Recommend a bass amp

F

Freddy

New member
I have no experience of bass guitars, but I bought a bass (Yamaha TRB) for my son yesterday and have just been DIing it so far through a Yamaha Magicstomp that I had anyway.

For recording, I'm thinking I'll get a Sansamp Bass DI.

However, I'm assuming that he will be better off with an amp as he learns to play. Any recommendations on a decent, reasonably priced practice amp? Or is DI fine for bass?
 
your son will benefit from having an amp, I have three sons aand all play music out now...my bass player son uses a Ampeg Pro6 w/4-10 cab, 2 grand rig, but he started ona cheaper practice amp. The bass player in our band uses a Beringer head w/4-10 cab thast costs $300 bux, he's been playing for 40 years and has other amps at home, but uses the Berry (dunno why) it sounds okay to me...you can get a good buy, check out the amps, your kid really does need one to develop his playing style.
 
You have to consider all angles - will he end up playing bass? Will he end up opting for guitar etc?
Get something 2nd hand from a music shop that you can plug his bass into and get a sound from.
Me, I bought an 80w Clubman with a 200w Etone box 1st. After a few years & some money I bought a Marshall Superbass MkII - now I have an attenuator as the superbass' 100W is too loud for almost anything & needs heaps of that loudness to get tone from the tubes - hence the attenuator (Tubecube).
I kept the Clubman so that I now have a moderately loud s/stae amp, a very loud tube amp & a way of getting the sound I want fro the loud one without the loud.
Just don't let him use a stomp box or amp sim with h/phones......
 
After 35 years of bass playing I still haven't found anything that sounds better to me than my 70s era Acoustic 370 through an Ampeg SVT-50DL cab. I used to own 2 Acoustic 301 cabs, wish I still did.

I've also played electric and acoustic guitar through it, with appropriate outboard pre-amping...

I agree with the 2nd hand option.

There are lots of new rigs out there with all manner of bell and whistle, but give me a basic boomer with plenty of power and I'm perfectly happy. The Acoustic is LOUD and clean and as punchy as anything you'd find new today, and pawnshops almost always have one lying around, for a lot less than new.

Just don't buy an amp without playing YOUR bass through it first.

Eric
 
Follow-up

Freddy--did you end up getting a practice amp for your bass-playing son?

I'm in a similar situation--I need a bass amp for practicing at home, something that is fine for playing in my bedroom. I'm not a bass player, really, and I have guitar amps, but they don't sound good with a bass plugged into them.

I was looking at a Peavey Max 158 at a local pawn shop (about 50USD, with a cord thrown in, too). Seems like it might be OK, but I know little about things bass-y, so who knows.

Anyone have any experience with this Peavey Max 158? Thanks...
 
Ashdown makes really nice small amps that work for practice and small to medium gigs. I have a MAG300 combo with two tens, and I really like it. It doesn't quite have the "round sound" that my SVT gets, but I can carry it easily and it fits on the back seat of my car. It has 300 watts of power, 5 band EQ, master volume, and built in DI. I don't remember how much it cost, but it was pretty inexpensive.

Heres another place to ask your question:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=14&f=15
 
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