Bass amps: what do you use ?

Julien

hey there,

i'm looking for a new bass amp (more than 150 watts). i'm now using a hartke A70 and it's great but it's not powerful enough with a band...

I'm looking at ashdown, ahrtke, amperg, etc...

What do you guys use ? Something you recommedn me ? Something I should avoid ?

Thanks,
Julien

All Those Yesterdays

More than 150 watts solid state?

I've played 100 watt bassman heads (all tube, obviously) and they hold there own. Ampeg used to make a 100 watt tube head, V-4BH, that holds it's own too. You can still get these easily on ebay.

Obviously Ampeg's SVT (300 watt) sounds great. My problem with ampeg these days is it's all made in vietnam, but the price never changed.

A friend of mine just bought Peavey's 225 watt V-B2 all tube head on saturday. And that sounded suprising good for the cost. Had some good tone going.

So there are a few to take a look at.

Mike_Muse_Rage

The bassist in my band uses an Ashdown MAG300, sounds pretty damn sweet to me, and takes pedals really well.

Julien

Mike_Muse_Rage wrote:

The bassist in my band uses an Ashdown MAG300, sounds pretty damn sweet to me, and takes pedals really well.

do you know which MAG 300 ? i'm looking at those and it seems great for the price.
They have different model (1x15 speaker, 2 or 4 x10 speakers, etc.):
http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/section.asp?section=mag
can you recognise the one he uses ?

Julien

All Those Yesterdays wrote:

More than 150 watts solid state?

I've played 100 watt bassman heads (all tube, obviously) and they hold there own. Ampeg used to make a 100 watt tube head, V-4BH, that holds it's own too. You can still get these easily on ebay.

Obviously Ampeg's SVT (300 watt) sounds great. My problem with ampeg these days is it's all made in vietnam, but the price never changed.

A friend of mine just bought Peavey's 225 watt V-B2 all tube head on saturday. And that sounded suprising good for the cost. Had some good tone going.

So there are a few to take a look at.

thanks.
Ampeg looks great and sound great but it ssems taht ashdown is as good as ampeg, and it's cheaper. Never been a fan of peavey.
Thansk !

Mike_Muse_Rage

Julien wrote:

do you know which MAG 300 ? i'm looking at those and it seems great for the price.
They have different model (1x15 speaker, 2 or 4 x10 speakers, etc.):
http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/section.asp?section=mag
can you recognise the one he uses ?

It's the 4x10 combo. They really do sound superb, great for the money.

Julien

Mike_Muse_Rage wrote:

It's the 4x10 combo. They really do sound superb, great for the money.

thanks !

xtremehardy388

I got a Peavey TNT 130 with a black Widow. Loud as HELL. Our bassist uses a Peavey Mark III which is also VERY loud

Julien

xtremehardy388 wrote:

I got a Peavey TNT 130 with a black Widow. Loud as HELL. Our bassist uses a Peavey Mark III which is also VERY loud

loud and good sound or just loud ?


I could buy a 500 watts berhinger for peanuts but I want a good sound.

blacknapkins

I don't play, but I research the equipment my daughter buys. She got Line 6 LowDown LD150 Combo Bass Amp in February and is holding her own with her bandmates who have half-stacks. It sounds great, and they all like the effects. It has more than enough volume for a smallish room. Some reviews at musician's friend complain about the weight, but we haven't had a problem with that.

Julien

blacknapkins wrote:

I don't play, but I research the equipment my daughter buys. She got Line 6 LowDown LD150 Combo Bass Amp in February and is holding her own with her bandmates who have half-stacks. It sounds great, and they all like the effects. It has more than enough volume for a smallish room. Some reviews at musician's friend complain about the weight, but we haven't had a problem with that.

thanks. i'll have a look at line 6.
I often read complaints about the weight of many amps... the best brand for that is mark bass: they do a 400 watts amp that is only 13kg ! (edit: of course this is too expensive for my budget)

ianvomsaal

If you're playing bass in a band you'll probably want something with enough power so you can actually hear yourself (not be drowned out).
Remember that what may sound very loud to you in a relatively quiet room can become lackluster or prosaic with a full band rocking hard.
Remember that "Tube Watts" are aprox 2 to 3X louder than solid state, so if you got something like a SVT-CL Classic (300W) you'd be
rocking. I've played with a ton of pro bassists over the years, and they all seem to like different setups depending on the situation.

