small bass amp

[ampang]

Hi,
I'm thinking about getting an amplifier for studio needs.
It should be ideally:

--integrated/combo
--small-ish enough
--all valve (or at least valve in the preamp)
--able to deal nicely with mudbucker bass

old or new...

Any idea?

[MARICOPAA]

Mark Bass F1 (500 watt digital power supply & digital amplifier) small, rugged, great tone, super light and super small...add to that a small Schroeder speaker cab of your choice and you will be golden!

For anyone who is curious: http://www.schroedercabinets.com/bass.htm

[ampang]

Thanx for the info. The F1 is really attractive in fact...And if I want to stay in the vintage stuff, any valve amp suggestion relatively lightweight but good sounding for vintage tones (EB3   etc)?

[gweimer]

If you've got the money, look at the Phil Jones Flightcase amp. 

[Chris P.]

I like my very cheap modern Vox T25. A little solid state combo. The sound is very similar to a big tube head. But maybe the sound isn't well enough for studio needs.

[Basvarken]

For studio needs, I'd say the Ampeg Portaflex B-15 is the perfect amp.

[Chris P.]

But you can't call that small, I guess? I would love to have one though.

[Basvarken]

I think it is small. Really they're not that big.
And who cares if they're heavy. You don't need to haul them around if it's for studio use only.

[Chris P.]

You have a point there.  But if you don't haul them around you can also take a bigger one;)

A good (tube) DI and Amplitubes will work too.

[chromium]

A good (tube) DI ... will work too.

I've been very happy with DI thru my Alembic F2-B.

Mr. Barr had a B-15 in his GFS section months ago that I resisted with every fiber in my being.  I was so very tempted by it (fair price, local pickup).  There's so much other recording stuff I need/want more, though, and because I've been able to get good consistent results with the Alembic, I'm fine with that for now.

[Chris P.]

I think there are a lot of good (tube) DIs available at the moment for fair prices.

[HornetAMX]

I bought a new Acoustic B20 combo amp and love it.  I use it for home practice and it just sounds great.  The 12 inch speaker handles a low B with no problems.  Very inexpensive too.  Not a tube preamp, but very warm sounding.

[Dave W]

I bought a new Acoustic B20 combo amp and love it.  I use it for home practice and it just sounds great.  The 12 inch speaker handles a low B with no problems.  Very inexpensive too.  Not a tube preamp, but very warm sounding.

Now that sounds interesting. I looked at Music123, it even looks nice.

Have you tried the headphone jack with a decent set of phones? I've got some good Beyer headphones, looking to be able to practice late without bothering any neighbors.

[HornetAMX]

Have not tried the headphone jack yet Dave.  I'm ashamed to say I can't find my old Koss headphones!

[Dave W]

At that price it's probably worth taking a chance. If it sounds good through the speaker it should be okay through the headphone circuit. Did you buy it locally?