Infiltrator!!! question on amps

[daveymac]

Look! It's another guitar player who wandered down into the Land Of The Low End!

Anyway, I'm trying to help a buddy who's getting into bass. He just picked up a decent Peavey Foundation from the 80s - it's pretty cool. But I have no idea about who makes good bass amps. We're looking under $200, and it's really just for practice and the occasional jam session. Any suggestions?

[gamma_function]

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[gamma_function]

are you looking for the biggest you can afford, or the best tone for $200. my recommendation goes with as big a peavey bass combo as you can afford. buy it used and your money will go much further. if you absolutely need a new amp, look at behringer heads and cabs. their 300 watt head is only $189. and the 4x10 cabs are about the same. best deal in new gear, but i am not sure how dependable they are. anything smaller than at least a 200 watt, 15" speaker will not have enough juice unless you're an acoustic duo. do not attempt to buy used gear from guitar center as most of their used equipment is overpriced and beat to hell. pawn shops are definitely worth checking out if they will let you try it out first. just be wary pawn shope never have a return policy. and dont even bother with buying online. shipping an amp from someone on ebay will eat up $50 to $100. good luck.

my real advice. make friends with a bass player who will allow you to borrow his gear. beg, plead, steal, or work until you can save up at least $400 for an amp bigger than a sony boombox.

p.s. the nashville guitar center is the nicest of the gc's i've been too. has the best staff i've seen at a gc. they had a great deal on a used swr black beauty for $450 last summer. i am still kicking myself for not grabbing it when i had the chance. if you are in nashville, check the local music publications and ask around. your city has plenty of places to find good quality used gear. the downfall is that there are more well-educated shopkeepers there and finding a really great deal will be harder.