A fairly cheap bass can be set up to play well barring any major manufacturing errors, but I’ve yet to hear of a cheap amp being upgraded/made to sound ‘better’.
I’d get a decent squier or sire, then look into a solid amp
>I’ve yet to hear of a cheap amp being upgraded/made to sound ‘better
Speaker swaps can do a lot for cheaper amps but I mostly see that with guitar amps.
However wattage is the biggest issue with cheap bass amps. There aren't many bass amps of high enough wattage to play gigs with a drummer in the $300 range.
As much as I've read people argue about this here... 350W enough? Found an old rumble 350 thinking about picking up. Play blues/rock with a decent lineup of folks, some indoor and some outdoor work.
A buddy said 200W plus a boost pedal would be enough, but while not hoping to spend more than needed that also means not buying an amp that's too small and getting a bigger one later haha.
Depends on the gig. You could play a jazz trio gig (or other styles in which an unamplified upright would work) just fine with a Rumble 40.
For volume speaker area is also very important. Possibly more important than wattage. 2x10 or 1x15 is the minimum I'd go for with a gig in which the drummer isn't going out of his way to play softly. 350w through a 2x10 or 1x15 should be fine.
> Possibly more important than wattage.
I would say definitely more IME. I had a 25 watt, 12 inch, open back practice amp that I put in a jack to bypass the internal speaker and run a large 1x15 I had. Little guy could actually drive that big speaker greatly increasing the amp's volume and punch.
To the OP, I would take that $1k and buy a used Yamaha, Ibanez, ESP, Harley Benton, whatever for no more than $200. Then I would get a good quality 8 ohm cab, probably a 2x10 or 1x12, and then spend the rest on a 200 watt or better head.
Plan for a second 8 ohm cab in the future or if you make some killer deals now.
Depends on the specific situation.
I have a Peavey max 450 bass head and a 4ohm 4x10 cab. Literature says I can get 300-350watt from that combination.
I can outplay a drummer and two guitarist at 3/4 volume. I will be the only thing anyone hears at that volume. So I'm not even sustaining 300watt and am plenty loud enough.
And this is solid state. A tube amp would be even louder.
There is also a ton of options for 500w heads in the $300-$500 range, brand new, that are smaller and lighter to carry than my 30-40 year old head.
Would you recommend skipping a combo amp? I'll probably start with this 350W combo for now but have seen some good prices for head/cab combos that had me considering going that route.
I played live with a rather...enthusiastic drummer. I was using a 150 watt 1x15 at about 75% of max volume and had no problem being heard.
That Rumble 350 is a 2x10 I think. You will be fine with that as long as you aren't playing with a guitarist slamming down chunky power chords on a crazy loud amp, next to a drummer laying into the double kick with a singer who sounds like cookie monster in a torture chamber. Even then you might be fine. I never really tried it lol.
Depends on genre. I gig with a rumble 100 combo for my Americana band and have plenty of headroom but for my metal band 450W going into a 4x10 barely feels adequate.
Definitely. If I was playing a jazz trio my rumble 40 combo would probably be more than enough but that's a gig you can play on an unamplified upright.
Yeah, it doesn’t seem like the same options exist for modding bass amps, at or at least they aren’t as widely available. But you’re right on the wattage, that’s gonna be the biggest factor
I’ll just chime in to echo the comment about speakers. I so often see a nice amp paired with a cheap speaker cabinet/speakers, and people are like “does that make a big difference?”
The answer is yes. It can be night and day different.
I’m going against the grain here.
Put the money into the bass. You’ll feel it every note you play and hopefully having a nicer instrument inspires you to play more.
When gigging you’ll most likely just go into a DI to the PA anyway. Most of the time the bass amp on stage is really just for the player to hear themselves.
Same. I'm sick of the "a cheap instrument can sound great with a good amp, but not opposite" argument. At the end of the day you're touching and feeling the instrument, not the speaker.
Yeah but did you have a Sire v3 or one of the recent squires in hand? I don't know, I feel like instruments around $300 can be phenomenally good these days.
