Bassists - need your assistance

[ErikH]

My band just got a bass player/singer. He's been out of the scene for quite a while and is needing to get some new gear (or used). He's been using a rented bass through the PA during rehearsals. We haven't gigged yet but that is the plan. Lots of work to do yet.

Anyway, for a bass amp, what should he get? Let me give a rundown on what we have and what we do.

We're a classic rock band doing covers with our own personal twists thrown in to the songs. Just a 3-piece for now.
I have a Marshall 100 watter and will be using a 2x12 when gigging, most likely running the amp at half power...maybe. (no, it will not be cranked, it's got a MV).
Places will be pretty small to start with, local bars and such.
We have a small sound system but that's a separate issue.

What range of wattage should he look at? I'm thinking around 200 for the headroom. Would that be too much, not enough?

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

One or two Aguilar GS115's. Best cabinets you can get for bass, at a moderate price. Magahony construction and eminence drivers.

Though, you'd need a head to power them. Have you checked out the newer Peavey bass heads? They sound good, transparent and punchy, and doesn't cost much either. Though, if he wants something more "feinsmechker", he should get one of those HiWatt Custom 200 or 400's. Extreme headroom, and fat, tubey tone!

-Erlend

 

[ErikH]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Thanks. I'm not sure what his budget is but those Aguilar's sure look nice.

He hasn't really had time to check out much really. He tried the Crate Powerblock through a 1x15 but I told him that's not really enough power to avoid clipping.

Right now he's open to anything just as long as it has enough headroom. A single 15" is fine too, I think that's what he wants to go after speakerwise whether it's a cab or in a combo.

Speaking of, any recommended combo's?

 

[Ken]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

I've been a longtime fan of the Carvin Redeye series and am considering getting myself one...

 

[JacksonMIA]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Have him check out one of these. I listened to a buddy of mine play one the other day. Very loud amp, and it sounded really good, too. I don't know if it's in his budget, but I think it could definitely do what he needed it to.

Of course, I'm not a bassist.

 

[ksmith63]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

I'd go for a 2x10 combo > 100 watts (more likely around 250 so a 15" extension cab could be added). I tried a few fender bassman combos before and they sounded quite nice for the pricerange.

 

[JacksonMIA]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Alright. I sent my buddy who was playing the Mesa an email and here's his reply:

" It depends on how much you are willing to spend, however there are no really good bass combos with the type of power you will need to anchor that Marshall for under $750 that's just the way it be. I know some people buy a Chinese made Berhinger or something like that. Which if that is all you are willing to spend that is fine, but beware it will not standup to being moved around all the time. It will crap out on you before a gig some night. I myself have just bought a great gigging amp. Its a MESA walkabout. its 300 watts through either a single 12 or single 15. Its not very big, and the head pulls out if you just want to run it into the pa or what ever.I bought the 15 but that's just personal preference. IMO ( and its not worth much) this is the best small combo on the market. I know to a guitar player 300 watts sounds huge, but for a bass player who needs (at the minimum) twice the wattage as you do it would be just about right. There are a lot of amps that would fit what you need, like I said unless you find something good used you need to be prepared to pay for some quality. I would stick to combos or a small head in the 200 - 400 watt range with a small cab ( 1x12, 1x15, 2x10, 2x12, but no bigger than a 4x10). and from a good line and brand that you trust. For me that means Ampeg, Mesa, Eden, Trace, SWR, Orange, some of the GK stuff, some of the non combo peavey stuff. Proline Fenders are supposedly good though, I don't recommend their regular line bass combos. I looked at many bass combos before I decided on mine, and that is about the best advice I can give you is for you to have your bassist to play through as many different amps as you can find shop around and for a gigging amp pay really good attention to the quality of assembly ( joints in the cab & such). One more thing remember that a band only sounds as good as its bassist.

KJT"

 

[ErikH]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Rich, that info is great. I'm pasting that in an email to our bassist. Tell him THANK YOU!

Granted, I'm not going to be running the Marshall anywhere near full boar but him having more headroom is important. I like a clean thumping bass that holds tight when I'm off noodling away, and so does he. Without that, the rhythm falls apart.

