durhamboy Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 OK, a little background first. It's over 20 years since I've played bass and owned a bass, or bass amp of any description. So to say I'm not up to date on modern bass equipment would be an understatement. I'm newly retired and aiming to get back to playing bass again, only for home enjoyment playing classical pieces on bass and composing, or jamming with friends, (mainly with piano, acoustic guitars). I'm thinking a small combo, around 20 to 40 watts may be all I'll need and have been considering either Warwick BC20 or BC40, or Ashdown AAA evo30. There is nowhere within reasonable traveling distance (a few hours) where I could try any Warwick or Ashdown amps here in rural Australia, so I'm taking a punt based on internet searches and hopefully so sage advice here. Will any of the options mentioned give me the chance of good sound reproduction and given that two of the options only have 8 inch speakers, would I be loosing out in bass response at that speaker size? Any and all advice or opinions will be greatly appreciated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 (edited) Can't comment on the specific models you mention but I got rid of my small practice amp in favour of a TC Electronic 2 X 8 250 watt combo. It's light, not very big but most importantly sounds like a bass amp rather than a toy. The 250 watts probably sounds like overkill but remember that is peak power and only achievable with an extension cab. On its own it's closer to half that and the actual wattage rather than the peak half that again, but still a respectable 50 - 60 watts. Once you add a piano and couple of guitars you'll be glad of the extra ooomph. It has a headphone output for quiet rehearsal and an aux input for playalongability. They're fairly reasonably priced when sold second hand. Edited October 21, 2018 by stewblack 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJE Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 The best small affordable combos I have played have been the EBS classic session combos. I think the 60w has a tilt back and sounds a lot bigger than it actually is. Great bass response and superb overall tone. The next in line for me would be the new line of Fender Rumble combos. I have been plugged into a few to demo basses in shops and always been surprised and very impressed with the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandad Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 I'm 70 years old and wanted a combo for home practice and live gigs with a Jazz quartet so not overly loud. I tried an EBS classic 60W 110 and loved the tone, EQ. Weight 30lb so not too bad but banged my legs when carrying. Owned a Fender Rumble 100W, lovely tone and so light, 22lbs. Eventually settled on a TCE BG250-208 because it had everything I wanted in a convenient small footprint. Weight 28lbs, I wouldn't want to carry anything heavier. For me convenience was the main reason I kept the 208, but all 3 are good. There's some great little combo's being made nowadays and prices are keen so it's a hell of a job to decide. Good luck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky8884 Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 The PJB Session 77 sounds very good and represents your instruments sound with minimal colouration. I liked the TC BG 250 combos eq set points but returned it in favour of a Markbass 802 as the mark was clearer/louder and lighter. I compared the Session 77 and EBS 60 and the PJB won by a mile in sound reproduction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxos10 Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 The best really small, 20w, bass combo I have had was a Peavey Microbass. It sounded good and was way louder than is specification would make you believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted October 21, 2018 Author Share Posted October 21, 2018 Thanks for the responses, I haven't been able to find EBS gear available in Australia as yet, but All of the others can be had. Markbass down here are very expensive, only one importer by the look of things. But I've got some searching to do. Hartke HD50 , HD75 anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 2 hours ago, durhamboy said: Thanks for the responses, I haven't been able to find EBS gear available in Australia as yet, but All of the others can be had. Markbass down here are very expensive, only one importer by the look of things. But I've got some searching to do. Hartke HD50 , HD75 anyone? Markbass always just use 1 importer per country though in the EU there are some difference in prices to be found across the member states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkydoug Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 no contest - get a Roland Cube. Global availability, will last longer than any of us and they sound very good indeed Welcome back to Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted October 22, 2018 Author Share Posted October 22, 2018 Thanks, I hadn't thought about Roland, though I know their reputation for build quality and reliability. I'll see what might be available down here, due tour smallish population, it often means sometimes we have limited choice and importers often don't stock all of a companies product range, only the lines they see as big sellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Another vote for the Roland Bass Cube 30. Mine was brilliant, I wish I'd never got rid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandad Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 6 hours ago, Muppet said: Another vote for the Roland Bass Cube 30. Mine was brilliant, I wish I'd never got rid. Yes, and great value 2nd hand. I forgot about them, I had one for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
operative451 Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 I've got a Warwick BC15.1 which i like a lot. I bought bigger amps but end up going back to the BC15 because it 'just works'. Minimal faffing required..! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 Thanks for the tick for Warwick, their small combos are reasonably priced here, just no one within about a few hundred miles stocks them , so I'll be chancing buying untested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberBass Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 (edited) If you want simplicity and non digital, then I would also suggest the latest orange crush series, they do the 25w 8” speaker, 50w 12” speaker and the 100w 15” Speaker. All are analogue apart from a digital chromatic tuner that can tune up to 6 string basses and the tone playing clean is full, warm and good bottom end. It has a gain that can be blended to combine clean tone of bass along with the gain so you get that nice warm sizzle akin to a valve amp. Also has headphone socket and seperate aux in. I have an ob1-500 so I bought the 100w Crush as the Crush blend and gain works similar way to the ob1, so I can practice and use similar voicing to what I gig, plus the 100w version is also loud enough for band rehearsals. Plenty of YouTube reviews. Edited October 29, 2018 by CyberBass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberBass Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted November 3, 2018 Author Share Posted November 3, 2018 Thanks for the heads up and info on the Orange range, unfortunately I can't find any retailer of Orange amps here in Australia at the moment, (they used to be available) but I'll keep an eye out to see if they become available again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky8884 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 These cost more than your average amp and do sound better https://www.eastgatemusic.com.au/product/phil-jones-session-77-bass-combo/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashdown Engineering Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 To answer your original post the AAA-30 is a punchy little thing and lots of EQ scope and handy features. Our practice amps tend to be a little bigger than most but we find they need it for good bottom end so no toy bass sounds here. Hope you enjoy whatever you end up deciding on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funky8884 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 14 minutes ago, Ashdown Engineering said: To answer your original post the AAA-30 is a punchy little thing and lots of EQ scope and handy features. Our practice amps tend to be a little bigger than most but we find they need it for good bottom end so no toy bass sounds here. Hope you enjoy whatever you end up deciding on. http://www.drumpower.com.au/ashdown-aaa-308-combo-amp-bass-guitar-amplifier-1x8.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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