# Power Amp for Bass?



## swayman (Mar 24, 2010)

Hey Guys,

So a mate of mine has asked me if I'd be interested in playing bass in his band. His band is good, very good, awesome infact, a little different to the stuff I generally listen too but one of the better bands in this country. A band full of fantastic musicians, and a drummer I've always wanted to play with.

But here's my problem, I don't currently have a bass rig. I picked myself up a bass about 2 years ago which I still have though, and I have a POD X3 which I use to record my own stuff. I'm not in the financial position to drop $5000 on a rig at this stage.

So I'm thinking about the logistics of getting a rig together & what I would do until I have the budget to do that. At the moment, basically the only thing I could do is run my POD X3 straight into the desk, which doesn't particularly seem like a bad idea. But when it's time for me to get a rig together, I'm contemplating getting a POD X3 Pro and running it through a power amp. The reason I'm thinking the X3 Pro is I don't wanna drop thousands of dollars on a bass amp when it's only going to handle bass duties. I'd rather spend the cash on something that is going to provide me with a few tools as at the moment my X3 is used to track mostly guitars.

Can anyone suggest a good poweramp that can be used for both bass & guitar? Valve preferable but will definitely consider solid state.

Thanks guys.


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 24, 2010)

I'd go for solid state for maximum flexibility, as well as to keep the budget down. Anything in the 200+ watt range should be good. 

I'd recommend you some specific units, but I don't know what brands would be best in Aus. I know you guys typically get raped on prices.


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## swayman (Mar 24, 2010)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I'd go for solid state for maximum flexibility, as well as to keep the budget down. Anything in the 200+ watt range should be good.
> 
> I'd recommend you some specific units, but I don't know what brands would be best in Aus. I know you guys typically get raped on prices.



Yeah dude, we get raped alright. I've bought most of my stuff from overseas, even with big shipping costs I save heaps in the end. When I bought my Schecter C-8 it was $2,400 here or $899 USD from an Ebay powerseller, with $70 shipping. So it worked out roughly $1,050 all up purchased from Ebay...

Yeah solid state will probably work better. Recommend away buddy, I'll see if I can locate any here and take note of pricing.


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 24, 2010)

Well the three brands I've had the most experience with are Carvin, Crown, and Peavey. Any model from either of those companies should do the job. Usually there's a few really nice Peavey units on eBay. 

Though, see if you can score a Carvin DCM series. I've used them in bass rigs, as well as in live sound and they never let me down. I've also heard nothing but great reviews on QSC units as well. 

As far as Guitar/Bass specific units, the new Rocktron Velocity 300 has my interest, though I haven't used it myself. It looks to be another great option.

Price out some of those, and I'll see what more help I can offer. 

Also, have you considered what kind of cab you'll be using?


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## swayman (Mar 24, 2010)

Cab wise, I actually have a Mesa 2x15 cab without speakers, more than likely I'll be just getting speakers for that. What 15"s would you recommend?


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 24, 2010)

swayman said:


> Cab wise, I actually have a Mesa 2x15 cab without speakers, more than likely I'll be just getting speakers for that. What 15"s would you recommend?



The Avatar cab I used to have with 15" Eminence Kappa speakers was pretty badass. They really pumped out the low end without getting muddy. As long as I set the amp relatively bright. 

To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of 15" speakers, so I don't have a ton of experience with them.


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## swayman (Mar 24, 2010)

MaxOfMetal said:


> The Avatar cab I used to have with 15" Eminence Kappa speakers was pretty badass. They really pumped out the low end without getting muddy. As long as I set the amp relatively bright.
> 
> To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of 15" speakers, so I don't have a ton of experience with them.



I've always preferred 10" speakers myself. I find that the right cab loaded with 10" speakers has just as much bottom end as 15" cabs without the mud.


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 24, 2010)

swayman said:


> I've always preferred 10" speakers myself. I find that the right cab loaded with 10" speakers has just as much bottom end as 15" cabs without the mud.





I loves me a good 410 or 810 for bass.


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## mtillem (Mar 24, 2010)

I just bought the Line 6 HD750 because of the cheap price, good reviews and versatility of the one head. This thing ROCKS! I mean it can play any style you want and sounds great doing it. It does take some setting up but once it is set up, it rocks.


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## SargeantVomit (Mar 24, 2010)

One of the better bands in Australia and they're all fantastic musicians?

I would recommend either seriously stepping up to the plate or graciously declining and letting someone else hold the torch. IMO if you aren't committed to owning proper equipment, you aren't committed to the position in the band. It's completely reasonable that you can't really afford it, we've all been there. 

What IS your maximum budget?
Are you willing to sell your guitar rig to fund your bass rig, or do you have another band where you play guitar right now?
Maybe one of the members has a rig they can lend you until you get one?
Is your bass up to par or would it need replacing?