I've been poking around at a few places online. What does he think of these?

Peavey MAX Series heads
Ampeg BA115HP Bass Amp (1x15 Inch with Horn, 220 Watts)
Ampeg BA210 Bass Amp (2x10 Inch with Horn, 220 Watts)
Ampeg B1RE Bass Amp Head (300 Watts)
Ampeg B2RE Bass Amp Head (450 Watts)

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Well, i'd greatly recommend getting something with a 15. 15's just has a much lower resonating frequency, which means more lows and a fatter sound. Alot of people insists on using 10's for "mids and highs", but really, even the muddiest sounding 15 will provide more than enough high mids and mids. 10's can be good if you play alot of slap bass, tapping and such, but they are useless to get a warm, deep low end.

When it comes to combos, the SWR Workingman's 15 sounds great for low volume applications, but sounds like dodo when playing loud. That is because of the very soft speaker suspension\mount, which gives the amp a very clear, low, deep and beautiful low end, but the speaker gets "out of control" on high volumes. Other than that, i'd anyway greatly recommend getting a head\cab setup, since your bassist would get more freedom then.

-Erlend

 

[ErikH]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Thanks, Erlend. He wants a 15, I know that for sure. Gotta move some air. I know from past bands that a 15 is better for holding a solid rhythm together when there's one guitar player (me).

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Ok ...

Anyway, no matter what you do, do NOT get something made by EBS. To make a long story short, i spent almost $2000 USD on their absolutely high-end, most expensive cab, which stopped working after a week.

Aguilar is good though, they are huge (which means low resonating freq), mahagony ply construction (and we all know how fat a LP sounds), and Eminence drivers (which are famous for quality). As a matter of fact, i'm currently waiting for a pair of Aguitar GS115's myself!

 

[Tom M]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

It sounds like a lot (and expensive), but if you want any sort of headroom or a good punch/kick to the sound, he's looking at minimum 300 watts, preferably in the 500+ range. A single 15 won't cut it. 2 15's, sure. Even better, 2 10's and a 15, or my setup, 2x10+2x12. With the exception of the Walkabout combos, bass combos are pretty much useless IMO. They're generally underpowered and don't have near enough speaker area to be felt or heard.

Good bass gear, like good guitar gear, is expensive. I have a Walkabout. It's 300w@4ohms, but it's also safe to run it at 2 ohms for 600w (two 4-ohm cabs). Ampeg, Mesa, Fender, etc (all the "name" brands) all make bass equipment in that power range.

For speakers, don't be afraid to check out Avatar at www.avatarspeakers.com . Inexpensive, yes, but an excellent value. The newest models are better than the ones I have, with a better tweeter and crossover assembly.

I run my Walkabout at 2ohms through an Avatar 2x10 and 2x12 stack. It works well enough to battle with the 2203 to my left, the Ludwig Classic Maple set behind me, and the Crate halfstack to my right. Sometimes, I do wish I had a few more square feet of speaker, though.

 

[JacksonMIA]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Rich, that info is great. I'm pasting that in an email to our bassist. Tell him THANK YOU!

Granted, I'm not going to be running the Marshall anywhere near full boar but him having more headroom is important. I like a clean thumping bass that holds tight when I'm off noodling away, and so does he. Without that, the rhythm falls apart.

I've been poking around at a few places online. What does he think of these?

Peavey MAX Series heads
Ampeg BA115HP Bass Amp (1x15 Inch with Horn, 220 Watts)
Ampeg BA210 Bass Amp (2x10 Inch with Horn, 220 Watts)
Ampeg B1RE Bass Amp Head (300 Watts)
Ampeg B2RE Bass Amp Head (450 Watts)

No problem.

Here's what he said:

" I don't know anything about the heads, but I have played through both of those Ampeg combos. The main difference is (to me anyway) the 15 sounds more vintage than the 2x10, but I can tell you from experience that both of those amps sound good. If I had to pick a head on name recognition only I would go with the Ampeg, but having never played on either one of those two or a peavey max I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending any those to you.