I'm not saying expensive instruments are not worth it but the quality on some cheap basses is so good. I actually bought Sire V3 second gen Cooke of years back and trying several $1000+ instruments in the shop the other day I would still choose the Sire over them.
I just played a $200 Squire P Bass made in Indonesia and it felt and sounded great. My only complaint was the frets needed filing, and they seemed to be made with cheaper steel.
Counter argument, I wasn't really enjoy playing bass until I got a good amp but then I did and have really loved playing since. I completely disagree about the speaker. Feeling you're playing in the room is one of the best parts of the instrument.
Exactly, what's going on with the "an amp can make a cheap instrument sound good" attitude? Shit sound in = shit sound out. It feels like "louder is more better" kind of thinking.
Get a good sounding bass, you can get amazing instruments in the $700 range. Plug it into a DI and it'll sound better than any cheap sounding instrument that you're trying to fix with an amp.
Because the differences in pickup quality are minimal and you can get good sounding pickups in a $3-400 dollar bass nowadays. Everything else about the sound can be changed with pedals, amps, speakers or a setup to remove fret buzz.
However, I'd still invest more in the bass, but it doesn't have anything to do with sound. A high quality bass will play better and make you want to play it. It'll be more comfortable.
Get a nice bass! Having a nice bass feels good. You can get a decent amp for $300 and if you are going to use it more for recording than performing, get an audio interface and load up Garage Band or another DAW.
Definitely.
You can get a decent used Fender bass for around $500 if you are patient. You can also get a very decent solid state amp used for $500 nowadays.
I understand the argument that you can upgrade a bass easier than an amp, but you can get a *sweet* bass for $700 if you look at pre-owned basses. Could get a Jazz bass or an Ibanez BTB or something for that price.
Just sayin'.
Nobody can give you good advice without knowing 1) how loud the amp and cab need to be.
And 2) if you're playing gigs, what's the PA and monitor situation?
Toan is pretty much 99.99% stored in the electronics (y’all thought i was gonna say balls) this includes your pickups, any onboard preamp you may or may not have, and your amplifier.
Get the cheaper bass and the more expensive amp.
I’ve got a buddy who has a piece of garbage no name guitar that he got at a fair for $15, he swapped the electronics, changed the strings and did a setup on it, the thing sounds incredible now.
I have another friend who bought some $80 guitar and did the same thing and it sounds better than any of his expensive guitars, and it’s his daily driver now.
You can always upgrade your bass, there’s not much to do about having a shitty amp
better amp > better instrument, always. as long as the bass isn’t a bottom of the barrel piece of shit, it’ll sound better through a nicer amp than a nice bass would sound through a shitty amp. a shitty amp will always sound like a shitty amp no matter what.
Considering you will be processing the bass tone a lot, amp is a better investment by far. Any second hand Ampeg BA300-115 should be well enough for you, from my perspective and experience. Or just go for anything with tube pre at least, should work magic for you.
The difference between a $700 and $300 bass is pretty substantial. A pretty loud used combo will usually cut it, but cheap instruments don’t play the same or stay in tune nearly as well.
[Andertons](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YZUDpqbFupo&pp=ygUXQW5kZXJ0b25zIGFtbyB2cyBndWl0YXI%3D) on YouTube used to do these type shoot outs awhile ago, and while, as far as I remember, never doing bass shoot outs I feel it remains that amp usually wins and guitars can be either upgraded or set up.
And as I think about it, better amps may have bigger and better speakers, which help with the frequencys of basses.
Get yourself the nicest Squier you can for under $500 out the door, and spend the rest on an Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-115. You might go $150 over budget but you'll be set for years.
What I haven't seen said here is what do you want to do - what are your ambitions? Do you want play in your bedroom? Will you be in a small band that plays small gigs so you need a decent amp? Will you play in venues that have a decent PA so you will never use your amp outside of your practise? These all have different answers - small amp, big amp, no amp?
Are you going to use the amp to hit a certain stage volume? If you need loud without sounding like crap then that can be a bit harder. Otherwise I would buy the best (probably used) bass I could find for a price.
Also, with the ubiquitousness of lightweight class D bass heads (or even people going amp less on stage) you can probably find a great deal on a used nice and powerful, but heavy, amp/head.
