Help me pick a budget bass amp

  • Thread starter Thread starter thebigcheese
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thebigcheese said:
I just want some grit, which I think I said already. Even with the gain cranked all the way up I couldn't get any distortion, but maybe if I plugged it into the passive input? I dunno, that seems like it could be a bad idea with an active bass.

I was looking at the specs and the B200H says 200w @ 4 ohms, then it lists a couple Acoustic cabinets it could be matched with (B115 and B410), but both of those are 8 ohm cabinets. I thought the idea was to match impedance... am I missing something here?
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If you combine two 8 ohm cabs you get 4 ohms, which will be just fine for the Peavey considering it can dish out a 2 ohm load with no problem.

I don't suggest the Peavey if you want a crispy distortion though as it has no master, just gain controls which only make it louder and boomier with a bit of fuzz not actual distortion. I'd suggest one of those small GK or Ampeg heads with masters and gains and giant EQs and running a pedal into it.
 
look for a peavey megabass, they're from the 80-early 90's and run 400 watts into 4 ohms i believe. pretty decent distortion if you play with the gain/master volume. if you can find an old 2x15 or better yet a 1516 or 1820 you would be in business. just a warning, hit the gym if you are gonna get peavey gear. the stuff lasts forever but it could be used as a blunt weapon if you can lift it high enough:D
 
Yonce N Mild said:
My bro just bought a new bass and bass amp to use exactly like you want. He plays in a metal band and they play in drop C he's also after a similar tone.
He got the Acoustic 200 watt head with the 15 cab. It's loud enough too keep up with a couple of guitars and live drums during rehearsal. Nice thing about it is you can crank it and it doesn't distort.
I'm really impressed with it. Sounds awesome. It handles that open C like a champ.


They have a factory restock head at MF for $179. http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=482904V

It's about $250 brand new.


Go to you local GC and check one out.
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Does that one also seem to have a lot of hiss even when nothing is plugged into it? The guy at GC was trying to convince me that it was just because it had been a display model for a while and a new one wouldn't be like that, but if that was true, then a new one would get like that after I use it for a while. I really like the sound of the Acoustic stuff, just not the hiss.

To agree with Cephus, I had been running my J-Station into a PA speaker at home, which was fine for just me or for just practice, but after having played with real bass amps at GC, I can see how that would really not cut it at a gig. If the venue had a real sound system, then I would be fine, but otherwise I can see why I would need my own amp. Even the 15" speaker in my PA can't pump out bass like a proper amp and cab.
 
Roguetitan said:
that is the biggest load of BS.:rolleyes:
with sound reinforcement you don't even need an amp you can get by with a Sansamp Bass DI

How many times have dimed your 300 watt amp in order to be heard?
never I bet.
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So what happens when you turn up at the gig to find a vocal only PA system? How many times have you turned up at a gig with no foldback?

Also the idea of having the extra power is for a clean sound, My 300 watt rig is never on full and never distorts, if I had a 100 watt rig it would be running full all the time to be heard above the drum kit and Guitar amp.

Bands don't always play theatre gigs and arenas. Thebigcheese's band are starting out, the first gigs will be small and mid sized bars and some may have no PA at all.

Alan
 
thebigcheese said:
Does that one also seem to have a lot of hiss even when nothing is plugged into it? The guy at GC was trying to convince me that it was just because it had been a display model for a while and a new one wouldn't be like that, but if that was true, then a new one would get like that after I use it for a while. I really like the sound of the Acoustic stuff, just not the hiss.

To agree with Cephus, I had been running my J-Station into a PA speaker at home, which was fine for just me or for just practice, but after having played with real bass amps at GC, I can see how that would really not cut it at a gig. If the venue had a real sound system, then I would be fine, but otherwise I can see why I would need my own amp. Even the 15" speaker in my PA can't pump out bass like a proper amp and cab.
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No noticeable hiss even with the thing cranked. The first cab he got did have a loose horn switch that rattled pretty bad but GC replaced right away.
 
I played around with that one a bit at GC. The tweeter was a bit buzzy, but the floor models seem to do that there... Otherwise, it was a very nice amp, though it doesn't seem to pump out as much bass as the B200H/cab combo. It's probably essentially the same as getting a B200H w/ a B115 cab, though.

Too bad I already ordered the B200H. Oh well, it's more flexible this way. If anyone else is looking for a good deal, though, that combo is it. That is dirt cheap.
 
cephus said:
You're batshit.

Sound reinforcement?

If you want to get hired as a sideman, you should probably have a freaking amp.

"I don't need one. I have a sansamp."
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HA HA:D
now who is talking out of the side of their neck:laughings:
 
witzendoz said:
So what happens when you turn up at the gig to find a vocal only PA system? How many times have you turned up at a gig with no foldback?

