Help With a Amp.....

[francric]

Can you guys suggest a amp to go with my StingRay? A buddy of mine lent me a Ampeg BA 115 combo. Although nice it doesn't seem to be loud enough. Am I crazy? I would think 100 watts would be more than sufficient. Seems great if all I want to do is play at home. I was considering the Ampeg BA 115, until I tried it. Now I'm looking at a GK MB 115 or a SWR Working Pro 12. What do you guys think?

 

[five7]

I had the same ampeg for a week and reached the same conclusion especially after playing with a drummer. 100 watts is not enough! Great tone though. They make a 200 watt version, but I wasn't able to try one with a band. I found a behringer bx1800 for less money and am very happy with it. I had the 90 watt version of the behringer and it had enough volume also. I should have kept it as it was lighter in weight. For louder gigs I still use my markbass and one of my ampeg cabs. I would love to own one of the small markbass combos and will if I find a used one at a good price. Whatever small setup you choose it has to be able to keep up in a band setting.

 

[adouglas]

I'd say MB. Really nice amps, and much better IMHO than the newer SWRs.

100 watts is not sufficient at all if you're going to play in a band situation. 250, 300 or even more is more the speed.

The most powerful rig I ever had was 1000 watts, and it was nice and clean. I never came anywhere close to overdriving it. Headroom is a GOOD thing. My current rig is 750 watts and I'm never in danger of being drowned out or pushing it too hard.


Also give the 12 inchers a try. I've owned 15s, 10s and 12s in various amps over the years, and I like the 12s the best of those.

 

[francric]

MB? As in Mesa Boogie? I guess I should have added, trying to keep the cost down and the unit light. If that is a possible thing.............hahaha

 

[AnthonyD]

My guess is he meant Mark Bass...

 

[projectapollo]

SWR 350, Used

I, too, have been trying to get a better amp solution. I purchased, as part of a trade here on the forum, a 15" Mesa Walkabout Scout combo. It is VERY nice, but pricey. Anyhow, in my research, I found a sweet spot in price/performance in the older SWR 350 amp (chrome face plate). Not the newer 350x. The SWR 350 has a tube pre-amp and 350 watts to boot - and consistently good user reviews. Two rack spaces, so pretty compact. They are relatively easy to find on ebay and craigslist. Pair that up with the cab of your choice and you will have plenty of power. (There is a fellow in Orange County selling a nice Mesa 15" "Vintage Powerhouse" cab (that is the line, not the age of the cab) that I would recommend. I just bought his Mesa 2x10. I can get you in touch with him). Not sure what music you are into, but add a 1-rack space Tech 21 SansAmp bass driver with the SWR 350 and you'll have a really teriffic sound in a reasonably compact 3-rack space rig.

 

[adouglas]

I meant Markbass. They are indeed relatively light.

 

[Powman]

You need about 4-5 times more power than an electric guitar to get the same loudness. Low frequencies need more energy. So in your original case the 100 W bass amp would produce the same loudness as say a 25 W guitar amp.

I use a Markbass combo with a Markbass extension cabinet. The combo by itself is rated 300 W at 8 Ohms. So far I am finding that this is plenty, but the addition of the cab brings me to 500 W at 8 Ohms. I never go past half...so I get lots of nice clean bass out of this rig.

The MB stuff along with other newer lightweight rigs that utilize Neodymium magnets are not cheap...us old(er) guys appreciate not having to carry a fridge up the basement stairs...

However, this means there are lots of great deals on used gear. The stuff may be heavy but they sound great (some think better, but whatever, I am not carrying that stuff anymore).

 

[oli@bass]

Mark Bass. I guess you want a combo. Mark Bass has some really cool, loud, and very light ones. Check them out. And 100W are no way enough as soon as you get to play with a semi loud drummer.

 

[keko]

... especially after playing with a drummer. 100 watts is not enough!

That's right!

My gear, amp/box is 400 W into 4 Ohms 2x10" + 1" Hf / box, and when playing with my drummer on acoustic drum set some practice, I push it a bit over 100 W, but when whole band playing gig over PA system (over 2x3 kW) I push it near 200 W (aprox.)

