Do bass guitars need bass amps?

Yes generally bass guitars function best with bass guitar amps and amps designed specifically for bass guitars.

Are guitar amps and bass amps different?

Yes. Guitar amps and bass amps are different and are designed specifically to handle different frequencies and outputs from both styles of guitars.

How big of an amp do I need for bass guitar?

This will change depending on your needs, for home use a small combo or head with DI/Emulated out could be fine, for gigs a larger size and wattage combo may be better.

If I DI my bass, do I still need a bass guitar amp for gigging?

Even if you DI (directly inject, i.e. plug the bass straight into the PA) your bass, we'd recommend using an amp on stage, if only for your own monitoring purposes. Many amps offer DI outs that do not disable the speaker. This means you can both DI your bass (whilst enjoying the benefit of the amp's tone) and have your bass coming through your amp's speaker on stage.

What kind of wattage am I looking at for being enough to gig with?

We'd say a minimum of 200 watts is where you want to be and more is preferable. Bass just needs more power to be where it needs to be in a live mix. It is always better to have too much power and turn it down than to have too little power and not be heard!

For bass amps, which is better: valve amps or solid state?

Both types have their benefits and drawbacks. Valve heads have an authentic vintage sound with lots of character. However they are very heavy, expensive and require maintenance. Solid State heads have a modern sound with a tight attack and are generally cheaper and lighter than valve heads. Some would say they do not match valve amps for depth of sound and overall 'size' of sound but this is debatable. We suggest trying both and deciding from there where your tastes lie.

What type of unusual cable is it that connects some bass heads and cabinets?

Some bass heads and cabinets are connected via a Speakon cable. This type of connector, made originally by Neutrik, has a mechanism at each end to lock the cable in place. The reason for this is that on some older bass amps, the vibrations from the low bass frequencies were actually making the standard quarter inch jack cables shake loose and fall out of the amp! Speakon cables are the antidote to that embarrassing problem!

Can I play a bass guitar through an electric guitar amp?

We wouldn't advise it! Whilst it will respond and make a noise, the sound itself won't be great and worse, you may end up doing serious damage to the amp itself. Guitar amps are not and never have been designed to handle the particularly low frequencies produced by a bass guitar. You'll lose out on a lot of the bottom end, which is what a bass really needs to sound like a bass! We recommend going straight for a bass amp. It's the right tool for the job and you'll enjoy yourself more!

Bass Amps | guitarguitar

Fender Bassman 800 Valve Amp Head

£1,299.00 £1,349.00

Out of Stock

Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 Bass Head

(1)

£799.00 £989.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

Ampeg PF-20T Bass Valve Amp Head

£899.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

Laney Richter Bass R410 Bass Cabinet

£309.00 £349.00

Out of Stock

AER Amp One Solid State Bass Combo Amplifier

£1,939.00

Out of Stock

Trace Elliot 110 Lightweight Bass Cabinet

(3)

£279.00 £349.00

Out of Stock

Laney RB1 15W Bass Combo

(2)

£159.00 £179.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

In Stock

Darkglass Microtubes 900 v2 Solid State Bass Amp Head

£1,069.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

Laney RB3 65W 1x12 Combo Solid State Bass Amp

(1)

£349.00 £399.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

£859.00

Out of Stock

New

Mark Bass Little Mark IV 500W Solid State Bass Amp Head (Pre-Owned) #BHM100554

£449.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

GR Amps Bass AT112H Plus Passive Cab 450w 8ohm

£925.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

Ex-Demo

Mark Bass Mini CMD 151 P IV 1x15 500W Bass Combo Solid State Amp (Ex-Demo) #BCF100420

£939.00 £1,109.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

Mesa Boogie 2x10 Subway Diagonal Bass Cabinet

£1,399.00 £1,519.00

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or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

£539.00 £583.00

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or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

£349.00

Out of Stock

Laney Nexus SL Bass Valve Amp Head + N115 Cabinet + N410 Cabinet (Pre-Owned)