Also the idea of having the extra power is for a clean sound, My 300 watt rig is never on full and never distorts, if I had a 100 watt rig it would be running full all the time to be heard above the drum kit and Guitar amp.

Bands don't always play theatre gigs and arenas. Thebigcheese's band are starting out, the first gigs will be small and mid sized bars and some may have no PA at all.

Alan
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HAha the only places around here with vox only PA systems are coffee shops and you for sure dont need a 300 watt bass amp for coffee shop gig's
and for the most part you don't need no fricken 300 watts to do small venues as mentioned before, no you will never dime a 300 watt amp in a small venue but might dime a 125 watt amp which will get you heard just like I was saying before and if the venue has a good sound reinforcement rig than no thanks I will Leave my Mesa Titan V12 in the trailer thank you very much
I have had this arguement numerous times and you dont have to make the audiences ears bleed to be heard.
now when you become an arena rocker then you might want to reconsider your choices of equipment but may I remind you how Geddy Lee does it
and it aint with no fricken Bass amp to be found anywhere on stage
instead it is 40 thousand watts of Racked power amps with the signal chain starting out through a Sans amp bass driver DI into the console out to the main subs.... nope no bass amp to be found no where... guess what lots of the other big bands do it the same way :p
 
There are a lot of bars around here to play at, a great many of which don't seem to have much in the way of a PA system, so while I certainly don't need 300 watts, I do need something more than a Sansamp. Though I will probably get one of those at some point, too. My goal for now is to borrow cabs whenever I need them and just use my head with that.
 
thebigcheese said:
There are a lot of bars around here to play at, a great many of which don't seem to have much in the way of a PA system, so while I certainly don't need 300 watts, I do need something more than a Sansamp. Though I will probably get one of those at some point, too. My goal for now is to borrow cabs whenever I need them and just use my head with that.
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Dude I think I was the first person to suggest to you to either go to a pawn shop to find something in the way of a used amp or if you did not want to go that route that Musicians friend had a brat pack which a kid in my sons hard core screamo band has and it is plenty loud enough to gig with
you can take my advice or take it with a grain of salt I was just trying to give you some pretty sound advice for the range of your budget I also mentioned IIRC that you can sdd a couple of hun to that and get a 600 watt Kustom Groove that will rattle the walls at pretty much any venue. and you can add extention cabs

the bottom line that I am trying to get across is regardless of what you decide to buy you do want to make sure that the amp does have a XLR direct out so you are covered when you are playing in a venue to which requires a little more sound coverage than what your amp is capable of putting out. if you are playing at bars that has no PA system then your rehearsal volume is going to suffice pretty much and 125 watt amp will cover that very well.

and yes do buy a sansamp bass driver DI but you need an amp before you need a DI OTOH if you have an amp that has a XLR direct out then you do have an active DI.
another point I was trying to make is that these fuckers who come up in here and tell people that they need at least 300 watt amp to gig with is simply a big pile of horse shit.
 
thebigcheese said:
I'm looking for something that I can find under $300 (used is fine). I've been using a J-Station amp modeler to record, but I might start gigging soon, so it might be nice to have an actual amp. The J-Station also doesn't have very good overdrive tones. It doesn't seem to tough to find an amp that has a good clean sound (the 100w Acoustic amp at GC sounds nice, though it might not be enough power), but I'm having trouble finding one that distorts nicely. It needs to have enough power to be heard over half stacks and drums (metal band), so I'm guessing 200w would be nice. In terms of sound, I'd like it to distort nice, like Tool or A Perfect Circle (Thirteenth Step) or especially Lamb of God. A lot of them seem to use the Mesa 400+, but I don't have that kind of money. A lot of people also seem to use the Gallien Krueger, but I haven't had much chance to check those out. Someone near me is selling a Backline 600, so I was going to check that out. I'd like to either have a combo or a head with a direct out so I can use it for recording or running it to the PA system. I realize it's not nearly as cool as having a big stack, but I am extremely short on funds ($300 is really stretching it; $200 is more like it).

The band I would be using it with drops down to C, so the amp needs to handle low tunings well (I've read that can be an issue, so I thought I'd mention it).
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the sound you are going for is VERY expensive. (tool/perfect circle) mesa 400+ amps are 2grand a piece and if you want the pre amp (pearce BC1 -- i think paul d'amour from tool used it... as well as billy sheen and megadeth) look out! they've not been built since the 80's so they're probably a pretty penny as well! then you need the speaker cabs, etc... ---and who knows which compressors they recorded through and which FX they had running in the studio?!)

so yea... i think you should look into saving your money or hit up pawn shops for anything with at least 3 - 4 hundred watts. distortion wise; look into the sansamps or the MXR distortion pedal. (the yellow one)... i think it works great with bass while compressing the tone as well.

