Good bass amp manufacturers on a budget

[jamesmustain]

I've decided to start learning bass but need an amp, obviously. Just wondering if there are any bass players here who can recommend a nice sounding amp for under $200? What's good for a budget player? Ashton? Marshall?

I just want something that doesn't sound cheap, but at the same time, is not expensive

[Lance Gucwa]

It will be quite difficult to find a good sounding bass amp under $200. If you are really lucky you might find an Ampeg BA15 or BA12 on Craiglist for under $200. Be careful buying a used amp as the speaker and/or circuitry may have issues. I don't know of any new amps that sound good and meet your under $200 criteria. Ampeg makes good bass amps. But, these 2 Ampeg amps I mentioned would only be good for practice or small gigs. If you are playing upright then you may need a direct/equalizer box or pedal to match the Independence of the amp and this will easily bring you over $200. Good luck in finding an appropriate amp.

[Ken Smith]

It will be quite difficult to find a good sounding bass amp under $200. If you are really lucky you might find an Ampeg BA15 or BA12 on Craiglist for under $200. Be careful buying a used amp as the speaker and/or circuitry may have issues. I don't know of any new amps that sound good and meet your under $200 criteria. Ampeg makes good bass amps. But, these 2 Ampeg amps I mentioned would only be good for practice or small gigs. If you are playing upright then you may need a direct/equalizer box or pedal to match the Independence of the amp and this will easily bring you over $200. Good luck in finding an appropriate amp.




I plug my Shadow double wing pickup directly into any amp I use. Gadgets are not required. I use that pickup on all of my double basses for about 20+ years now. I think Fender makes a small bass amp. So does GK make 1 or 2 models. But the smaller of the two is not that great. Used it playing a show on Electric bass. This past two weeks used a larger Cube shaped bass amp with my DB and it worked fine. Better sounding I thought than the Mark Bass Cube which is good but boomy. Maybe for some styles its ok but I wasn't a fan. Just used it as it was there in the Pit.