourite 

Eden WT550 - Loud, 2ohm flexibility, great eq, phat warm defined tone.

 

Second - Orange Terror Bass - Not the best Eq but loud, great core tone and brilliant customer service

 

And my new kid on the block, Tecamp Puma 900 - just brilliant pure tone, loud and stylish. Loving this amp and enjoyed gigging it recently. 

 

[snorkie635]

Aguilar Tone Hammer 700

 

Aguilar 751

 

Marshall Super Bass 100

 

 

Owned and gigged them all. Each one was wonderful in my view

[bassman7755]

On 25/05/2024 at 22:27, paul_5 said:

amp SVP-Pro - needs a power amp, but still great sounding piece of kit, like a real Ampeg but with added 'drive' control for filth!

 

The tune tone control on the RH450 does much the same job - adds a grittiness through the whole dynamic range. I'm pretty sure thats what they modelled it from (having previously owned an SVP pro ...).

[maidens97]

So far for me i would say from amps I've owned;

 

1. Markbass Littlemark 3. Love the sound of Markbass stuff but not sold on the looks and reliability of them after having a few issues with mine from brand new.

2. Orange Terror Bass. I have only had it a couple of weeks but really loving the amp so far.

3. Ashdown CTM300. Loved this amp a lot paired with the matching 810 but found the EQ a little limiting for me personally at the time.

 

I did have a Fender Super Bassman briefly which I really liked but didn't get a chance to gig it or even band rehearse with it due to covid but that could've maybe been number 1.

[SimonK]

On 24/05/2024 at 17:29, BassAdder60 said:

Just for fun what are in your own opinion the top 3 bass amps for gigging and why ?

 

 

I was just about to start naming my top three (Ampeg SVT, Fender Bassman, Trace GP12) and then saw the "for gigging". For me the big difference is weight as the above three are back breaking and an arse to get to gigs. Hence mine are:

 

Genz Benz Shuttle 6

Aguilar TH500

Ashdown Retroglide 800

 

[msb]

My gigging rig has been constant for a while now.

Monique tube pre into a Bergantino Forte. Simply a beauty.

but for the others…

Mesa tt800

Aguilar TH 

I’m curious about Darkglass Microtubes and Trickfish.

and for the classics 

GenzBenz Streamliner 900

GK RB400

edit 

and for a versatile little practice amp

Darkglass Exxponent 

or the classic little GK MB200

 

Edited May 29 by msb

[binky_bass]

Marshall VBA400 

Mesa Boogie Strategy Eight:88

Epifani UL901

[BassmanPaul]

For me at the very top would be the Ampeg B15 series. My B15NF is a delight to play through.

 

[msb]

They’re surprisingly heavy to move around , and don’t carry much power , but they are beautiful sounding amps.
 

There are many tube preamps around today that mimic the B15. 

[BassmanPaul]

I really feel that the Octal 6SL7 double triode tubes have a special Mojo all of their own.

[Linus27]

Very surprised theres been no mention of any EBS amps.

[thodrik]

11 hours ago, Linus27 said:

Very surprised theres been no mention of any EBS amps.

There has!

 

On 27/05/2024 at 17:51, ern500evo said:

Aguilar DB750

EBS TD650

GK Fusion 550

I’ve owned a TD, currently own the GK, and got the opportunity to play through the DB at a multi band gig. All fantastic amps 

Also, EBS Fafner and Mesa Walkabout. 

Or anything that works and doesn't go on fire.

[msb]

The Sisma by Jad Freer is another I’m curious about.

[Pow_22]

All Tube SVT - if it wasnt for the weight id do EVERY gig with one

Mesa BB750 - When you want the all tube sound and feel but without the full weight

Ashdown Spyder - Best 'budget' amp around for fat clean valve tones

[LeftyJ]

I haven't owned or used that many amps, and rarely have GAS for another. I've been using the same EBS HD-350 and EBS Proline 4x10 for over 15 years now and I have no desire to get anything else (except maybe a Fafner). So I guess that's my contribution:

 

#1: EBS HD350. Very flexible, it can do glassy clean hifi sounds but is very much capable of some warmth and tube-like drive too (without actually using a tube). It's plenty loud through my 4x10 at 4 Ohms, I've never been able to turn it up past 11 o' clock without fellow bandmembers or sound engineers giving me dirty looks or yelling at me. It's got a useful and functional compressor/limiter that smoothly and subtly evens out unwanted peaks, despite having only a single control knob. 

 

That said, the best live tone I've ever had was:

 

#2: Ampeg SVT-II Pro + Ampeg SVT810. Gritty, punchy, and it needed almost no EQ'ing to sound the way I wanted it to. 

[Baloney Balderdash]

In no particular order:

 

Trace Elliot GP7SM (solid state amp)

 

Ampeg B-15S (the 1968 60W version of this legendary small tube amp)

 

Peavey Mark III (solid state amp)

 

All very different to each other though, and great for different reasons.

 

 

Honorable mention: Dynacord Bass-King (the original 50W first, all tubes, version, though the later Bass-King T hybrid  amp, with something as strange as a solid state preamp and a tube poweramp section, sounds great as well)

 

Edited June 4 by Baloney Balderdash

[thodrik]

On 30/05/2024 at 12:51, Pow_22 said:

All Tube SVT - if it wasnt for the weight id do EVERY gig with one

Mesa BB750 - When you want the all tube sound and feel but without the full weight

Ashdown Spyder - Best 'budget' amp around for fat clean valve tones

As an owner of BB750 I concur that it is an absolute beast.

[neepheid]

I always thought that Markbass were posh/fancy amps.  Threads like these make me think that they're actually "world's okayest bass amps"?

 

Well, my limited experience (having only owned five amps total) leaves me with:

 

Tecamp Puma 900 - wonderful amp, super powerful and super easy to dial in an agreeable tone

Markbass Mini CMD121P IV + New York 121 - my modular, go-to rig.  I run it flat (apart from a degree of Old School), it sounds great.

RedSub BT5110 + BFM Omni 10 - my rig for 10+ years, pokey sound, strong mids, great live rig.

[stewblack]

1) Ampeg SVT CL. It's not a sound it's an experience.

2) Trace Elliot Elf. Blows me away every single time. Ridiculously good amp in a tiny package.

3) Bugera Veyron BV1001M. Never, ever had a bad sound out of this. Volume to spare, fantastic tone.

 

I have many amps but these are at the top of my personal pile.

[bassbiscuits]

Quite a boring choice for me I’m afraid - based on the ones I can take everywhere easily, which are affordable, sound great and haven’t once let me down in 15 years of gigging - it’s a Markbass LM3. 
 

I’m digging my big wide-version Ashdown ABM500 head - however it is much larger and heavier than the MB and so for purely practical reasons has only made it to one gig with me so far. 
 

In terms of amps I don’t have to move by myself, Ampeg SVT  every time.