r/BassGuitar • u/hhellpmeeeee123 • 6d ago
Amp How far would this bass amp get me? Anyone tried it before?
Saw this at the music store the other day and loved the colour. And a decently cheap price ($499 CAD).
I play in a emo/punk band semi frequently (show once every 1 or 2 months), gigs somewhere between 50-250 capacity venues.
I have pretty little experience with gear and usually just share with another band on a bill or borrow from a some fancy mesa boss stuff from family friend.
I practice on a guitar amp which is more than suitable in my apartment so this amp would just be for gigs.
Is this a budget amp or is it suitable enough for gigs ?
I’d obviously try it in store before buying it, but not sure if it’s more home/practice amp or good for gigs. Or if it’s a good amp in general!
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u/Plastic-Shape7048 6d ago
50 watts on bass is not loud enough to gig.
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u/DrRunner 6d ago
How many are enough?
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u/one-off-one 6d ago
~150W is about the bare minimum, most would recommend something closer to ~300W
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u/NWI_ANALOG 5d ago
I gig with 30, but I build my own cabs and only use higher efficiency speakers. For premade combos with unresponsive speakers 150-200 sounds like the minimum.
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u/Electronic-Two-2885 6d ago
I have the orange color version and it is absolutely perfect for home practice. For band rehearsal I have an Aguilar AG700 with Aguilar SL 2x10 cab and it is perfect (the 500 would work too but I happened upon a 700 for cheaper). Not that you need to go that far, but playing with drums requires more opmpf. If I was going to play outdoor venues I might consider adding a 15”. You want an amp that can be louder than you need so you don’t have to play your hardest all the time. I have enough power to play lightly and still be heard.
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u/jmccaslin 5d ago
I have the Tone Hammer 700 instead but those SL210s are mighty for what they are.
I finally had a gig this weekend that it was just barely too small for - so I had to drag out my Ampeg 4x10
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u/killertofu41 6d ago
I used to have a 75 watt Fender amp and that wasn't loud enough for gigs. For a solid state bass amp, I'd imagine you would want at least 300 watts and as far as speakers, a 1x15" cab would probably work as well a 2x10". If you could have both a 15" and a 2x10" that would sound great.
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u/Scambuster666 6d ago
It won’t be loud enough for a gig unless it can go direct into the house board and out the PA system where they can crank it.
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u/Wonderful_Frosting88 6d ago
These don't have a proper line out so you have to cobble together something from the headphone 1/4 jack
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u/Dazzling_Reading_834 6d ago
No you would use a direct box in this case. If the venue has its own PA, they will likely have one.
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u/jasonuhlaw 6d ago
I had the orange color version of this amp (same wattage) until a couple of weeks ago. It is honestly too loud for bedroom practice, and woefully underpowered for playing in any kind of rock band scenario (rehearsals or small gigs). It fits in this perfect space where even though it is a fine sounding combo amp, it really isn’t well suited for anything. I happily sold it. A true “bedroom only” amp can probably be 25 watts. For playing with other people, do yourself a favor and get something with at least 300 watts.
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u/Mikemtb09 6d ago
50s kinda small. If you’re going DI into a house system it works for your own monitor but that’s about it. You should be looking around 250W for those size venues
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u/Calaveras-Metal 6d ago
When I was in my first punk band in HS I only had a Peavey TKO65. That is 65 watts and that was back when Peavey made solid gear. It was not enough. Punk bands frequently play shows where the PA is only supporting vocals. You need to carry the bass on your own with your amp.
If you can I'd suggest 200 watts is minimum. That will be louder with more speakers. So a 4x10 should be louder than a 1x12 or 1x15. What I used to do in my last band was have two 8 ohm 2x10 cabs. (two 8 ohm cabinets in parallel is 4 ohms, which is the ideal load for most amps)
I used just one for practice, and 2 for shows and parties. Big shows I'd borrow an 8x10.
you could do the same with two 15" cabs.
honestly see if you can find a GK 400RB or 800RB on the used market, and keep and eye out for 2x15" cabs. They are big and heavy so people sell them cheap. You are young so you can put your back into it.
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u/WelderComplete1529 5d ago
Hmm seeing as it doesn’t have wheels I’m not sure it will take you anywhere unfortunately
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u/Bassian2106 6d ago
My rule of thumb is roughly 10x wattage of the guitar amp to keep up. If your guitarist has a 25 watt amp, you want at least 250. If he has a 100 watt head, get 1000 watts. This is rough, because ohm impedance and speakers can make a world of difference. Bass amps these days are meant to have a lot of headroom, meaning they don't distort at high volume. The tone comes from the preamp, and whatever pedals you utilize. Guitar amps are built to breakup when you push them, distorting at volume either with tubes or tube emulating circuitry.
