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Topic: Bass amps |
Bill Miller
From:
Gaspe, Quebec, Canada
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Posted 23 Apr 2007 8:21 am |
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| My bass playing buddy is thinking about getting rid of his heavy old Kustom bass amp and getting something lighter and more compact that doesn't require a forklift to move. I told him I'd try and find out what's popular these days. He'd being looking for something with at least 200 watts that's fairly light and compact. He's playing mostly country. Are there a few bass amps that are more strongly favored by country players? I wondered about some combo unit rather than another head and cab rig like he has? |
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Rick Batey
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Posted 23 Apr 2007 8:35 am
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Maybe take a look at SWR, Eden and MarkBass.
Last edited by Rick Batey on 10 Jan 2009 6:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bill Miller
From:
Gaspe, Quebec, Canada
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Posted 23 Apr 2007 1:49 pm
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Thanks Rick, I haven't heard of any of those makes...are they pretty expensive?
I think he'll be looking for something fairly ordinary since he probably won't get too much for the old 1970s Kustom. How does Peavey rate in bass amps? And is Ampeg still used a lot? |
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Max W. Thompson
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2007 1:59 pm
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| Tell him to keep the old Kustom rig in his practice room and look for an SWR combo. The SWR Workingman series is nice sounding, and light. I use a Workingman 10 when I take my bass out, and I just dragged my old Kustom rig out of the garage and set it up in the practice room because I still like the sound. You are right...noone will give him much for that old bass amp right now, so keep it! Good luck. |
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Michael Strauss
From:
Delray Beach,Florida
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Posted 23 Apr 2007 7:07 pm
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Bill,
I'm biased, I use an Ampeg B5-R w/ BXT115 cab. Yeah, the cab is HEAVY (110lbs), but what a sound. I've had a Fender Bassman (60's), Traynor and Peavy. I like solid state amps, being a bass amp no problem with clipping. If you look at most pro's, they use Ampeg. SWR, Eden are very good amps.
It all comes down to the sound. Have your friend take his bass down the to his local music store and try them out. He'll have to decide on price and if he wants a combo of separates.
I know this is not much help, it's all very personal. It took me 30 years to get the 'sound' I've wanted.
_________________
Carter S-12U, Sho-Bud LGD (80's), Fender Jazz King, Korg Pandora Toneworks PX4D, Modulus Q6, Ampeg B5R, Lapstick Travel Guitar mod to lapsteel |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 24 Apr 2007 2:24 am
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with the new decades also came NEW BASS Gear..no, make that GREAT Bass gear.
Eden, Hartke, SWR, Gallien Kruger..etc...
Small Heads ( well above 200 watts) that weigh maybe 5 or 6 pounds, Single 12, double 10 cabs , that weigh nothing in the scheme of things..
Sound to die for...
Our Bass Player uses a small SWR rack and he has several small cab's that he uses, mostly two single 12 Eden cabs...he is in and out of gigs with 1 trip on a small cart..
If I were to do the Bass thing again I would follow suit and go with 2 single 12 cabs or two 2x10 cabs..I would leave all the big stuff for the young kids or the Pawn Shops ! |
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Jeremy Steele
From:
Princeton, NJ USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2007 4:23 am
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| You can pick up a Hartke 3500 head on Ebay for a couple hundred bucks. Match it with the cab of your choice and you're good to go. In my experience they are bulletproof, and the graphic EQ gives you a lot of sound shaping options. |
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Aled Rhys Jones
From:
Berkeley, CA
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Posted 24 Apr 2007 6:21 am
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My favorite for bass is Ashdown.
http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/index.asp
The higher end models allow blending of solid state/valve, but I've also owned the lower end MAG series (300 watt), which are cheaper but offer slightly less headroom. They have a 600w version now. Their ABM mini 15 cab is highly portable, one of the best I've seen/owned. I hope the guy who stole it from my house thought so too.  zzounds has good deals on Ashdown stuff. |
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Walter Killam
From:
Nebraska, USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2007 8:44 am Hartke Kickback
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| I don't know if they are still being made, but I had a Hartke kickback 112 combo which was light, clean sounding, and surprisingly loud. I traded it for an Ampeg SVT 350T & have been kicking myself ever since. I am seriously considering selling the Ampeg to reaquire a Kickback or 2 'cause dragging that Ampeg around really sucks. |
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