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Looking for recommendations for a mid-range Bass combo. Price range £250 - £350. Required for practice, live and studio.

I've tried a Line 6 LD150, a Hartke A100 & an Ampeg B 100R.

All round about the 100 - 150 watt mark.

The Line 6 seemed a little too gimmiky with the different amp profiles, the ampeg sounded a little quiet and the Hartke sounded ok but maybe a little sharp with the aluminium cone. All with a Precision.

I'll try a Fender Bassman 150, a Fender Rumble 100 and Marshall MB150 tomorrow. Choice seems a little limited in Glasgow.

But do any of you guys have experience of any of these and advice?

probably everything here will say two things
a) go used
b) go head + 1x15 cab

the gallien krueger backline series are great and cheap. you can get a head and a nice cab with that money. and you can buy them here so probably you will have luck finding them in glasgow.

Strictly speaking, you'd want a combination of 10 inch speakers to get a real middy sound (not a real MIDI sound) with basically any head. Of course with proper EQing you can get plenty mids from any type speaker. Seconded on the GK, also try SWR. Hartke speakers are ok with the right head, but their amps are lame.

lonesome, i think that josef is talking about mid-range in price, not in sound

Benny wrote:lonesome, i think that josef is talking about mid-range in price, not in sound

D'OH!

Thanks for the f/b fellas.

I'm new to the Bass and I take your recommendations about head and cab. But what's wrong with combos? I'll be playing quiet.

Josef K wrote:Thanks for the f/b fellas.

I'm new to the Bass and I take your recommendations about head and cab. But what's wrong with combos? I'll be playing quiet.

Well some people don't like combos because you can't upgrade the cab or head seperately. Also some amp makers throw useless "catch-all" features on their combos. These amps are more commonly designed for entry-level bassists and not the high professional caliber of virtuosos found here.

if you're playing quiet and want a combo, the YBA-2B is a great choice.

Benny wrote:the gallien krueger backline series are great and cheap.

I have one of these - a Backline 115 Bass Combo - and five years into playing with it, I still don't know what to make of it. Sometimes it sounds amazing, and sometimes I want to kick it in the tits out of frustration because it sounds fanny. Thankfully, the latter doesn't happen too often.

talkbass.com has an international for sale forum. sift through there and go with a 2x10 or 1x15 cab, and a 200w head or so. you can probably score both for around $300 or so.

avoid features like the plague, the less knobs the better usually.

if you want advice on something caught in your eye, just PM me, my name is jim primate over there.

and serious, this is worthwhile advice, you'll save more money this way than ebay or new and wind up with something better for less.