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«5 String Music Man Sterling Bass · Frethand Leading on Bass »

Bass Amp Set Ups

Posted by Benjamin on November 25, 2008 Filed under: bass, bassguitar, Gear tagged: amp, bass, bass guitar, cab

Carrying my bass amp around over the last few days, and listening to the amplifier woes of others, has got me to thinking about the different set ups choices we have as a bassist. It seems to fall into three main buckets:

  1. Combo Bass Amp – A speaker / amp / pre-amp all in one.
  2. Modular – A bass cab with a seperate head. Or even more modular – A cabinet with a pre-amp and power amp.
  3. Amp-less – Something I’ve just started playing with!

Beginners often start out with set up 1 – A nice all in one unit. Some pros stick with a combo set up, so it is not to be sniffed at. I had an SWR Redhead which I used for many years – A very distinctive sound, but quite a beast to cart around. Later I splashed out on a more modular set up, which is what I still use at the moment :- an Accugroove cabinet (seen in “Choosing a bass cab part“, with a Clarus amp. I’ve started to experiment with an amp-less set up for some environments, but more on that in another post.

Each set up has its own advantages and disadvantages. I’ll be blogging some thoughts over the next few days, but right now I’m interested to hear your experiences. What is your current set up? What different set ups have you tried? What would you suggest to a beginner bassist?

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13 Responses to “Bass Amp Set Ups”

  1. Bry In Sanford, on November 26th, 2008 at 8:25 AM Said:

    Interesting comments. Of course, anything that makes the right noise you want will be fine, but try a few amps
    and/or cabinets in the store first and make sure you will be happy. We all have different tastes when it comes to amp rigs.
    I use a seperate amp head and speaker – Warwick PRO FET 5.1 and Aguilar 2 X 12″ but I have seen some very decent combo amps too.

  2. Benjamin, on November 26th, 2008 at 5:32 PM Said:

    Bry, I like the idea of ‘anything that makes the right noise’ – of course it does need to be transportable and durable too! Aguilar 2×12 is a good call 😉 – I have one of those sitting behind me, for bigger gigs.

  3. Brian Sharples, on November 27th, 2008 at 6:15 PM Said:

    I started out with a 1974 Fender Bassman modular setup (still have it), a 100 watt head on a 4×12 cabinet. The cabinet weighs 50 pounds and the head weighs 54 pounds. Looking for something lighter I went to a Fender BXR100 combo amp (still have it as well). Now I’ve gone back to modular with a Genz Benz NeoPak 3.5 with a Genz Benz 2x12T cabinet. I like the idea of modular because of the ability to mix and match.

  4. Bry In Sanford, on November 27th, 2008 at 8:05 PM Said:

    Has anyone tried those SWR 200 Watt combo amps with
    a single 12? Do they sound any good?
    That looks like a really good transportable set up.
    If the sound is good, then it might make a nice, compact
    package for small top medium gigs or to run it
    as your monitor when going throuhg a DI to the
    P.A. system…. anyone tried that? Or other medium
    sized combo rigs?
    By the way I tried out the Nemesis combos and didn’t
    like the sound. I know other folks think they
    are great. Maybe it was just me, but comparing them
    with other equipment in the store (Bass Central in FL)
    they just didn’t hold up well.

  5. Benjamin, on November 30th, 2008 at 3:57 PM Said:

    @Brian – I’ve only played through an old Bassman once. I really loved the sound – a very specific tone. That’s a wonderful piece of vintage kit you have there! 2×12 seems to be an even more popular set up than I thought.

    @Bry I haven’t tried an SWR 200, but I have tried some others. With a modern speaker, a 1×12 can be fine for bass – as long as it isn’t a big venue or overly load band.

  6. Bass Combos, on December 3rd, 2008 at 10:02 AM Said:

    […] to Jemimah Knight (@jemimah_knight) for setting me off down this path. Of all of the Bass Amp Set Ups, the bass combo has a history and richness of variety that could fill several […]

  7. Clark, on December 6th, 2008 at 6:23 PM Said:

    I would chime in and say that in contemporary music bass is so rich and defined wether a very sub sort of sound or a clicky pick tone that all parts of your rig should be important. For example some better cables like Mogami or Monster etc. are an inexpensive way to improve your rig of any configuration. I also suggest a added boost box between your bass and your amp like the ones made by Demeter, Sans amp, Xotic, or Aguilar which for a few hundred dollars can make a huge difference. If you check out the bass set-ups of huge touring players most have multiple stage signal chains with many essential components between bass and speaker. Also try an on floor isolater like the ones Auralex($40) makes that will keep your sound tons more consistent from room to room.

  8. Bass Amp Cab Design - Open Back Design, on December 8th, 2008 at 8:00 AM Said:

    […] A little while about Mark Wright of Accugroove shared some excellent advice in:  Choosing a Bass Cab – Part I and Choosing a Bass Cab – Part II. The next couple of posts add a little bit of background about the different designs of cabinet, to take away the mystery of the shapes that you see around, and follow on from the post on Bass Amp Set Ups . […]

  9. Bass Reflex - Ported Cabinets, on December 11th, 2008 at 10:25 AM Said:

    […] speaker cabinets for a while, I promise! Completing the mini-series that started by talking about Bass Amp Set Ups and covered open back designs and closed back designs. The main type of cabinet design in use […]

  10. In-ear monitors - Future Sonics, on December 22nd, 2008 at 4:45 PM Said:

    […] I’ll write up the complete “amp-free” set up in the next post (completing the Bass Amp Set Ups posts), but first let’s talk about what I found when I tried out the Atrio in-ear […]

  11. Ampless Bass Set Up | The Bass Guitar Blog, on January 9th, 2009 at 10:23 PM Said:

    […] thought of playing without an Amp? The last set up in the Bass Amp Set Ups list is one that doesn’t use an amp at all – the ampless set up. Actually there is an […]

  12. Ahmed Abaza, on March 20th, 2009 at 3:21 PM Said:

    Hey all,
    I a new bassist ,and I have some problems setting up the sound of the bass amp I am using. I use a behringer3000A 2 channel amp.It has 7 sliders for equalizers some times it sounds very good, and at other times it sound terrible,I don’t know why?? any advice.I am using an AXL bass with 1 tone knob.

  13. S&y, on April 13th, 2009 at 9:51 PM Said:

    I started with a Hartke Kickback 15. It sounds good & is very durable. It has a quiet DI & functions well as a stage monitor. After 8 years of moderate use, the input jack & pots are getting cranky. I use it as a 2nd amp for house jams & in my studio.

    I replaced it with an AI Clarus SL. At 150 w into 8 Ohms (250 w into 4 Ohms) and 30 ounces (!) + a very quiet DI, It fits in my gig bag with all the wires I need. I play through a GK 112MBX which weighs 12 lbs (Neodimium 12″ speaker in an un-ported steel cabinet). It too is a good small venue rig or stage monitor.

    I am in Metro Boston & can come & go on public transport. I load in/out on foot with everything, I use a luggage cart if there is a long walk.

    I use a Multi-FX pedal to massage the sound as needed. I can’t hear the difference between tube & solid state amps & am not willing to carry a lot of heavy, sometimes expensive gear around in a car too big for the rest of my life.

    I find amplifiers are at least as personal as bass guitars. Each of us seems to focus in on the things that are most important & adjust to the situations, music & players we encounter. It’s no surprise to me there are so many choices & opinions. I like it that way.

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