IMO: i don't think you should count on the amps 'natural' overdrive sound to rely on for distortion... that could be different (and frustrating) every time you play as the settings/gain will be different. look for a clean amp and dirty it up after the fact... (but that's my opinion)... the distorted basses you're hearing on the albums you mentioned are through 500 to 1000watt amps... the amps can handle the sound/volume... i'm pretty sure it's the pedals/FX they're using that are crunching up the tone.

besides the list you put up, also check out SWR... i think those sound great for rock/metal music.

s
 
I have an SWR model on my J-Station and it is by far my favorite on there. I did a little more looking into the sounds of the bassists and almost all of them have a Sansamp in there, so I'm fairly confident that you are right about the distortion being from that rather than the amp. I went with the Acoustic B200H because I loved how it sounds. I played just about every amp at GC, even the expensive Ampegs, and the Acoustic was still my favorite. I was a little in shock when I saw how cheap it was, but if it sounds good, who cares, right? 200w should be enough to handle places without PAs (according to Roguetitan), and it does have XLR out, so it's adaptable. Could probably use it for recording, though I might stick with the J-Station for now. Anyway, thanks for the advice everyone.
 
you lucky bastard!

i don't know the model i used, but i used to use an acoustic head when i played in grade 12 and just after... then i got my gallien krueger rig... the acoustic was borrowed from my friends dad. i wish i could still use that head. it was one bad ass mofo...

EDIT: i just read back... is it a 70's amp used/or does that company still make new ones? (i know not of guitar center as i am canadian) i may have just blown my load on the thought of that awesome amp i used to use. the thing you played could be totally something different. either way, get it if you dig it!

my only point on my earlier post is, you can't make a marshall sound like a fender... but both are good and have their place.

s
 
thebigcheese said:
Yes, they are still making new amps! They are awesome. I dunno if you guys have Guitar Center up there, but you can also order it from Musician's Friend. The factory refurbished ones are on sale right now for cheap. There's a link earlier in the post, but here it is again:
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=482904V
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http://backstreetmusicshop.com/medi...19eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/f/i/file_6_24.jpg

i think this is the bad boy i used to play through... (i think... it's been a long time and this is the closest thing i could find for a picture).

oh... those were some fat ass tones.

overall, i think you'd be pretty pleased with this brand... especially if you're looking for that 'raw' tone. they're very ball-zie... (but again, i'm only going by the one i played that was built in the 70's...) so yea...

just looked on ebay... here's one for 200 (if that's what you get it for, i don't know...) but it's 300 watts... worth checkin out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-ACOUSTI...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a6a0b8ff

s
 
Just wanna add this one note: The buzz and hiss from the amps you tested at Guitar Center was more than likely from the fluorescent lights they use.

And for recording with the Acoustic amp you got, I'd suggest not using the XLR out, but just micing the amp instead, it will sound a lot fuller and a more real. (In my opinion anyway).
 
I have a Behringer KX1200, they don't make them anymore, here's a pic:
http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/qu...s/kx1200-19aa00383374f95e0b8418966caaa320.jpg
They sold for around $200 and have a 15", horn and something like a 4" midrange. The mid really helps the sound to not get lost. I play drums and keys and use it to play my keys through, and I've used it for electric drums. I ended up making a homemade cabinet for it.

A few times a bass player friend of mine used it at gigs and he really liked it. The requirements for keyboard amps and speakers is about the broadest of all gigging instruments. It's kind of a heavy pig but it's a very useful tool. It's made cheap but I've had mine 3 years or so and no problems. The Tolex type covering is cheap and tears really easily. It's got 4 channels and an XLR in, plus RCA's, everything except FX.
 
Walt-Dogg said:
Just wanna add this one note: The buzz and hiss from the amps you tested at Guitar Center was more than likely from the fluorescent lights they use.

And for recording with the Acoustic amp you got, I'd suggest not using the XLR out, but just micing the amp instead, it will sound a lot fuller and a more real. (In my opinion anyway).
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just my opinion:

i've always had better luck using the XLR out DI for recording the type of music i play.

but yea... if people get the sound they want from mic'ing the amp, good stuff! my only reason is, i've never been able to mic bass properly and always find that i lose the depth and thickness of the signal with a mic. of course, i could just be mic'ing it completely wrong and insufficiently. i'm sure both can be done well. i just know what has worked for me. try both and see which one you like... that's the great part about doing all this at home... you can try both and do whatever you want and decide which one you like better!

however, when you play live you can just plug the PA straight into the DI on the amp which is nice... even though a groovy part of playing bass live is having the little DI box on top of your amp!

anyways... hope all this info was helpful... it's great to see everyone's views.

s
 
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