So I'm looking to move up from the 6-8" practice amp and into the 12-18" range - I'm not excellently well-versed in amps in general - bass amps even more so.

What's better to have? High wattage and a smaller speaker, or the inverse?

What other things should I consider in buying one (used!)?

Thanks everyone...!

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Standard Tele, 2005 (Signed by John 5)
Standard Strat, 1996
Fat Strat Floyd Rose, Mex, 2000 (Signed by Mick Taylor)
Les Paul Deluxe, 1970
Firebird Studio, 2005 (Signed by Marilyn Manson)
SG Spec. Faded, 2003
Thunderbird IV, 2000
P.Bass, 1995

What's better to have - a high wattage or a larger speaker size?

_________________
Standard Tele, 2005 (Signed by John 5)
Standard Strat, 1996
Fat Strat Floyd Rose, Mex, 2000 (Signed by Mick Taylor)
Les Paul Deluxe, 1970
Firebird Studio, 2005 (Signed by Marilyn Manson)
SG Spec. Faded, 2003
Thunderbird IV, 2000
P.Bass, 1995

Well, I'm no expert, but speaker size and wattage tend to go pretty much hand-in-hand. Generally, the higher the wattage of the amp, the bigger the speaker, or the more smaller speakers will be in the cabinet and the reverse is usually true of the smaller amps. It's a balancing act because a low wattage amp wouldn't be able to drive a speaker that was too large, resulting in poor sound quality. And on the other hand a too-small speaker in a higher powered amp would burn out, or "blow" quickly.

It's easier, for me, to go by the wattage of an amp and that, in turn, would be determined by my needs. If you're an amateur player, or hobbyist, you would hardly have a need for a 200 watt monster of an amp. I have a 15-watt Fender guitar amp (Blues Jr.), for example, and it has enough "loud" to run me out of the house if I crank it up and suits my needs perfectly. But If I were gigging, then I'd be looking for a more powerful amp. Get what I'm saying??

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

A good rule of thumb with used amps is try it out and see how it sounds. It should be clean sounding for sure as it will never sound better than it sounds now. Age can be very important as components like capacitors can age, wear out, leak, etc causing all sorts of problems.

I like USA made and European made amps as the older ones are usually better. At one time most amps worth having were made in England or the USA. That was true until recently. Italy (MarkBass) makes some great bass amps. In the UK you have the high end Ashdown and Marshall tube gear.

Clean power matters, size plus the number of speakers and EQ voicing all matter.
In general the more power output the better.

There are three basic versions of electric bass setups:

1. Combos. Small and compact, but not always light. In general a heavy combo that is a chore to move sort of defeats the purpose of having a handy combo. In general you have to find a balance of power, speaker size and the weight you are willing to lug comfortably. Wheels on a heavier combo help but won't help get it in or out of your car, up steps, on the bus or subway, on the stage or into the basement for a jam session. Usually the modern light, powerful combos popular with pros run into a great deal of money and you could buy an entry level gig worthy stack for about the same price as some of the powerful lightweight pro level combos. Some of the better midline combos have 2x10, 1x12 or 1x15 speakers with horns for the upper mids. These horns are important for the modern fusion/slap style of play as they add upper mid tones.

Other good features to look for are the ability to plug in an extension or external speaker cab, active EQ, XLR out, headphone out, tape/cd/MP3/Ipod in, built in tuner, style/character switches, compression, multiple channels and special effects such as subharmonic generation. In general the more tone controls the better and a few even have graphic EQ's.

Some combos use a tube in the preamp circuit with a solid state power amp which is generally referred to as a "hybrid" amp. This is true for both heads and combos. Having a single tube in the preamp makes the tone sound like a traditional tube amp and this is a very desirable feature that is quite popular with more seasoned players. But the tube in a hybrid requires replacement about once every 12 months or they can fail with absolutely no more notice than a light bulb burning out, they cost about $15 to $20 depending on brand for the tube which is less than most string sets. It is best to save the labor cost and replace that tube once per year yourself, so it should be easily accessible and you should know how to change it. My son bought a hybrid Vox guitar amp and changing the tube in it is a nightmare.

Very few combos are up to doing an outdoor gig unaided by a PA or an external cab and many combos have no provision for an external cab as usually the amps are minimum load 4 Ohm capable and they come with a 4 Ohm speaker to maximize the output in the first place. Some do come with an 8 Ohm speaker and allow you to use an external cab which makes them much more versatile in that you can use the combo stand alone for practice/rehearsal and add an additional cab at gigs to move more air. In general a usable practice/rehearsal bass combo will have 75 watts minimum, at least a 10 inch speaker and whatever other features are important to you. A headphone jack, a CD/MP3 input and an XLR out are the three most important features on a combo for me.

2. Stacks/Gig Rigs: These are usually bulky, heavy, powerful and generally much more versatile and suitable for large venues or outdoor use. Players have been conditioned to think that a huge wall of bass cabs with a powerful amplifier head or even two heads is the only way to go to "play out" but today this isn't always true anymore. Time was that PA's were not setup to carry much bass tone but today's bi-amplified multiple speaker/subwoofer front-of-house systems are far more capable and arrays of multiple bass cabs with behemoth heads are becoming passe' except for show as people expect it. Also at one time a 15 inch speaker was pretty much the standard for a pro bass speaker, then Ampeg came out with the 8x10 SVT cab, now called the Classic 8x10 and exploded the "15 inch for bass" myth. The 8x10 added punch and clarity and became the stage standard, but weighs about 140 lbs while the head weighed about 90 lbs. From there 4x10 and 2x10 cabs were a natural progression in downsizing the 10 inch sound.

