Author Topic: Guitar amps that make good bass amps  (Read 4930 times)

nofi

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Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« on: August 14, 2009, 08:06:57 AM »
we know that marshall and hiwatt lead heads can also make good bass amps. i once had a couple sound city tube guitar amps that sounded great through sound city giutar cabs. (3). anyone else have something they would like to add to the list.

godofthunder

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2009, 02:37:21 PM »
LOL Sure a Sound City 200 plus, great amp loud as anything. Very nasty sounding in a good way.
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Basvarken

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #2 on: August 14, 2009, 05:37:10 PM »
Ampeg V4

Great amp for both guitar and bass.

SKATE RAT

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2009, 06:03:30 PM »
my Plush sounds great for both and i've heard some Traynors are good for both.
'72 GIBSON SB-450, '74 UNIVOX HIGHFLYER, '75 FENDER P-BASS, '76 ARIA 4001, '76 GIBSON RIPPER, '77 GIBSON G-3, '78 GUILD B-301, '79 VANTAGE FLYING V BASS, '80's HONDO PROFESSIONAL II, '80's IBANEZ ROADSTAR II, '92 GIBSON LPB-1, 'XX WAR BASS, LTD VIPER 104, '01 GIBSON SG SPECIAL, RAT FUZZ AND TUBES

Saf

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2009, 01:01:13 AM »
I really love my London City DEA130 Mk V amp for bass. have a London city super bass 4 x 15" cab and an london city 2 x 15" cab with it. Man it rocks! London City was an cheap marschall ripp off builder in holland in the late 60's / mid 70's.



It's now in use as my home amp, mostly use my fender basmann 130 for live work and an fender musicmaster combo for small gigs. I've played over an Sound City L100 for a couple months and that too sounded great for bass.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2009, 03:26:26 AM by Saf »

Dave W

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2009, 07:57:10 AM »
Saf, what is that bass on the window sill to the right of the upper cab?

Saf

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2009, 07:58:52 AM »
Jolana basso IX. From behind the iron curtain. Sounds like a cardboard box, but looks great.

Dave W

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2009, 08:10:21 AM »
Looks balanced too.  :)

Saf

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2009, 08:15:23 AM »
It's top-heavy, The head plunges towards the ground.  weights almost nothing. Sounds like hell, plays not that great but what the hell it's such a great looker. It has it's place in my collection. It's had everyting it needs to have to be allowed in the collection. It's short scale and not the usual shape.


rahock

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2009, 04:38:47 PM »
Fender Showman
Rick

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2009, 09:30:32 AM »
I can't say how it would work out in the gigging world, but I just did some recording a few weekends ago. In addition to the DI bass signal, we recorded another signal through a Benson L-60 115 Combo. I'd never heard of the amp before, but it had an amazingly sweet tone. The producer used the amp for the guitars and my bass and it really did a great job with both. It was a great 2 channel amp in general with a built in fuzz, tremolo, & reverb. Basically everything you could want on-board.

Chris P.

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #11 on: September 23, 2009, 09:48:28 AM »
In the sixties and seventies there weren't many different amps for guitar or bass.

The Shadows used an AC30 for bass.
The Beatles all used AC50 with different cabs. I used an SC50 too. Same with Selmer T'nB.
A lot of bass players used Marshall heads and the 4x12 was meant for bass, until Pete Townshend started to use 'm.
et cetera

Last year I was at a venue and their bass amp was sh*t. Just too modern, lots of controls and no good base sound. I plugged into a Fender Twin and it was great!

n!k

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #12 on: October 04, 2009, 12:02:58 AM »
I play out of a Sunn Model T, which is excellent for bass. I swapped the stock 6550 power tubes for some JJ KT-88s and the sound fattened up dramatically, even if it seemed to rob a little bit of the super sub-bass frequencies.
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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #13 on: October 05, 2009, 09:55:19 AM »
Most people now regard the Fender Bassman (50W version) as a great guitar amp, but it's still an excellent bass amp for small venues if paired with an efficient speaker.
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Dave W

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Re: Guitar amps that make good bass amps
« Reply #14 on: October 05, 2009, 10:46:56 AM »
Nothing wrong with the Bassman head for low volume gigs. The circuit design is fine for bass. Efficient or not, you have to have a closed back cab if you want adequate bass.