good amps

[HeavyDistortion]

tell me some good bass amps thats not too expensive...

[tcook]

what is your price range and what are you going to be using it for? Just practice or out playing with a heavy armed drummer and a marshall stack?

[HeavyDistortion]

what im gonna use it for? producing thunder at my fingertips :) and the pricerange? i dont know... but i want an amp which i can jam with a drummer with and he plays LOUD

[Plstrcast]

I use a hartke 3000 with a custom cab- 15 x 2 & 10 x 2

[HeavyDistortion]

cool... is that really neat? how bout a picture?

[tcook]

I have an ampeg brt2 re amp with a svt 210 cab and a svt 15 cab. I tried out the Hartke and it was too bright for me, would be great for slapping though.

[slowpoke]

To me ampeg is the best. I like their vintage amps but they make good new ones too. Gallien Krueger are awesome but expensive. Good loud amps that aren't too expensive are SWR and Peavey, though I believe both brands also make high end as well.

[tcook]

I almost bought Peavy, but the ampeg had so much more "punch" to it. I really like the 2 10" speakers paired with a 15. You get the low end plus the snap when you need it.

[SKEETER]

Behringer all the way. I had a Hartke 4000 and bought a Behringer head to have a reliable backup, and the Behringer blew the Hartke away. I sold the Hartke to a music store for more than the Behringer costed me. Behringer is the buzz word around where I live, lots of guys are using it, it is good sounding, reliable, and seems to be quite rugged. It is also very reasonably priced.

[HeavyDistortion]

thanks all you ppl you have been really helpful :) maybe some day im gonna play bass... *dreams*

[tdu]

I only use tube amps, and I am currently using a Traynor YVC 50 combo with a 2x12 extenson speaker. That setup cost me under $1000 Canadian. They have amps combos from 15 to 80 watts and and very reasonably priced for the quality. Amps by manufacturers like Fender cost over twice the amount for a something comparible.

Peavey makes some good affordable tube amps.

For solid state or modeling amps, I am pretty impressed with the Vox AD series.

No offense but I totally don't agree with the the Behringer review above as on overall rating of the product. You might be having great luck with yours but that is not the consenous from either reviews I have read, from the local store who sells them, or from people I know who bought them. They are generally budget amps that are budget quality.

If you gave some more specifics people could probably make some better recommendations. Do you ever plan on using it for gigging? Do you like a classic rock tone, or a really high gain heavy sound?

[SKEETER]

I only use tube amps, and I am currently using a Traynor YVC 50 combo with a 2x12 extenson speaker. That setup cost me under $1000 Canadian. They have amps combos from 15 to 80 watts and and very reasonably priced for the quality. Amps by manufacturers like Fender cost over twice the amount for a something comparible.

Peavey makes some good affordable tube amps.

For solid state or modeling amps, I am pretty impressed with the Vox AD series.

No offense but I totally don't agree with the the Behringer review above as on overall rating of the product. You might be having great luck with yours but that is not the consenous from either reviews I have read, from the local store who sells them, or from people I know who bought them. They are generally budget amps that are budget quality.

If you gave some more specifics people could probably make some better recommendations. Do you ever plan on using it for gigging? Do you like a classic rock tone, or a really high gain heavy sound?

The easiest way to find out about Behringer stuff is to go read about it at Harmony Central, it gets rave reviews. I have a lot of it, like I say, and find it superior to a lot of more expensive gear. I also know a guy that has a local store and is an electronic whiz. The guy has been customizing and hot rodding amps for people for years. He tells me he is highly impressed with Behringers designs. He takes their stuff apart and analyzes it.
I keep hearing people claim that it is problemetic, but have only seen a couple of posts on the net where someone actually had a bad experience with it. Considering the massive amount of gear they sell, it would not be unusual to see a bad experience here or there.
I also know a lot of local musicians ( I have a reasonably high profile locally and know a LOT of musicians) and many of them swear by Behringer stuff. None of them have told me of a bad experience.

