'The Weirdbird' deserves a bass amp upgrade!

[eggs]

So Epi-heads, what's the 'duck's nuts' in Epi bass amps, & do they really stack up against the competition?

 

eggmuffins

[eggs]

BUMP:

 

C'mon Epi-heads... I need you to help talk my wife into letting me buy a new Epi bass amp (or should I really be looking at the alternatives?) for 'The Weirdbird'.

 

eggmuffins

[m-theory]

I'm not aware of any Epiphone bass amp, though if there were, I'm sure it would stack up just fine against other cheap import amps. If I were just looking for a cheap, small bass amp to putz around at home with, I'd find a used Peavey, personally. They're a dime a dozen, they sound decent, and they last virtually forever.

[Old_Ampeg_Guy]

As an unabashed Carvin fan, I'll check in. If you can find a Carvin ProBass 150 head, I think you might like it. I got mine new during the early 1990s, but I've seen them on Ebay, and they've sold for fairly modest amounts.

 

They came in both a head and a combo configuration, and a bit later there was a ProBass 200, IIRC. Mine is the head, and it's 100 watts into 8 ohms (and I believe it's 150 into 4 ohms, but I haven't used it with that load). The head is relatively tiny--I think they were trying to offer sort of a budget Walter Woods configuration.

 

It has a line out, an effects loop, and two speaker output jacks. It could, in theory, be used as a preamp to drive a much more powerful amp.

 

It is plenty loud enough for the house and I've used it in jam situations including one with a fairly loud guitarist (who was using a Peavey Triumph 130 combo).

 

Old Ampeg Guy

[jefrs]

I too have the Peavey Micro Bass 20W practice toy, it lives in my workshop but sometimes gets used as a headphone amp. I usually borrow a bass amp to gig. When I'm not on guitar, I wield a mean black Peavey T-40 bass.

 

You might consider the Laney Richter Bass RB4, they're 160W 1x15-in, big enough to gig, small enough for home. They've got all the knobs you need and are small enough to cart about easily. I've had a look at others in this class and played several varieties of sizes, and this one is on my wish list for soon. They also make good jazz/acoustic guitar amps.

 

Failing that, how about 400 watts of Laney Nexus Tube (8xKT88) - requires 1600W 8x10 cab. Ouch!

 

At one time I had a big! Marshall head with 18-in reverse cone reflector horn wardrobe size bass cab, in a college dorm room (I was also using a 300 watt solid state guitar amp at the time but this was louder) ;--(

[eggs]

Check out the Epi Rivoli Bass Amp under 'New Bass Topic' in the Bass Forum

 

(sorry, a computer glitch is not allowing me to cut & paste to here)

 

Awesome tripod... LOL[biggrin] !

 

& PS: once upon a time I also owned a monster Marshall rig... still cryin' over its loss[crying] !

 

eggmuffins

[jefrs]

Well I got the Laney RB4, and it does what it should. Single 15-in Celestion. It can run at parlour level, or stage gig with its 160 watts. With guitar it is fairly bland but is ok for jazz and acoustic (whereas a bass turned up can wreck guitar amp speakers). It is a fair size box but most are bigger.

 

The only amp I have that sounds good with both guitar and bas, and can be cranked up on bass, is an old WEM Dominator "25 Mk.II Bass" which is a surprisingly loud 10 watt 2xECL82 (Westminster circuit) with a G15-100 (15-in. 100W) speaker. The (modified) BC30 sounds good with bass too but I dare not wind up it above 3, because things start to sound a bit rough. Once upon a time, bass amps were guitar amps, but they did have to put bigger, higher rated, speakers in them.