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Amp help


KevinM

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Greetings,

My daughter, the musician, needs a Bass Amp. She says her guitar amp is not the same and needs one for her bass. I am a photographer, I have no clue.

Can you all recommend manufactures to look for and to stay away from? Also, looking on Amazon, some were called amps and some cabswhats a Cab?

Id like to keep the price around $300, is that reasonable? I live in Denver and I think there is a store that just sells Basses and well probably shop Guitar World as well.

I appreciate your assistance.

Kevin

Not all who wander are lost
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The normal practice amp is called a combo. Becuase the amplifier is mounted in the speaker cabinet. As you move into the more professional models you will see seperate componants. The Preamp, the amplifier, and then the seperate speaker cabinet. For a beginner I would recommend a small combo amp with a 10" or 12" speaker with about 50 to 75 watts of power. This will give her true bass sound and make playing much more enjoyable and give her enough power to play with friends in a small practice session. How old is your daughter and what kind of Bass is she playing?

Rocky

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote."

Benjamin Franklin

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Amp = amplifier

 

Cab = speaker cabinet

 

Combo = amp + cab in the same unit

 

Rocky gave sound advice. 50 to 75 watt combo with a 10" or 12" speaker.

 

$300 will do the job for you. Easily.

 

My first small combo was a Crate. It served me well till I outgrew it. (And the low wattage kept my parents sane.)

 

Cannot really recommend one since I haven't bought or played through one in years. Any amp will bring out endorsers and detractors. Maybe one of our teachers will chime in.

My whole trick is to keep the tune well out in front. If I play Tchaikovsky, I play his melodies and skip his spiritual struggle. ~Liberace
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Some sugestions:

 

SWR La-12

Fender Rumble 60

Ashdown Five Fifteen

 

Look at the spec's. Look at the weight and demensions. Keep in mind portabiliy is she wants to take it out to play.

 

Rocky

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote."

Benjamin Franklin

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The practice amp that I've gotten the most use out of is a Scholtz Rockman headphone amp. I don't know if Rockmans are still made, but the headphone amp is at least made by other companies and is a real family saver. They ususally have a second input for a cd or mp3 player input, and have a couple of effects such as distortion, chorus, and delay. Eventually (or even now) you will still need an amp to play with other musicians. The headphone amp can still come in handy as a pre-amp before your regular amp if you like the way the effects sound. Fabulous for beginners, and it'll work well for both guitar and bass. And as for the headphones, I still use them for 3/4 or more of my practice time. Also, many regular guitar and bass amps have a headphone jack and can be used the same way.

Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse.

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I'm going to get an Ampeg BA112. I plan to use it for practice and gigs. (I have PA support at my gigs so I wanted a tilt back type amp to use as a monitor.) 12: speaker, 50 watts, under 40 pounds, headphone out, a CD in, and sounds darn nice for around $350.
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Originally posted by Rocky3840:

Some sugestions:

 

SWR La-12

Fender Rumble 60

Ashdown Five Fifteen

 

Rocky

I love ya Rock but the LA line of SWR is very puny sounding as is that line of goofy Ashdown combos. No offense. They just sound . . . cheap!

 

Personally, I like the SWR WorkingMans series much better - particularly the 10. Warm and present with enough poop for a small band setting. Or, like Steve-O says, look into the Ampeg minis.

 

Remember that you get what you pay for when it comes to amps and if your daughter is serious, you may as well lay out the extra $$ now and get something she can grow with.

"He is to music what Stevie Wonder is to photography." getz76

 

I have nothing nice to say so . . .

 

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Originally posted by Rocky3840:

How old is your daughter and what kind of Bass is she playing?

Rocky

Thank you all for the replies, She's 16 and has a Gio Ibanaz Soundgear wich was what we could swing budget wise at the time. She's looking at an Ibanez 65 watt amp but I'll take your recomndations when we go shopping.

 

Thank you again,

Kevin

Not all who wander are lost
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If it were my daughter, I would get her a Tascam Bass Trainer and a set of headphones. 90% of all my practice is done on the Tascam and it is very useful. I can play any hour of the day or night and not disturb anyone plus it has a lot of great features. Look into it.

Rocky

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote."

Benjamin Franklin

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Originally posted by SteveC:

I'm going to get an Ampeg BA112. I plan to use it for practice and gigs. (I have PA support at my gigs so I wanted a tilt back type amp to use as a monitor.) 12: speaker, 50 watts, under 40 pounds, headphone out, a CD in, and sounds darn nice for around $350.

I have one, GREAT little amp!

You can stop now -jeremyc

STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring

lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum

I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie

 

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IS your daughter going to used the amp strictly for practicing, or will she need to use it to perform? If she's gonna perform with it, don't get anything less than 100 watts, or she'll end up cooking it, and it will sound awful till she does.

 

Look into used gear. You can pick up a used 100-150 watt combo with a 15" speaker for about what you want to spend, and that will get her over for most performance situations. Particularly look at Peavey and Crate amps in the used equipment sections of the stores you go to. It isn't the best stuff in the world, but it is very usable for a first amp, and Peavey stuff in particular is pretty tough, will last a long time if it's taken care of.

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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My best advice is to find a reputable music store with a good selection, and take your daughter to try a few things.

 

The key word here is "reputable" -- check with some local musicians, your daughter's music teachers, or anyone else you trust for a recommendation.

"Tours widely in the southwestern tip of Kentucky"
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