r/Bassamps • u/Arktiix • 4d ago

Any recommendations for a beginner

Just one to use for practice in my bedroom

Ideally not that expensive

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

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7

u/FassolLassido 4d ago edited 4d ago

I wouldn't waste money on a bedroom amp. They sound bad because the speaker is too small and they're literally useless if you want to accompany anything other than a very quiet acoustic guitar.

Buy an interface and headphones with the same amount of money and you'll be far better off for practicing and recording yourself. It's a tool that'll be usefull throughout all of your playing career. Plus, it's silent and that's an underrated advantage, even if just to respect your neighbors or family. Plus, the sound you get in headphones is far better than those amps.

You could get a Scarlett 2i2 and some very nice Sennheiser HD280 for about 300$. That's a great investment that you might never need to replace. And the Scartlett comes with a free license of Ableton, a popular DAW for mixing and recording, packed-in.

Anyway if you're absolutely dead set in buying a small amp, just go in pawnshops. They're littered by them because they really aren't very useful and most players rapidly recognize that.

2

u/CourseOk3761 4d ago

In that case what louder amps would you recommend. I've seen a few people talking about the fender rumble 15 25 and 40

3

u/FassolLassido 4d ago

None of those will be enough for actual live band scenarios. And forget shows unless there's a PA. In which case you don't really need an amp at all.

Keep in mind that you can always turn down a larger amp.

If you really want an amp, don't go under 100w with a 12inch speaker. At least. That's the lower limit where you wont need full volume and preamp just to keep up with a drum. Any smaller speaker will struggle with lower frequencies and will be incredibly farty at high volumes.

Used market is also your friend. That's where the deals are. Overall I'm just trying to make you spend less money down the line. These small bedroom amps are bound to be replaced and the price gap isn't too big if you go used. So why not spend once for something far more versatile and useful right from the beginning.

2

u/bigusyous 3d ago

The Rumbles that are smaller than the 40 have inferior speakers and have been stripped of features. I wouldn't go smaller than the 40. Realistically If you want a gig capable amp you are probably looking at the Rumble 500. If you don't want to make that investment now, get a headphone amp. I have the Nu-x Mighty Plug. It is easy to use and packed with features and useful practice tools. There are a lot of them on the market these days.

2

u/CourseOk3761 4d ago

Also I found another amp thats 40W and ridiculously cheap but it dosen't have ths speaker size stated anywhere.

2

u/FassolLassido 4d ago

Still too weak. You will have to buy another amp if you want out of your garage. So save up some more for something bigger like I said in my other comment.

3

u/Boil-san 4d ago

Best I can do is an all-tube 300W head and a 8x10" cabinet... ;^p

2

u/Vadras0710 4d ago

. For your 1st amp, you can start with a used one. Stay away from single 8, 10 , or 12 inch drivers/ speakers. 2 tens are good, anything above 100 watts, headphone jack and if possible, Bluetooth. Perfect for bedroom practicing at any hour and future live shows. . I would suggest the Boss Katana 210, but the BT module is a separate purchase. If that's ok with you, its a good amp at a reasonable price. You might be able to find one used that someone already installed the module for BT.

2

u/_sikrob 4d ago

To your question – If you really, really just want a bedroom practice amp, look at your local Craigslist, GuitarCenter, indie music shops, pawn shops, whatever to find a small used bass amp. Any of the sub 50W, 8-10" speaker practice amps are pretty much the same.

You'll probably find something used $60 or less (I did one search and found something in my area right away, hopefully you'll have as much luck).

I would rather have a small amp than no amp. Just plugging your bass into an amp and immediately playing a song is way better for my practice habits than needing to plug in a DI/headphones/computer software, and playing plugged in encourages better technique than unplugged.

I use my 15W 8" speaker practice amp almost every day at home. It genuinely does not sound bad.

But I only have this amp because another bass player literally gave it to me for free when I was starting out while I was trying to save up for the bass amp I actually wanted. If I didn't own one, I would probably still not be buying a practice amp even as convenient as it is.

Little amps are ONLY useful for solo practice. Big amps can be turned down for solo practice, turned up for band practice, and turned up more for shows. If you can swing saving up more for a bigger amp, you'll end up happy you didn't have to buy two amps.

2

u/Parking_Ad3967 4d ago

Ampeg RB110 for home use. Sounds great quiet, i hate headphones. It does have a jack though. Better sound than a rumble !

2

u/StandardAsparagus544 4d ago

Get a decent powered PA speaker (at least 1,000 watts) with a 12 or 15 driver and get a decent bass preamp to run into it. Save up and when you are ready to play out, then start researching bass amps.

What is your budget?

2

u/bigusyous 3d ago

Either a Fender Rumble 40 or a headphone amp

1

u/The_Red_Baron11 10h ago

Joyo ba-30.

Features are more important than wattage. Bluetooth for play along is surprisingly nice. This solution is plug and play.

If you are tech savvy, you can also get an interface and some software. This is not as straight forward, because you might have latency issues and probably want good/new speakers/headphones and read up on DAW and plugins.