You should be able to have a semi professional, gigworthy bass rig for 1000-1500 dollars. A used Ampeg 8x10 or a brand new Avatar 4x10 will run you $500, then between 500-1000 for quality power.


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## MaxOfMetal (Mar 24, 2010)

SargeantVomit said:


> One of the better bands in Australia and they're all fantastic musicians?
> 
> I would recommend either seriously stepping up to the plate or graciously declining and letting someone else hold the torch. IMO if you aren't committed to owning proper equipment, you aren't committed to the position in the band. It's completely reasonable that you can't really afford it, we've all been there.
> 
> ...



You're forgetting he's in Australia, gear that we can easily get for cheap can be quite costly down there. 

I don't think the rig he has in mind is all too bad. It might not be very traditional, but'll certainly get the job done, and well at that. I've run a POD Pro with a bass before and it performed admirably.


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## SargeantVomit (Mar 24, 2010)

Right right, I did forget that, sorry. Yeah the preamp isn't the issue, it's the other things that are the issue. He would need a quality SS power amp like Yamaha or QSC or Crown, something cheap and 200w wont cut it. And a quality cab is always important.

Here's a gigworthy cab for sale in Aus right now.

TalkBass Forums

And here's a decent head, but it might not cut the mustard for power...

TalkBass Forums

Even that rig is like 1600au


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## swayman (Mar 24, 2010)

Okay, I can get this for like $1200 AUD shipped straight from Carvin. There are only 2 stores here in Australia I can find that distribute Carvin, they both don't publish their pricing. I'm gonna guess (as with most music gear here) double the USD amount & you're in the ball park. So that's doable. I'd much rather deal straight with the company when they can ship internationally, cut out the middle man.

I can get a Crown XLS802 for $1,050 AUD at an Aussie store. They seem pretty common here, looking at international pricing we're getting RAPED.

With QSC, it's apparent you're paying for something more, RMX2450 $1,699 AUD. This is the top end of what I'd be looking to spend on a poweramp.

I'm leaning towards the Carvin at this point...


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## TemjinStrife (Mar 24, 2010)

If you have a preamp, the Carvin DCM power amps are great. Lightweight, reliable, and plenty of power. Peavey has also launched a lightweight high-efficiency class D power amp that might be worth looking into as they are fairly cheap around here and might be available over there as well for a reasonable cost.

With regards to excellent brute force low end reproduction, the 8 ohm Kappalite 3015LF speaker is an industry standard for bass guitar, with excellent Xmax and the ability to eat loads of power without flinching. Make sure you get the 8 ohm version though, as the 4 ohm version has very different Xmax and power handling specs.


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## SargeantVomit (Mar 24, 2010)

Yeah that carvin should cut the mustard, running one side of that into that Eden 2X12 would be a usable rig for sure with your POD with room for you to pick up another cab for the other side of the power amp in the future.


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## robotsatemygma (Mar 27, 2010)

The guys over at Talkbass seem to like the Crown, QSC, and Crest poweramps. Crest being the top dog of poweramps, according to some people... if I remember correctly.  

Best advice I can give... bass is a separate monster. If you wanna go the cost effective route, grab the Line 6 Bass Pod Floor unit ($120 US) and a power amp. Wham! Instant tones at your feet. I'm personally looking into a Hartke LH500 w/ a rackmounted EQ or the Tech 21 SansAmp bass driver for more optional sounds. I just need to figure out if I want 1 4ohm cab or 2 8ohm cabs. I'm still debating a rack rig though. Decisions decisions.


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## SargeantVomit (Mar 28, 2010)

robotsatemygma said:


> The guys over at Talkbass seem to like the Crown, QSC, and Crest poweramps. Crest being the top dog of poweramps, according to some people... if I remember correctly.
> 
> I just need to figure out if I want 1 4ohm cab or 2 8ohm cabs. I'm still debating a rack rig though. Decisions decisions.



It's because one of the "top dogs" for QSC is a regular poster on Talkbass. Can't get any better customer service than right at the source at the end of your fingertips. Don't rule out Mackie, Yamaha or Peavey for power amps either. 

As for the cab decisions, most power amps are stereo, so if you have one cab now you're going to run it bridged mono into one cab. Then later if you add another cab, you'll run each side into each cab. So get 4ohm cabs and run one on each side of the amp. 

Also, just buy the sansamp, forget the EQ and the Hartke, they'll just hurt your sound and be a leak in your wallet. 

For the OP. If you're looking into other preamps, the ones that are quickly becoming standards are either the BBE BMAX (non T) for solid state (it has a built in sonic maximizer and everything), and the previously mentioned tech21 sansamp for tube tones.


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## TemjinStrife (Mar 28, 2010)

The Sansamp VT Bass is another excellent preamp, and the Deluxe version is on its way.


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