The term stack is used to describe two cabinets stacked upon each other along with the amp head on top. What's a bass guitar rig or a bass guitar stack?īoth of these terms refer to a bass amp head along with one or more bass guitar cabinets. Combo bass amps are often sufficient for rehearsals, practicing at home and small to medium sized venues.įor other ways to hear your bass guitar without using a bass amplifier, check out my Bass Amp Alternatives post.
This is also known as an bass amp head, since it sits at the top (or head) of a bass guitar stack.Ī combo amp is generally a smaller or less powerful version of an amp head and a single cabinet in one unit. However, the actual term bass amp means a standalone power amplifier with a built-in preamp to tweak the tone. The term bass amp is often used to describe either a combo amp, a bass stack or an amp head. Which type of amp is best for you? Try them all and choose the one that sounds best to you and fits your wallet! What's a bass amp, a bass amp head or a combo bass amp? Hybrid bass amps are the answer to more power and less maintenance than tube amps while having more warmth than a solid state amp - but it will tend to cost more than a solid state amp. Hybrid amps are a combination of both solid state and tubes tubes are often used in the preamp stage to help colour the tone, and the power stage is generally solid state to reduce weight, increase power and dependability. The technology has come a long way since solid state amps were first introduced, so if you haven't tried one in the last decade or so - do yourself a favour! However, many of those that favour tube amps find solid state amps to sound cold in comparison.
Solid state amps are cheaper, lighter and often louder with a quicker response time. They also require more maintenance, new tubes every so often and anti-biasing even less frequently. Tube or valve amps are noted for being warmer in tone and for distorting in a musical way when over-driven. Are tube bass amps better than solid state bass amps?Ĭhoosing the best amp comes down to three factors: From my personal experience playing small to medium rehearsal halls and upto 1,200 seat clubs - 400 watts has served me well. Having more watts is better than having too few, as I've noted above - the less effort that it takes a bass amp to reach the required volume the less the chance of blowing fuses or overheating your amp. 200 watts x 2 = 400 watts, so your ideal bass amp wattage will be 400 watts or more. So, if you have two guitarists in a band and each has a 100 watt amp, the total guitar amp wattage is 200 watts. Multiply it by 2 to get your recommended bass amp wattage.
Take the total wattage of the guitar amp(s).This is a great formula that I picked up while hanging out on the Bass Player Magazine Lowdown Lowdown forum: How loud does my bass amp need to be in a live band? A louder amp doesn't have to work as hard, which means less chance of overheating, blowing a fuse or damaging a speaker. The style of music that you play loud, distorted guitars will murder your bass presence in the mix.Ī 100 - 150 watt bass amp is the bare minimum to use for rehearsals and small gigs 300 watts is better since it allows the amp to push out the same or louder volume with less effort or strain.The size of club(s) that you play (the bigger the stage, the bigger the amp you need).How do I buy the right speakers for my bass ampīass amps in general require more power to get those bass frequencies loud enough to compete with drums or a distorted electric guitar! The amount of wattage required also depends to a certain extent on the following:.What's a bass guitar rig or a bass guitar stack?.What's a bass amp, bass amp head or combo bass amp?.Are tube bass amps better than solid state bass amps?.How loud does my bass amp need to be in a live band?.How many watts do I need in a bass amp?.Your input will make this FAQ even better! If you have a question that isn't answered here, please contact me by filling out the form on the About Bass Guitar Rocks page or leave a comment below. The Bass Guitar Amplifier FAQ is a work-in-progress.
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