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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Aguilar Tone Hammer 700 Bass Solid State Amp Head (Pre-Owned)

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Ampeg Venture V7 700W Bass Solid State Amp Head

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Ampeg Venture V12 1200W Bass Solid State Amp Head

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Ashdown 600w ABM EVO IV Dual VU Rack Bass Magnifier Valve Amp Head

£999.00 £1,198.80

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Ashdown RM 500 EVO III 500w Bass Amp Head

£629.00 £679.20

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Ashdown Studio Junior Tweed 15W Bass Combo Practice Amp

£99.00 £129.00

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Laney LX10B 10W Bass Combo Practice Amp Red

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£359.00 £399.00

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Mesa Boogie 2x10 Subway Diagonal Bass Cabinet

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Aguilar Tone Hammer 700 Bass Solid State Amp Head (Pre-Owned)

Ampeg Venture V3 300W Bass Solid State Amp Head

Ampeg Venture V7 700W Bass Solid State Amp Head

Ampeg Venture V12 1200W Bass Solid State Amp Head

Ashdown 600w ABM EVO IV Dual VU Rack Bass Magnifier Valve Amp Head

Ashdown RM 500 EVO III 500w Bass Amp Head

Ashdown Studio Junior Tweed 15W Bass Combo Practice Amp

Laney LX10B 10W Bass Combo Practice Amp Red

EastCoast Make it a Pack Bass

Ashdown ABM-210H Evo IV Pro Neo Bass Cabinet

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

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

Ashdown RM 112T EVO III 300w Compact 8 Ohm Bass Cabinet

BOSS Katana 112 Bass Cabinet

Fender Rumble V3 210 Bass Cabinet

Ibanez P410CC Promethean 4x10 Bass Cabinet

Aguilar SL 115 15 Inch Bass Cabinet

Ampeg Venture 112 Bass Cabinet

Ampeg Venture 115 Bass Cabinet

Ampeg Venture 210 Bass Cabinet

Ampeg Venture 212 Bass Cabinet

Ampeg VB88 8x8 Venture Bass Cabinet

Mesa Boogie 2x10 Subway Diagonal Bass Cabinet

Mesa Boogie 1x12 Subway Ultra-Lite Bass Cabinet

Mesa Boogie 1x12 Boogie 19 inch Open Back Bass Cabinet

Mesa Boogie 1x12 Boogie Thiele 19 Inch Bass Cabinet

Darkglass M500 DG210A Bass Combo Solid State Amp

Darkglass Infinity Series DG112D Bass Combo Solid State Amp

Darkglass Infinity Series DG210D Bass Combo Solid State Amp

BOSS KATANA-500 Bass Amp Head

Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-112 Combo Solid State Amp (Ex-Demo) #21RB33F7346000011

Ashdown Original EVO 300 Solid State Amp Head

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

Ashdown CTM-100 Custom 100w Bass Valve Amp Head

Ashdown CTM 15 15 Watt Valve Mini Bass Amp Head

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

Fender 2010s Bassman 100T Cream Valve Amp Head and 410 Bass Cabinet (Pre-Owned)

Mark Bass MB58R CMD 121 PURE 300W 1x12 Neodymium Custom Speaker Bass Solid State Combo Amp

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

Mark Bass CMB 101 Black Line Bass Combo Solid State Amp

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