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Old 12-28-2016, 06:09 AM
polarred21 polarred21 is offline
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Default Shopping for New Bass and Bass Amp**Update - NGD!**

In search of and have narrowed it down to maybe an ESP LTD B50 with a Ibanez Promethean or an Ampeg amp, both 25 watts.

Anyone have any experience with this equipment for home practice use?

Thanks
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Old 12-28-2016, 06:56 AM
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kkrell kkrell is offline
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I like the Hartke Bass Combo Amps.

My bass is 40+ years old, so can't comment much on your choice. The lower-end ESP instruments are decent value, although they don't seem to make replacement parts available. If you want to do any neck substitutions, or maybe even swap pickups, you're better off with a Fender-style PJ. People also seem to think highly of Ibanez basses, and you can often find them well-discounted.

Check over at TalkBass.com for other ideas/opinions.
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Old 12-28-2016, 07:12 AM
LSemmens LSemmens is offline
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Depends upon your needs, Ampeg amps are ok, but a 25 Watter is really only a practice amp. I have a 30W Roland Cube as a practice amp at home and their larger amps are pretty good (mate has a Roland Keyboard amp that has been gigged long and hard for many years). As for the Bass, again, depends upon your needs.

I started out with a Coronet bass back in the 70s and loved it. I was given a Rickenbacker back then to try on a new amp I was looking at purchasing and did not like it. Go figure. In recent years I played a mates Yamaha neckthru which I quite liked and purchased a 4 string Yamaha bass on that experience. Even though I had it tuned BEAD, I still wanted the extra string, so after it was written off in a flood, I purchased the Washburn in my sig. Play a few, and see what works for you.

I would recommend, at least, tuning BEAD if you don't want a 5 string bass. Over the years I've found that I've needed to go down to the Low C but never have I run out of frets up near the pickup.
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Old 12-28-2016, 07:58 AM
polarred21 polarred21 is offline
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All beginner level for me and have looked at a few shops the last couple of weeks. Budget is $250 to $350 range for bass and amp. I'm going to transition my lessons from acoustic to bass since my instructor plays bass in a band.

I'm leaning toward the ESP or Yamaha for the aesthetics really and know the Precision and Jazz basses are more main stream. I would have to go Squier or Affinnity to be in price range.

I've got my eye on this one and traded several messages from the seller on Reverb. Only issue issue is I can order a new black one with free shipping for same price as this one, don't want black.
https://reverb.com/item/3298127-esp-...ard-shell-case

I've hand my hands on a few by now and back to my local shop(30 miles away) today for another matter and will see if he has any new arrivals.
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Old 12-28-2016, 02:35 PM
dagobert dagobert is offline
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I would check out an Epiphone EB-0 bass.
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Old 12-28-2016, 02:45 PM
muscmp muscmp is offline
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you may want to check out the talkbass forum. that way you'll get responses from more bass people.

https://www.talkbass.com/forums/

play music!
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Old 12-28-2016, 03:18 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dagobert View Post
I would check out an Epiphone EB-0 bass.
+1, and I'd also be looking at a good used 12"/15" bass combo in the 60-100W range; these things have more bottom end than a Kardashian family reunion, and you'll need some big power and a larger speaker - reward is buckets of old-school tone, especially with flatwounds...
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Last edited by Steve DeRosa; 12-28-2016 at 06:27 PM. Reason: typo
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Old 12-28-2016, 03:46 PM
posternutbag posternutbag is offline
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In my experience, small bass amps are really pretty useless. This is ultimately for the same reason ABGs don't work. Low frequencies need to be loud to be heard. I used an Ampeg BA 115 150 watt bass amp with a 15" speaker when I played bass in a sort of electrified bluegrass group with a Tele and a loud electric lap slide guitar. That was probably overkill.