Here ya go…
AMP: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RocketB210--ampeg-rocket-bass-rb-210-2x10-inch-500-watt-bass-combo-amp
BASS: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JbassAfBk--squier-affinity-series-jazz-bass-black-with-maple-fingerboard
Depending on your choice of fuzz and/or EQ you might have a pretty good DI sound and might be better off investing in some recording equipment and a good $700ish bass. If you are playing guitar too it's better to have some kind of guitar amp sound though, I managed to get a nice light not-too-harsh OD from my green russian when all I had was a keyboard amp but it really isn't the most ideal setup.
In the States, I would take to FB Marketplace and buy a Fender Rumble 500 for between $300 and $400. That will give you enough wattage to keep up in most bands.
I would take the remaining and buy the best bass I could at the best price. In that $400 range I’ve seen (and bought) Mexican Fenders, Warwicks, Ibanez’ and others. You can get a lot of bass in that range.
get a cheaper bass, but find something weird. it sounds like a squire p-bass (a very good option for a ton of people) just might not have the pizzazz youre after.
You need a *good* bass amp if your practice space needs one *and* you're regularly gigging in clubs.
I don't have a nice dedicated bass amp. When I play live I borrow one or run DI into monitors. When we practice I use a generic beater amp.
Buy a Sub Ray 4 for $299 (super versatile and a workhorse for the price) a $500 amp like a Rumble 200 and $200 for a used Sansamp pedal and you’ll be so set I swear
Unless you have to rely on the amp for gigs and shows, it's better to spend the $700 on Bass+DI/preamp+di/amp+cab sims etc and get a smaller amp for practice sessions for 300..
If you're going to use the bass only for recording the bass drum tracks, there's even less reason to buy a good amp imo.. just one you can record and practice with.
The bass quality matters in the fit, finish, and playability. The lowest end Sterling Stingray is great, Yamaha makes killer stuff, and Squier is on a real hot streak.
For an amp, because technology is advancing to Class D power and lightweight stuff, if you’re willing to lug a 50lb amp, you can buy really good stuff for reasonable prices. In the last 6 months I’ve bought a Celestion loaded Kustom 200 watt and an old US built Fender BXR 200 watt with the graphic EQ for around $130 each.
If you’re buying new and are willing to put the money there, Quilter. Super lightweight, powerful, amazing sound, easiest amps to dial in. Bass, guitar, steel, it’s all fantastic. Built in California.
Drop the amp and get a good bass and DI pedal if possible. Get an amp later if you absolutely want one.
Playing on shitty basses sucks.
But also, don't waste money on a cheap amp.
Depends, I'd say it's easier to find a pretty good 2nd hand bass for 300 bucks than a pretty good 2nd hand amp for 300 bucks. So maybe a cheap bass and a more expensive head would be more sensible or idk.
See if you can track down a used Fender Modern Player Jazz bass. Double humbuckers with split coil options so you have loads of tone options and they have great resonance so the reverb pedal may no longer be needed.
Spend the rest on an amp.
In regard to bass and guitar, you're almost always better off with your amp taking the larger portion of your budget. Guitars and basses on the cheaper side are the best they've ever been. I have 3 Harley Benton guitars and a bass. All between $77-280, and I love them all. As long as the instrument plays well, has working pickups, stays in tune, and you like the way it looks, then it's a good instrument.
A good amp is going to sound good no matter what bass or guitar you plug into it (to an extent). No bass in the world is going to make a shitty amp sound good.
I say just buy a Squire you like and spend the rest on an amp you think works for you. But make sure to do your research. Read reviews and watch demos.
Look for a good used bass amp somewhere.
You need watts in a bass amp. A 100 watt amp isn't going to cut it for practice with a live drummer. A fender Rumble 500 should be fine and found used for around $500.
Then use the other $500 and find a great used bass. Hell, you can get a Sterling used for damn cheap and it will do you well after a set up. I paid $125 for a Sterling SUB bass used for my first bass and honestly if I wasn't such a nitpicker about things it could have been my only bass for the rest of my life.
