Looking for ideas for piecing together a bass practice amp for as little money as possible. I just bought a bass guitar last week and don't want to commit to purchasing a nice amp/cabinet until I at least get past the "Smoke on the Water/Iron Man opening riff" stage. 😀
For noodling around, I'm using a pro-sound 300 watt amp with a 10" DIY subwoofer. To boost the gain, I'm just using a pro-sound crossover (since it was just laying around). It makes enough noise to hear the guitar, but thinks get ugly very quickly.
I'd like to continue to use the amplifier, since I already have it, but probably need a real bass-guitar preamp. Any suggestions on a budget pre-amp (between $50 & $100)?
A home sub obviously does not make for a good bass cab either. I've built dozens of home/car speaker cabinets, so construction of a bass cab should be pretty easy. Looking for suggestions for a design using pretty inexpensive drivers. Maybe a couple 8" or 10" pro drivers?
For noodling around, I'm using a pro-sound 300 watt amp with a 10" DIY subwoofer. To boost the gain, I'm just using a pro-sound crossover (since it was just laying around). It makes enough noise to hear the guitar, but thinks get ugly very quickly.
I'd like to continue to use the amplifier, since I already have it, but probably need a real bass-guitar preamp. Any suggestions on a budget pre-amp (between $50 & $100)?
A home sub obviously does not make for a good bass cab either. I've built dozens of home/car speaker cabinets, so construction of a bass cab should be pretty easy. Looking for suggestions for a design using pretty inexpensive drivers. Maybe a couple 8" or 10" pro drivers?
Subwoofers are not good bass cabs.
I think any preamp would work for you, specifically bass preamps are fine, but guitar ones will work too, they just won;t have the bottom end EQ skew. You could build a basic preamp. There are smallish ones that run on a 9v battery, but really, if you are going to bother building, I;d suggest sticking to the +15/-15 power scheme.
Bass preamps are out there, but whole amps are far more plentiful. Why not look for a working amp head or even a combo. If you have some electronics chops you could probably find a non-working one for very little and fix it. Then you could use the whole thing. Or just use the preamp part of it, and send the preamp out or FX send over to your power amp.
There is a limit to the bottom end you will get from a single 10" and cab. I love a good 4x10 bass cab, it is in your face and articulate. But that is not the same as a home stereo box. If you are just noodling, then you don;t need all that. Little amps like the Peavey Minx are a 1x10 combo amp, and they work fine as practice amps. Fender, Hartke, and other brands make similar issue. Look for them used.
Once you have worked up to "Day Tripper" then consider expansion.
I think any preamp would work for you, specifically bass preamps are fine, but guitar ones will work too, they just won;t have the bottom end EQ skew. You could build a basic preamp. There are smallish ones that run on a 9v battery, but really, if you are going to bother building, I;d suggest sticking to the +15/-15 power scheme.
Bass preamps are out there, but whole amps are far more plentiful. Why not look for a working amp head or even a combo. If you have some electronics chops you could probably find a non-working one for very little and fix it. Then you could use the whole thing. Or just use the preamp part of it, and send the preamp out or FX send over to your power amp.
There is a limit to the bottom end you will get from a single 10" and cab. I love a good 4x10 bass cab, it is in your face and articulate. But that is not the same as a home stereo box. If you are just noodling, then you don;t need all that. Little amps like the Peavey Minx are a 1x10 combo amp, and they work fine as practice amps. Fender, Hartke, and other brands make similar issue. Look for them used.
Once you have worked up to "Day Tripper" then consider expansion.
You're right on the subwoofer comment. With really low efficiency and low tuning, my amp clips and the speaker flails like a dead fish at surprisingly low volume.
I have a couple of clean-boxes I'm using in a stereo system. I might just try one of those for a preamp, just to see how well it works.
A 4x10 cab would be way too big/loud for just practicing at home - My wife would kill me. A couple of efficient 10's seem like they would be just about right.
I guess what I don't know - what is a reasonable F3 for a bass cab. I might goof around with sourcing some drivers and design my own.
In the meantime, I'll keep my eye out for a basket-case amp/cab that needs some love.😉
I have a couple of clean-boxes I'm using in a stereo system. I might just try one of those for a preamp, just to see how well it works.
A 4x10 cab would be way too big/loud for just practicing at home - My wife would kill me. A couple of efficient 10's seem like they would be just about right.
I guess what I don't know - what is a reasonable F3 for a bass cab. I might goof around with sourcing some drivers and design my own.
In the meantime, I'll keep my eye out for a basket-case amp/cab that needs some love.😉
Hi,
Before faffing around and reinventing the wheel have a look
at what is out there, new and used, especially used.
Budget bass preamps are called bass multieffect pedals.
Behringer V-Tone Bass BDI21
However if you've bought a decent bass a decent budget amp is an idea :
Behringer Ultrabass BXL900
rgds, sreten.
FWIW an EQable slow bass roll of is far more important than F3.
Vented boxes should be tuned to 38Hz irrespective of F3 to
allow drop D tuning and still work well with standard E.
Low levels at around 40Hz, e.g. F10 imply a lot more
midband efficiency, and that is basically what you want.
F3 for good bass cabinets is typically around 80Hz.
Conversely cheaper sealed bass cabinets peak at 80Hz.
Before faffing around and reinventing the wheel have a look
at what is out there, new and used, especially used.
Budget bass preamps are called bass multieffect pedals.
Behringer V-Tone Bass BDI21
However if you've bought a decent bass a decent budget amp is an idea :
Behringer Ultrabass BXL900
rgds, sreten.
FWIW an EQable slow bass roll of is far more important than F3.
Vented boxes should be tuned to 38Hz irrespective of F3 to
allow drop D tuning and still work well with standard E.
Low levels at around 40Hz, e.g. F10 imply a lot more
midband efficiency, and that is basically what you want.
F3 for good bass cabinets is typically around 80Hz.
Conversely cheaper sealed bass cabinets peak at 80Hz.
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Ok.. I'm going to follow both of your suggestions and look for a regular 'ol practice combo amp. I guess I need to learn to play the thing before I get over-enthused about a crazy amp/cabinet project. I Guess being a DIY-er, I instinctively want to build everything.😱
Thanks for the advice.
Thanks for the advice.
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