[tdu]

They make a product that does a ton of stuff for a very good price. Which for most people is good enough. But that doesn't mean they do everything well. The ones I tried did not impress me one bit. If I was a beginner guitar player I would jump on one for the price.

I am not trying to start a debate because if you are happy with your product that is all that really matters. I just think there are better solid state/modeling amps out there that I would recommend first.

More to the point, a lot of people just will never use the features those types of amps have. That is why I was asking what kinda music he plays. I was one of those people that jumped on modeling amps and never used even a fraction of the fearures they offered. Unless someone is specifically looking for modeling, I find it's always better to recommend a good tube combo to get good tone. Simple amp, good simple tone.

[PhantomLord]

meh...for me a bass amp between solid state and tube has never really been a big deal, particularly for playing live. you dont really notice the bass sound live, but you sure as hell know when it's missing. i mainly use a peavy 700w bass head, with an ampeg 4x10 cab. wouldn't mind trying it through a 8x10 though :_devil: anyway, those two weren't that expensive, and buying second hand, you can get a real great deal. in other words, just to mainly use playing live, and wanna keep the price down, get a solid state. works well for recording. if you are looking for a great bass sound in recording, and can spare the cash, go tube. not as much difference as there is in guitar amps though.

[SKEETER]

For the purpose of those reading this thread looking for solid info, my credentials are that I have been playing since 1965, have studied intermediate music theory, and have been active in a variety of styles of music over the years, having a lot of stage and studio experience. Some of my education is in electronics. I am also a songwriter and play a variety of stinged instruments and drums, and arrange and produce my own music.
I play small to medium sized clubs and private parties now, and use either a Behringer Blue Devil live, which is very dependable and more than sufficient for a place that holds up to 200 people. I use a Crate 50 watt Vintage Club otherwise, which is an amazing amp, and the best amp I have ever used period.
For about a couple of years a played bass for a band ( about 2 years ago) and used a Behringer BX head. The thing was amazing, and the reviews on harmony central about it are through the roof.
I have altered my Behringer Blue Devil to accomodate an extra cab, which the manufacturer does not suggest. It has ( I think) the LM3886 chip in it, which is a pretty standard chip in many of the recent amps ( from what my shop owner friends tell me). It can go down to 4 ohms, so I built a cab with an old alnico 15 inch speaker I had laying around here. I can do larger clubs with it doing that, but I also added a fan to the amps head to cool down the chip, the thing really runs hot. I get a great sound that way. And, the amp seems to take the punishment of running hot. The Blue Devil amp is not for everyone, the distortion channel is very different. It sounds grungy and rough close up at lower volumes, on stage when I crank it it has the old british blues sounds. I most often use it with an array of stomps.


PHANTOM I pretty much agree with you, although the old AMPEG heads that guys were using on stacks back in the late 70s and early 80s do have a sound that you cannot get from solid state heads. I think they were called "V4" or something like that. Solid state heads don't have as much girth to them and don't self compress the way that tubes do, but you can make up with a lot of that on a bass by using mild compression. But in reality, the difference is not enough that would make a difference to most audiences. Likely only musicians would notice any real difference. But man, did those old Ampeg bass amps with a Gibson SG shaped bass (rippers?) shake the walls! That was back when rock was happening and and guys were playing bars with enough gear to do small theatres, thunderous bass was the name of the game.

Here is another piece of info that may help everyone, if you don't already know this. Most of the current solid state amps have very little circuitry in them. I am amazed at how little is actually inside them, it is mostly air in there. Most of what is being done in the amp is being done by chips now. It is my understanding that the same chip my Behringer uses is also used in Line 6 amps and many others. Technology has made amps to be for the most part pretty generic. It has made them all more similar than different. It would appear that designers now are faced with matching a gain chip with an effects chip and designing a cab and speaker to get a specific sound, rahter than having to design and build enitire gain circuits. I think the only reason they are not making solid state heads a fraction of the size they are now is for convenience onstage. It would suck to have an amp so small it would fit in half a shoe box, it would be tough to see and manipulate onstage.