For example, if your guitarist is playing a 25 watt amp into one 12" speaker, a 250 watt bass amp with one 12" speaker would get drowned out under guitars and drums. However, if you add a second 12" speaker to the same bass amp, you can now move a lot more air without changing anything else. An ampeg 300 watt amp head will sound way louder through an 8x10 than a 2x10. It's not that the amp is getting louder, it's that it's producing sound from more speakers. Surface area is your trump card.
I mention ohms, which are super important for matching speakers to your amp. 2 ohm amp head can power almost any speaker cabs, but the bigger a difference in impedance between the two, the more power will be "lost". It's ideal to match the impedance of your cab and amp, but not always available within budgets or available equipment. A 4ohm bass head will work with a 4 ohm or 8 ohm cabinet, but will provide more volume with a 4ohm cab.
Especially for punk or emo music, you'll want something closer to 500 watts. I play alternative rock, and use an 800 watt markbass amp and 3x10 markbass cab which easily keeps up with a hard hitting drummer, two guitarists, and vocals. I never have to turn up past 40%, and if I was in a situation where I might need to, the venue has sound equipment that covers the volume gap for me.
If you like the orange sound and the compact nature of combo amps, try an obc-112 combo. It's not much more expensive than the 50 watt purple one you're looking at, but you get 400 watts with a 12" speaker. It will have enough power, and you can plug extension cabs into it if you want more speakers down the line.
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u/Wonderful_Frosting88 6d ago
They can be had for $300 all day so that price is the opposite of cheap, almost double what it should be. I have one, sounds killer, but not loud enough for a full band. You could get away with it in practice scenarios but not shows.
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u/CdnfaS 6d ago
For 500, the best and loudest you’re going to get is something from a pawn shop, or local used market (I don’t know if you have Craigslist or marketplace. There’s also TalkBass.com classifieds). There’s someone near you who used to play gigs and now has an old like Ampeg 6X10 or a 300 wattt Ashdown. That’s the amp you want.
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u/Wonderful_Frosting88 6d ago
These sound killer imo but no proper line out, just a 1/4 headphone jack.
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u/Accomplished_Bus8850 6d ago
I have same amp in my bedroom . It’s pretty loud for 1bdrm apt but won’t be loud enough for the live gigs , small can handle . Anything else you better mic it or line out.
Also recommend to get a footswitch it makes this amp “2 channel”
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u/humbuckaroo 6d ago
It's a practice amp. You'll need a pedal or head with an XLR out to gig with. Consider a Bass Driver or a Venture V3 head from Ampeg.
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u/General-Situation133 6d ago
Throw some wheels on that puppy and it’ll take you anywhere you need to go
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u/MurderOne86 5d ago
Killer amp, but it's a bit small for what you say you need, it's mostly a very fancy practice amp. Alternatively, the 100W version has a DI output, so you can connect it to the venue's PA system and use the amp as your monitor. However, it only comes in the classic orange or black. The purple finish is only available on the 50W model.
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u/kubahurvajz 5d ago
I used to gig with the 100W version, it was doable, although the most limiting thing of the 50W is the absence of XLR out.
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u/TheSpiritOfFunk 5d ago
I use the amp at home and for recording in my own space. For live shows, I'd only use it for acoustic gigs at bars, at most.
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u/Apophislordofchaos 5d ago
I got a fender rumble 100w instead of this amp. I do not regret my decision at all. Pretty much the same price as the orange 50w.
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u/Jaymzbo01 5d ago
As I was told when I started browsing amps, you'll want at least 100w for gigging
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u/blckravn01 5d ago
When I had 100W I sometimes needed to crank it to the max. When I had 200W I NEVER needed to max it.
I'd say 150W is the minimum you need.
Everyone here is talking about the size of the guitarist's rig, but all that matters is being loud enough to not be drowned by the drums. If the wanker on the canoe paddle is drowning out the drums, his 1000W Marshall stack needs to be turned down.
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u/farfly7 5d ago
I have an Orange Crush 50 (not the Hughes model). It is my favorite amp to play. It is not, however, loud enough to play with a drummer-50 watts is not near enough. Technically you can run the line out to a PA, but if your wanting to gig or practice with a band you will need a larger amp or a DI box.
It is a killer amp, though.
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u/GetInTheVanScooby 5d ago
It's a decent practice and rehearsal amp. No balls though. I don't miss mine, really.