I quickly looked at GC, you could get a used 50 watt Ampeg Combo with 12" speaker for $149 and a used Squier Jazz Bass for $219. That would be a perfectly respectable rig. Now, I don't think you should actually go to the GC website and drop those in your cart. If you search a bit on CL and Reverb you can find equivalent gear for less. Of course, the nice thing about GC is they have a great return policy. If you get the gear and don't like it, they will take it back.
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Old 12-28-2016, 04:49 PM
harpspitfire harpspitfire is offline
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45 years ago ( i know speaker tech has changed) i played bass before i lost my hearing, anyway- if your playing in any kind of group with drums, i cant see anything under 100 watts, and the minimum speaker of 15" or equivalent to that
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Old 12-28-2016, 08:22 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harpspitfire View Post
...if you're playing in any kind of group with drums I can't see anything under 100 watts, and a minimum speaker of 15" or equivalent to that...
Quote:
Originally Posted by posternutbag View Post
In my experience, small bass amps are really pretty useless...Low frequencies need to be loud to be heard. I used an Ampeg BA 115 150 watt bass amp with a 15" speaker when I played bass in a sort of electrified bluegrass group with a Tele and a loud electric lap slide guitar. That was probably overkill...
In addition to the the need for sufficient power to be heard, there's also the matter of clean headroom; preamp/power-stage distortion isn't a friend to the bass player the way it is to a guitarist, hence the development of modern pro-level bass rigs with output wattage deep into the four-figure range - and for much the same reason, solid-state amps were embraced by bassists long before they established credibility in the guitar community. There's also the need to translate that power into sound and move sufficient air at low frequencies - and that's only possible with ample cone-surface area, proper cabinet tuning, or most often a combination of both; until Ampeg introduced the 8x10" SVT cab in 1968, you wouldn't find anything smaller than a 12" (usually two or more) in an old-school bass rig - more often a 15" (or two) or 18" as in the legendary Ampeg Portaflex. By way of example, 25 years ago I used to use a 35W Peavey Minx 110 for practice with my acoustic trio - adequate (barely) for practice in close quarters - and a Randall RB-120 1x15" combo for playing out (acoustic or electric); when I brought the Randall to a stage practice the night before a gig one of the other guys (a lifetime acoustic player with no hands-on electric experience) told me I was playing too loud - when the sound tech told him everything was balanced in the house I informed him that, because of the 15" speaker/larger cabinet/higher power, he was hearing/feeling frequencies that weren't there in the smaller rig...

What does this mean to you...?

In simple terms, if it's all about the bass buy the most amplifier power/cone area your wallet can handle; while the 4x10" has become the de facto pro rig for its quick response and potentially higher power handling (one of the reasons Leo adopted this configuration in the late tweed-era Bassman), given the size/weight/cost factor you'd be far better-served with a 60-100W (solid-state) 1x15" combo - the modern-day equivalent of the iconic Ampeg B-15 that got all the cutie booties shaking on the dance floor back in the '60s . As stated previously, that kind of power is far from overkill - if you're playing with an electric guitarist running through a 30W tube amp, you'll need at least twice (and preferably three or more times) the wattage to keep up, the very reason Paul McCartney spurred the development of the Vox AC-50/AC-100 while John and George were still using the AC-30 (and John was known to have used an even lower-powered AC-15 2x12" for straight rhythm work); I've long since retired the Peavey, use the Randall as my "Motown/Stax-Volt" R&B amp, and reach for either a 200W Carvin MB12 or 250W Ampeg Portabass combo for everything else. Finally, although many of today's speed-merchant bass players complain that anything larger than a 10" cone responds too slowly, both James Jamerson and John Stockfish - the man behind those virtuoso bass lines on the old Gordon Lightfoot UA recordings - seemed to do just fine with their B-15's, thank you...
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Old 12-28-2016, 09:04 PM
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The other suggestions in this thread make valid points if you are planning to play with a band or gig.

I was assuming you just need a practice rig for lessons & home use. I found even the small Hartke 15W had plenty of punch & clarity in that regard (plus the also the headphone use & audio input for .mp3 playalongs). I trialled them in stores with a newer Rick 4003, Fender Squires, & Ibanez. BTE, nothing horrible about a Fender Squier.
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Old 12-29-2016, 10:53 AM
RustyAxe RustyAxe is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by polarred21 View Post
All beginner level for me and have looked at a few shops the last couple of weeks. Budget is $250 to $350 range for bass and amp. I'm going to transition my lessons from acoustic to bass since my instructor plays bass in a band.
You could do MUCH better on the used market. A nice Squier VM or CV P or J bass can be had for $200 easy. A used Ampeg B112 would run $150-200. This would be a great practice set up. For your budget you won't get a gig-able rig (although I've used the Ampeg for acoustic singer/songwriter type gigs). As to what others say about minimum watts, minimum speaker size, etc ... well, I do MANY gigs with a micro sized GK MB200 to a GB STL-8 8" cab ... my "mini rig of doom". For my country band I use a GB Shuttle 6.0 to one or two STL-12 cabs. If I need more than that I go for FOH support.

