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

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Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-112 Bass Combo

£409.00 £547.00

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Fender Rumble Studio 40

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£459.00

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£69.00

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Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-210 Bass Combo

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£675.00 £917.00

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Fender Rumble 100 1x12 Bass Combo

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£349.00 £369.00

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Mark Bass CMD JB Players School Solid State Bass Combo

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£499.00 £599.00

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Ampeg SVT Micro CL Stack Solid State Amp

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£399.00 £527.00

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£129.00 £149.00

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Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-115 Bass Combo

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£499.00 £754.00

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Ashdown Studio 15 300W 1x15 Combo Solid State Amp

£495.00

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Orange Crush Bass 100 1x15 Combo Solid State Amp

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£399.00 £449.00

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Mark Bass New York 121 400W 8 Ohm 1x12 Bass Cabinet

£449.00

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Orange Crush Bass 50 Black Combo Solid State Amp

£249.00 £269.00

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Mark Bass MB58R CMD 102 P 300W 2x10 Combo Solid State Amp

£879.00

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Mark Bass Little Mark 250 Black Series Solid State Bass Head

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£349.00

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Laney DB500H Digbeth 500W Solid State Bass Amp Head

£399.00 £499.00

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Ampeg SVT210AV Compact 2x10 Bass Cabinet

£449.00

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Ashdown Studio 10 50W Bass Combo Solid State Amp

£249.00

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Bass Amps

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EastCoast EC-15BII 15 Watt Bass Combo Practice Amp

Fender Rumble 15 V3 Bass Combo

Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-108 Bass Combo

Fender Rumble 25 Bass Combo

Orange Crush Bass 25 Combo Solid State Amp

Orange Crush Bass 50 Combo Solid State Amp

Fender Rumble LT25

EastCoast EC-25BII 25 Watt Bass Combo Practice Amp

Blackstar Fly 3 Bass

Blackstar Amplug2 Fly Bass

Laney LX15B 15W Combo Bass Practice Amp

Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-110 Bass Combo

Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-112 Bass Combo

Fender Rumble Studio 40

BOSS KTN110B Katana 1x10 Bass Combo Amp

Orange OBC-112 1x12 Bass Cabinet

Orange Terror Bass Valve Amp Head

BOSS Dual Cube Bass LX Combo Practice Amplifier

Fender Rumble 40 Bass Combo Solid State Amp

BOSS KTN210B Katana 2x10 Bass Combo Amp

Kinsman KBA15 15W Combo Practice Bass Amp

Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-210 Bass Combo

Fender Rumble 100 1x12 Bass Combo

Mark Bass CMD JB Players School Solid State Bass Combo

Ampeg SVT Micro CL Stack Solid State Amp

Ashdown Studio 8 30W Bass Combo Solid State Amp

Orange Crush Bass 50 Glenn Hughes Limited Edition Combo Solid State Amp

Fender Rumble 200 1x15 Bass Combo

Orange Little Bass Thing 500w Bass Solid State Amp Head

Ashdown Studio Junior 15W Bass Combo Practice Amp

Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-115 Bass Combo

Ashdown Studio 15 300W 1x15 Combo Solid State Amp

Orange Crush Bass 100 1x15 Combo Solid State Amp

Mark Bass New York 121 400W 8 Ohm 1x12 Bass Cabinet

Orange Crush Bass 50 Black Combo Solid State Amp

Mark Bass MB58R CMD 102 P 300W 2x10 Combo Solid State Amp

Mark Bass Little Mark 250 Black Series Solid State Bass Head

Laney DB500H Digbeth 500W Solid State Bass Amp Head

Ampeg SVT210AV Compact 2x10 Bass Cabinet

Ashdown Studio 10 50W Bass Combo Solid State Amp

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