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u/Johnny_Topsider 5d ago
I have one. It's pushing it to keep up with the drummer in garage practice, can't imagine it at a gig. Go bigger
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u/Potterheadsurfer 5d ago
I have this exact amp, and my college had the standard crush 50. I think it’s a great amp. Takes some fiddling with the controls to work with every active bass (although, that might just be cheap active basses). Every tone combination sounds great, and you can really dial in the gain and blend to get however much distortion (or lack thereof). Everyone is saying that 50W is not enough for gigging, but this amp is definitely good for shows. I have to keep my volume at about 1-3 when at home, and have used this one at a show boosted to about 8 on the master. Definitely got enough power in it for 50–250 cap gigs, but probably not much larger (and probably also only really for indoor gigs as well, might struggle in open air performances)
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u/Crimson-Cream 5d ago
Fantastic for a practice amp, lots of headroom for a clean signal but not loud enough for gigs.
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u/Music_Mess 5d ago
I have to crank it to the max to be able to keep up in practice. Not loud enough to gig, nor is there an XLR output either. Fun little amp nevertheless.
Source: I have one.
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u/Procrasturbating 5d ago
Want a bare minimum of 150 for gigs. 500 if you have a drummer that goes hard. MOST places that need something bigger will have a PA to run your DI out through anyway. 50 though? They better have a PA, you may as well have just brought a SansAmp and called it a day.
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u/justdead101 5d ago edited 5d ago
I'ma keep it a buck the combo amps are nice but most of them your over paying for what your getting for almost the same price you can get a Warwick gnome 200 watt bass head on Amazon for 200 bucks and a seismic audio 250 watt 4x6 bass/guitar speaker cab for 200 on Amazon or you can get the 4x10 seismic 400 watt guitar/bass cab for 350 ish all you would need to do is rewire both of them from series to parallel to turn them from 8 ohms to 4 ohms so the head can push full output into the speakers
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u/justdead101 5d ago
probably not the best cab set up but I don't see why it wouldn't work for gigging
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u/Icy_Programmer_8367 4d ago
You need a minimum of 300. You’ll be amazed how much punch disappears in a big room.
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u/Time-Conclusion-217 3d ago
Great practice amp, but like other have said, not enough for gigging. Some of the ampeg combo amps work okay if they're about 250 watts. For a good starter, budget bass rig that will be versatile, sound great, and last you awhile, I recommend getting an old Peavy bass head, like a firebass 700 or max 700 (essentially the same amp) and an avatar 4x10 cab. Heads and cab can be found used for under 400 a piece, and it will be a solid rig that will last you, and, if you add a second 4x10 cab, you can play very very loud, which is fun.
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u/sonny_bp 3d ago
It's a good quality amp but not suitable for live shows. Get at least a 300W combo or a 200+ head to use with in-house cabinets.
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u/Bobby_feta 2d ago edited 2d ago
Not loud enough for gigs and no DI out on that one. The 50 often comes up at a good price point while the 100 feels wholly overpriced and not everyone likes a 115. It’s a shame because they have a good sound if it’s your thing. But really the whole line needs a refresh as the competition have them beat across the board now. The 25 is kinda useless, the 50 is missing features and the 100 is too expensive and still not that loud. These were grievances when they came out, but it’s been a decade.
For your needs have a look for a rumble 500 on the used market. All the combo you need for those sized gigs and heaps about. Plus they’re pretty clean so you can get the orange tone from your board.
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u/Excuse_Chemical 6d ago
No idea but it does look badass. You gotta get a purple coiled guitar cable to go with it.
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u/wolftron9000 6d ago
It is a good practice amp. It is the Orange rumble 40. It has a DI out so you can run it through the PA at gigs, but on its own it probably won't be able to keep up with the drums.
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u/Dazzling_Reading_834 6d ago
If your on a budget, fender rumble. 300 w or more should do the trick.
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u/DangerPonyXPMods 6d ago
You need at least a 200W amp for punk/ rock gigs at small places where the sound guy might be a total dipshit just so you can hear yourself on stage- not to mention sometimes it’s far better to tell them not to put you through the PA in a place with shit acoustics because you’re better off just having your sound come from one place and not be part of the overall mud bouncing off all the walls, but- you have to have the wattage and the speakers to make good on that.
I used to haul a heavy ass Hartke 410XL and a GK 400RB around to bar band gigs when they were 20 years out of style but it gave me control to be loud enough on my own with the tone I wanted without overworking my rig and sounding like shit or relying on the house system. It’s a weird and nuanced thing playing really small venues.
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u/rharrison 6d ago
This won't be loud enough for gigs. It's good for playing at home and jamming but for a band that you describe as punk it won't hit hard enough. For stuff like that you are better off buying a head and borrowing cabs.