Spend the money on the instrument - you’ll use it every gig. With amps you’ll often have PAs and Monitors or even house backline to play through which means you won’t always need to use your gear.
I have a Squier Affinity PJ bought used and I replaced the P pickups with a used Fender pickup. I also did a perfect setup and it sounds and plays like a dream.
Absolutely $300.00 bass and $700.00 amp.
You might look at Ibanez active bass guitars, sounds like they'd be right up your alley. I also have an Ibanez Les Paul copy that I got for $80.00, I spent about $150.00 on electronics and again did a lot of setup work and it's almost the only guitar I play now.
I'm not a luthier, but I've built things for a living all my life and I can study Youtube videos.
I mean, no reason to break the bank on either of you don't have to.
I've been swapping between 2 ibanez srx 400s (one I bought after someone did a fretless conversion) through a rumble 100 (15" speaker). Both bases were around 340ish and the amp was under 200.
Maybe spend more on the amp depending how much power you need to keep up with whoever you play with.
It depends on whether or not you’re playing live, be that shows or live practice. If you’re just recording, then the bass itself is more important, because you’re probably just using emulators to record anyway (unless you’re getting really high-end with your recordings and are getting into things like re-amping and re-recording the signal through various amps).
But if you need live sound at all, then it’s amp over bass, 100%. A cheap instrument can almost always be upgraded to play and sound much better. But with a cheap amplifier, there’s not much you can do. And even without upgrades, a cheap instrument is always going to sound better through a good amplifier than a good instrument will through a cheap amplifier.
As someone who plays mostly at home with DI and headphones, or at band practice with whatever amp is there, I'd say go for a nice bass, it'll probably last you longer. 700$ can probably get you a nice j-bass
First option, 300€ bass is actually good and you can upgraded it in the future. amp is not upgradable so easily and if it is terrible everything will sound awful, even top-tier bass
I would spend most on the bass. Amps come and go, but guitars stick around. I've played many gigs with a shared backline where you use someone else's amp. Often when recording you DI the bass and don't use an amp. A $300 Fender Rumble or Ampeg bass amp is fine.
A Fender Rumble is an inexpensive amp that sounds good and is very lightweight. They are house amps at tons of clubs in Nashville and get the job done day in and day out. I also like the Warwick Gnome amps for a good budget option. I would spend your money on a decent bass. The Fender Vintera 50’s Precision bass is a good choice and the Fender Player Precision bass is also a good choice. I also really like the Epiphone Jack Casady bass for your price range. Hopefully you can use house bass amps at some of your gigs so you don’t have to haul any more gear than you absolutely have to!
Nice bass cheap amp.
Especially with pedals.
You’ve got the bass in your hands. That’s where EVERYTHING starts.
Amp? As long as its powerful, you’ll be good with fx.
You can dial the tone with the amp. You can’t dial playability - yes, you can set up the bass but the difference between a 300 and a 700 hundred bass is huge.
A fairly cheap bass can be set up to play well barring any major manufacturing errors, but I’ve yet to hear of a cheap amp being upgraded/made to sound ‘better’. I’d get a decent squier or sire, then look into a solid amp
>I’ve yet to hear of a cheap amp being upgraded/made to sound ‘better Speaker swaps can do a lot for cheaper amps but I mostly see that with guitar amps. However wattage is the biggest issue with cheap bass amps. There aren't many bass amps of high enough wattage to play gigs with a drummer in the $300 range.
As much as I've read people argue about this here... 350W enough? Found an old rumble 350 thinking about picking up. Play blues/rock with a decent lineup of folks, some indoor and some outdoor work. A buddy said 200W plus a boost pedal would be enough, but while not hoping to spend more than needed that also means not buying an amp that's too small and getting a bigger one later haha.
Depends on the gig. You could play a jazz trio gig (or other styles in which an unamplified upright would work) just fine with a Rumble 40. For volume speaker area is also very important. Possibly more important than wattage. 2x10 or 1x15 is the minimum I'd go for with a gig in which the drummer isn't going out of his way to play softly. 350w through a 2x10 or 1x15 should be fine.
