Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Make it loud here.
User avatar
StevenO
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 17768
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:06 pm

Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by StevenO » Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:27 am

Anyone know of any? I don't want anything too complicated, just minimal controls like volume, maybe gain, and treble, mid, bass. I want it light weight and with a bit of volume to play a small gig or practice. I was considering one of those cheap Fender Blackface looking Rumble amps or even an SVT Micro CL, but not thinking they're the best quality or bang for the buck.

So what's out there?

User avatar
parry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8509
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:08 am
Location: Ontario, CANADA
Contact:

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by parry » Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:29 am

Showman head and _____ cab? :whistle:
Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity.

User avatar
MechaBulletBill
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2813
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 8:16 am
Location: UK

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by MechaBulletBill » Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:32 am

Rumbles are perfectly serviceable ime.

User avatar
StevenO
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 17768
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:06 pm

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by StevenO » Mon Dec 12, 2016 8:41 am

parry wrote:Showman head and _____ cab?
I guess... I don't know. Not really digging that amp for bass. I'm thinking I need something more bass-specific. *shrug* Also head and cab is a bit cumbersome. I'm almost looking for the Bass Amp equivalent of a Princeton Reverb. Grab and go!

User avatar
StevenO
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 17768
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:06 pm

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by StevenO » Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:17 am

MechaBulletBill wrote:Rumbles are perfectly serviceable ime.
Might just go and buy one of these:

https://www.long-mcquade.com/26569/Guit ... Amp_V3.htm

:derp:

User avatar
parry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8509
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:08 am
Location: Ontario, CANADA
Contact:

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by parry » Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:16 am

StevenO wrote:
parry wrote:Showman head and _____ cab?
I guess... I don't know. Not really digging that amp for bass. I'm thinking I need something more bass-specific. *shrug* Also head and cab is a bit cumbersome. I'm almost looking for the Bass Amp equivalent of a Princeton Reverb. Grab and go!

I know. I'm just goofin ;)
I've seen those (your link) and wondered, too.
This one is $70 and near-ish you: http://www.kijiji.ca/v-amp-pedal/city-o ... nFlag=true
Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity.

User avatar
Larsongs
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2414
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:39 pm

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by Larsongs » Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:56 am

Our Bass Player got one of the new Fender Rumble Amps & it weighs nothing & sounds great.

User avatar
beauzooka
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 789
Joined: Thu May 23, 2013 2:02 pm
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by beauzooka » Mon Dec 12, 2016 12:34 pm

Since you are up in Traynor-land you should give those a look. Vintage or new are pretty good, but the vintage ones are heavy of course. But I bet an old YBA-1 or 1A would sound killer as a bass head.

User avatar
brucer
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 344
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:18 pm
Location: Just below the middle of BC, Canada

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by brucer » Mon Dec 12, 2016 1:17 pm

StevenO wrote:
MechaBulletBill wrote:Rumbles are perfectly serviceable ime.
Might just go and buy one of these:

https://www.long-mcquade.com/26569/Guit ... Amp_V3.htm
I tried out the Fender Rumbles when I was looking for a bass amp. I thought they were quite good and they get a lot of positive chat on TalkBass. The bass player in my garage band normally runs a Fender B-DEC 30 though and it has to be run through the PA to be heard. Playing out he also needs a separate monitor to hear himself (or borrow my amp). So, all that said, if you go Rumble maybe look at the 40 (https://www.long-mcquade.com/26571/Guit ... Amp_V3.htm) with its XLR line out?

FYI: for my own use, I ended up trading in a guitar amp at L&M for a Traynor small block 500 head (https://www.long-mcquade.com/25511/Guit ... o_Head.htm) and paired it with a Fender Rumble 112 cabinet. Fits all my needs. Definitely recommended, but not cheap ... until after the trade-in.
Blank.

User avatar
StevenO
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 17768
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:06 pm

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by StevenO » Mon Dec 12, 2016 2:39 pm

parry wrote:
StevenO wrote:
parry wrote:Showman head and _____ cab?
I guess... I don't know. Not really digging that amp for bass. I'm thinking I need something more bass-specific. *shrug* Also head and cab is a bit cumbersome. I'm almost looking for the Bass Amp equivalent of a Princeton Reverb. Grab and go!

I know. I'm just goofin
I've seen those (your link) and wondered, too.
This one is $70 and near-ish you: http://www.kijiji.ca/v-amp-pedal/city-o ... nFlag=true
:)

That's the smaller one. I was actually surprised at how bad it sounded when I tried one out the other day. They're around 90 new, I think. I figure $140 for the bigger model isn't too bad. AND with those nice 30 day return policies... :shifty:

User avatar
parry
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8509
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:08 am
Location: Ontario, CANADA
Contact:

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by parry » Mon Dec 12, 2016 4:26 pm

I figured you might want to enjoy that safety. Who wouldn't?!
Interesting about the differences. I might not have picked up on that - thanks for pointing that out!
Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity.

User avatar
tdbajus
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1057
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:09 am
Location: Back in Brooklyn
Contact:

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by tdbajus » Mon Dec 12, 2016 6:42 pm

I have been super impressed with those teeny Ampeg stacks: I haven't seen one out of the store, but the couple of times I have tried them out, I thought they were swell.

User avatar
StevenO
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 17768
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:06 pm

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by StevenO » Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:09 pm

beauzooka wrote:Since you are up in Traynor-land you should give those a look. Vintage or new are pretty good, but the vintage ones are heavy of course. But I bet an old YBA-1 or 1A would sound killer as a bass head.
I wish they were more plentiful. They still come up often, but they're expensive now. Mind you, expensive in this sense is $600. :/

User avatar
borntohang
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 187
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:15 am
Location: The North, The North
Contact:

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by borntohang » Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:32 am

Bass wattage is cheap as chips these days - you can get a couple of hundred Class D watts for about the same price as the power rating... The Rumble combos are pretty legit. The last bass player I worked with used one of the 115 combos and it weighed next to nothing and sounded great.

User avatar
mackerelmint
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 13674
Joined: Sun May 05, 2013 9:51 pm
Location: トイレ国、ウンチ市

Re: Cheap But Decent Bass Amps?

Post by mackerelmint » Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:51 am

If there's a Fender sidekick available, it's a great choice. I used mine for 10 years with nary a hiccup.
This is an excellent rectangle

Post Reply