Bass Amp Recommendations

[Duffy]

Great. I bet that is a real nice amp. Is that quite heavy as well? How are the tone shaping controls and does it have compression built in and a limiter?

That's the problem buying old electronic equipment. It may have been cutting in and out because of a bad ground but who knows. You won't have to worry about that now. Plus the Acoustic probably has a more efficient speaker anyway, that might make up for the volume difference, if there would have been one.

Two hundred watts should give you some room so you don't have to turn it all the way up when in the band.

Good luck with it and thanks for letting us know what you wound up doing.

 

[jpurvis]

It's not really that heavy more bulky than anything, but I haven't moved it around a whole lot yet. As far as a limiter I haven't pushed it hard enough to find out. lol at half volume i'm over powering everyone in the band. It is plenty loud and the tone does't get distorted with volume unless you turn the gain up and want it to. The knobs are very responsive to fine adjustments. It sounds really good at low volume too, all around awesome. I haven't found the fine tuned tone that I want out of it yet but I have no doubt that it is there.

 

[Duffy]

B200

Sounds like a great amp.

I have a Zoom B2.1u that is really fun. It has all kinds of tone shaping and produces some very satisfying sounds, plus you can set it up to really cut thru, or lay back an give a smooth bass tone or a growly thump. I get a lot more out of my Marshall MB30 with it, but can't remember how it sounds with my Rumble 100. I just got my new guitar room set up and need to try out the Rumble again. I have the Marshall down by my bed in my amp wall, with my J bass with flatwounds right within reach for when I want to grab it. I notice when I work out with the bass before playing the guitar I'm really warmed up for the guitar afterwards and it feels really light and fast. Plus getting into the bass rythym helps too. Sometimes I warm up on my Conga drums and that gets me warmed up for guitar as well. Something about the rythym and brain to hand cooridnation I think.

Do you play a five string thru the B200. I found that a lot of amps pop and crackle when you crank up the low B string, making them marginally useful for the five string. Wondering how yours handles that B string, being that it has a fifteen inch speaker, if you have any experience so far. It looked like the ten inch speakers were handling the five string better than the fifteen's I tried, however many ten inch speakers were poping and crackling pitifully until I discovered the Marshall MB30 which held the B string with no problem at all. I have never had a problem with the Marshall not being able to completely handle the B string. I haven't tried to push the Rumble 100 fifteen inch with the five string active electronic Schecter Stilletto Elite yet, but I will soon now that the guitar room is finished. I have liked the Rumble and am looking forward to playing it again.

I have always wanted to try out a nice Acoustic and it is great to hear about you having such good luck with yours.

Thanks for the feedback. It is definitely interesting.

 

[jpurvis]

I'm just playing 4 string p bass's at the moment in standard tuning, but my friend plays a 5 string active schecter in a metal band. I took it over last night to their practice and it did better than I thought it would. He regularly maxes out a fender rumble 350 and my acoustic cut through better than his amp in the low mids. I don't know how to explain it other than it wasn't louder than his amp but it cut through better. Keep in mind this was in a living room with 2 guitarist half stacks and a LOUD drummer so you couldn't hear thunder after about 2 songs.lol They're tuned to something like drop C or maybe lower and that is on his E string so the low B string was way low. It sounded pretty good I thought. He turned it up and it held its own, I didn't hear it clipping so I'm pretty impressed with it so far. "Something about the rythym and brain to hand cooridnation I think." lol when I can get all of that on the same page it is magical haha

 

[NWBasser]

Yeah Purvis, good EQ points make a big difference. A well-designed EQ can help get the bass just right in the mix. It sounds like you got a real winner with the Acoustic!

And that P-bass of yours will sit very well in a mix!

 

[Duffy]

B200

Man, I'm really glad that amp worked out for you and that you really like it. I think it does have an adjustable compression. The more I read about that B200 in specific, the more I like what I'm hearing. It is supposed to be a LOUD two hundred watts. I'm sure that is two hundred watts RMS. The speaker is probably real sensitive too and built real well, along with a cabinet design that gets the most out of the amp.

If I decide to get a bigger bass amp maybe I'll get one of those. The biggest one I have now is my Fender Rumble 100, which, although it isn't a pro model, I like a lot - even the pulsating red lights. I'm supposed to be getting my Peavey TNT 115 back from my son - it is a mid eighties model in great shape and is one hundred and fifty to two hundred watts, LOUD watts, very heavy, lots of tone shaping controls, slider eq section, and lots of connectability. I'm looking forward to getting it back. It is in a different category than the Rumble and it will be fun to a/b them.

By the way a guitar amp of mine failed over the weekend and I worked a deal with where I got it six months ago and I'm now getting a brand new Peavey 6505+ 112 combo, high gain amp. This should be fun. Sixty watts and not like any amp I have. The other amp blew up and I'm getting a full credit, so the 6505+ is only costing me 150. I got a fifteen percent discount because of a discount I had from another company. I'm looking forward to it and not having to go thru the warranty replacement with the other company.