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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£1,045.00

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Aguilar 30th Anniversary SL112 Bass Cabinet

£1,079.00

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Aguilar 30th Anniversary AG500 Solid State Bass Amp Head

£1,045.00

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Mark Bass CMD 102 P V 2x10 Bass Combo Solid State Amp

£899.00 £999.00

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Ashdown RM 800 EVO III Bass Solid State Amp Head

£799.00

FREE Delivery

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Spring Sale

Ampeg Venture 115 Bass Cabinet

£549.00 £759.00

Get it Thursday, May 22

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Ashdown Original EVO 300 Solid State Amp Head

£359.00 £399.00

Get it Thursday, May 22

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Ampeg Venture 212 Bass Cabinet

£969.00 £1,232.00

FREE Delivery

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BOSS Dual Cube Bass LX Combo Practice Amplifier

(1)

£279.00 £311.00

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Spring Sale

Ampeg Venture V12 1200W Bass Solid State Amp Head

£799.00 £899.00

Get it Thursday, May 22

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Aguilar Tone Hammer 700 II Solid State Bass Amp Head

£1,099.00 £1,199.00

Out of Stock

£1,299.00 £1,498.80

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Ashdown Studio Junior Tweed 15W Bass Combo Practice Amp

£109.00 £119.00

Get it Thursday, May 22

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Nearly New

Ampeg SVT-CL Valve Amp Head (Nearly New) #211SV3L7337000035

£1,999.00 £2,640.00

Get it Thursday, May 22

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Fender Rumble V3 210 Bass Cabinet

(1)

£419.00

Out of Stock

Ampeg 50th Anniversary Heritage SVT Valve Amp Head

£3,999.00 £4,150.00

FREE Delivery

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Mark Bass Little Mark Rocker 58R Solid State Bass Amp Head

£699.00

Get it Thursday, May 22

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In Stock

Aguilar Tone Hammer 350 Bass Head

£599.00 £839.00

Out of Stock

Trace Elliot ELF 1x8 Combo Solid State Bass Amp

£479.00 £695.00

Out of Stock

Ashdown ABM-210H Evo IV Pro Neo Bass Cabinet

£629.00 £649.20

Get it Thursday, May 22

FREE Delivery

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Ashdown RM 500 EVO III 500w Bass Amp Head

£629.00 £679.20

Out of Stock

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Bass Amps

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Laney DB200H Digbeth 200W Bass Amplifier Head

Ampeg 50th Anniversary Heritage SVT Valve Amp Head 300w and 212AV Bass Cabinet (Pre-Owned)

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

Mark Bass MB58R CMD 102 Pure 2x10 Inch 500W Neodymium Speakers Bass Combo Solid State Amp

Ashdown OriginAL C112-300 1x12 300W Solid State Bass Combo Amp (Pre-Owned)

Seymour Duncan Powerstage 700 Pedalboard Bass Solid State Amp

Mark Bass CMB 102 Blackline 2x10 Bass Combo Solid State Amp

Mesa Boogie Subway Ultra-Lite Bass Cabinet 2x12 Vertical

Mesa Boogie Subway Ultra-Lite Bass Cabinet 2x15 Vertical

Laney Black Country Customs DB-EAST Nathan East Digbeth Solid State Bass Amp Head

Ashdown Studio 8 30W Solid State Bass Combo Tweed

Mark Bass MB58R 121 ENERGY 400W 8 Ohm 1x12 Bass Cabinet

Mark Bass MB58R 151 P 300W 8 Ohm 1x15 Inch Classic Ceramic Speaker Bass Cabinet

Aguilar 30th Anniversary TH500 Solid State Bass Amp Head

Aguilar 30th Anniversary SL112 Bass Cabinet

Aguilar 30th Anniversary AG500 Solid State Bass Amp Head

Mark Bass CMD 102 P V 2x10 Bass Combo Solid State Amp

Ashdown RM 800 EVO III Bass Solid State Amp Head

Ampeg Venture 115 Bass Cabinet

Ashdown Original EVO 300 Solid State Amp Head

Ampeg Venture 212 Bass Cabinet

BOSS Dual Cube Bass LX Combo Practice Amplifier

Ampeg Venture V12 1200W Bass Solid State Amp Head

Aguilar Tone Hammer 700 II Solid State Bass Amp Head

Ampeg VB88 8x8 Venture Bass Cabinet

Ashdown RM 110T EVO III 150w Compact 8 Ohm Bass Cabinet

Ashdown CTM 15 15 Watt Valve Mini Bass Amp Head

Ashdown ABM 112 500w Neo Pro 1.12 8 Ohm Bass Cabinet

Ashdown Studio Mini Rig 2x10 Bass Combo Solid State Amp

Ashdown LB 30 2.N 30 Watt Bass Valve Amp Head

Ashdown CTM-100 Custom 100w Bass Valve Amp Head

Ashdown Studio Junior Tweed 15W Bass Combo Practice Amp

Ampeg SVT-CL Valve Amp Head (Nearly New) #211SV3L7337000035

Fender Rumble V3 210 Bass Cabinet

Ampeg 50th Anniversary Heritage SVT Valve Amp Head

Mark Bass Little Mark Rocker 58R Solid State Bass Amp Head

Aguilar Tone Hammer 350 Bass Head

Trace Elliot ELF 1x8 Combo Solid State Bass Amp

Ashdown ABM-210H Evo IV Pro Neo Bass Cabinet

Ashdown RM 500 EVO III 500w Bass Amp Head

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