Suggest good sounding small bass combo

[rolandson]

Ampeg.

Small but with plenty of beans. And they sound very good.

Every Hartke I ever encountered was not small.

If willing to go a touch bigger, a Bassman 10. Also very good sounding.

I've nothing nice to say about the rumble series.

 

[Papa Che]

Thanks folks! I was looking at Ampeg as well. I fancy having that overdrive however opted for the smaller size amp as I need it to be very easy to remove in an instant if my 1.5 yo son starts making a mess while I’m noodling.

Ordered yesterday the smallest Warwick BC10 combo. It’s 8” speaker, front port, silent cooling ventilator, no noise amp, built in limiter.

Will know more once I plug into it my Shorty P-bass. Will update (maybe start a new thread).

 

[92 Fiesta Red 62]

Current models:
Rumble 40 or Rumble 100.
Loud, good/deep bass response without being woofy or muddy, lightweight, reasonably priced.

I’ve thought about picking up one of the former as a rehearsal/jam session amp, if I found it really cheap.

My daughter has one of the old (previous generation) Rumble 150 amps…it is a very very good/almost great bass amp, and with a pedalboard in front of it, it’s a good guitar amp—“good” as in, “I would use this for a gig” good (I did use it as such for a jam session, and it very ably kept up with a five piece band and two singers)…however, the Rumble 150 is too big/bulky (size-wise) and heavy enough that it’s not readily portable (thank goodness for casters!).

 

[charlie chitlin]

Another vote for the Rumble 40.
A little scarily inexpensive, though...probably PCB mounted pots, etc.
Not sure about longevity.
Love the line out.
Pop it right into the PA.

 

[Naigewron]

Interesting no one is mentioning Hartke HD series? Or the Warwick combos? Are these that bad?

I had a Hartke HD500 for a while. Perfectly decent tone, but didn't deliver on its promise to my mind.

It was 250w (500w peak), but the two 10" speakers started bottoming out once the volume knob passed halfway. Definitely not usable in a band context, especially since it didn't have support for an extension cab either.

It would be perfectly workable as a home amp, but I would still probably look at the Rumble (like many others here).

Here's a really quick sound test I filmed when I first got the Hartke (using an MXR M80 for drive):

 

[Swingbass]

My bass player got the light weight Ampeg with the 15 inch spkr. It's 34 pounds of great sound. We've used it outdoors, on stage in a medium sized hall as well as bars. It has performed quite well. I think he paid around $500 for it as I recall. Highly recommend it.

 

[soulman969]

Between a small Ampeg and a Fender combo with a 10" or 12" speaker I would choose the Ampeg every time.

But I will say that Fender has improved the Rumble Series over the years to the point where they don't simply suck like they did initially. That aside IMHO they are never gonna be great gigging amps in a full band setting. But for home or lower volume type gigs they can work OK.

One that I've owned that I didn't mention is the 75w Line 6 Studio LowDown 110. I've never been a fan of much of what Line 6 has produced but this little 12"x12" X12" bass cube sounds great. They're similar in size and quality to a Traynor SB10 and can be had used in the $125-$150 price range. I wish I had not sold the one I had. I prefer it to my current Rumble 40 home amp.

 

[BuddhaFingas]

I really enjoyed my little Rumble25. Then I got the Rumble Studio 40 and it's honestly amazing for the price. and light.

 

[3bolt79]

I have a Fender Rumble 150 (which is actually 200 watts). I got it new for $150.00 from GC when they were closing them out, around 2012 IIRC. It has 1 x 15 inch speaker. It is on casters as well. You can aLao directly line out to a PA, etc.

GC was blowing them out as Fender was revamping the line.

If you can find one at a decent price they are pretty good. Also the old Trace Elliott bass combos are a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[circles]

I like my new Rumble 40.

 

[FrieAsABird]

I have a Marshall bass amp, it’s rather small and doesn’t weigh a ton, sounds pretty good. It has a modern and a vintage voice you can switch between, I really like the vintage one with my Höfner bass

 

[Papa Che]

Received my new tiny combo! Loads of lovely bottom end and it’s a silent amp. Sounds great in the home scenario! The louder the amp the better it sounds. I just crank it and then regulate volume with my bass guitar. Loads of clean low end. I keep the bass knob at 11 o’clock. I do crank the Treble all the way. Mids almost cut out completely. Very good EQ.

 

[Handsome McClane]

Received my new tiny combo! Loads of lovely bottom end and it’s a silent amp. Sounds great in the home scenario! The louder the amp the better it sounds. I just crank it and then regulate volume with my bass guitar. Loads of clean low end. I keep the bass knob at 11 o’clock. I do crank the Treble all the way. Mids almost cut out completely. Very good EQ.
View attachment 618035

Nice! HNAD!

 

[Papa Che]

My bass is not shielded hence noise when not touching the metal parts.
Test driving the amp with a P-bass Shorty

 

[donnyrocker]

The Fender Rumble 40-watt combo is underpowered for even modest gigs. I ran the DI out of the back of amp into PA and intended to use the Rumble as my personal monitor... except I heard more out of the PA's monitor. At 60, I'm the youngest one in this dance band, so it wasn't like the 40 watts *had* to work hard, they just *couldn't* the job.

I have the 500-watt combo that does everything I need it to do, including outdoor gigs or basement rehearsals. I feel like the 100-watt version could have done that gig described above.

(Usually when playing bass, I go DI with either a Tech 21 or MXR or Ampeg interface, so 'ampless'...)

 

[Stormy Monday]

I keep an Ampeg BA-115 in my back line.

 

[Jimbo99]

Wasn't sure what you were looking to do with the combo (practice or play a smaller venue). I ended up getting a Hotone Thunder Bass 5W head. I already had a 1x12 with the full range speaker in it. The Hotone is "inspired" by a Ampeg SVT. The Pyle PVAMP60 is another amp that has a full range speaker in the open back combo & modding it to be a passive cab works with the Hotone bass head. Bass guitar is a 2019 Jackson JS1XM 28.6 short scale bass guitar. his video, they used a 4x10 Peavey cab. And since the head has an effects loop, With any of the amps I have I can use the Hotone as a preamp and bypass the Hotone's 5W power section and bypass the preamp on my tube amp head to use it's 15W of 2x 6V6GT. Even go into the Pyle's 60W analog solid state power section using the effects loop. Impressive that the Hotone is that versatile.

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[RavenPOL]

Received my new tiny combo! Loads of lovely bottom end and it’s a silent amp. Sounds great in the home scenario! The louder the amp the better it sounds. I just crank it and then regulate volume with my bass guitar. Loads of clean low end. I keep the bass knob at 11 o’clock. I do crank the Treble all the way. Mids almost cut out completely. Very good EQ.
View attachment 618035

Congratulations! Make some noise!