Newbie bass amp

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TinLipTinLip Frets: 368
Having recently bought a Fender P-Bass I now need an amp. 

I've been looking at the Fender Rumble (v3) series - probably the 100w version. Looking for something I can plug my headphones into but also have it loud enough to play pub gigs. Mainly clean sounds with maybe a little fuzz.

Any suggestions?


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Comments

  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23948
    The Fender Rumble is Genz-Benz tech. It's good stuff.

    Not convinced 100W will be enough next to a drummer though.

    If I'm playing with a drummer I wouldn't be leaving the house with less than 300W
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  • Ampeg PF-350....350W and has a headphone out. And it's Ampeg, that's what basses should sound like!
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  • I'm selling my first gigging bass amp, and I'm in London: http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/5888/fs-ft-laney-linebacker-100-bass-head-marshall-4x10-bass-cab

    My advice is to buy a head and a cab, so you can chop and change if you need to, and because I've never found a bass combo that I could lift and could compete with a drummer.
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  • +1 for the ampeg! 
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  • TinLipTinLip Frets: 368
    Thanks @Shark_Eyes

    So far I have been looking for a combo - I don't know why I've had that in my head as I have a Marshall stack for my guitars. 

    Is there also the case (snobbery?) of tube vs solid state in the bass world? I suppose I could try a load and decide for myself but some objective opinions would be welcomed.


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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23948
    TinLip said:
    Thanks @Shark_Eyes

    So far I have been looking for a combo - I don't know why I've had that in my head as I have a Marshall stack for my guitars. 

    Is there also the case (snobbery?) of tube vs solid state in the bass world? I suppose I could try a load and decide for myself but some objective opinions would be welcomed.

    There are very few all valve amps in the bass world anymore.

    Ashdown have a couple, Mesa have the amazing Prodigy and Strategy heads and the one thing they have in common is that you won't get any change from £2000 (or more), and £300 at tube change time.

    There are however loads of heads with Valve preamps and solid state poweramps

    The traditional ones have big old transformers and can weigh loads, but still less than an all valve amp.

    The new lightweight ones have Class D power amps and there are loads of options under 10lb in weight - some are half that!! Most bass amp makers use the same Class D power module and then design their preamp to the sound they want. Demeter make their own poweramp from scratch though.

    The Fender Rumble you mentioned is actually a rip off of the Genz Streamliner head. Fender bought the Genz-Benz company to get the tech. I'm a huge fan of Genz and I have the Streamliner 900 and Shuttle 9.2 model heads


    HOWEVER....

    There are also some valve preamp / SS poweramp heads that don't sound at all like a valve amp, and then there are completely solid state amps that actually sound like they have a valve in them. The Genz Shuttle series has a valve and doesn't sound like it - it's super clean and articulate. The Mark Bass Little Mark is all solid state and has a lovely round valve type sound.

    The Ampeg mentioned is a fine sounding amp IF you want every bass you ever play to sound like an Ampeg. There have also been many threads on Talkbass and Basschat about their reliability. That might be fixed now, but I don't know.

    So really - you need to try some out and use your ears!

    Do you have an idea of budget?
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  • TinLipTinLip Frets: 368
    It really is a different world out in 4 string world (or 5 I suppose...)

    Looking up to about £600ish for a 2nd hand rig. I am tending towards a cleaner sound and have Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam's sound in my head. He uses Ampeg SVT's which are like hen's teeth and slightly out of my budget too.


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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23948
    Good amp (not used one myself - but they have a good rep): http://basschat.co.uk/topic/256378-fs-gk-mb-500-amplifier-wih-footswitch-lead/


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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23948
    Very good combo - bit over priced but could negotiate


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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23948
    http://basschat.co.uk/topic/255913-gallien-krueger-rb700-stack/

    The RB series amps are excellent - but might be a bit heavy
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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23948
    edited February 2015
  • TinLipTinLip Frets: 368
    Cheers @fretmeister, that should keep me going for a while.

    A guy at work plays through a Hartke. Any good?


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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23948
    TinLip said:
    Cheers @fretmeister, that should keep me going for a while.

    A guy at work plays through a Hartke. Any good?
    I've had a couple of Hartke heads, the HA3500 and the newer LH500.

    Quite different, but both very good. The LH500 is probably the simplest of all current amp heads, but it's not a super lightweight modern one. The LH500 preamp is a copy of the legendary Alembic FX1 preamp, bolted to a massive power amp. So - really reliable old-school tech and really very cheap! But you would need a cab to go with it.


    If you want a good combo I reckon the Mark Bass CMD102P is the best combo on earth at the moment. 2x10 with a speaker extension, tilt-back design for easy monitoring and plenty loud enough. They come up used at under £600
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  • I was going to chime in but @fretmeister has provided everything I was going to say and more. 

    Personally I'm a big fan of MarkBass stuff, as it's usually quite light, I always loved older Trace Elliot stuff but struggled to find anything that fitted my needs (i.e. light or loud enough).

    If you're not getting the drive / distortion that you need, someone on here could easily build you a valve based overdrive pedal which should solve the problem.

    Let me know how you get on.
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  • strtdvstrtdv Frets: 2356
    Markbass is good but probably a bit on the expensive side for beginning, even used (a CMD121P is an excellent combo but they go for over £450 used)

    The TC Toneprint stuff is good and comes up pretty cheap on the second hand market.

    It all depends how much you want to spend and how heavy an amp you're willing to put up with. 
    Old Trace Elliot stuff is pretty cheap, sounds good, but weighs a ton.
    Warwick made a couple of amps at around 300 watts that you can pick up for well under £200, but again, fairly heavy and have quite a modern clean sound.

    I'd look at the Rumble 200 and see if you can get a used one, it has a nice warm punchy sound to it, would sound good with a distortion or fuzz, and should be loud enough provided the drummer isn't too crazy.

    Hartke are decent enough, but their aluminium speaker cones can fracture/split and are essentially irreparable, and replacements are fairly costly.

    Robot Lords of Tokyo, SMILE TASTE KITTENS!
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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23948
    I've never heard of a Hartke cone splitting!

    What the hell did they plug into it?
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  • strtdvstrtdv Frets: 2356
    I've never heard of a Hartke cone splitting!

    What the hell did they plug into it?
    It's stress fractures as far as I'm aware rather than being pushed too hard. That's the problem with metal, if you bend it slightly over and over again, it will fracture, unlike paper which won't
    Robot Lords of Tokyo, SMILE TASTE KITTENS!
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  • speshul91speshul91 Frets: 1397
    laney rb2 has di out,i use an rb1 at home and never have it above 3 or 4
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  • IanSavageIanSavage Frets: 1319
    TinLip said:
    It really is a different world out in 4 string world (or 5 I suppose...)

    Looking up to about £600ish for a 2nd hand rig. I am tending towards a cleaner sound and have Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam's sound in my head. He uses Ampeg SVT's which are like hen's teeth and slightly out of my budget too.
    If you like the SVT sound, I've just bought the Ampeg Micro SVT stack which sounds very 'Ampeg'; it has to be run hard to get decent gigging volume though. I reckon the cab from one of those (or two cabs ;) ) driven by the PF350 head would be hella loud and do 'the Ampeg sound' nicely, as well as being super-light.
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