At home for practice I barely reach over 50 W!

Hope it helps!

 

[Powman]

That's right!

My gear, amp/box is 400 W into 4 Ohms 2x10" + 1" Hf / box, and when playing with my drummer on acoustic drum set some practice, I push it a bit over 100 W, but when whole band playing gig over PA system (over 2x3 kW) I push it near 200 W (aprox.)

At home for practice I barely reach over 50 W!

Hope it helps!

Interesting...does this mean that you don't use PA support for the bass? Only the rest of the band is going through the PA?

 

[jlepre]

1. Light
2. Loud
3. Cheap

PICK 2! hehehe

I wouldn't recommend the 200 watt version of the Ampeg, as it didn't cut the nustard in a band situation. 300 watts would be my starting point, but 500+ would leave you enough headroom This also depends on if you have PA support or not. I've used my Genz Benz rig for almost all of my gigs with PA support.

 

[Basspro]

If you double the wattage 100 to 200 it's only about a 3db gain in volume.
I would suggest you start at least 300 watts it's always better to have plenty
of headroom if needed.
Try to find a used GK or SWR head, you can pick one up at a good price if you do
some searching around.

 

[MrMusashi]

the 200 watt ampeg is far better than the 100 watt.. and very much better than the 100 watt difference says. in short the 100 watt is a cheapskate amp whilst the 200 watt does ok.
that said, my favorite is the markbass f1. small, powerful and with those 2 wonderful filters that allows you to dial in whatever sound youre into. mark king stainless steel slap sound.. no problem.. old dark muffly ampeg.. no problem.. a combo of those.. no problem
it fits in the big pocket on your gigbag and drives any cabinet you come across.

MrM

 

[keko]

Interesting...does this mean that you don't use PA support for the bass? Only the rest of the band is going through the PA?

Negative!

I play bass over amp/box set and through DI output take signal to the main mixing console and also using bass signal over complete PA system, whole band too!
Drums are wired with Shure Drum mic set, guitar player uses mic in front of his amp speaker, keyboard players are plugged direct to mix-console ...etc.

Edit: So, yes, I do use PA support for my bass parallel with my personal amp/box set!
Overall volume and PA setup depends of the hall where we playing!

 

[francric]

What about a Ashdown MAG C115-300 or a GK MC 210?

 

[Jigster]

...can I push this thread sideways a little to ask about amps used by classic stingray players..??

I know Flea used or did use GK -

anyone else people know about?

And out of interest, does anyone know the backline Joe Lally uses?

 

[five7]

the 200 watt ampeg is far better than the 100 watt.. and very much better than the 100 watt difference says. in short the 100 watt is a cheapskate amp whilst the 200 watt does ok.
that said, my favorite is the markbass f1. small, powerful and with those 2 wonderful filters that allows you to dial in whatever sound youre into. mark king stainless steel slap sound.. no problem.. old dark muffly ampeg.. no problem.. a combo of those.. no problem
it fits in the big pocket on your gigbag and drives any cabinet you come across.

MrM

f1 all the way baby!

 

[T Alan]

Can you guys suggest a amp to go with my StingRay? A buddy of mine lent me a Ampeg BA 115 combo. Although nice it doesn't seem to be loud enough. Am I crazy? I would think 100 watts would be more than sufficient. Seems great if all I want to do is play at home. I was considering the Ampeg BA 115, until I tried it. Now I'm looking at a GK MB 115 or a SWR Working Pro 12. What do you guys think?

If that 'Peg ain't doin' it, those others certainly won't ...unless you
A) find yourself playing with musicians with a better sense of touch and
B) stop cutting your mid freqs.

If your after a cleaner sound, you want as much headroom as you can afford. Rule of thumb is more than double what your guitards are pushin'. After that, you need to push as much air as you can handle transporting from job to job. Since all you want to do is play at home, this part shouldn't be an issue. I recommend a 2x15" cab with a high frequency driver.

 

[T Alan]

MB? As in Mesa Boogie? I guess I should have added, trying to keep the cost down and the unit light. If that is a possible thing.............hahaha

Your only as good as your weakest link, bro.