Bass Amplifier recommendations

throw_this_away · Post by **throw_this_away** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:02 am

Avatar Makes affordable cabs... but they suck a lot of wattage. I would not go the combo route as it limits you down the road. Get a used head... a 2x10 cab (or 1x15 or 1x12) to start with... and then add another cab to your stack over time as needed.

loendmaestro · Post by **loendmaestro** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:04 am

The Ampeg B100 is a great amp. Those Yorkville combos are great as well. Most bang for your buck.

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:52 am

I got my Genz-Benz GBE-115 combo for like $400 or so. It's AMAZING. Absolutely worth trying out if you find one.

gshadoan · Post by **gshadoan** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:54 am

I got my B2r for 300. Got an ampeg (older) 4X10 for 100. Replaced 1 10" SLS speaker for 67. Net 467.

learning_curve · Post by **learning_curve** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:49 pm

I have a GK Stack that is total overkill for the venues I am playing now. I dropped the band project to do an acoustic duo thing. We do play a some crazy stuff at the end of the night to blow off the dust. My guitarist partner is the most incredible Joe Satrioni Clone I have ever heard. So after the Zeppelin, Beatles, Tull & Pink Floyd stuff is done, we both put down the acoustics (I play Acoustic Guitar 6 & 12, Acoustic & Electric Bass, he plays Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Mandolin & Flute) and we plug in the Electric instruments! for a few! I use a Nice 100w Ecoustic Peavey Amp for the guitars and I Just bought a real Nice Carvin PB 200 Bass amp. This thing puts out 160W you'd swear it was much more. And it has a real solid 15" with this real cool high end tweeter that works well with the Acoustic bass and it rocks all I need for the Rickenbacker! Nice Buy at $375.00 New! Check it out! Easy to fit on stage and easy enough to carry. And Carvin has a good name for durability. I am not sure you will be happy with anything cheaper. I know I dropped a Beherringer Amp on the stage from less than 6" off the floor and it was total junk. Never worked right again. Took it to a tech and he told me to buy another Amp this one was not worth the fix. Peavey, Fender, and some of the other names mentioned may be worth a closer look. ! The cheap ones are just not very good for the bumps and knocks of real life music work. Just my take on what I have learned in my life so far?

Randy

murph · Post by **murph** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:54 pm

Thank you for all the replies so far.
Based on my immediate needs I've narrowed my choice to a combo. For the money it looks like Carvin and Yorkville will give the biggest bang for the buck.

No one has answered the 2x10 or 1x15 question. Any thoughts on which speakers would work best with a Ric?
Thanx
Murph

thinneckrick · Post by **thinneckrick** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:15 pm

You can hook an svt cab for between 350 and 500 depending on your luck . My 74 i paid 350 for it and it was in good shape with the original cones . The one before that was a newer one about three years old at the time and i won it on ebay for 500 .they are out there so just start looking.

jps · Post by **jps** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:23 pm

15s work great for me with my Ricks. Here is my rig with a 650 watt rms Walter Woods amp and two Traynor YS-15 cabinets, each with an Eminence Delta Pro 15.

zakb7 · Post by **zakb7** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:22 am

I got a new Eden N15s 1x15 combo w/ effects loop & DI for under 500 bucks. It sounds great, and I've used it to play smallish rooms with no trouble at all. The DI sounds great through a house PA and it's fairly light. The Eden folks are great about answering questions on their forum, too.

johnashfield · Post by **johnashfield** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:06 pm

I am loving my Ashdown Mag300 4x10.

Last night I played my c64s through it and we were playing very loud and the amp sounded great. Full, punchy, rich. It's a lot of amp for the price.

Me and some buddies played all ELO tunes, and we wore silly dresses. We called ourselves shE-L-O!

j_gary · Post by **j_gary** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 12:28 am

John, ah, you might want to wait til after the gig before you start drinking and posting.

I find it concerning that you wore a silly dress while playing a Rick. I always try to wear a lovely dress, color matched to the bass. You will get more winks and offers from the Fender followers.

I'm only asking for my P bass buddy, any photo's?

green_us90 · Post by **green_us90** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 4:20 pm

For practice and small venues, it's Ampeg B100R Rocket Bass combo all the way.

For larger joints-

http://www.fenderforum.com/userphotos/index.html?recid=25180

ricnbacker · Post by **ricnbacker** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 5:33 pm

ampeg b100r

$499

sublimate · Post by **sublimate** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 4:50 am

I HIGHLY recommend the SWR Workingman 2x10 combos that they're blowing out at MF before they're gone:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Bass/Amps?sku=482034
and elsewhere I'm sure (they're being replaced with the Workingpro line). They were $900 (list $1300) but they're clearing out the last of them for $499 - just under your budget.

It's pretty much all the amp most people would need. 280 watts by itself for small rooms and it'll pump out 400 watts with an external cab for larger rooms. For anything bigger it has the DI out to hook into the PA. It has an effects loop with wet/dry blend and also a tuner out. It also has an open rack space with is great for a rackmount tuner or a multi-effect unit.

But it makes a great practice amp too because, unlike most high power amps it has no fan so it's dead quiet and it has a headphone out and a speaker off switch and it's relatively compact. I pulled out the rear casters (they easily snap in and out) so it tilts back nicely for seated practice. And I plug my mp3 player into the effects loop return for practicing w/ music.

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 5:11 am

There's a pile of SWR stuff on ebay right now. You might be able to find something suitable. They're mostly the single speaker combos, but I think I saw a 2X10 combo as well.
Might still be available. I'll post a link if I can find it.