DescentBB

Ok my son has been playing bass for 9 months. He wants a bass amp for his birthday and thinks this is the one:
http://www.ashdownmusic.co.uk/bass/detail.asp?ID=144

I know nothing about this so some advice would be appreciated.

The amp would be for practice and small gigs at friends houses etc.

The amp above is about $270, is this a good price range and value? I know this is a fraction of what I could spend but is this what I need to spend?

After 9 months you're going to get him a fullstack? That's a bit much... I'm not big on specific brands of bass amps, but I'm damn sure he can survive with a decent combo amp.

If you get a good one, he can always trade it in later towards a fullstack.

I wuz looking at picking up one of these...

http://www.worldmusicsupply.com/bass-gu ... e/BT50.asp

Geez. That thing is impressive.

Check this thread. It should be very helpful

Its a "mini" stack DC, 37" high I think, seems pretty big to me though.

I wouldn't recommend the Ashdown P10. The reason he wants it is probably the "coolness" of having a stack, albeit a miniature one. That "coolness" will wear off quickly, and he'll realize that it isn't loud enough, and he'll be back begging you for a bigger amp. Wattage is very important with amps - you want lots of headroom, especially on bass.

100 is the minimum amount of watts I would go for, any less than that won't cut it when you add a drummer and guitarist to the equation.

I have an Ampeg BA-115, which is 100 watts, and sounds bigger than it is due to the 15' speaker. It's still nothing special, but as most of the time when I'm playing bass (I'm more of a keyboard, saxophone and guitar player) it's at a particular venue which has a dedicated bass rig, I don't really need something bigger.

The Crate BT-100 looks ok, although professionals would laugh at the idea of using a lower end Crate product.

Pugwash wrote:Its a "mini" stack DC, 37" high I think, seems pretty big to me though.

Ahh, I see. It's all bark and no bite though. 65W and only 1 speaker in each cabinet? It's not worth its own size.

My bandmates have had bad experiences all around with Crate amps, but that's on the lower end of the spectrum.

[edit]

Clayman wrote:The Crate BT-100 looks ok, although professionals would laugh at the idea of using a lower end Crate product.

My point exactly.
[/edit]

Ahh, I see. It's all bark and no bite though. 65W and only 1 speaker in each cabinet? It's not worth its own size.

For what it's worth, after a bit of research, apparently it has quite a bit of low-end, but the mids and highs are quite lacking. I guess if you're playing lower-volume rap it might be ok.

Well I really dont give a ★■◆● whether the pros would use it or not. I want a good amp for a 13 year old thats not gonna cost a fortune. He plays rock music if that helps.

What he needs is a good practice amp.

I'm not familiar with that stack, but it seems like more of a toy than anything. I'd recommend this Fender over that one you linked. 100W output with a nice ported cabinet and fancy red LED's to make the kid happy. Fender also makes a 60W version that's a little cheaper.

I'd keep in mind that at this price range, you're gonna hear the chevy/ford argument all day long. The key would be to find something on sale that's a good solid brand name. I truly dont think you or your son will really hear much difference between brands. I'd go with something that doesnt have a bunch of fancy electronic effects on it. A nice, simple, quality amp. He can always add effects later and in the cheaper amps, the built in effects are generally not as nice anyway.

Ibanez, Fender, Crate, Peavey and Roland are all pretty good name brands.

edit- the one I linked isn't really a practice amp. usually practice amps are little 15 watters, but he's got one of those already. this amp could be used to practice with his bandmates and even do some small performances. my guitar amp is a little marshall 15 watter and it's loud enough to annoy the entire house.

I had a Peavy 100w, great amp.

edit: just remembered what a 'practice amp' is. Blech and a half! Nothing under 50 watts is acceptable in any regard, really... You just don't get anything out of it. I was stuck with one of those garbage amps for a year, and hated every second of it. Flat and tinny, and it did not foster any desire to play. My skill increased exponentially after getting a 100w amp.

Get him a "Bass POD" and a set of headphones only to save your own sainity.

;-0

I'd have to go against the Fender. If he's playing rock music he'll probably want a fuller sound than the Fender will provide.

Mesa Boogie makes the best. Buy that, and buy once.

I read that about the 65w Fender but not the 100w Fender DC, any idea if that ones ok?

oh and Z like I said before "I want a good amp for a 13 year old thats not gonna cost a fortune."

ps thanks for the help everyone.

Pug, I'm speaking in terms of sound characteristics, not power. Sure, a higher-wattage amp will be louder, but Fenders emphasize the high-end and are a bit lacking in the low-end, especially their solid-state amps. It's the same with their guitars: better suited to crisp, clean playing instead of full, wall-of-sound style. They have a purpose (IMO slap bass sounds a lot better coming from a Fender amp) but for general rock playing you might want to look to a different brand.

i skimmed. this post is rushed, so sorry if its total balls.

watts are NOT the most important thing when buying a bass amp - cab sensitivity and headroom are! also remember, that big amps, while i don't condone this, CAN be turned down!

watts IS headroom, i hear you say. not necessarily.
You don't necessarily get headroom using a big amp.
Headroom is the power supply (main transformer and electrolytes) ability to provide extra current when needed.
3 dB headroom means that a 100w rated amp can provide 200w when called for. It all has to do with the power supply.

sensitivity is the dB rating given to a cab at 1W/1m/1kHz or something similiar.

i know from experience from being a kid that we all want the shiniest, biggest and coolest looking equipment. so buy TRACE ELLIOT! Not too expensive, HUGE sound, flexible, plenty of head room. so loud. built like tanks!

100 W isn't enough for a band rehersal. 250 Trace watts are, 300W for everything else.

I recommend: Trace Elliot (my guys, they are number one in my book;)), Ashdown (close second, they have Trace egineers!), Peavey (solid, total tanks. plenty of power, EQ isn't very flexible, but amps can do a wide variety of music), TRAYNOR (heard great things about these amps), Kustom Groove 1200 (1200 stands 1200 WATTS!). Crate are OK, but I'd only reccommend the higher end stuff.


PLEASE DO NOT BUY BEHRINGER. ITS GARBAGE. THEY ARE THE MICROSOFT OF THE EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY!!!

As I have learned from experience, especially starting out, the coolest looking gear isnt the best. maybe you should sit down with you guy and have a talk with him, suggest it might be best to get something thats going to haul ass at a rehersal and is practical for your budget.
Also, a crap bass can sound great through a good amp. Great bass through a crap amp is still baws.

hope this helped. i'll be back with you guys in time

Had another thought - AVATAR speakers!
Highly spoken of in the US - cannot be beaten for the price and power they deliver. they're currently doing some great deals on cabs and an ashdown 300H head. a 2x12 and the ashdown would be a killer rig!

Dr. bass are like avatar, but Ihaven't as much about them...

so what happened?

Which ever one you get, make sure it goes to 11

No, you dont understand man, it's eleven!

I'm not crapping on the thread, but someone had to say it

so true.

lol.

thanks for the help everyone.