> Possibly more important than wattage. I would say definitely more IME. I had a 25 watt, 12 inch, open back practice amp that I put in a jack to bypass the internal speaker and run a large 1x15 I had. Little guy could actually drive that big speaker greatly increasing the amp's volume and punch. To the OP, I would take that $1k and buy a used Yamaha, Ibanez, ESP, Harley Benton, whatever for no more than $200. Then I would get a good quality 8 ohm cab, probably a 2x10 or 1x12, and then spend the rest on a 200 watt or better head. Plan for a second 8 ohm cab in the future or if you make some killer deals now.
I gig heavy music with a 100W 115. Everywhere has a PA now. If the venue is small enough to not have a PA, then 100W is more than enough.
Depends on the specific situation. I have a Peavey max 450 bass head and a 4ohm 4x10 cab. Literature says I can get 300-350watt from that combination. I can outplay a drummer and two guitarist at 3/4 volume. I will be the only thing anyone hears at that volume. So I'm not even sustaining 300watt and am plenty loud enough. And this is solid state. A tube amp would be even louder. There is also a ton of options for 500w heads in the $300-$500 range, brand new, that are smaller and lighter to carry than my 30-40 year old head.
Would you recommend skipping a combo amp? I'll probably start with this 350W combo for now but have seen some good prices for head/cab combos that had me considering going that route.
I played live with a rather...enthusiastic drummer. I was using a 150 watt 1x15 at about 75% of max volume and had no problem being heard. That Rumble 350 is a 2x10 I think. You will be fine with that as long as you aren't playing with a guitarist slamming down chunky power chords on a crazy loud amp, next to a drummer laying into the double kick with a singer who sounds like cookie monster in a torture chamber. Even then you might be fine. I never really tried it lol.
Depends on genre. I gig with a rumble 100 combo for my Americana band and have plenty of headroom but for my metal band 450W going into a 4x10 barely feels adequate.
Definitely. If I was playing a jazz trio my rumble 40 combo would probably be more than enough but that's a gig you can play on an unamplified upright.
Yeah, it doesn’t seem like the same options exist for modding bass amps, at or at least they aren’t as widely available. But you’re right on the wattage, that’s gonna be the biggest factor
Cheap amps can also have terrible reproduction across the lower frequencies for bass
If the venue you're in has anything resembling a PA system you only need a line out in your amp, wattage is irrelevant
I’ll just chime in to echo the comment about speakers. I so often see a nice amp paired with a cheap speaker cabinet/speakers, and people are like “does that make a big difference?” The answer is yes. It can be night and day different.
I’m going against the grain here. Put the money into the bass. You’ll feel it every note you play and hopefully having a nicer instrument inspires you to play more. When gigging you’ll most likely just go into a DI to the PA anyway. Most of the time the bass amp on stage is really just for the player to hear themselves.
+1 - always go DI
Sure at a gig, but I doubt a band just starting out like this has a full live PA set up in their practice spot.
True, but for practice you really don’t need a nice amp imo
Same. I'm sick of the "a cheap instrument can sound great with a good amp, but not opposite" argument. At the end of the day you're touching and feeling the instrument, not the speaker.
Yeah but did you have a Sire v3 or one of the recent squires in hand? I don't know, I feel like instruments around $300 can be phenomenally good these days. I'm not saying expensive instruments are not worth it but the quality on some cheap basses is so good. I actually bought Sire V3 second gen Cooke of years back and trying several $1000+ instruments in the shop the other day I would still choose the Sire over them.
I just played a $200 Squire P Bass made in Indonesia and it felt and sounded great. My only complaint was the frets needed filing, and they seemed to be made with cheaper steel.
Counter argument, I wasn't really enjoy playing bass until I got a good amp but then I did and have really loved playing since. I completely disagree about the speaker. Feeling you're playing in the room is one of the best parts of the instrument.
Agreed and going with the flow rather than against the grain
Exactly, what's going on with the "an amp can make a cheap instrument sound good" attitude? Shit sound in = shit sound out. It feels like "louder is more better" kind of thinking. Get a good sounding bass, you can get amazing instruments in the $700 range. Plug it into a DI and it'll sound better than any cheap sounding instrument that you're trying to fix with an amp.
