Find me an amp

Hi
I have just got my second Warwick, a Corvette, and sold the rock bass. It is now time to sell the Crate and buy a better amp.
I am intending to play Soft / mid rock, pop and a little country.
I want a small amp, up to 100 - 150w to play at home.
I have seen the Ampeg Ba112 and 115, with the 210sp with built in effects and like the history, but don't know much about the amps.

Over to you. In a price ( used ) of £150 ish, what would you choose / what do you play?

 

Like you, I don't need to play at enormous
volume levels, and I find that 150W up to
400 or 500W is plenty [4ohm ratings].

At the low end I'm favoring a couple of light
and convenient combos: The MarkBass Mini
[2x6.5"] and the GK Micro [1x12"]. I usually
prefer a seperate head, even around 150W
but especially above in the 250W to 500W
range. In my locale, I've found the GK 400
series to be quite commonly avaialble used,
some shops having 2 or more on hand, and
the GK 400RB III is one of my mainstays.

I like my cabs light, so I tend toward 12" of
various brands, both 4 and 8ohm. Since it's
the cab that really gets the wear & tear, my
philosphy on used gear is not to be looking
for any specific make/model but to see what
may turn up of suitable rating in nice shape.

My daily playing is in a duo and so I use the
small combos for that. Whenever we are up
to trio [our "big band" LOL] I go the head &
cab routine, wattage depending on the size
and type of venue. To me, those Ampegs
are on the virge of "too-big-to-be-combo".
Not so much the 12" but the 15" is. The 12"
might actually be what suits you, altho its
just about big enuf make me prefer a head
& cab rig.

​

 

I havn't played that many different amps, but my 150watt Peavey TKO Black widow combo sounds absolutely awesome to me. Loads of tone controls, brings out the smoothest, deepest bass (be perfect for softer rock) and really throws out a lot of sound for a small amp.

But like i said, I havn't played many other amps so it might be rubbish compared to the rest lol

 

I've got the BA115, and I have to say I like it. I tend to use a GB shuttle more, because I need the portability, but the Ampeg sounds good. And the 5-way preset tone control makes it easy to get the ballpark of the sound you want and then tweak it with the EQ. The only thing that has to be said is the tweeter hisses a lot. From reviews on the net this seems to be standard, not just a defect on my amp. But I've put a felt pad over that corner of the grille cloth and that brings it under control. I won't say it's the best amp out there, cos I simply haven't tried enough different ones, but I'd be fairly confident in saying you won't regret buying it, especially if you can get a good 2nd hand deal.

 

+1 to above, I have the ampeg ba115 and its a great combo but I blew the speaker out in 6 months of playing small gigs. I stuck an EV 15" driver in there & its great. Its done a lot of work & has proved to be reliable. worth a look.

Rusty

 

For a home amp, the Eden Nemesis range are incredible.

I've got the 1 x 8" 40 watt model and it is great for home playing, I think it only cost £70. Bargain. In fact I like it so much I was set on buying one of their high end amps for live work until the Thunderfunk became available.

If you're doing gigs I'd be looking for a head and cab, and not going under 300Watts. Bass needs to move some air!!!

 

+1, I think an Eden will do the job.

 

I don't like to be negative, but when I bought my shuttle the seller made me try a little Eden practice amp. I'm afraid I can't remember the model (and, actually, perhaps it's just as well that I can't remember!), but the sound was really not good. Some bass practice amps just sound kinda "pokey". Okay, it cost loads less than the shuttle, but a miss is as good as a mile, and the sound, for me, missed by miles. The BA115 weighs muuuuuuch more, but it'll make your bass sound like a bass, rather than a guinea pig belching inside a cardboard box.