Amping Up

[circusboy]

Hey Folks, I'm going electric and was wondering if anyone had recommendations for a good bass amp--ideally something that won't break either my back or my bank, but can do the job for electronic-effects practice and club-sized performance.

Thanks.

[Three Valves]

I have a Fender Rumble 40 (-$200)

I have not mic'd up a tuba to it, but it is powerful and light.

If you need more power, they make it up to 500 watts.

Purists complain about non-tube amps but I love it!!

[hduong]

Markbass Mini CMD 121P

It' a 1x12 combo, and packs a huge punch. I use mine for pit orchestras, big bands, worship band and a few other ensembles and have had no issues. Usually I don't even need to get mic'd up or DI'd. New they're $750, but you can usually find them used around $500 or less. And it won't break your back.

I find that the fender rumbles tend to have a muddy sound, Ampegs are great, they are heavy, but they do cut through the mix well.

[GC]

I'm a MarkBass user and fanatic, but they're often bank-breakers even used. For reasonably good-sounding, cheap, loud, and durable amps, I'd look at either a low-end Peavey combo or a low-end Ashdown combo. You get a lot of bang for the buck with those two. Peavey durability is legendary, too. My backup amp, a Peavey Minx 110, could cover up an 18-piece jazz band without losing tone. It was ungodly loud and solid for 35 watts and a single 10" speaker. Makes an excellent small keyboard amp, too.

Still, if you can afford the MarkBass mentioned above (or the 115 version), I'd go for it. The MarkBass combo heads also accept XLR plugs so you could mike with a standard vocal or instrument mike without having to use a DI box or mixer (you really have to turn up the gain, though).

[dmmorris]

I use an ancient SWR Workingman 10......self contained amp w/ speakers. For events that I need more umph (I guess it might be more ooM-paH), I can add the Workingman 10t extra cab'.....for 2x10" and 2x piezo tweets. Not the quietest rig, but that's not really a problem for the intended use or the rooms in which it gets used. The main box also has a direct out if you wanna go into the house sound board. Solid, light and because it's 2 smallish cab, easier to fit in the trunk. These and the SWR Workingman 15 are solid little amps usually available at good price points in the used market.

At a much higher price point there is the Acoustic Image amp, that is gloriously accurate, super light, and quite powerful. I have used one, but can't rationalize the stack of quarters needed to buy one.

[Rick Denney]

My Peavey TKO75 is basically indestructible, USA-made, loud, decent tone (and an equalizer), and heavy enough to make your headlights point to Orion. And it post-dates the years of the "Peavey Hum", while predating off-shore amps. If you get one from the 90's, they are usually less than a hundred bucks on the used market, and you can always put it on casters or strap it to a furniture dolly.

Rick "who does not gig with it, but who has roadied them plenty of times" Denney

[T. J. Ricer]

It's a little on the pricey side for a small combo amp, but the Galien-Krueger MB150 pumps out tons of quality sound for its size and can power another cabinet, if you need to move more air. Much easier on my back than the big Carvin I used to use. When I was doing a bunch of amped sousaphone funk gigs I would use the GK plus a 15" extension cab (Hartke).

My two cents,
T. J.

[jimgray]

QSC K12

Amazingly clean reproduction of whatever you give it.

[TheGoyWonder]

If I was in the market, it would be Markbass or bust. You can spend less than a beater 4 valve tuba. Heard so many veteran players rave.

[pecktime]

The QSC K10 and K12 are great all purpose powered speakers. you can plug a mic or preamp or mixer straight in.

If you want to go bass amp, I would go separate head and cab. Look at any of the class D bass heads coming out now. They're lighter than a paperback but put out >500 watts.

If you want a microphone input on your bass head- Euphonic Audio or Acoustic Image. 2 great amps with a double bass bias (hence the mic ins).