£999.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

Mesa Boogie 1x12 Boogie 19 inch Open Back Bass Cabinet

£609.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

Mesa Boogie 1x12 Boogie Thiele 19 Inch Bass Cabinet

£609.00 £639.00

Out of Stock

Mesa Boogie Subway D-350 Class D Solid State Bass Amp

£899.00

FREE Delivery

Pre-Order

Mesa Boogie Subway D-800+ Bass Solid State Amp (Metal Head)

£1,249.00

FREE Delivery

Available to Order

Mesa Boogie Subway WD-800 Bass Solid State Amp (Metal Head)

£1,299.00

FREE Delivery

Pre-Order

DV Mark EVO 1 Head (Pre-Owned)

£249.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

Mesa Boogie 1x12 Subway Ultra-Lite Bass Cabinet

(1)

£1,099.00 £1,179.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

or FREE delivery on Monday

In Stock

Vox Amplug 3 Bass

£47.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

In Stock

Vox Amplug 3 Modern Bass

£47.00

Get it Saturday, May 11

In Stock

Darkglass M500 DG210A Bass Combo Solid State Amp

£1,119.00

FREE Delivery

Available to Order

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Bass Amps

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Fender Bassman 800 Valve Amp Head

Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 Bass Head

Ampeg PF-20T Bass Valve Amp Head

Laney Richter Bass R410 Bass Cabinet

AER Amp One Solid State Bass Combo Amplifier

Trace Elliot 110 Lightweight Bass Cabinet

Laney RB1 15W Bass Combo

Darkglass Microtubes 900 v2 Solid State Bass Amp Head

Laney RB3 65W 1x12 Combo Solid State Bass Amp

Rockman Bass Ace Headphone Amp

Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-210 Combo Solid State Amp (Ex-Demo) #21RB53F7245000028

Mark Bass CMB 151 Black Line 150W 1x15 Solid State Bass Combo Amp

Mark Bass Mini CMD 121P V Solid State Combo Bass Amp

Mark Bass Little Mark IV 500W Solid State Bass Amp Head (Pre-Owned) #BHM100554

GR Amps Bass AT112H Plus Passive Cab 450w 8ohm

Mark Bass Mini CMD 151 P IV 1x15 500W Bass Combo Solid State Amp (Ex-Demo) #BCF100420

Mesa Boogie 2x10 Subway Diagonal Bass Cabinet

Ampeg Venture V3 300W Bass Solid State Amp Head

Ampeg Venture V3 300W Bass Solid State Amp Head (Ex-Demo) #21V3H3M7330003070

Ampeg Venture V3 300W Bass Solid State Amp Head (Ex-Demo) #21V3H3M7330002899

Ampeg Venture V3 300W Bass Solid State Amp Head (Ex-Demo) #21V3H3M7316000178

Ampeg Venture V7 700W Bass Solid State Amp Head

Ampeg Venture V12 1200W Bass Solid State Amp Head

Ampeg Venture 112 Bass Cabinet

Ampeg Venture 115 Bass Cabinet

Ampeg Venture 210 Bass Cabinet

Ampeg Venture 212 Bass Cabinet

Mark Bass CMB 101 Black Line Bass Combo Solid State Amp

Mark Bass CMB 121 Blackline Bass Combo Solid State Amp

Laney Nexus SL Bass Valve Amp Head + N115 Cabinet + N410 Cabinet (Pre-Owned)

Mesa Boogie 1x12 Boogie 19 inch Open Back Bass Cabinet

Mesa Boogie 1x12 Boogie Thiele 19 Inch Bass Cabinet

Mesa Boogie Subway D-350 Class D Solid State Bass Amp

Mesa Boogie Subway D-800+ Bass Solid State Amp (Metal Head)

Mesa Boogie Subway WD-800 Bass Solid State Amp (Metal Head)

DV Mark EVO 1 Head (Pre-Owned)

Mesa Boogie 1x12 Subway Ultra-Lite Bass Cabinet

Vox Amplug 3 Bass

Vox Amplug 3 Modern Bass

Darkglass M500 DG210A Bass Combo Solid State Amp

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