3. Modern Rigs: There are a couple of setups that make good sense today. First, a XLR direct out to PA rig allows you to gig with a smaller amp than you could without patching direct to a beefy PA and in this scenario you are basically using your amp as a monitor for you while the tech controls the mix. Second, the direct out only setup allows you to use an amp emulator device like a Tech 21 Bass Driver to send an XLR signal to the PA console and then you hear yourself through the stage monitors. Third, the Combo Stack is where you use a powerful combo's built in speakers, usually a 2x10 or 1x15 and also plug in an extension/external cab to move more air making the amp much louder, often about twice as loud. Using this last method is very sensible in situations where the PA is not capable of an assist on carrying the bass. Take the combo only to rehearsal but add the larger external/extension cab for gigs.

Someone mentioned The Ampeg BA-115. The USA made ones were good, but I have not heard much good about any Made In China Ampeg. I've had a couple of the Made in USA Ampeg BA amps and they were loud enough for practice, rehearsal and the HP even handled some small gigs. But with their 1x15 they are not very punchy and the tweeter hisses so the treble control isn't fully usable and I just turned it up until it started hissing. That wasn't just on one of them, but all three that I owned.

Someone trashed the entire Peavey line. I've had a whole bunch of Peavey amps. A Combo 300 which was very loud and powerful but weighed about 150 pounds it felt like. I could not pick it up at all by myself. I doubt I could carry it 30 feet even with help these days. I used a TKO for a while and it was lighter than the 300 and almost as loud. The TNT was big, heavy and not so powerful or toneful so I didn't keep it long at all. I bought a 1976 Century 200 Peavey head and still use it today for rehearsals sometimes just to see how long it will work as it went unused for years. I also have had A Peavey Basic 60, Basic 112 and Minx for practice/recording. I have never had to take any of this "Made in USA" Peavey gear in for any technical servicing of any sort. My 1978 Peavey Century 200 head (Paid $196 new then) has never had a screwdriver on a single screw since it left Meridian, MS but I did put electrical tape on the power cord where the insulation starting cracking near the back of the amp. That head is now 33 years old and I promise it has never blown up or failed me in any regard and has not been babied at all. Of course the modern smaller stuff made in Asia probably isn't as good. I usually used Peavey amps for rehearsal/practice and gigged with an Ampeg stack up until about 3 years ago when I went in a different direction and my priorities changed. Someone may have been over-driving a bass amp. Rule of thumb for me is it the drive and master is over 12 O'Clock I need a bigger amp. I use this rule on combos and stacks.

If Peavy amps are such garbage, why are there so many of the 70's, 80's and 90's amps still alive and kicking around? Why are we not seeing more 70's Kustom or 80's Acoustic Control amps? Kustom was a big seller in the 70's. Hardly ever see them. But you can search Peavey Century on eBay and find at least one that is working for sale most days.

The Fender BXR series previously recommended was good, but heavy. So are most of the older Bassmans. The current Rumble and Bassman TV series offered by Fender are better all around in my opinion than the long discontinued BXR line which was on the bulky/heavy side when you got into the higher power amps. I demoed the Fender Rumble 210 combo when it came out and was VERY impressed as it sounded amazing. That is a serious bass amp you can gig with, not too heavy and loads of tone but it isn't exactly a lightweight either...nor is it very expensive.

These days finding a new made in USA amp isn't easy. The TOUR series by Peavey is still USA made but they are really expensive and the rest of their line is imported. All the Carvins are USA made, which might be the most overlooked but capable and affordable made in the USA bass amp. Carvin has a new USA made compact series called the Micro that just might be my next amp. You have to buy Carvin stuff directly from Carvin and unless you go to their stores in California to try one you are buying blind, but their stuff traditionally has been a solid value. The Mesa Boogie line is USA made but very pricey and yet worth every cent. The Gallien-Krueger brand's RB series is USA made the other GK series are imported. The latter day GK MB150's are highly regarded, the early ones had issues. Fender's gig ready bass amps are MOSTLY made in Mexico. I think the Fender Bassman 300 Pro was made in the USA but heard it was being discontinued.

Pretty good smaller compact light amps to check out:
MarkBass CMD12P (Italian made)
Line 6 Studio 110
Gallien-Krueger MB150 (either of the newer versions, the older version had reliability issues.)
Carvin Micro Bass (10, 12 and 15 inch versions)

My current rig is the Line 6 Studio 110 for practice at home and indoor gigs and then an Ampeg B2RE head and 1x15 and 2x10 Avatar cabs for outdoor gigs. I'm not moving more than that under any circumstances. I leave the heavy stuff at the rehearsal space. After 43 years of moving big heavy bass gear I'm sick of it.

Yet you need to be able to hear what you are doing.

Someone, a guitarist, posted their 15 watt Junior amp was plenty loud. I don't think you'd be happy for long with a 15 watt bass amp.

Our bass player had a Peavey TNT bass amp with 1-15" speaker with a 15" extension speaker and it was just great for pounding out a real thumping bass.I believe that it was rated at 150 or 200W and didn't cost an arm and a leg.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

thanks for all the helpful info, guys...! Much obliged. I no longer feel like a total noob on the subject.

_________________
Standard Tele, 2005 (Signed by John 5)
Standard Strat, 1996
Fat Strat Floyd Rose, Mex, 2000 (Signed by Mick Taylor)
Les Paul Deluxe, 1970
Firebird Studio, 2005 (Signed by Marilyn Manson)
SG Spec. Faded, 2003
Thunderbird IV, 2000
P.Bass, 1995

The ampeg BA 450 is a great and LOUD amp.

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