Ideas for a new bass amp rig?

[JimBeed]

Well its a week before i go back to university again, and this time im going with my warmoth.
But currently its running through a marshall 30 Watt amp MB Series i believe, one of there practice amp lines.(not much of a Amp Righ either  :laughing7
Now this has served me fine up untill now, but a couple of months ago the input socket went a bit dodgy, but with some soldering that my dad did the connections were good again.
However now its going a bit dodgy once again.

But anyways as im hoping to be getting into a band of some sort just for fun, originals hopefully though.
But im thinking my Marshall with its dodgy input and 30 watts wont be anywhere loud enough or reliant enough to play in small pubs/clubs/University club.
Im thinking of spending around £200 possibly go up to £300 but rather keep the 100 and save it for something else if i can.

Now ive looked and this Ashdown Amp grabbed my attention.
http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Ashdown-Five-Fifteen-Mini-Bass-Stack~ID~12568.asp
EDIT: Well what i want soundwise ive just thought isnt so much modern or classic, more of say something i can mix together to get something a bit not original but not a complete copy of somebody else's style of tone.
So if anyone knows what ashdown amps are like soundwise would be much appreciated.
Also the idea of a small stack amp i like.

Would the 100W this thing does be good enough for small pubs and such?
If anyone has any suggestions for other makes (or models of Ashdown amps) that could provide a good sound for the £200-£300 then im open to them aswell. Cheers

 

[mayfly]

The rule of thumb for Bass power is:

take the power of all of the guitar amps in the band, add 50W for the drummer.  Then double it.

For my band, I (well used to) run an AC30 clone, so with the drummer the above equation is:

(30 + 50 ) * 2 = 160W

Our bass player runs just fine with a 250W single 15 combo.

One thing about bass - with increasing watts, the equipment just get's bigger and heavier.  However, Bass manufacturers (and players) don't seem to be hindered by tradition like us guitar players.  This has led to super small adn light amp heads running class D transistor power with massive output levels, and neo-dynamic drivers in small light enclosures.  These are the coolest things IMHO

 

[whyachi]

If you want something that can get plenty loud for small gigs and doesn't require selling your car, I'm not sure about their availability outside the US but I've had awesome luck with my Acoustic B200. 200W, 1x15, option to run a line out - Acoustic says it runs 200W either way, and takes a 4- or 8-ohm extension cab. Wouldn't hurt to factor some casters in with the cost... its not too heavy, but the handles aren't so great.

 

[JimBeed]

Ah cheers mayfly, i saw your system on it in another post but couldnt remember which.
So annoyingly that 100 would be a bit too small cause of drums being 50w then that leaves zilch for the guitarist... though maybe thats good  :evil4:
Well just looked at some of the combos that Ashdown do, and for just under the 300 i can get about a 180W  which would give me just a bit above what you suggest for 30w guitar amp with drums,
When you say all of the guitar amps do you mean the average power if theres two so like 30+30/2, or the two added together, so two thirtys would be sixty? or just what the two are if they are the same power so if they are both thirty just count it as 30w?

Looked into Acoustic B200, and it doesnt seem avaliable in the UK, but looked on GuitarCentre, as it was the first american site to pop up, and they do free shipping,
but im guessing if i looked round could probably find it cheaper even with shipping, unless shipping on there site is what they call delivery through just the US.

 

[mayfly]

Ah cheers mayfly, i saw your system on it in another post but couldnt remember which.
So annoyingly that 100 would be a bit too small cause of drums being 50w then that leaves zilch for the guitarist... though maybe thats good  :evil4:
Well just looked at some of the combos that Ashdown do, and for just under the 300 i can get about a 180W  which would give me just a bit above what you suggest for 30w guitar amp with drums,
When you say all of the guitar amps do you mean the average power if theres two so like 30+30/2, or the two added together, so two thirtys would be sixty? or just what the two are if they are the same power so if they are both thirty just count it as 30w?

Looked into Acoustic B200, and it doesnt seem avaliable in the UK, but looked on GuitarCentre, as it was the first american site to pop up, and they do free shipping,
but im guessing if i looked round could probably find it cheaper even with shipping, unless shipping on there site is what they call delivery through just the US.

I'm suggesting adding up all of the guitarists power.  so if you have 3 guitarists each running a 50 watt half stack, this is the formula:

(50 + 50 + 50 + 50) * 2 = 400 watts

 

[JimBeed]

Sheez  That alotta power..... but i do love it  :evil4:..... but dont have the money for it  :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:
Hmmm Well im guessing probably end up  as 2 guitarists bass and drums, probably, if i do find anyone.
And if i limit them to 40 watt or 30  :laughing7:
then
(30+30+50)*2 = 220
Even the 180 wouldnt be a good amount.....
Hmmm well before i buy anything im going to take a trip to a store in a city near university, or well a city near it that has more than one small music store,
And see what i can find for the 200-300 maybe, going to keep looking.
I dont even know if i will be doing stuff with anyone yet anyways, but likely know in the first two weeks of university if i will be,
Just annoying when places say Practice/Small Gig, when understandable your system Mayfly shows that what amps are called Practice/Small Gig, probably couldnt stand drums and a 30 watt guitar, which would be 160 in itself.
Maybe they mean box room pubs  :laughing7: which to be honest it might end up as being, and the Student bar isnt that big either considering.

