theitalianrob Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 (edited) Right now im goign through a really old westbury 160 watt amp, i think it might eb a guitar amp but gc had it maked as a bass amp. If i turn up past 2 i get horable distortion so im lookin into getting a new combo. i have a few taht i played taht i really liekd and just lookin for some advice betwee these or any other suggestions. I want some thing i can turn up really loud without distorting. My price range is 350-400 maybe a litttle over. 1. SWR LA15 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/SWR...fier?sku=482038 2. Crate BT100 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Cra...-Amp?sku=487803 4. Behringer Ultrabass BX4210A http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Beh...ombo?sku=481092 5. Ampeg BA115 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Amp...ombo?sku=481777 (kinda pricey for me tho.) P.S I'm also lookign inot the Ashdown 180watt bass combo but gc and sam ash dont carry it. So i havent got a chance to play it. Edited August 22, 2006 by theitalianrob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 AFAIK, Ashdown have gone out of business so don't hold your breath. Ampegs are always pretty good although I'm not too sure about the "low end" so to speak. I had good results out of an SWR Workingman amp, although it had no onboard compressor. I run a Trace Elliott Series 6 AH300 which I bought for £450 second hand, and it was worth every penny and pound despite it also having no onboard compressor! My wife says Behringer are a mid-range market, whereas SWR are higher end and Crate are low low poop end. I guess you can put your money into the Ampeg reassurance pretty easily. Nina says Crate's QC suffered AWFULLY during the mid-nineties so as to whether they're much better might be moot. When you say distortion, it depends on what you mean. I presume you mean crunchy fuzz distortion. All amps distort in differing ways, whether it be tonal colouration, compression or harmonic. Ampeg is famed for the "Ampeg crunch" which is highly desirable (Thunderbird and Ampeg tube head!! GROWRRR!) although you may favour the SWR for solid clear throughput. I'd say the SWR - if you liked it then it's a winner. If you have a bit more coin or time to save it, i'd heartily recommend the SWR Workingmans 15. Makes the balls of your house shake :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theitalianrob Posted August 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 thanks for your input, the workingman's 15 is kinda much for me right now, with me being in high school and not having a job yet. I also need an amp pretty soon cause my band is putting out a cd soon tehn we need to play some concerts so i need somethign pretty soon. Im thinking the SWR la15 or the ampeg are my best bet. I'm gona bring my bass into GC next week and try them both out and see whats best or if i should save a little extra and go for a stack model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Good move. A/Bing the amps is best. Take another band member for "moral support" because you wouldn't believe the amount of underplaying people do when trying amps out (guilty also). You want to try it at the volumes you use, on your instrument(s) preferably without a sales bitch waffling stuff you already know or don't need to hear. Make sure you actually PLAY the things :-) My opinion based on the specs off the sites (don't use this as a basis for your own opinion, but it is intended for you to bear in mind). AMPEG BA-115 Pros - Tilt-back "monitor style" cabinet. 15" speaker to move lots of air. Pre-amp to power-amp loop for compressor. It's got AMPEG written on it :-) Cons - No compressor/limiter. Limited EQ. No dedicated effects loop other than pre>power. SWR LA-15 Pros - Aural Enhancer circuitry (reduces phase smushing). Line out (sound guys best friend!). Cons - No compressor/limiter. Limited EQ. No dedicated effects loop. Looks like a 20's gangsters pair of black and white spats :-) Featureswise - SWR. Tonewise? Check em out and see what YOU really think ;-) All the best - I hope you get the amp and sound you want no matter what your pocket is allowing! Keep us informed on how you get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 (edited) DO NOT GET BEHRINGER- Their bass gear is horrible. I purchased a 2x10 a while back, figured I'd use it because I thought my band would be getting some gigs and we never did. I sold it shortly after, and the guy I sold it to said one of the speakers fell out within 3 weeks! I play a SWR Workingman 1x15 (before Fender bought them out, it's about 5-10 years old) and I love it. I can't say much about there quality of the newer stuff, but they still sound great. Ampeg's gear is also great, I have lots of hands on experience with their amps specifically. I have very little experience with Crate, so I can't offer any advice there. Buy an EQ pedal if you want more tone. I do not recommend getting one if you do not like fiddling around with tone. But, if you are a tone spam, I highly recommend. I know several people that never touch their EQ's and always complaining about their tone, man lazy people are pathetic. I'd also like to add, the 1x15 I use is not a combo. Just a lone cabinet. Edited August 23, 2006 by Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I'm actually quite sold on the 4x10 Trace Elliott cabinet I have with the AH300. I think one additional large speaker would help push the air more though!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theitalianrob Posted August 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 (edited) yeah, i was lokking into an eq pedal. people recomended a boss eq pedal but ive had experience with boss pedal and their not all that great so ill look into a eq pedal. Im thinking of getting the danelectro Fish and Chips eq. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Dan...edal?sku=151873 i need to buy some patch cables. Edited August 23, 2006 by theitalianrob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 I'd recommend not buying pedals made out of plastic. Considering they're pedals, ya know. One wrong step and it's gone. I use a BOSS Bass EQ pedal. I even used it when recording a professional CD to quickly tweak my tone. They're worth the money, haven't heard anything bad about them. I've used mine daily for over a year as well, 0 problems with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 yeah, i was lokking into an eq pedal. people recomended a boss eq pedal but ive had experience with boss pedal and their not all that great so ill look into a eq pedal. I'd suggest the Behringer EQ, its cheeper and sturdier and they're pretty quiet considering. I have the guitar EQ and I had no problems with it. and if you're using it all the time who cares if its plastic...you wont be standing on it because you'll have it on all the time! Anyway the Behringer cases are solid, I'd quite happly hit one with a medium sized hamer and not expect it to break (other than the knobs but the same would be true of a Boss or MXR pedal). Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theitalianrob Posted September 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 i went to guitar center today and bought the ampeg ba115 , its an amazing amp. i got it for 359.95 haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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