[Plstrcast]

I like the Hartke tone, mostly because i'm in a 3 piece and I really want the bass to stand out, I do alot more then just fill in the pocket. I love the Ampeg tone, dont get me wrong, but I like the way the Hartke sounds combined with my Sans-Amp Bass DI, I can dial in a decent Ampeg tone if I need to. I play a Fender Jazz with stock pups and I replaced the stock bridge with a BadassII bridge. To me, it's perfect for what the band needs me to sound like, Plus, It's not heavy, easy to travel with, and It just works for me.

[tdu]

I did not even realize this was a Bass amp thread, so excuse my previous posts. I know nothing about Behringer bass amps in the slightest, only guitar amps. So apologies to Skeeter if I offended you in any way.

And as another poster mentioned, for bass SS or tube really isn't a huge issue.

I did play bass for years and I actually found there were way more deals out there on used bass amps. I think people get sick of lugging around huge amps. I got a Traynor bass amp with a 4 x 10 cab for $60 at one garage sale, and a GBX half stack at another for $40. The GBX sucked, but I gigged with the Traynor for years.

[Rock n' Blues]

I don't know ANYTHING about bass amps...but I bought a Crate BT-100 yesterday to go with my new Jazz Bass. I hope that I made a good choice!!!!

[SKEETER]

I don't know ANYTHING about bass amps...but I bought a Crate BT-100 yesterday to go with my new Jazz Bass. I hope that I made a good choice!!!!

Crate is really the guy on the block to beat. Their gear has great sound, is rugged. and the price is right. Like I say, I prefer my Crate guitar amp to any other tube amp on the planet. It has the exact sound I aim for.

[SKEETER]

I like the Hartke tone, mostly because i'm in a 3 piece and I really want the bass to stand out, I do alot more then just fill in the pocket. I love the Ampeg tone, dont get me wrong, but I like the way the Hartke sounds combined with my Sans-Amp Bass DI, I can dial in a decent Ampeg tone if I need to. I play a Fender Jazz with stock pups and I replaced the stock bridge with a BadassII bridge. To me, it's perfect for what the band needs me to sound like, Plus, It's not heavy, easy to travel with, and It just works for me.

I had the Hartke 4000. It was ok. Not real beefy sounding, kind of midrangy. Lots of EQ control. It served it's purpose. I just like the sound and balls of the Behringer BX better. It has more beef to it. It was also good clean and solid gain. LOTS of gain. I like the design and features better too. It has an input gain with a level meter, which came in far handier than I thought it would. It was nice to be able to adjust the input gain by eyeball and get it precise.
I really like the sound of bass back in the days of rock. Nothing like bass and a kick drum that make beer bottles walk across the table.

[tcook]

Can you really beat an Ampeg for the "sound of bass back in the days of rock"? I sure had a hard time finding an alternative to ampeg for this tone. Anyone remember Sunn amps?

[ModestCargo]

I like Fender amps for bass, and also some of the newer Yorkvilles are VERY nice and a great buy.

I played through three Behringer bass amps, and in my opinion they were the worst amps I'd ever played through. Just my opinion though..

[SKEETER]

Can you really beat an Ampeg for the "sound of bass back in the days of rock"? I sure had a hard time finding an alternative to ampeg for this tone. Anyone remember Sunn amps?

I had an old sun cab here with a vintage James B Lansing in it, traded it off to a guy I have played with on and off for about 25 years.
The same guy played lead through a Sun Collosium rig, a head and a cab with 8x10s in it. The thing could move some air.
I don't think there is any reasonable replacement for Ampegs to get that sound. I get something simililar during recording going direct in and doing some trickery. The old Ampeg tube amps had a sound all their own.