 

[JimBeed]

Our bass player runs just fine with a 250W single 15 combo.

One thing about bass - with increasing watts, the equipment just get's bigger and heavier.  However, Bass manufacturers (and players) don't seem to be hindered by tradition like us guitar players.  This has led to super small adn light amp heads running class D transistor power with massive output levels, and neo-dynamic drivers in small light enclosures.  These are the coolest things IMHO

Yeah i just looked at Ashdowns range of Little Giant Amp Heads and the Superfly cabinets, and they can get 350watts to 400 watts for 10kg less than theyre normal 307w combo  :toothy12:

But looking at prices the best for the head is £350 whilst the cab also runs for about that
So thinking if i like there tone im going to go with one of the combos of some shape or form, then if i need to ill go to them heads and cabinets if theyll give similar tone which im sure they would
Need to go to music store and find out next, least theres dealers in the city nearest to university.

 

[bassfrancesco]

Just a thought:  find a small amp with best tone and mic it thru the PA.  Win/win. 

 

[jackthehack]

"The rule of thumb for Bass power is:

take the power of all of the guitar amps in the band, add 50W for the drummer.  Then double it."

Hmmmm...

Back in the day, I had a SuperReverb (50w) the other guitar player had a TwinReverb (100w) 150 + 50 (drummer) * 2 = 400 watts???

Are those REAL watts or fake solid-state MOSFET watts?

Our bass players had 50-100w amps (Bassman/Acoustic 150B/Ampeg B-25) and don't recall having any issues hearing them?

 

[JimBeed]

Yeah ive looked at alot of places that say to mic it thru the PA to get it heard more, which when i can do i would do,
but its the times when they dont have a PA , i want something thats small enough to not be too much hassle to carry myself, on its own after carrying bass is fine though.
Enough Watts to be heard in the mix enough, but in my price range of 200-300 pounds, which is seeming to get a max of 180watts from any make, and thats for an ashdown combo for a bit over 300,
But i think i will likely go with ashdown as like the sound clips ive heard,
Found out one of the dealers of them is in the town where my university is so ill go there see what they have
Another question a friend said that 100 watt mini rig i showed the link to in the first post couldnt be Real 100 watts, because of the size of it
What do you guys think?
and if it was the Solid-state MOSFET watts, that jackthehack mentioned, how can i tell how many real watts that equates to?
or if it was other fake watts

I probably wont need a bigger amp for month or two
but if i do after them months i want to be ready and not doing all of this then, even if i get one closer to when i need it that doesnt matter to me
Long as i know what'll be enough power for the job, which as i say is a university bar, which i believe has PA as it has music nights.
and small clubs/bars, which possibly would too
soo hopefully ill just invest in a mic to mic it with and boom, 100 watt mini rig would suffice, i hope.... i just like it i cant help it  :sad: :sad:

 

[JimBeed]

Though the alternative is if i find people to play with, get a bigger amp i can afford, and tell the guitarists to use modest easy for me to match loudness wise sized amps  :evil4:
Considering they dont need much

 

[mayfly]

"The rule of thumb for Bass power is:

take the power of all of the guitar amps in the band, add 50W for the drummer.  Then double it."

Hmmmm...

Back in the day, I had a SuperReverb (50w) the other guitar player had a TwinReverb (100w) 150 + 50 (drummer) * 2 = 400 watts???

Are those REAL watts or fake solid-state MOSFET watts?

Our bass players had 50-100w amps (Bassman/Acoustic 150B/Ampeg B-25) and don't recall having any issues hearing them?

that would be fake mosfet watts  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[jackthehack]

"The rule of thumb for Bass power is:

take the power of all of the guitar amps in the band, add 50W for the drummer.  Then double it."

Hmmmm...

Back in the day, I had a SuperReverb (50w) the other guitar player had a TwinReverb (100w) 150 + 50 (drummer) * 2 = 400 watts???

Are those REAL watts or fake solid-state MOSFET watts?

Our bass players had 50-100w amps (Bassman/Acoustic 150B/Ampeg B-25) and don't recall having any issues hearing them?

that would be fake mosfet watts  :icon_jokercolor:

Just as I suspected... I would suggest that all "wattage" specifications be eliminated and instead replaced by "volts R.M.S. into X ohms", but some Chinese manufacturer might take it too seriously, juke for that spec and electrocute innumerable bass players in the process.

