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Amp for a bass player


MacDoggie

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Posted

I have someone at work that is looking for an amp to use at church on Sundays. The thing is he's a bass player. He isn't too knowledgable about what he needs, and I've never messed with a bass setup.

 

His question to me is "Can I use something like a Princeton Reverb amp with my bass?" He will mike it for the church's PA, so it doesn't have to be a very loud amp. But I'm not sure a single 10" speaker driven by 15 tube watts will handle the low tones of a bass.

 

Anyone out there with experience trying this type of setup?

Posted

Don't do it! Putting a bass through a guitar amp is a good way to break-in a brand new speaker...or blow it if one plays it too loud. The 10" Princeton would not sound very good, even if miked. Your friend would be better off going direct through the church PA. I've used a Peavey Delta Blues 115 for bass since it is similar to the old Bassman amps. I've also had great bass tones from an SWR Strawberry Blonde accoustic guitar amp. Both were miked since they are under powered for playing live.

 

Bass amps need much more power to push low frequencies, especially in a live setting. There are a ton of inexpensive bass amps out there, some are very compact too. Good luck.

Posted

I'll second that going straight to the PA. And add: if he doesn't want to buy an amp, use a Bass DI. Small footprint, easy to carry and will get his signal up to line level as well as filtering it so it sounds better.

Posted

Thanks guys. I told him the consensus was to avoid the Princeton and either go to the PA or buy a bass amp.

 

Appreciate the advise (as always!)...

Posted

Great. Keep in mind that our free advice is worth every penny. :huh:

 

 

Hey, forgot to ask...but does your bass playing buddy have a vintage Princeton or one of the Reissues?

 

If he has a vintage one from the 60's or 70's, they are uber-cool little amps with point-to-point wiring. I would love to snag one. :huh:

Posted
I'll second that going straight to the PA. And add: if he doesn't want to buy an amp, use a Bass DI. Small footprint, easy to carry and will get his signal up to line level as well as filtering it so it sounds better.

 

2nd the DI. for a nice portable bass amp with the right outputs, he might look at Phil Jones' stuff

 

B)

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