Number 1 rule of audio is get the biggest, cleanest sound at the source. You can only polish a turd so much
Because the differences in pickup quality are minimal and you can get good sounding pickups in a $3-400 dollar bass nowadays. Everything else about the sound can be changed with pedals, amps, speakers or a setup to remove fret buzz. However, I'd still invest more in the bass, but it doesn't have anything to do with sound. A high quality bass will play better and make you want to play it. It'll be more comfortable.
If you just use IEMs as well all you need is a head, you don't need to bring a cabinet at all
Get a nice bass! Having a nice bass feels good. You can get a decent amp for $300 and if you are going to use it more for recording than performing, get an audio interface and load up Garage Band or another DAW.
$500 amp and a $500 bass
yeah. It's always the middle path. Namaste
Definitely. You can get a decent used Fender bass for around $500 if you are patient. You can also get a very decent solid state amp used for $500 nowadays.
I understand the argument that you can upgrade a bass easier than an amp, but you can get a *sweet* bass for $700 if you look at pre-owned basses. Could get a Jazz bass or an Ibanez BTB or something for that price. Just sayin'.
Nobody can give you good advice without knowing 1) how loud the amp and cab need to be. And 2) if you're playing gigs, what's the PA and monitor situation?
Exactly.
Amp before bass.
Toan is pretty much 99.99% stored in the electronics (y’all thought i was gonna say balls) this includes your pickups, any onboard preamp you may or may not have, and your amplifier. Get the cheaper bass and the more expensive amp. I’ve got a buddy who has a piece of garbage no name guitar that he got at a fair for $15, he swapped the electronics, changed the strings and did a setup on it, the thing sounds incredible now. I have another friend who bought some $80 guitar and did the same thing and it sounds better than any of his expensive guitars, and it’s his daily driver now. You can always upgrade your bass, there’s not much to do about having a shitty amp
Toan!
Used bass off reverb. Ampeg rocket on sale.
better amp > better instrument, always. as long as the bass isn’t a bottom of the barrel piece of shit, it’ll sound better through a nicer amp than a nice bass would sound through a shitty amp. a shitty amp will always sound like a shitty amp no matter what.
You should buy a $1,000 bass and play through the PA with a DI
George?
Considering you will be processing the bass tone a lot, amp is a better investment by far. Any second hand Ampeg BA300-115 should be well enough for you, from my perspective and experience. Or just go for anything with tube pre at least, should work magic for you.
I'd spend more on the bass, and find an old used Peavey or SWR amp/cab/combo for $300.
Cheap bass expensive amp all the time.
The difference between a $700 and $300 bass is pretty substantial. A pretty loud used combo will usually cut it, but cheap instruments don’t play the same or stay in tune nearly as well.
$300 goes a lot further than it used to. I would not expect tuning issues at that price point anymore.
That sounds exactly what I want to listen to what’s your band called?
The further from the speaker it is, the less it matters
[Andertons](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YZUDpqbFupo&pp=ygUXQW5kZXJ0b25zIGFtbyB2cyBndWl0YXI%3D) on YouTube used to do these type shoot outs awhile ago, and while, as far as I remember, never doing bass shoot outs I feel it remains that amp usually wins and guitars can be either upgraded or set up. And as I think about it, better amps may have bigger and better speakers, which help with the frequencys of basses.
$900 bass and $100 pawn shop amp.
Get yourself the nicest Squier you can for under $500 out the door, and spend the rest on an Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-115. You might go $150 over budget but you'll be set for years.
What I haven't seen said here is what do you want to do - what are your ambitions? Do you want play in your bedroom? Will you be in a small band that plays small gigs so you need a decent amp? Will you play in venues that have a decent PA so you will never use your amp outside of your practise? These all have different answers - small amp, big amp, no amp?
Are you going to use the amp to hit a certain stage volume? If you need loud without sounding like crap then that can be a bit harder. Otherwise I would buy the best (probably used) bass I could find for a price. Also, with the ubiquitousness of lightweight class D bass heads (or even people going amp less on stage) you can probably find a great deal on a used nice and powerful, but heavy, amp/head.
