unconventional bass amps?

DankStar

Her Little Mojo Minion
anyone use an unconventional bass amp, such as a powered monitor, a PA system, a keyboard amp, or anything else kinda oddball and perhaps cheaper than a "real" bass amp? I'm talking $300 and lower in terms of cheap.

Dis-cuss!
 
Re: unconventional bass amps?

If you can find an old "acoustic" brand bass amp, they make some great stuff for not much money.
 
Re: unconventional bass amps?

I just thought of something....could I use my Line 6 flextone I head (it's 300-watts if a 4-0hm cab) with bass, assuming I got a bass cab? Or would the head get damaged/work too hard since it would be turned up super loud versus when used for guitar. The manual claims it can run like 8 4-12s, so I would think it'd be OK. I could use it like a power amp too, and bypass the preamp! woo hoo!
 
Re: unconventional bass amps?

How loud do you need to play?

You can find some incredible deals on some of the old Peavey bass amps. I have a Combo 300 with a 115 BW speaker that was like new when I bought it and I paid less than $200 for it. It's enough for most clubs, and there's a couple of things I can do to it to maKe it more powerful. If I need more, I simple run another 8 ohm 115 cab for 300WRMS. Heck, you can find these amps so cheap, I'd bet you could find TWO of them for not much more that your budget!

But the cool thing is, I can use one of Peavey's smaller amps, like the Minx, Basic, Studio, or even a Bandit to bi-amp the Combo 300 by using its built-in crossover. Biamping will give me a lot more headroom, punch and projection--even if I add just a 20-watt amp for the high-end.

The Combo 300, TNT, DataBass, and most of their BASS heads had this feature. The amps are well made, and super-value bargains in the used market.

With this kind of budget, you can't go wrong with good Peavey gear.

Bill
 
Re: unconventional bass amps?

How loud do you need to play?

You can find some incredible deals on some of the old Peavey bass amps. I have a Combo 300 with a 115 BW speaker that was like new when I bought it and I paid less than $200 for it. It's enough for most clubs, and there's a couple of things I can do to it to maKe it more powerful. If I need more, I simple run another 8 ohm 115 cab for 300WRMS. Heck, you can find these amps so cheap, I'd bet you could find TWO of them for not much more that your budget!

But the cool thing is, I can use one of Peavey's smaller amps, like the Minx, Basic, Studio, or even a Bandit to bi-amp the Combo 300 by using its built-in crossover. Biamping will give me a lot more headroom, punch and projection--even if I add just a 20-watt amp for the high-end.

The Combo 300, TNT, DataBass, and most of their BASS heads had this feature. The amps are well made, and super-value bargains in the used market.

With this kind of budget, you can't go wrong with good Peavey gear.

Bill

thanks! great ideas in there. I never thought of bi-amping! I just need enough loudness to be able to audition for some cover (rock) bands that will hopefully lead to some light gigging at small bars/venues.
 
Re: unconventional bass amps?

Using the Line 6 as a power amp is a fine idea also. Guitar amps handle bass guitars well. It's just guitar speakers which may have a problem. If you can use a bass cab or use an equalizer before running into the power amp, you should be fine. Splitting the signal to 2 different amps, and jacking the EQs is also effective for bi-amping.
 
Re: unconventional bass amps?

I wouldn't recommend using a Guitar Amp. I just picked up a used Carvin bass and decided to plug it into my Carvin V3. That amp was working overtime on the clean channel- you could see the tubes glowing brighter with each note picked, the amp was running hotter, so I picked up a Korg Pandora's Box and just plug that into a stereo or PA for now until I get a real bass amp.
 
Re: unconventional bass amps?

Is going direct an option?

for me personally - yes [edited previous flub here]. but when I call up a potential band for which I'd like to audition, and I say I don't have an amp, I sound pretty silly. I've done it a few times now (made that call) and it's pretty embarrassing to explain. they pretty much write me off after that line.

I wouldn't recommend using a Guitar Amp. I just picked up a used Carvin bass and decided to plug it into my Carvin V3. That amp was working overtime on the clean channel- you could see the tubes glowing brighter with each note picked, the amp was running hotter, so I picked up a Korg Pandora's Box and just plug that into a stereo or PA for now until I get a real bass amp.

I guess I see a ss amp as being more durable for bass in that regard, but yeah, it's a concern that the amp will be turned up higher than I've ever used it for guitar.
 
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