I want a new bass rig.

[WhiskeyJack]

That is it. That's the post.

I want a new bass rig.

[muttley]

So you got your eyes on a bandmates girlfriend then?

[Greg_L]

SVT. Done.

[Tadpui]

Me too. Let me know what you find.

JD had mentioned the Ampeg Micro VR 200W recently, and I still lament letting that special edition red tolex version pass me by. I don't think they're super special otherwise, just a solid state 200W mini amp head. But I really like the voicing of Ampeg's rinky dink amps, at least from the couple that I've heard.

Mark Bass has some interesting looking stuff, but the pricing is a little premium for what they are. I saw that Trace Elliot is back in the game with a little 200W micro head, so that's at least kind of interesting. Fender's Rumble series keeps getting good reviews, so I've wondered about those things too. And I came *this* close to getting the Boss Katana bass combo a while back, but decided not to. TC Electronic, Orange, Darkglass, GK...man there's so much to choose from and I've only owned the one bass amp so I don't have much perspective.

[Lt. Bob]

I recently got this:https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... -bass-head

It's pretty great actually .... I've already gigged it ..... sounded awesome .... seriously.
And on a gig where it was in the backline, it got great reviews from the other two bassists that used it

But you don't need that much power so they make this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... -bass-head

But it doesn't have the comp ..... or the active/passive switch but that just means you'd have to adjust the gain if you switch between an active or passive bass.

NOTE ...... One really good thing about these is you can run them with no speaker so you can use it direct in as a bass interface.
I've used it on several bass tracks and it made getting a very good bass sound easy-peasy .... plug it in.... done!

If this is for recording then you don't even need a speaker but if you do, I have a 2x10 that's heavier than I want to fool with so I'm getting this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ss-cabinet

[Lt. Bob]

I still lament letting that special edition red tolex version pass me by.

here's a white one
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Ampeg/SVT- ... 9.99%20USD

But seriously, for that money I'd go with the TC ... no way that thing's $230 better than the BAM200 and certainly not 60 bucks better than the BQ5OO

[CrowsofFritz]

I didn’t save money this time because I had way more bills than my next pay period, which is today. It’s gonna be a while until I can get more gear

[JD01]

I do want a bass amp and cab I can mic up, but I'm gonna wait until I have a bigger room.

[rayc]

I haven't mic'd a bass cab for years. Last time I did mic a cab it was my 4x12 and it worked just fine. I rarely use the bottom end a bass cab offers in a mix. Mind you I have to bass cabs - a HUGE single cone Etone 200w box and a 2x14 or 14" cab. Both were great for gigging, except for the weight and awkwardness of carrying them, but I haven't found a successful way of micing them without doubling it with a DI.

[Tadpui]

@Lt. Bob I like the looks of the features on that TC Electronic. A built in compressor is cool, and I love that it has both speaker out and direct out. 500W is a lot for this little room, especially when 30W into a single 10" fills it pretty well. But I kinda want something I can turn up to that same room-filling volume but still be far enough from the cabinet's headroom that it doesn't want to rattle itself to pieces like my little practice combo does.

I'll keep that one in mind. It might be next year before I get around to upgrading my bass amp, since it's already been a pretty upgrade heavy winter season for me.

[Lt. Bob]

@Lt. Bob I like the looks of the features on that TC Electronic. A built in compressor is cool, and I love that it has both speaker out and direct out. 500W is a lot for this little room, especially when 30W into a single 10" fills it pretty well. But I kinda want something I can turn up to that same room-filling volume but still be far enough from the cabinet's headroom that it doesn't want to rattle itself to pieces like my little practice combo does.

I'll keep that one in mind. It might be next year before I get around to upgrading my bass amp, since it's already been a pretty upgrade heavy winter season for me.

be aware that the BQ500 requires a speakon cable for the speaker ..... there is no 1/4' speaker out. Kinda pissed me off when I got it as there are combo jacks that would allow the use of either and I had to buy a stupid speaker cable with a speakon .... ok, great connectors but still ....
I don't think that's the case with the smaller one.

As for wattage .... basically anytime you see a class D amps power rating, cut it by a third. So prolly more like 350 watts which is still plenty.
And that's into 4 ohms so if your cab happens to be 8 ohms it'd be more like around 200 or so.

Lastly, unless you just like having a speaker in the room or for practicing, I predict you'll mostly use the DI for recording.

[Tadpui]

be aware that the BQ500 requires a speakon cable for the speaker ..... there is no 1/4' speaker out. Kinda pissed me off when I got it as there are combo jacks that would allow the use of either and I had to buy a stupid speaker cable with a speakon .... ok, great connectors but still ....
I don't think that's the case with the smaller one.

As for wattage .... basically anytime you see a class D amps power rating, cut it by a third. So prolly more like 350 watts which is still plenty.
And that's into 4 ohms so if your cab happens to be 8 ohms it'd be more like around 200 or so.

Lastly, unless you just like having a speaker in the room or for practicing, I predict you'll mostly use the DI for recording.

Oh thanks for the heads-up on the speakon cable. Would that just be a speaker cable with speakon on one end and 1/4" TS on the other? I assume they're compatible with one another. But it'd be my luck to assume incorrectly and set something on fire.

And yeah I do like to record through a speaker when I can. For more mellow finger-picked stuff, I like going direct into the interface and slapping a speaker sim VST on the track. But for more aggressive sounding picked stuff, I really like the sound of a mic on a speaker with a compressor between the mic and the interface. Plus it's just fun to play and FEEL the speaker shaking the room. That's gotta be the most fun part of playing a bass for me.

[Lt. Bob]

Oh thanks for the heads-up on the speakon cable. Would that just be a speaker cable with speakon on one end and 1/4" TS on the other?

yessir