# Small Bass Amp on a Budget



## ESPImperium (Nov 29, 2011)

I have a challange for the more active bassists out there. I have a limited budget and need a good sounding bass amp.

First ill get the budget as this is the easy element of the challange, id say arround £200, ill go 10% higher if needed but would rather not.

And for the main challange, space, im limited for space, and by limited, 12 inches by 12 inches by 12 inches is about it.

I was looking at the Line 6 Lowdown 75w 1X10 combo, but is there any better out there?? What about that Roland cube thing thats the 4x2 of 4x4 combo just for a practice amp??

Or should i just get a decent pedal compressor, dirt box bass wah and then put them into a DI and then run it to monitors or a recording desk? and then get a practice amp later as i can practice without a amp?

Thanks in advance.


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## MaxOfMetal (Nov 29, 2011)

TECH 21 BASS DRIVER D.I. PROGRAMMABLE - Thomann UK Cyberstore

Just go direct. Practice with some headphones.


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## velvetkevorkian (Nov 29, 2011)

Yep, go direct. I've run into a 4 track mixer (which I got for recording) into my hi-fi/monitors for years, or use headphones. Just be reasonable about your volume and you'll be fine.


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## TemjinStrife (Nov 29, 2011)

That Line 6 Studio 110 is a great sounding combo. Not enough volume by itself to run a hard rock or metal gig with, but awesome DI for recording and rock solid reliability. I've beat mine to hell and back and it still sounds pretty good.


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## Sepultorture (Nov 30, 2011)

mark bass \m/


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## velvetkevorkian (Nov 30, 2011)

Sepultorture said:


> mark bass \m/


Not for under £200 I'm afraid!


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## ESPImperium (Dec 1, 2011)

Thanks for the imput on this one.

Pretty much decided that ill get a MXR Fuzz and Compressor now, team them with a 535Q guitar wah (I actually pair a guitar wah with a bass signal) and then get a decent DI box, probably the Sansamp one as that looks pretty much what i want and then ill be done.

Later i might just get a small bass amp or something.

If there was more kick ass bass amps out there that were actually any good i think id be tempted into a purchace before now. There are plenty of small 1x8 and 1x6 combos out there for guitar, there arnt any good enough bass amps out there for bass that are good enough for practice and i think thats a travesty. A Peavey Vypr 1x8 20W for bass, now that would be killer, it would be small enough for me and have plenty enough power as well.


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 1, 2011)

^ That's because it's hard to make a low wattage small bass amp that's cheap and still sounds good.

Sound reproduction in lower frequencies is expensive; there's no way around that. Even more so if you're trying to go low and clear.

Also, I have heard good things about the Ampeg BA108 for low-volume practicing.


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## iron blast (Dec 3, 2011)

Theres a Eden Di/preamp in your price and I believe Aguilar's tone hammer Di/pre also might be affordable enough just to add some more choices.


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## ESPImperium (Dec 4, 2011)

Again, thanks.

I am understandiing more on bass as i wanple rig, a few pedals and a good DI and a decent small amp.

Bass products are expencive i know, if some manufacturers just spent a little more on bass players i think bassists would have the same choice as guitarists who arguab ly have more gear to choose from.

Bass players deserve more, its only right they get small mighty packages like many of the great small valve and solid state amps there are out there for guitar.


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 4, 2011)

Bass has way more in the way of gig-ready lightweight stuff out there than guitars do.

It's just that it's expensive, since it's much easier to get solid guitar tone out of a small, cheap package due to the inherent acoustic requirements of reproducing low end.

If you want cheap though, check Craigslist (or the UK equivalent) as you'll find all kinds of heavy, big amps and cabs that people don't want to ship for dirt cheap. Peavey, Eden, Hartke, SWR, and the like all show up pretty regularly at incredible prices.


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## velvetkevorkian (Dec 4, 2011)

Best place for cheap bass gear in the UK is the classifieds at basschat.co.uk. I would counsel against getting an amp for home use; if you're gigging as a bassist you might need one but I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to bring a bass amp to a metal gig in Glasgow over the past 8 years or so. Obviously YMMV though.


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 4, 2011)

Also check out the EU/UK classifieds on Talkbass. Basschat is dedicated for the UK, but Talkbass has a much larger readership.


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