KJT"

 

[Davey]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Hiwat !!!!

but wtf do i know

 

[ErikH]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Thanks, Rich. Tell him, thanks again.

This is all good info, guys. Thank you. Keep it coming.

 

[Jeroen]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Ok ...

Anyway, no matter what you do, do NOT get something made by EBS. To make a long story short, i spent almost $2000 USD on their absolutely high-end, most expensive cab, which stopped working after a week.

You have to be kidding! EBS is built like a friggin' tank! I used to own one of their 2x10 combo's (the previous Gorm-model) and it just ruled. Very clean, lots of power amp headroom, and very responsive. Also, the best amp one could imagine for popping and slapping. It was the loudest combo I have ever heard. With the mastervolume at 10 and the gain at 4 (I never got it past 4 with my active Yamaha or it would clip frantically). It withstood a lot of schlepping around. I've had it for a year, but I was the second owner. I know the guy who owned it before me, he had gigged with it extensively. I also know the guy well who bought it from me, and he also plays it a lot and lurks around with it a lot.

You must have gotten a bad one. I've never had any bad experiences with my EBS, nor have those other guys who owned it before and after me.

What is it you Norwegians have against Sweden?
Or is it that cab of yours that gave you that aversion towards Sweden? :lmao:

 

[Erlend_G]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

No, Jeroen, there is nothing wrong with me.

I believe that the cab i got from them must have been defective, anyway it was so flimsy bulit that the front baffle broke loose from the rest of the cab and started "buzzing" while playing. And i never played loud when i had the cab, either. If it was a $200 behringer, it would have been okay, but when you spend all your money on the best there is, such bad quality is not acceptable IMO.

The cab (NEO-212) was not loud at all, had less volume and broke up earlier than the two cheap-ass Peavey PA speakers i had been using earlier. And the EBS also had MUCH, MUUUUCH less low end, and a muddy\papery\harsh midrange that were just extremely annoying to listen to.

Anyway, i'm damn happy that it broke, so i could return it.

-Erlend

 

[kmcguitars]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

There are a few ways to go as you know. A Hartke kickback 15 might cut it if you don't have the marshall's cranked. My personal favorite simple bass rig is a GK 400 on a Hartke 4x10 transporter. Some of the new Ampeg combo's are pretty cool.

 

[Jeroen]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

The cab (NEO-212) was not loud at all, had less volume and broke up earlier than the two cheap-ass Peavey PA speakers i had been using earlier. And the EBS also had MUCH, MUUUUCH less low end, and a muddy\papery\harsh midrange that were just extremely annoying to listen to.

I can imagine. I never liked 12" speakers for bass, especially at high volumes. They push a lot of air, but I would never use them stand-alone. They provide lots of mids, but the bottom end just isn't there in my opinion. I prefer 10" speakers for bass, and maybe a 15" as an addition. And I agree, I don't like the Neodynium cabs of EBS either. I prefer their more affordable models with conventional magnets (I don't know if they use ceramics or alnico's). They're a crapload heavier, but they just sound better. I just love EBS' 4x10-cabs. I tried one of those cabs once with a 600 watt EBS Fafner, and that setup just ruled. Very impressive

 

[King_Juan]

Re: Bassists - need your assistance

Rich, that info is great. I'm pasting that in an email to our bassist. Tell him THANK YOU!

Granted, I'm not going to be running the Marshall anywhere near full boar but him having more headroom is important. I like a clean thumping bass that holds tight when I'm off noodling away, and so does he. Without that, the rhythm falls apart.

I've been poking around at a few places online. What does he think of these?

Peavey MAX Series heads
Ampeg BA115HP Bass Amp (1x15 Inch with Horn, 220 Watts)
Ampeg BA210 Bass Amp (2x10 Inch with Horn, 220 Watts)
Ampeg B1RE Bass Amp Head (300 Watts)
Ampeg B2RE Bass Amp Head (450 Watts)

Well now that I can reply in person I can say no problem. Basically I was just trying to say get something your bassist thinks sounds good, is portable (Believe me I used to cart a 3x15 Kustom around & it was like moving a refrigerator every where), and is rugged. Because lets face it gigging equipment gets beat to hell on a regular basis.