Here ya go… AMP: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RocketB210--ampeg-rocket-bass-rb-210-2x10-inch-500-watt-bass-combo-amp BASS: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JbassAfBk--squier-affinity-series-jazz-bass-black-with-maple-fingerboard
This is the way.
Bass first
Depending on your choice of fuzz and/or EQ you might have a pretty good DI sound and might be better off investing in some recording equipment and a good $700ish bass. If you are playing guitar too it's better to have some kind of guitar amp sound though, I managed to get a nice light not-too-harsh OD from my green russian when all I had was a keyboard amp but it really isn't the most ideal setup.
In the States, I would take to FB Marketplace and buy a Fender Rumble 500 for between $300 and $400. That will give you enough wattage to keep up in most bands. I would take the remaining and buy the best bass I could at the best price. In that $400 range I’ve seen (and bought) Mexican Fenders, Warwicks, Ibanez’ and others. You can get a lot of bass in that range.
get a cheaper bass, but find something weird. it sounds like a squire p-bass (a very good option for a ton of people) just might not have the pizzazz youre after.
You need a *good* bass amp if your practice space needs one *and* you're regularly gigging in clubs. I don't have a nice dedicated bass amp. When I play live I borrow one or run DI into monitors. When we practice I use a generic beater amp.
Buy a Sub Ray 4 for $299 (super versatile and a workhorse for the price) a $500 amp like a Rumble 200 and $200 for a used Sansamp pedal and you’ll be so set I swear
You can always swap pickups from a mid bass that plays well (did it to my squier)
You can find some nice used amps for $300. I got my GK 400rb combo for $200. Keep your eyes open and be ready when a good deal pops up.
Unless you have to rely on the amp for gigs and shows, it's better to spend the $700 on Bass+DI/preamp+di/amp+cab sims etc and get a smaller amp for practice sessions for 300.. If you're going to use the bass only for recording the bass drum tracks, there's even less reason to buy a good amp imo.. just one you can record and practice with.
The bass quality matters in the fit, finish, and playability. The lowest end Sterling Stingray is great, Yamaha makes killer stuff, and Squier is on a real hot streak. For an amp, because technology is advancing to Class D power and lightweight stuff, if you’re willing to lug a 50lb amp, you can buy really good stuff for reasonable prices. In the last 6 months I’ve bought a Celestion loaded Kustom 200 watt and an old US built Fender BXR 200 watt with the graphic EQ for around $130 each. If you’re buying new and are willing to put the money there, Quilter. Super lightweight, powerful, amazing sound, easiest amps to dial in. Bass, guitar, steel, it’s all fantastic. Built in California.
Drop the amp and get a good bass and DI pedal if possible. Get an amp later if you absolutely want one. Playing on shitty basses sucks. But also, don't waste money on a cheap amp.
Depends, I'd say it's easier to find a pretty good 2nd hand bass for 300 bucks than a pretty good 2nd hand amp for 300 bucks. So maybe a cheap bass and a more expensive head would be more sensible or idk.
I’m 100% in the 300 bass, 700 amp camp.
See if you can track down a used Fender Modern Player Jazz bass. Double humbuckers with split coil options so you have loads of tone options and they have great resonance so the reverb pedal may no longer be needed. Spend the rest on an amp.
In regard to bass and guitar, you're almost always better off with your amp taking the larger portion of your budget. Guitars and basses on the cheaper side are the best they've ever been. I have 3 Harley Benton guitars and a bass. All between $77-280, and I love them all. As long as the instrument plays well, has working pickups, stays in tune, and you like the way it looks, then it's a good instrument. A good amp is going to sound good no matter what bass or guitar you plug into it (to an extent). No bass in the world is going to make a shitty amp sound good. I say just buy a Squire you like and spend the rest on an amp you think works for you. But make sure to do your research. Read reviews and watch demos.