 

[JimBeed]

Hmmmm
Well hopefully going to test one, along with others.
http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Ashdown-Five-Fifteen-Mini-Bass-Stack~ID~12568.asp
But do you guys think this has the fake watts your talking about?
and like if i got this, do you think it would be a simple case of to get more power i could get one of there more watt heads later on connect it to the cab this came with and be good to go?
If i had the extra 300 cash to play with, id get one of there mini heads that can do 300 watts and get one of there special superfly cabs to go with it,
as theyre the same weight or bit less as getting a cab of 300 watts, and probably alot easier to carry.

 

[jackthehack]

Don't know what the UK pricing would be, but the Ashdown amp below is so damn loud (amazing as it's so portable/compact) that the kid that plays bass with my girlfriend's son has left it in the music room for more than a year as he's not allowed to turn it on in his parent's house. It's been discontinued so you may be able to find it on clearance/closeout sales, pretty good bass sound for something so portable:

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ashdown-Electric-Blue-15180-Bass-Combo-Amp?sku=485037

 

[AndyG]

The rule of thumb for Bass power is:

take the power of all of the guitar amps in the band, add 50W for the drummer.  Then double it.

For my band, I (well used to) run an AC30 clone, so with the drummer the above equation is:

(30 + 50 ) * 2 = 160W

The only problem with your formula is that assumes everybody is going to be wide open, all the time.
While it is true that bass frequencies require more power to achive the same relative volume (roughly 4 times more power), an effiecient, good-sounding cabinet can make up for a lower-wattage amp in 90% of situations.  I agree that a 50 watt bass amp won't really cut it in a live situation, but if the band "mixes" themselves onstage, where no volume wars occur, and if everybody goes through the PA, a smaller amp will have no problem keeping up.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Unless you're the one bringing the PA, from venue to venue is a crapshoot.  How many watts?  Dedicated subs?  It's always nice to have more watts than you need.  That's called headroom, and it always sounds best.  Everything I've ever bought that was shooting for a "just enough" window was never enough in the longrun.  If all you'll ever need is 50 watts, buy 200.  If 250 watts is all you'll ever need, buy 600.

Juat a reminder, whether getting a combo or a component rig, do the math with the watts and ohms - impedance match.  If a head is 600 watts @ 4 ohms, one 8 ohm cab is not getting 600 watts.

 

[JimBeed]

ah ok thanks super ill keep that in mind
and great thanks jack, that electric blue 15-180 was another i was considering to buy, and as its at the top end of my budget its perfect,
Not sure if its discontinued i think Musicians friend just probably arent stocking it, as its readily avaliable in the uk on sites, and id imagine in shops
Well like i found out theres a ashdown dealer in my university town so ill take a trip there, see whatthey have, and test it with my bass to see what it sounds like through them
Thanks for all the help, hopefully in the next week or two ill know what ill get/have it  :toothy10:

 

[mayfly]

The rule of thumb for Bass power is:

take the power of all of the guitar amps in the band, add 50W for the drummer.  Then double it.

For my band, I (well used to) run an AC30 clone, so with the drummer the above equation is:

(30 + 50 ) * 2 = 160W

The only problem with your formula is that assumes everybody is going to be wide open, all the time.

This made me smile - when does a guitar player not play wide open?  When there's sheet music in front of him! <ducks>

One thing I just thought of - why don't you get a small amp that fits your budget for rehearsal / pub gigs, and when you get a big show to play, rent the required monster amp?  That might be your best bet.

 

[JimBeed]

The rule of thumb for Bass power is:

take the power of all of the guitar amps in the band, add 50W for the drummer.  Then double it.

For my band, I (well used to) run an AC30 clone, so with the drummer the above equation is:

(30 + 50 ) * 2 = 160W

The only problem with your formula is that assumes everybody is going to be wide open, all the time.

This made me smile - when does a guitar player not play wide open?  When there's sheet music in front of him! <ducks>

One thing I just thought of - why don't you get a small amp that fits your budget for rehearsal / pub gigs, and when you get a big show to play, rent the required monster amp?  That might be your best bet.

Well they wont with me around if they know whats best for them  :laughing7: :evil4:
and well i doubt its ever going to be above pub gigs, cause theres plenty of them, and dont want to take it too seriously to be honest
yeah if i ever got a big show id rent a monster amp like you suggested sounds good plan
Just was wanting to get a good enough one for rehearsals and pub gigs, but i wasn't sure what was good enough/big enough in the first place, i knew my 30 watt would do badly, but wasnt sure if 100watts was safe, or if need more
but if i like the sound of the electric blue amps by ashdown ill likely get the 180watt combo of that. Unless the Mini rig lives up to its 100watts apparent power, but ill be cautious on that one.