I

[Donn]

Am I seeing two interpretations of the question here, or are the different types of gear more interchangeable than I think? I wouldn't be very well advised to look at one of these powered speakers for my electric bass, nor if I hooked up a microphone to my tuba, would I plug it into a bass amp unless that's all I had -- right?

[Rick Denney]

Am I seeing two interpretations of the question here, or are the different types of gear more interchangeable than I think? I wouldn't be very well advised to look at one of these powered speakers for my electric bass, nor if I hooked up a microphone to my tuba, would I plug it into a bass amp unless that's all I had -- right?

A bass amp will work fine with a microphone if it has a balanced mic-level input, which I suspect very few do. If it only has a line-level input (the Peavey I mentioned does not have a mic-level input, but it does have a line-level input in the form of an effects return input), then you'll need a microphone preamp or mixer. They are small and cheap these days. If an amp has a mic-level input, it's most likely a general-purpose PA amplifier.

The advantage to a bass amp is that it is designed to move a lot of air at low frequencies, rather than balancing out with higher frequencies. So, it has one large speaker instead of several different sizes of speakers with crossover circuits to feed different frequency ranges into each. In the tuba range, you'll get much more loudness and punch per dollar spent with a bass amp than with a general-purpose PA amp. On the used market especially, you'll likely save much more for a given loudness than the cost of that additional microphone preamp.

I just bought a little 8-channel mixing board for my church, made by Harbinger, that has two proper microphone inputs. They have a 5-channel version that is well under a hundred bucks. With that, you can feed your mic into a bass amp, or you can run audio from the mixer into the main mixer/PA system for the band. You will prefer a mixer with an XLR connector providing balanced wiring. That mixer works quite well.

Rick "don't use instrument inputs without careful testing before you buy anything" Denney

[circusboy]

Thanks, everyone. Lots to chew on here.

[circusboy]

Bloke, I've viewed (with envy) pix of your mic support before. Would you be so kind as to describe how one might go about building his/her own?

[GC]

I don't know of a single inexpensive amp that has a balanced mike input (XLR, lo-impedence). It tends to be a feature only on a few higher-end amps (like the Markbass combo amps). You're probably better, as Rick said, with an inexpensive mixer as an interface to a bass amp. I've used a powered PA as a bass amp before, and one with a 15" speaker would be acceptable, but it won't sound like a bass amp. You'll need to test one to see if it gives the sound you want. Generally PA speakers are not voiced or equalized to be specifically bass-amp-like; bass amps are almost always equalized in a specific way, and their cabinets handle bass frequencies differently from a PA, but you may simply like the PA sound better. Or not.

And of course there are exceptions to every generalization. That's why testing hands-on is essential. There's little more frustrating that reading a lot of opinions and hype, laying down your money, and then being terribly disappointed with the results.

[Mark]

Does it matter if the bass amp is covered in vinyl or leather?

[GC]

Carpet. Then pet hair and dirt become a permanent part of the image.

[circusboy]

A bass amp will work fine with a microphone if it has a balanced mic-level input, which I suspect very few do.

It appears that the Markbass Mini CMD 121P does, indeed, have a balanced mic-level input. It's the right size and weight for me, too. The price is a little daunting, however.

What was that you said about used Peavey's, Bloke?

[Rick Denney]

What was that you said about used Peavey's, Bloke?

Cheap, heavy, loud, durable. The only requirement is that they are heavy, but some casters might help there. But with a $100 mixer, a $100 used Peavey TKO amp, and $100 for a used kick-bass mic (which I learned about in this thread, but it's perfect), you could be all set. How much was that Markbass amp?

Rick "by the best patch and mic cords you can afford" Denney

[Polkahero]

Check out a Phil Jones Bass Cub combo amp: http://philjonesbass.com/store/bass/bass-cub-bg-100/ Cheaper than the Markbass and weighs only 13 pounds! 100 watts into two 5" drivers. Just got one for big band rehearsals (electric bass) and it sounds surprisingly good for such a small package!