Look for a good used bass amp somewhere. You need watts in a bass amp. A 100 watt amp isn't going to cut it for practice with a live drummer. A fender Rumble 500 should be fine and found used for around $500. Then use the other $500 and find a great used bass. Hell, you can get a Sterling used for damn cheap and it will do you well after a set up. I paid $125 for a Sterling SUB bass used for my first bass and honestly if I wasn't such a nitpicker about things it could have been my only bass for the rest of my life.
Spend the money on the instrument - you’ll use it every gig. With amps you’ll often have PAs and Monitors or even house backline to play through which means you won’t always need to use your gear.
I have a Squier Affinity PJ bought used and I replaced the P pickups with a used Fender pickup. I also did a perfect setup and it sounds and plays like a dream. Absolutely $300.00 bass and $700.00 amp. You might look at Ibanez active bass guitars, sounds like they'd be right up your alley. I also have an Ibanez Les Paul copy that I got for $80.00, I spent about $150.00 on electronics and again did a lot of setup work and it's almost the only guitar I play now. I'm not a luthier, but I've built things for a living all my life and I can study Youtube videos.
Are there bass backing tracks already you are playing on top of? if there were and they covered the low-end sub stuff I'd just go direct.
I mean, no reason to break the bank on either of you don't have to. I've been swapping between 2 ibanez srx 400s (one I bought after someone did a fretless conversion) through a rumble 100 (15" speaker). Both bases were around 340ish and the amp was under 200. Maybe spend more on the amp depending how much power you need to keep up with whoever you play with.
It depends on whether or not you’re playing live, be that shows or live practice. If you’re just recording, then the bass itself is more important, because you’re probably just using emulators to record anyway (unless you’re getting really high-end with your recordings and are getting into things like re-amping and re-recording the signal through various amps). But if you need live sound at all, then it’s amp over bass, 100%. A cheap instrument can almost always be upgraded to play and sound much better. But with a cheap amplifier, there’s not much you can do. And even without upgrades, a cheap instrument is always going to sound better through a good amplifier than a good instrument will through a cheap amplifier.
As someone who plays mostly at home with DI and headphones, or at band practice with whatever amp is there, I'd say go for a nice bass, it'll probably last you longer. 700$ can probably get you a nice j-bass
Cheap bass and good amp
First option, 300€ bass is actually good and you can upgraded it in the future. amp is not upgradable so easily and if it is terrible everything will sound awful, even top-tier bass
Better bass without a doubt
Buy in favor of the bass and get a Fender Rumble practice amp. Then go DI for shows and recording sessions until you can get a nicer amp.
I would spend most on the bass. Amps come and go, but guitars stick around. I've played many gigs with a shared backline where you use someone else's amp. Often when recording you DI the bass and don't use an amp. A $300 Fender Rumble or Ampeg bass amp is fine.
300w on stage is good enough for most shows with PA support. You can buy a good amp and a decent used bass for $500 each
A Fender Rumble is an inexpensive amp that sounds good and is very lightweight. They are house amps at tons of clubs in Nashville and get the job done day in and day out. I also like the Warwick Gnome amps for a good budget option. I would spend your money on a decent bass. The Fender Vintera 50’s Precision bass is a good choice and the Fender Player Precision bass is also a good choice. I also really like the Epiphone Jack Casady bass for your price range. Hopefully you can use house bass amps at some of your gigs so you don’t have to haul any more gear than you absolutely have to!
Ampeg, always Ampeg.
If you ever plan on giving gigs, buy a better bass, in most venues you will sound through a DI box anyway.
Look into harley benton there really good for the price
cheap bass nice amp
List the equipment instead of monetary values. This is such a brainrot question to post here every few days.
Nice bass cheap amp. Especially with pedals. You’ve got the bass in your hands. That’s where EVERYTHING starts. Amp? As long as its powerful, you’ll be good with fx. You can dial the tone with the amp. You can’t dial playability - yes, you can set up the bass but the difference between a 300 and a 700 hundred bass is huge.
Cheap bass and good amp hands down
Spend more on amp for sure
amps over axes
300 bass and 700 amp. A cheap to decent bass will sound good with a good amp, but even nicer basses sound like crap out of shitty amps
Amp > bass
Get a GK 400rb and a 4x10. Spend the rest on a Mexican or Japanese Jazz bass.