Cleanest Sounding Bass Amp

[backagain1]

I love the sound of my SR5 through my headphones, when the bass is plugged directly into my mixer and the headphones coming directly out of the mixer. I play through an SWR with a 4x10 cabinet at church and, while the bass still sounds fantastic, I find that I prefer the sound I get through my mixer and headphones.

At this point, I am assuming that I should be looking for the cleanest amp possible to mimmic the sound I get through my mixer and headphones. Is that a valid assumption, or could there be another factor?

In light of that, what amp and speaker combination would you recommend? Can I get that same sound (the sound of going directly into the mixer and into headphones) from a bass amp and speakers?

Thanks,

backagain1

 

[mynan]

The word is transparency...the amp is Markbass...IMHO, of course.

 

[strummer]

Glockenklang

 

[EBMM7181]

The word is transparency...the amp is Markbass...IMHO, of course.

I agree

 

[Sonnyonbass]

You can't get the sound that you get from your headphones out of your speaker cabinet.
There is more than 1 reason for that. 1 is that your headphones give you a closed environment around your ears. And a much lower noise floor. The speakers very close to your ears. Try putting a 210 on your shoulders.

But if you want a clean sound. Get a very high quality amp that doesnt colour a lot.
Glockenklang would be a good starting point. But you have to try the most expensive 1.
Sounds great btw. And yes. With a SR5!

 

[oli@bass]

I'd try these: MarkBass, Phil Jones Bass, Aguilar, Eden

Oh, and the stuff that Lee Sklar endorses... EA amps

 

[strummer]

>erm, Oli I love my Aggie, but he's looking for uncolored...

 

[sir funkytown]

If the bass sounds fantastic through the rig you have then you should leave the rig alone. You should work towards getting a great sound live with the drums...you are an entertainer after all. Take the money you were going to spend on a new amp and take some dance lessons...or singing lessons...or , piano lessons. It dosn't sound like you need a new amp. Just remember , what sounds good when you are right beside your amp probably sounds muddy in the audiance.

 

[TSanders]

Im gonna go against the MarkBass koolaid drinkers, and say that Ive used two amps cleaner than MarkBass stuff.

Glockenklang
Euphonic Audio

I wasnt crazy about either as I actually prefer a colored tone. I like some tube warmth, some flavor if you will.

 

[Psychicpet]

I wouldn't say MarkBass as being transparent, good amp, but not so transparent to my ears or basses.

For real transparency I'd suggest either Euphonic Audio iAmps/cabs or probably what gave me the best tone with an SR5, an Avalon U5 DI plugged into a powered 1x12" P.A. monitor... really nice, and although not so "flat" with the Tone circuit engaged, with it on preset 3 or 4 I think, it was an amazing tone.

Another thing to look into would be a Radial DI and a Bergantino powered cabinet... very hi-fi and would let the voice of the SR5 really speak.

anywho, good luck with the hunt!

 

[tkarter]

Peavey equals clean. IMHO Markbass is a little on the rosey side in my opinion although I haven't heard one since Dallas.

tk

 

[Oldtoe]

I was going to recommend a Bergantino IP cabinet with maybe an Avalon DI or something similar. My Markbass F1 is very uncolored as well. The Bergantino cabs seem to be very true to an instrument's inherent tone.

 

[maddog]

1000 Watts of the purest cleanest sound ever. You probably don't want to see the price tag.

Dang, you said Bass Amp, didn't you.

 

[Aussie Mark]

my Acoustic Image Focus 1 is the cleanest amp I've owned, and agree it's far more transparent than Markbass. It's great for bringing out the true sound of active basses, however passive basses sound a little bland through it.

 

[bovinehost]

I had an iAmp 800 for a while and it was so clean that I couldn't stand to use it.

 

[SquidLizard]

They're pricey, but my little Walter Woods is pretty darned clean. I haven't actually heard the more powerful ones, but I'm told they're much the same.

 

[strummer]

1000 Watts of the purest cleanest sound ever. You probably don't want to see the price tag.

Dang, you said Bass Amp, didn't you.

Nelson Pass has some good ideas, but from experience (yesterday) I can report that it didn't really do too well as a bass amp.
Ok i played through the INT 150, but I was expacting more than I got...
Funny how you can do silly things like that at work and get away with it lol

 

[Sonnyonbass]

Oh.... And maybe it's a good idea to check out the AER basscube (I also have the extension cabinet) Pricey but worth it. And clean sounding.
Can handle the low B of my SR5's at full volume with no problems at all.
But because that is a phenomenal bass that helps a lot I guess

 

[and lombardini]

the closest to a DI or headphones is

cab: ACME
head: Acoustic Image

then EA...

Markbass is not flat at all, the head is pretty clear (filters off) but the cabs are very far from accurate.

 

[oli@bass]

>erm, Oli I love my Aggie, but he's looking for uncolored...

ok... maybe I got that all wrong... and I have to admit the last Aguilar I tried was about 8 years ago... far too expensive then, but it sounded more transparent than anything at that time.

Glockenklang

I didn't even know that Glockenklang is still around... I think I tried their first stack, the one used by Jonas Hellborg, some 20 years ago, and even as a beginner then, I wasn't impressed at all... maybe my Squire P-bass was too crappy for it...

For real transparency I'd suggest [...] an Avalon U5 DI plugged into a powered 1x12" P.A. monitor...

IME, most of them monitors have a very underdeveloped lower midrange and virtually no bass response below 80Hz and are more or less incapable of properly reproducing a bass, especially an EBMM. Do you have any suggestions on brands, Pete?

Markbass is not flat at all, the head is pretty clear (filters off) but the cabs are very far from accurate.

Pretty broad generalisation, isn't that? The MB 104HR is at least much closer to the truth than any SWR cab I've owned (4x10 G I, 2x10 G Jr II, and 8x8)

However, I guess that all bass amps, and especially the cabs, are going to colour the sound one way or another. Somebody here posted that he uses a BOSE sound system as bass amp. That could be a solution to get bass' "uncoloured" sound.