Ideas for a Bass combo amp?

[CyberStrat]

Hey guys,

A couple of weeks ago I went to an all day jam/cookout, and there were too many guitar players & no bass, So I brought my son's bass, and another guy brought a Peavey Keyboard amp (100 watts). I played for the jam and had such a good time I want to pick up my own combo amp & bass.

I almost always buy used, to hopefully get more value out of the amp.

I'd like a 115 or a 210 combo, Loud enough to hang in there at a jam, and a DI for future use. The peavey amp I used was OK for volume, just didn't sound very good, but I have heard Peavey Bass amps, that were quite good.

Can you give me some ideas for a combo

Mabye a Peavey TNT, Fender Bassman 150? Eden - Nesesis? I can't try these out and will be buying of CL or Ebay, so I'm looking for your advise.

Also,

I see a Trace Elliot 715 is on sale for $449. That a little much for me, price wise, but I would spring for it if it's much better than the others.

Also found an Eden RS115.

What can you tell me?

Cyber

[Kap'n]

My last bass player had a 1x15 GK tiltback style combo that was pretty good. The Hartkes are supposed to be decent as well.

The worst recent bass combos I've heard are the previous generation of Fender Bassman (don't know about the new tweeds) and Behringer.

[rudutch]

the ampeg ba100 (?) sounded good to me

I have seen the on CL for $200 -$300

Eden / nemesis makes a NC 210 that is very nice - but hard to find

I own a GK 70W 1x10 that sounds good but needs a bit more "umph" it works okay through a 215 cab

[jerryjg]

Gawd, ya know..from waht I've reqd over to the Talkbass place, There are such Fantastic sounding 1x15 driver/cabinets now along with fairly lightweight but huge sounding 4x10's with horn compact cabs, that I'd still say your best bet for anything but strictly practice would be to get a good powerful tube head amp, and pair it with a Cabinet.
Not cheap, but then anything worthwhile seldom is.
The Cabs are so well engineered and can be lightweight now and put out tons of sound. The amps also can be smaller but with lots of power.
A good sarting point would be the industry standard bass pre amp "Sans-amp". Its very small,doesnt cost thqt much, and is all anlog and has superb tone and control features.. and you can use a nice modern powerful PA amp like a good QSC and use it with a great new style 4x10 or 1x15 cabinet to get started till you find a great tube /hybrid bass amp.

[chuckocaster]

you really need to try before you buy. but i'd personally go with an eden, peavey TNT, or maybe an SWR? it's been a long time since i've played solid state, but i'd rather go with the 1x15 as opposed to the 2x10. now a 4 or 6x10? i'm all over that!

best of luck.

[dirtdog]

A bit late to the party, but about 2 months ago I did the unthinkable and picked up a Line6 Lowdown 150 combo (1x12" 150W).

I've played a bunch of quality bass amps over the years (SWR, Eden, G-K) and some not-so-quality (Peavey, Yorkville, Eden Nemesis) and I've gotta tell you the LD150 has a huge bang for the buck.

Solid sounding, very portable and loud enough for jamming and with a DI to send to the board for gigs. There's a few useless features (Synth Bass settings, for example), but the rock and r&b sounds are very good.

Overall, I think this is a decent jam/small gig worthy amp for the bucks.

[chuckocaster]

goo point diggitydog. i played one a long time ago at GC and was actually impressed with those amps. overall i think it's easier to model stuff for bass than for guitar. i've mixed some shows in the past where the bass player used the bass pod rackmount thingamajig, and actually liked the tone they sent me from the head.

[refin]

Originally Posted by Kap'n

My last bass player had a 1x15 GK tiltback style combo that was pretty good. The Hartkes are supposed to be decent as well.

The worst recent bass combos I've heard are the previous generation of Fender Bassman (don't know about the new tweeds) and Behringer.

I have the Hartke tilt with the 1-12" aluminum............good grief,that thing kicks hard,very deep too.

[HarpmanBob]

I've been using the Hartke Kickback with one 12" speaker for
sometime now. Works good for small to medium size rooms
doing old rock and country. I use either a Jazz bass or a Zone
bass with it. I got the original aluminum cone speaker to rattling,
replaced it with a paper cone one.....still works fine far as I'm
concerned.

[marantz2010]

I'm using an Ampeg BA115 combo amp with 15" speaker and something like 100 watts solid state amplifier built in. I'd recommend it as a good combo amp sub 400 dollars. My neighbors complain (it's loud) and my ears are pleased (sounds good) and overall it's not super expensive. I think it has a balanced output but unsure exactly what you call it if that's what you're looking for. Either way, I think it could hold up in a jam session...

[curtisstetka]

To play at church I recently got a used Fender Bassman 150 combo. I've been extremely happy with it. Its cabinet is built for tilting back, it's got a built-in compressor, it's got xlr out to the board, and it just sounds great.

[refin]

Last night our bass player's Polytone amp quit working,so I finished the last two songs on bass through my original '59 Bassman (we don't play loud).Good thing I decided to bring her for a test run after a recap! Sounded great.

[doc540]

Brace yourselves.

Sometime within the next 30 days I'm going to drop the bass combo BOMB.

[jeru]

Originally Posted by doc540

Brace yourselves. Sometime within the next 30 days I'm going to drop the bass combo BOMB.

Doc, you suck. You have offended my sensitive (and impatient) sensibilities.

Cyber - I had a Hartke 350-watt/210 combo when I played bass out, but sold it to downsize a bit. That thing was a beast.

I currently use an Ampeg BA115 for jams, practice and small gigs. Sounds good, but the knobs wiggle a bit and I dunno if I trust it for the long(ish) haul. I got it very cheaply on Craig's list, so it ended up being too good to pass up.

My heartfelt advice to you -- for practice and jams, and for value for used gear buck, you just cannot beat an older Peavey bass combo. They are damn near bulletproof, you can always dial in some semblance of a usable sound with different instruments, and they are dirt cheap used. I got my buddy a 1x15 combo, 100 watts or so, for $75 on craig's list. I bought it for him to keep in his basement as a thank you for letting us play down there and so I wouldn't have to lug a bass combo to jams.

[refin]

Originally Posted by jeru

My heartfelt advice to you -- for practice and jams, and for value for used gear buck, you just cannot beat an older Peavey bass combo. They are damn near bulletproof, you can always dial in some semblance of a usable sound with different instruments, and they are dirt cheap used. I got my buddy a 1x15 combo, 100 watts or so, for $75 on craig's list. I bought it for him to keep in his basement as a thank you for letting us play down there and so I wouldn't have to lug a bass combo to jams.

Ditto there-------
some of the Peaveys are very nice.There are a couple on CL right now,including a KB-300.

[FrankJohnson]

I still like separate head/cab combos for the most part. you can flex their use. The new light weight cabs and especially the new light amps really impress me. One day - I will go that route.

I kin of wish I had kept the Ampeg B2Re. i played my friends last week, and with a Tech 21 dass driver in front of it - it was EXACTLY right to my ear.

That being said - there are so many great combos out there - Follow your ears and see waht they and your wallet can agree on.

[doc540]

Brace yourselves....it's almost here.

[FrankJohnson]

Originally Posted by doc540

Brace yourselves....it's almost here.

I love to Hate you!!!!

Gawwd - this is killin me!