Studio bass amps

[9unslin9er]

Can anyone recommend an affordable and quality bedroom sized bass amp?

I plan on using it mainly for studio recording maybe over a drum track.

I have little to no experience with bass guitars. The tone I like would probably resemble Duff McKagan's or Michael Anthony's.

My studio amp is a Vox Valvetronix 20 watter and it has ample volume, and I'm looking for something in that price/quality range.

No tube amps needed.

[JOLLY]

If you're just going to use it for recording for the most part, I personally would get something like a Line 6 Bass Pod instead of an amp. I guess you could always get one of their "lowdown" amps as well.

[9unslin9er]

If you're just going to use it for recording for the most part, I personally would get something like a Line 6 Bass Pod instead of an amp. I guess you could always get one of their "lowdown" amps as well.

The Lowdown is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Especially that clean tone. Love it. Thanks so much for the rec.

Does any other company make something like this? Just to keep options open?

[gilaltom3]

I actually prefer the bass plugged straight into an interface.

[ginormous]

I'd go for one of these... an Ampeg BA-115.



A hundred watts into a single 15 with a horn tweeter, and a 3-band EQ.
Goes for less than $400 at the major online stores.

[gibson175]

[jtougas]

+1 on this... I love mine.

And a friend of mine who is a bass player got *REALLLLLLLY* jealous when I got one cheap off ebay.

So, I guess +2?

[JOLLY]

^^^^^ That's a great idea as well.

[9unslin9er]

Will look into the Ampeg BA.

I've always loved Sansamp stuff, but I'd like something I could jam with friends with if needed,

Has anyone used the Line 6 in a rehearsal setting? Can it keep up with drum volume?

[Chris of Arabia]

You could go for a Roland Bass Cube - I've got the 100w version which is surprisingly useful at bedroom levels. It's obviously a modelling amp, but it does have a direct out if you want that.

[9unslin9er]

I'm really concerned with amp hiss. With these mini speakers, it always seems to be a problem without a built in noise gate or tweeter mods.

Anybody have problems with hiss on these?

[Chris of Arabia]

I'm really concerned with amp hiss. With these mini speakers, it always seems to be a problem without a built in noise gate or tweeter mods.

Anybody have problems with hiss on these?

The one I have has a 12" speaker. Do you class that as small in bass terms?

As to hiss, I've not noticed anything untoward with it. I'm not sure of the current options in their range, but the specs on mine look like this

[Funkfingers]

+1 for the DI box suggestion.

I dig the tc electronic RH/'51 Staccato head models. Their new bg250 combo will be more affordable and fit to gig.

[gilaltom3]

If I was gonna get a bass amp for studio use or not I would totally snag an orange bass terror. Those things kill. Too bad they're like a bajillion watts.

[9unslin9er]

Yeah...I've got neighbors with dicks in their ears.

I usually have my Valvetronix 20 dialed down to like 10 watts. And that's pushing it.

[GLJazz]

Another vote for direct...

[ItsaBass]

If you need a practice amp that you can also record with, a used, U.S.-made Ampeg BA-112 is decent for the price, and small and light (plus has a headphones jack). I picked one up for my g/f several months ago so we didn't have to haul my bigger amp to practice every time. It is not as good sounding as my bigger Ampeg, but it does the job fine, and would be even better for recording than for practice. It cost me $180 and it is a very convenient amp.

As much as I love a good amp for recording, what many consider to be one of the best bass tones ever recorded was done direct. People think Jamerson used a flip-top Ampeg to record all those Motown tracks, but that was his live amp. In the studio, he went direct, as did the guitarists (sometimes three of them). However, they weren't plugging into some plastic whiz-bang gizmo from Guitar Center. They went into the board's lush and warm sounding preamps. So maybe a nice sounding tube bass amp with a line out would be a good choice as well. Ampeg B200R, maybe? That is relatively inexpensive, good sounding, and pretty convenient. It has a tube preamp and a SS power amp, and plenty of power for gigs as well.

[9unslin9er]

Well here's the thing, before we all jump the Direct route.

I have no plans to XLR the amp.

I make a lot of youtube videos and have a great hd camera with XY mics. Ampeg's have a great reputation, but that Line 6 really does sound phenomenal for the size. 12-15" speaker is excessive for my app.

I'm just wondering if it pushes enough air that a drummer doesn't need to back off.

[CapoFirstFret]

I know you're looking for a studio/practice rig, but one of the best live bass tones I've ever heard came from a bassist running a sansamp into two Roland Cube 60 Bass amps. He had insanely good, deep, punchy tone. I can't get it out of my head.

[jtougas]

*nods* A guy I know runs a SansAmp Bass driver into some handmade power amp, then into a Yamaha 1x12 speaker cab, IIRC. Sounds great, and we used the XLR out for recording when I recorded the group. Uses the same rig for electric bass, and stand-up for his jazz gigs.