One of my bassists used an Ampeg SVT-4PRO with a 4X10 top and a single 15" bottom (a very decent sounding rig that cut fairly well).
He also used an Ampeg SVT-6PRO for a while, and had very similar results. The 4 was like 1,200W while the 6 was like 1,100W (into 4 ohms).

Another bassist I played with liked SWR stuff - he used either an SWR SM-900, 750X, or WorkingPro 700 depending on the band situation.

For quite a while I worked with a guy that only used tube amps - he switch between an Eden VT300B and a Mesa Boogie Bass 400+.
He finally broadened his horizons a bit and started using other Mesa Boogie Amps, switching between a Big Block 750 and an M-Pulse 600.

The current bassist I'm working with is using an Aguilar DB 750 (it's a fairly loud alternative rock band, and the Aguilar cuts quite well).

Bottom line, I'd recommend nothing short of 600 Watts solid state (playing with a full band) - otherwise you'll get drowned out.

- Ian

Julien

ianvomsaal wrote:

If you're playing bass in a band you'll probably want something with enough power so you can actually hear yourself (not be drowned out).
Remember that what may sound very loud to you in a relatively quiet room can become lackluster or prosaic with a full band rocking hard.
Remember that "Tube Watts" are aprox 2 to 3X louder than solid state, so if you got something like a SVT-CL Classic (300W) you'd be
rocking. I've played with a ton of pro bassists over the years, and they all seem to like different setups depending on the situation.

One of my bassists used an Ampeg SVT-4PRO with a 4X10 top and a single 15" bottom (a very decent sounding rig that cut fairly well).
He also used an Ampeg SVT-6PRO for a while, and had very similar results. The 4 was like 1,200W while the 6 was like 1,100W (into 4 ohms).

Another bassist I played with liked SWR stuff - he used either an SWR SM-900, 750X, or WorkingPro 700 depending on the band situation.

For quite a while I worked with a guy that only used tube amps - he switch between an Eden VT300B and a Mesa Boogie Bass 400+.
He finally broadened his horizons a bit and started using other Mesa Boogie Amps, switching between a Big Block 750 and an M-Pulse 600.

The current bassist I'm working with is using an Aguilar DB 750 (it's a fairly loud alternative rock band, and the Aguilar cuts quite well).

Bottom line, I'd recommend nothing short of 600 Watts solid state (playing with a full band) - otherwise you'll get drowned out.

- Ian

thanks !
But the amps you recommend me are out of my budget.. I'd like a mesa boogie, clearly, but it's too much for my budget. Maybe once, if the band I play with is worth the investment.

ianvomsaal

Julien wrote:

thanks !
But the amps you recommend me are out of my budget.. I'd like a mesa boogie, clearly, but it's too much for my budget. Maybe once, if the band I play with is worth the investment.

Look at the SWR Working Pro 700 - You can get one of those for like $799 new.
As I said, "I'd recommend nothing short of 600 Watts solid state - otherwise you'll get drowned out.

Pacomc79

This is my favorite Ampeg cabinet the 4x10HLF (front ported)

Matching it up with a 15 gives you the rumble as well. but the HLF is a very loud cab.


is your price range what under 800?

All Those Yesterdays

Pacomc79 wrote:

This is my favorite Ampeg cabinet the 4x10HLF (front ported)

Matching it up with a 15 gives you the rumble as well. but the HLF is a very loud cab.


is your price range what under 800?

I currently own a B-4x10HLF cabinet that I own. It's descent. Then I heard a SVT 4x10HLF, and was blown away. 28 hertz, and you won't have to worry about a 15 to go with it.

http://ampeg.com/products/classic/svt410hlf/index.html

xtremehardy388

Julien wrote:

loud and good sound or just loud ?


I could buy a 500 watts berhinger for peanuts but I want a good sound.

Spectacular sound!!!