#105869  by Emoto
 
Hi folks,

I have a room that I use for jam sessions that I am in the process of improving. To make it easier for people to come over, I want to have an assortment of equipment so that people don't have to drag all their stuff over.

Am currently debating about picking up some kind of bass amp. The room is not huge, so I don't need anything loud enough for Madison Square Garden, just something that sounds decent.

What do you guys think of these items? If you came to a jam session, how would you feel about playing on these?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/aco ... -bass-head

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/pea ... 4000000000
 #105872  by Grateful Dad
 
The bass head is good for the application you will be using it in. However you may want to look into a single 4x10 cabinet or a 1x12 or 1x15 to go along with the 2x10 if the people you play with like to turn it up.

As a bass player I would like the gear you selected, Peavey stuff is almost indestructible. I have Peavey PA and bass cabinets that are over 20 plus years old that have served well over the years through all sorts of wear and tear. I play bass with friends a couple times a month and go through a similar Acoustic amp and it is plenty loud with lots of headroom.

Hope this helps.

:smile:
 #105874  by Todd GT5
 
The head and cab you mentioned would be fine to me. However I would recommend the GK MB115.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/gal ... 2000000000

I use it's bigger brother the MB212 for gigs and from what I have heard the MB115 would give you more than enough volume and tone in one light weight affordable package.

I have been thinking of replacing my practice room Fender BASSMAN 150 with one!

-Todd
 #105887  by tigerstrat
 
2x10 or 1x15 should be plenty for a small room
 #105889  by Emoto
 
tigerstrat wrote:2x10 or 1x15 should be plenty for a small room
I had a Fender bass amp with a 15 on loan for a long time and some guys sounded kind of muddy through it, so I was thinking (and please correct me if I am making bad assumptions here) that a couple of 10s would be more likely to be clearer and crisper sounding than a 15...
 #105891  by Rusty the Scoob
 
Emoto wrote:
tigerstrat wrote:2x10 or 1x15 should be plenty for a small room
I had a Fender bass amp with a 15 on loan for a long time and some guys sounded kind of muddy through it, so I was thinking (and please correct me if I am making bad assumptions here) that a couple of 10s would be more likely to be clearer and crisper sounding than a 15...

Probably true but of course there are many variables at play.

Personally I'd just go on craig's list and scrounge up some gear. There's always decent practice-room stuff on there for cheap. I use old keyboard amps a lot too, they work fine.
 #105908  by playingdead
 
Bob, if you can stretch your budget ... here's a great deal on a new Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 with a 2X10 cabinet.

Image

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genz-Benz-Shutt ... 055wt_1324

They are usually $1299 at MF, etc.

I have this bass amp for my rehearsal studio. The head is 600 watts into 4 ohms and weighs about 4 pounds (class D power). The tone shaping controls are excellent for bass, it has a 12AX7 tube in the preamp to warm it up, and it's also very useful as a standalone power amp using the Aux In jack; I used it as a backup to my Focus 12R for my old Playing Dead rig and it had plenty of clean power to drive the 2x12 with E-120s, so if your guitar amp has a preamp out, you can make use of it in other ways. Also serves brilliantly as a direct box for recording, either direct or using the tone controls and tube (switchable). The whole thing is about 35 pounds or so and easily carryable with one hand, and has little legs so you can tilt it back if you want.

Image

The 2X10 is punchy with plenty of bottom -- I have a 5-string bass -- and I even did an outdoor gig with it on bass and it was plenty loud enough. In a practice room, more than enough power to shake the house.

Scott uses the bigger Shuttle 1200 in Playing Dead, and he loves how it sounds. They also make a Shuttle 3.0 which is 300 watts and no tubes, but I haven't played through that.
 #105909  by Rusty the Scoob
 
I'll vouch for this setup as well. A Shuttle 9.0 powered my stage rig for quite a while and still comes everywhere as a backup, and it doubles as my travelling practice rig with my 2x10" SWR cab. Great little head, I'm thinking about using its preamp section from now on in place of the GT preamp in my stage rig.

(but I'd still just scrounge Craig's list if it were me... there's so much practice-worthy gear just sitting around somewhere)
 #105911  by Emoto
 
Thanks Vic and Dan! That looks like a VERY nice rig, but I'm afraid it falls ouside my budget for the moment. I probably won't do anything until January anyway, so that may change. I will definitely check out craigslist, too.

Right now, I am working on replacing the drum kit that was until recently on loan to me, so that's where the bulk of the budget is going at the moment.
 #105953  by Charlie
 
I've got an old Roland Cube 60 combo amp that works fine provided the volume doesn't get up too high. It's got a single 12" speaker and not a bad tone. Over the years I've used it for quite a few low volume gigs as well.
 #107540  by zambiland
 
Eden WXT500 and fEARful 12/6. It would be awesome for a rehearsal rig as well as small gigs and with a 15/6/1, a great big rig.
 #107546  by Emoto
 
zambiland wrote:Eden WXT500 and fEARful 12/6. It would be awesome for a rehearsal rig as well as small gigs and with a 15/6/1, a great big rig.
That looks like a very nice amp, but is pretty far outside my budget for a practice room amp.