Bass amp wattage

alex1fly

Well-known member
How many watts is enough for a bass amp for small gigs, band practices, and home practice? I'm looking to spend under $500, so I'll probably be getting something solid state. Is 75 watts enough for keeping up with a small PA and rock type band?
 
Re: Bass amp wattage

hmmm, sounds a little light

i have a 100W solid state carvin 'all purpose' amp with a 12" and a dome tweeter ... it is advertised as suitable for bass, in addition to vocals, or acoustic guitar ... i have used it for bass with a not very loud band and it held up ok ... if the drummer hits heavy or other guys arent volume conscious, i think it could be a bit underpowered

good luck

t4d
 
Re: Bass amp wattage

For regular band practice and stuff i'd go for something like 300W solidstate and a 2x10 or 4x10
 
Re: Bass amp wattage

Thanks for the link. 75 watts does seem to be a little light for cranked amp situations. But I'm planning on house party/small clubs at the largest, and the 75 watt amp I'm looking at has a direct out and speaker emulator for going right into the board. But I may think about getting the next model up, which is 150 watts. Another option I've read about is to get an extension cab if the amp has a speaker out, or get a powered speaker if the amp only has a preamp out.

I'm just trying to keep it as small as possible, helps my back :)
 
Re: Bass amp wattage

yunno, i forgot to mention that when i typed my response .... the carvin has a line out that i put thru a DI box and send it to FOH when we need heavier lifting ... and if others have trouble hearing it onstage, i just tell them to put some of it in the monitor ... that only happened once at an outdoor gig on a large stage ... works fine for us, but then again, we are not a loud band .. sounds like you got it sorted
good luck
t4d
 
Re: Bass amp wattage

The extension speaker idea is something to keep in mind. Most solid state amps increase their power when driving a lower (within reason) load. I saw a bass combo somewhere recently that was like 120 watts into it's internal 8-ohm speaker, 200 watts into 4 ohms. So, add a speaker, get more watts. It's a good, flexible means of obtaining both portability and big-gig power, IF the particular amp you select is sized that way.
 
Re: Bass amp wattage

How do I determine is a particular amp is sized that way? Do I need to compare ohms of the amp and potential extension cabs?
 
Re: Bass amp wattage

You need to read the specs - it will say something like 200 watts into 8 ohms, 300 watts into 4 ohms. Then, you'll also need to find out the impedance of the internal speaker, and match it with a extension cab of the same impedance.
 
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