Bezinga Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 At the ripe old age of 56 I have been learning bass guitar since santa brought me a starter bass with 20w practice amp. I love it and now really need to buy my first decent amp. I like to play Blues/Rock and I am getting pushed by friends to get up on stage with them at small venue jam sessions. Money is somewhat limited so I am thinking maybe a Fender Rumble 150w or Gallien Krueger MB112 -II Any opinions or alternative suggestions would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Jamin Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 EBS make some good little combos http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/EBS-Classic-Session-120-Bass-Combo-Amp/P3L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 What sort of budget are you looking at? If you can then go head and cab seperates as you can update each seperately. Basschat 2nd hand should be your first port of call Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 There is usually quite a lot of old Trace Elliot stuff around in the second hand market. Always a good deal and plenty of "bang for your buck". Heavy though, but you can't have everything at that price! Combos with any sort of usable power can be very heavy, so maybe consider separates? That way you can always upgrade them separately when need arises... Something like this: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/198399-fs-trace-elliot-1518-cab-l150/page__p__1992188__hl__trace%20elliot__fromsearch__1#entry1992188"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/198399-fs-trace-elliot-1518-cab-l150/page__p__1992188__hl__trace%20elliot__fromsearch__1#entry1992188[/url] perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bezinga Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 The Fender Rumble and GK are both offered new at about £350 and thats pretty much my budget. Second Hand would be good but I live in Spain and don't fancy lugging one on a plane and the courier cost for a heavy item would be silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Both amps quoted will have remarkably different sounds. If you like traditional warm sounding bass, go for the Fender - the Rumble series have a great tone to them, and, unless in a very loud band, the 150 is ok for small gigs in pubs etc. However, if you like a much more modern clean biting sound, then the GK is the amp for the job. I`ve had amps by both, and, for the music you play, I would lean towards the Fender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bezinga Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1362508220' post='2000459'] Both amps quoted will have remarkably different sounds. If you like traditional warm sounding bass, go for the Fender - the Rumble series have a great tone to them, and, unless in a very loud band, the 150 is ok for small gigs in pubs etc. However, if you like a much more modern clean biting sound, then the GK is the amp for the job. I`ve had amps by both, and, for the music you play, I would lean towards the Fender. [/quote] Good advice, I'm thinking Fender as well from the reviews I have seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 The first step is to take your bass down to a good, local shop with a good range of amps and try some out. Don't forget though, if you don't buy an amp from there, do buy something, strings, books etc.,. otherwise they won't be there next time you need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 [quote name='Bezinga' timestamp='1362504917' post='2000367'] The Fender Rumble and GK are both offered new at about £350 and thats pretty much my budget. Second Hand would be good but I live in Spain and don't fancy lugging one on a plane and the courier cost for a heavy item would be silly. [/quote] Good point. While there are a few members on here from Spain and Portugal, the chances of them having amplification for sale at just the time that you need it is small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.O.D Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 I have had a fender rumble 150 for over a year now and i love it..For the money it is excellent value and has never missed a beat.very sturdy in design with heavy casters ,loads of tonal range well and an overdrive,,i also love the horn give a very nice punchy tone,.I play mostly rock,funk and blues in mainly smaller venues and this packs enough punch even with a heavy hitting drummer. Give it a try.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 If budget is limited, you could consider a used Hartke kickback - they are very underrated as jam/small venue amps IMO - I got one for £80 in as new condition (Kickback 12, they are £400 new) I play small pub gigs (blues/rock/folk/country type stuff) with mine and the volume is ample - also it has an XLR DI out so you can hook into the PA for bigger venues easily. It's not as light as stuff like MarkBass which use neo speakers, but it's still an easy one-hand-carry from the car. For some reason Hartke stuff seems unpopular and goes cheap used, not really sure why. If you have a bigger budget then the Mark Bass combos are excellent, but they're way more expensive (and hold their value better making them less of a deal used) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 [quote name='Bezinga' timestamp='1362496889' post='2000197'] At the ripe old age of 56 I have been learning bass guitar since santa brought me a starter bass with 20w practice amp. I love it and now really need to buy my first decent amp. I like to play Blues/Rock and I am getting pushed by friends to get up on stage with them at small venue jam sessions. Money is somewhat limited so I am thinking maybe a Fender Rumble 150w or Gallien Krueger MB112 -II Any opinions or alternative suggestions would be appreciated. [/quote] The number one priority is to buy something that is loud enough and won't sound like an elephant farting when playing at decent volume. I'm sure a Fender rumble would do the trick. Another recommendation is the Ashdown EB 180. I had an earlier version of this combo and it more than held it's own with heavy hitting drummers and it won't break the bank. You can always add another cabinet at a later date to make it even louder if you get that gig with Black Sabbath sometime in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Think Genz have a new range out too at pretty good price. Worth checking them out. If your budget stretches i would consider the lite weight stuff. At our age it makes a huge differance when lugging in and out of car or venue for that matter. Have a look at the TC BH range too. Haven't tried them myself tho. Did try a new TE 15" combo few weeks ago and i was fair impressed with the tone and depth. Good luck and keep us posted when you gig. Always nerve racking but what a buzz you'll get. Don't be shy. Get up there and have a blast. If you enjoy the audience will too. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japhet Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Was going to recommend the Ashdown Electric Blue but see gjones has already done so. Can be bought for peanuts and if you move onto bigger and better stuff it would make a decent practice/rehearsal unit. Downside is the poor resale value but for what you pay you could pretty much give one away without losing much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lownote Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 The Roland combos are relatively light (17k), small, compact and have a wide range of sounds. I just bought one to replace my wonderful but heavy TE 715 because I can't carry it anymore as my knees have gone. Oddly, the Roland actually has a Trace Elliot emulation mode! They're not far off your budget new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubass Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 I'll second (third) the ashdown EB180. Love the tone and I just picked up a second hand head for £80! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 I was really impressed by the genz contour amp, it was at a medium sized pub too, perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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