NZGuitars.com

Yeah I'll chime in on that you need horsepower too.
Today's hunt for me is I suspect my son & his band may have burnt out my Carvin R600 bass amp single 300 watt bass bin. I said to him "you must have a hard hitting drummer".
Going to search around for a bin, might appear in the wanted section here yet depending what I find.
It's quite inspiring seeing these young guys wrecking my gear, sort of woken me from my restive phase.

jeremyb wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 7:53 am

NZ_DR1V3R wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 11:04 pm

Bg wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 8:59 pm yeah but 25-30 watts is a sparrows fart in bass territory You need to feel it in your bones

Yeah I know but unfortunately thats all I can afford at the moment so unless one comes up on trade me I guess ill have to get a smaller one

The highest I would be able to go buying new would probably be the Hartke HD50
https://www.musicmachine.co.nz/product/ ... combo-amp/

I'd bide your time and wait for something secondhand to come up locally on trademe or some of the facebook groups like nz guitarists/bassists, its nice to have new gear but you get such a better deal secondhand if you are prepared to wait a bit

Yeah might try Facebook, hadn't thought of that.
but Id kinda like one sooner rather than later because it would be nice to practice with an amp
Thanks for all the advice everyone

It's all opinion of course, but to me (and I've been there, for sure) buying too small now because you don't see a future need yet, is rather like buying a Suzuki Swift now when you'll probably need a Toyota Highlander later. My advice is simple: Make a budget - triple it and buy the gruntiest amp you can find. Do it once, do it right and save money in the long run! Otherwise you'll be buying/selling/buying/selling for ever.

Rog wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:02 pm It's all opinion of course, but to me (and I've been there, for sure) buying too small now because you don't see a future need yet, is rather like buying a Suzuki Swift now when you'll probably need a Toyota Highlander later. My advice is simple: Make a budget - triple it and buy the gruntiest amp you can find. Do it once, do it right and save money in the long run! Otherwise you'll be buying/selling/buying/selling for ever.

Hey great minds and all that.

My first bass amp in nz was 60 watts, and I bought it new. Took a hit 3 months later when I bought a second hand HH 300 watter.

Rog wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:02 pm It's all opinion of course, but to me (and I've been there, for sure) buying too small now because you don't see a future need yet, is rather like buying a Suzuki Swift now when you'll probably need a Toyota Highlander later. My advice is simple: Make a budget - triple it and buy the gruntiest amp you can find. Do it once, do it right and save money in the long run! Otherwise you'll be buying/selling/buying/selling for ever.

Yeah true that, might have to think about it a bit more aye

You could always go all the way with the small amp now / big amp later thing - get something really cheap and cheaty to start with and save your dollars.

You can pick up a Vox Amplug Bass for $80 and run it through some headphones. Fine for home use if if that's all you're after, and still has a function for silent practice even if you get a big grunty amp later.

I've got one of the Blues Amplugs and it sounds decent. It lives in a guitar case just in case, tucked under the spare strings.

I’m with Rog. Low wattage (sub 200w ss) are next to useless.

Get something 350w + and it’ll be quiet enough for bedroom, loud enough for a not too heavy handed drummer.

I play through a Helix and IEM’s pretty much exclusively so what do I know though

I’m pretty keen on a GK Mb212 for too much money or a Fender Rumble 500 for $1k at the moment

TmcB wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 10:45 pm I’m with Rog. Low wattage (sub 200w ss) are next to useless.

Get something 350w + and it’ll be quiet enough for bedroom, loud enough for a not too heavy handed drummer.

I play through a Helix and IEM’s pretty much exclusively so what do I know though

I’m pretty keen on a GK Mb212 for too much money or a Fender Rumble 500 for $1k at the moment

Hah I just sold a Rumble 500 for $750....

Thanks for all the advice everyone i appreciate it, I'll have think about it a bit longer...
You've given me lots to think about

NZ_DR1V3R wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 11:25 pm Thanks for all the advice everyone i appreciate it, I'll have think about it a bit longer...
You've given me lots to think about

You know when you go into a shop and the sales people try and upsell you...

I'm not a bass player but in terms of practice amps I did find the old Yamaha THR10 I had sounded great with my bass into it, and the positive grid spark I have now is the same, I guess it depends what you really want out of your playing as to what you should choose at this stage, bedroom or gigging have different requirements, but then I have a 100W Katana and 2x12 that I can play in my bedroom or gig if I end up in a band again... so I'd tend to go with the bigger is better advice if you only had one amp and you intend to play with others

1985 I started with bass plugged into a home stereo mic input, an old Fountain rig. We just been around for a long time.

I'm shocked and mortified with all this bad advice.
What ever happened to "GAS" - after all, everyone is saying support our economy.

Big amps can be turned down to play at home, and some of the new stuff is compact and light like you’d never have believed 20 years ago.

I used to think that how heavy it is was a good indicator of how loud it would be for bass amps.

Went through a few and agree with most of the above.

The practice amp space is fine as long as you have another amp, and this is just for home practice. Bass isn’t really a solo instrument, so you’re going to want to play with others, so you need an amp big enough to do that.

The under 100w space is pointless, bass needs more power to move the low frequencies. You’ll get away with 100w in a garage band, but not if you’re drummer is a monster. I had a 100w fender BXR, then a 125w Laney RB for a while, big enough in a uni band for practicing in the lounge and playing venues where bass will go through the PA. Fit in the student car too, which was a bonus. We got a new drummer and it couldn’t keep up though.

That lead to head+cab, saying goodbye to the sporty car and driving a wagon, eventually an Ampeg 8x10 monster rig, and later arguments with the Mrs about it taking up half the spare room, when I haven’t been in a band in years.

Got my eye out for a rumble 200 or 500 now, hard to justify while I’m not playing any bass, but would love to have the option, and they are small enough to store, shift and transport, while being loud enough to gig.