Old & cheap and suitable for bass?

Bridgehouse

I’m on the lookout for a low wattage small all valve head for bass - mostly for recording hence volume doesn’t matter too much.

Before I consider one of those pricey Ampeg jobs, can anyone think of an old one that I may be able to get hold of cheaply that would do the job?

ICBM

Almost any small valve amp and a bass cabinet. There's very little difference, if any, between low-powered amps designed for bass and ones for guitar.

Bridgehouse

ICBM said:

Almost any small valve amp and a bass cabinet. There's very little difference, if any, between low-powered amps designed for bass and ones for guitar.

Any particular ones that might do a better job than others? I’m looking for super simple - gain, tone, master. 

steamabacus

I've used an old Selmer Treble 'n' Bass for this in the past.

These days I have an old valve Hacker 'stereo hifi' extension speaker (probably 5 watts or less?) which I've modded with an external speaker socket and run into an old 1x15" cab. Very simple - on/volume, bass, treble - and sounds very warm and retro. For more flexibility I can run a small mixer into the Hacker's input.

The second pic was the bass players setup (believe it or not) for an ambient looping trio recording project a few years back.

ICBM

Bridgehouse said:

Any particular ones that might do a better job than others? I’m looking for super simple - gain, tone, master. 

Literally any old valve amp. You won't get a master volume, just volume and tone or treble and bass. The limiting factor for bass is the speaker, so just disconnect that - if it's a combo - and run it into a bass cab.

Bridgehouse

I shall start trawling the bay and see what pops up

jpfamps

One of the best bass amps for recording is the GEM Mars 30.

This is a flip-top amp, with solid state front end and valve power amp (2 x EL84s).

Might take a bit of searching for but, are cheap.

pintspiller

When I started recording demos on my four track about thirty years ago I just plugged the Line Out of my practise amp straight into the board. I think it was a Ross Fame 10. The bass parts sounded much better than the guitar parts.

JezWynd

Bridgehouse said:

ICBM said:

Almost any small valve amp and a bass cabinet. There's very little difference, if any, between low-powered amps designed for bass and ones for guitar.

Any particular ones that might do a better job than others? I’m looking for super simple - gain, tone, master. 

I used a Laney Cub 10 combo which worked fine for bass but I've upgraded to an Ampeg PF20T which has the useful ability to DI out to a desk or whatever without needing a cabinet attached. I've never tried using it in that scenario but apparently it works fine. The Laney has a simple Volume, Tone Gain setup and can use an external speaker. I fed it out to an Excelsior cabinet with a low wattage 15". Worked great for home use.

Bridgehouse

Great suggestions all - keep em coming!

JezWynd

If you are interested, I can do the Laney for 120 delivered. It's sat on the shelf unused since January.

Bridgehouse

JezWynd said:

If you are interested, I can do the Laney for 120 delivered. It's sat on the shelf unused since January.

If it was a head I’d be all over it - but I have a 15” cab for it to go on...

ICBM

jpfamps said:

One of the best bass amps for recording is the GEM Mars 30.

This is a flip-top amp, with solid state front end and valve power amp (2 x EL84s).

Might take a bit of searching for but, are cheap.

I had an old GEM combo once - a similar hybrid amp, with reverb and tremolo.

If you turned all the knobs up full it sounded exactly like the guitars on Ennio Morricone western soundtracks.

Bridgehouse

Thought I’d revisit this - found a shop doing the Ampeg PF-20T on special and bought one. Dunno when it’s going to arrive but I’ll let you know what I think - was cheap, and it’s a proper small wattage all valve bass head with transformer DI out...

DrBob

ICBM said

If you turned all the knobs up full it sounded exactly like the guitars on Ennio Morricone western soundtracks.

Rarely, has a description made me want a piece of guitar gear so badly ! 

ICBM

DrBob said:

Rarely, has a description made me want a piece of guitar gear so badly ! 

In that case, the model to look for is the Venus GR20. Unfortunately it seems much rarer than the non-reverb G20 version...

brooom

I'm selling a 65 amps apollo, which is based on an ampeg portaflex with a dash of SVT. Two 6L6s and rectification so about 45/50w, perfect recording amps for bass.  All handwired, and really high quality. Not sure if that's what you're looking for. And it's now quite cheap.

Bridgehouse

brooom said:

I'm selling a 65 amps apollo, which is based on an ampeg portaflex with a dash of SVT. Two 6L6s and rectification so about 45/50w, perfect recording amps for bass.  All handwired, and really high quality. Not sure if that's what you're looking for. And it's now quite cheap.

If I hadn’t just bought a PF20T... how cheap is cheap?

mart

Bridgehouse said:

brooom said:

I'm selling a 65 amps apollo, which is based on an ampeg portaflex with a dash of SVT. Two 6L6s and rectification so about 45/50w, perfect recording amps for bass.  All handwired, and really high quality. Not sure if that's what you're looking for. And it's now quite cheap.

If I hadn’t just bought a PF20T... how cheap is cheap?

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/126080/65-amps-apollo-cab-1966-deluxe-reverb-magic-amps-x-brit-vintage-marshall-jmp#latest

Bridgehouse

mart said:

Bridgehouse said:

brooom said:

I'm selling a 65 amps apollo, which is based on an ampeg portaflex with a dash of SVT. Two 6L6s and rectification so about 45/50w, perfect recording amps for bass.  All handwired, and really high quality. Not sure if that's what you're looking for. And it's now quite cheap.

If I hadn’t just bought a PF20T... how cheap is cheap?

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/126080/65-amps-apollo-cab-1966-deluxe-reverb-magic-amps-x-brit-vintage-marshall-jmp#latest

Looks lovely - it’s slightly more than I budgeted, and I’m glad I got the PF20T at £299 - but your 65 Apollo looks real tasty!

brooom

It's a great amp, I used to play bass a lot. I've stopped a bit, not sure why. I still love the idea of grabbing a precision and thumping down some simple bass lines.

The combination of 6L6s and 6sl7s octal preamps tubes with the baxandall tone circuit gives it an unmistakable ampeg sound. Thanks @mart for pasting the sale link.

@Bridgehouse enjoy the new amp.