But that's not your concern right now. Buying used at the right price means you can resell the gear for what you paid. Buying new means you'll lose 50% before you leave the shop.
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Old 12-29-2016, 01:55 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RustyAxe View Post
...As to what others say about minimum watts, minimum speaker size, etc ... well, I do MANY gigs with a micro sized GK MB200 to a GB STL-8 8" cab ... my "mini rig of doom". For my country band I use a GB Shuttle 6.0 to one or two STL-12 cabs...
A few points:
  • The G-K head is cranking 140W into an 8 ohm load - about right for a moderate-volume gig with a low- to medium-efficiency (97dB/1W/1M or less) cab...
  • That GB 8" cab is -10dB@58Hz - assuming flat response to about 75-80Hz you're losing the fundamentals of your entire bottom octave (the "feel" factor in bass I mentioned above); betcha there's a whole big bunch of skull-splintering highs, though, especially with that tweeter (for which both Jeff Berlin and I have yet to find a single legitimate use in a bass amp - hope you're not using roundwound strings )...
  • Your GB Shuttle 6.0 is pumping 600W into a pair of 12" cabs; um, didn't I suggest 12"/15"/18" speakers and big power if you want real bottom end and headroom out of your rig - at any volume...
I fail to see your point...
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Old 12-29-2016, 06:13 PM
polarred21 polarred21 is offline
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Great discussion and thanks. Yes this is for home use only and right now making an offer on this one:
https://reverb.com/item/3298127-esp-...ard-shell-case

I will need an amp small enough to haul to lessons once a week, I may end up buying two for that matter. I've been to many stores this week and just didn't see the guitar I wanted in stock. So now I'm looking to order something.

This would be my first Reverb experience and I've really enjoyed searching that site the past 2 weeks.
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Old 12-29-2016, 08:07 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by polarred21 View Post
...This would be my first Reverb experience and I've really enjoyed searching that site the past 2 weeks.
Not to be a buzzkill, but some caveats here:
  • In spite of the "friendly" language used in the ad copy, this guy's a dealer (check it out for yourself) - and in that light, the rest of the ad smacks of the old used-car salesman's pitch that went, "only driven to church on Sundays by a little old lady from Mayberry"...
  • An ABS case (other than a flight case - which I strongly doubt you're getting here) is probably the lightest protection out there other than a gigbag - this guy's got a real boat anchor here and he knows/admits it (hence the $50 shipping charge); heard tell that Hulk Hogan's a pretty good bass player - can't think of too many other people who'd be OK with an 11-12 pounder on their shoulder for long stretches...
  • Converting from metric measurements, the neck width at the nut is ~1.49" - thinner than a Leo-era J-Bass, and more reminiscent of the old '60s Vox instruments (which at least had the advantage of a 30" scale, making them useable - if a bit pricey - instruments for small-statured players in today's market); if you have small hands and need something where you can make the reaches comfortably, you'd be far better off with a modern short-scale like the aforementioned Epi EB-0, Squier Jaguar SS, or Rogue VB100 - all of which can be had new with warranty for $200 or less - or a used Epi Allen Woody, Squier VM Mustang, or Hofner Ignition Violin/Club for similar bucks...
  • Active circuits cost money, and if you're installing them in a new instrument as OEM, production costs need to be cut somewhere else - either in the pickups themselves, the woods used in construction (which would also explain a good deal of the excess weight), or overall QC (finish thickness, improperly sawn/seasoned woods - easy recipe for a twisted/warped neck, BTW - fret work, etc.); unless you're a semi-pro/professional hired gun with a heavy studio schedule and five-nights-a-week gigs, you don't need an active bass - and I think James Jamerson, Jack Bruce, Chris Squire, Duck Dunn, and the aforementioned Mr. Woody would back me up on this if they were still around...
  • Since by your own admission you're new to the game you're probably not familiar with the target markets of the different makers - simply put, this is an entry-level metal machine being pitched to middle-school kids looking to put together their first real band (not putting them down - I started when I was their age, and there's a bunch of kids around my way who kick some heavy-duty arse against guys two and three times their age); styling aside, the active circuitry and two-octave extra-jumbo-fret neck are the giveaways - fine if you know what you're getting up front, but far from "incredibly versatile" (you'll need to start tickling the $1K mark before you get an active bass that even begins to approach that description) as he states in the ad...
  • Finally, he's dropped the price at least once and is willing to accept any "reasonable" offer; with 54 years of experience under my belt I'm thinking he's got a real dog on his hands, he's having a hard time unloading it (even to the headbanger crowd) - and with his no refund/exchange/return policy (feel free to look it up on Reverb) he's bound and determined that you keep it once it's out of his shop...
Be patient, your instrument is out there - and you'll know it when you play it...
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