Bass amp wattage for 3pc. gig?

Apr 14, 2020
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So as the title says, I have a support gig coming up in August (provided we aren’t still isolating by then) and I’m weighing up some options regarding amps. The venue we are playing is small-ish but not a pub gig. I’ve read a lot of forums on here about amps for gigging etc. but I still don’t know for certain what’s best for me.
So for reference I am in a three piece band and the guitarist/singer’s amp is a fender blues junior (15w). I play a fender standard jazz bass. I’m not sure whether going for a 300w head would be overkill but I would most likely use only one cab if I did bringing the wattage somewhere around 150-175w depending on the amp. Again, I’m not sure if this is overkill as I know theres the whole formula of taking your guitarist’s wattage(s) and multiplying by 2-4.
So if anyone has any advice on what wattage I should be looking at and even any possible amp recommendation for a first time bass amp buyer then please let me know I would greatly appreciate it.
Of note, I have previously played a mic’d up pub gig through a fender rumble 100 which did the trick for the pub gig but I’m just unsure of where I stand with this slightly larger gig.
Thank you in advance for any help and I hope you are all staying safe!
 
What you've described isn't overkill. But I'll ask the standard questions anyway:

1. What kind of music do you play?
2. What's your budget?

Based on what you've said so far, you'd probably be best suited with a combo with a bit higher wattage. If you like the Rumble, they make versions more powerful than the 100. And you could add an extension cab later if you needed more volume. Several other manufacturers offer this option as well (GK, Markbass, etc)
 
Forgot to put those in the initial post! We play alternative rock but the pace and style varies between songs (ie switching between pick and fingers, some bass lines more melodic than others). I should also note that I run a few pedals as well (OD/Fuzz, POG, Flanger and comp), not all at the same time. ;)
Budget wise I’m looking definitely not to exceed ~£800
The advice re: a combo is useful and I have looked at some of the higher wattage fenders which seem very popular among the bass community!
 
Different bands play at different volumes. But I've always felt that short of supercabs, you should be looking at 300 watts, and minimum 2 12s, 2 15s, or 4 10s.

With your budget (and what you have played), I would get the Rumble 500. If you need more volume, get a 210 extension cab.
 
Nice one thank you, I will look into the rumble 500 as I have already read lots about it but with so many amps about and so many different options I thought it best to seek some higher wisdom :)
Thank you again!
 
The absolute minimum I would recommend gigging with is 300w, more if you need to be louder. 500-600w is pretty comfortable. I'd always rather have more than less.
Tube amps can have a louder perceived volume, all things being equal. I'd gig with 100w but I still like more clean headroom.

Just try to keep in mind that the amount of speakers you're using will play into how loud you will be. Pushing 1000w into a single 1X10 won't be nearly as loud as pushing 100w into an 8X10.
 
Yeah I thought around 300w may be suitable, I just wasn’t sure if with there being only one other guitarist and his amp being 15w but I know that wattage doesn’t always equal volume and it’s more about headroom. I will more than likely go with the 500w rumble and investigate the possibility of acquiring another cab should the need arise, as that will then give me 4x10 in total! Thanks again
 
My guitarist has that same amp, and my rumble 100 matches it nicely. But has been slightly underpowered when he brings the Marshall tube combo, or when the drummer gets excited :)

I had the rumble 500 on my wishlist for a while, but ended up finding a deal on a 300/500w mark combo. And very glad I have that extra firepower now. If you like the rumble sound, I’d get the 500. Or look for something similar in power/price
 
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I just got my first guitar amp, not long ago - all tube, 30 Watts, I think, with a single, 12" speaker in a large-ish cab. The thing is blisteringly loud. With a good and reasonably efficient 2x12 or equivalent cab, *maybe* I'd feel okay matching up to it (or a forceful drummer) with my 150 Watt tube amp or a 300 Watt solid-state amp.

Of course, a lot depends on the room, the sorts of sounds you go for, and on how you and your mates play - there are places where I feel totally comfortable playing through a single, 12" cab, places where a decent 10 would cut it, and places where I'd prefer more than the aforementioned 2x12 rig.

Now that I think about it, it might, in most cases, make more sense to think of matching up with the drummer than the guitarist as, if anyone's overpowering the drummer, they should turn down. There are exceptions to this (drummer's in the PA, you're not, which can be annoying), but generally... yeah.

People can always turn down - easier said than done, sometimes, but it's easier to run your rig at half its capacity than at half-again its capacity.
 
Standard would be a 500W head into a single 8 ohms cab. This'll yield around 300 watts. More important than the watts is how much speaker surface we're talking about. I like to bring enough to get the job done. I'd say that with halfway decent gear, you're beginning to be on the safe side of things when you get something along the lines of a 2x12 cab. In most circumstances a halfway decent 500w head into a 212 will be able to deliver against a drummer playing rock without holding back.
Guitar watts don't mean that much. One of the loudest players I've had to put up with in the last few years only had a 30 W head. He played into a 412 and I needed more than a 212 to keep up with that.
 
Cheers for all the responses guys you have all been so helpful and have given me lots of advice which was certainly needed. Now although it exceeds my budget ever so slightly, I have been looking at fender style amplifiers today as that’s the sound I’ve enjoyed most when practicing and rehearsing and while the rumble 500 combo seems a good way to go, the fender rumble 500 head also looks good, so I was wondering, although I would be paying a lot more but it may be a long term investment, about the possibility of combining the rumble 500 head with one of fenders 4x10 rumble cabs? or even possibly another 4x10 cab?
 
I played in a 3-Piece band for 15 years. We did a ton of gigs, at least once a week. Jammed twice a week, or rehearsed, whatever people call it nowadays. I had a Fender Bassman 400 Head on top of a 4-10 and a 1-15. It worked perfect for every situation, gigging and jamming. I think in an earlier thread I said I had a 200 watt Head. I got confused cuz I got rid of it 14 years ago. Sometimes, if the bar was small, I didn't even have to go through the PA.
 
Cheers for all the responses guys you have all been so helpful and have given me lots of advice which was certainly needed. Now although it exceeds my budget ever so slightly, I have been looking at fender style amplifiers today as that’s the sound I’ve enjoyed most when practicing and rehearsing and while the rumble 500 combo seems a good way to go, the fender rumble 500 head also looks good, so I was wondering, although I would be paying a lot more but it may be a long term investment, about the possibility of combining the rumble 500 head with one of fenders 4x10 rumble cabs? or even possibly another 4x10 cab?
A 4-10 on top of a 1-15 with a 500 watt Head would kick!
 
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I think you can take a tip from other 3 piece combos to see how they can thrive with a smaller sound. Wattage can be a little misleading but for 3-pc. it's best to have a full stack so you don't drown in the mix. The whole point of swinging a hammer is to shove the nails. If you feel like you're drowning in the mix you can always add a secondary stack on the other side of the drum riser. Best to have a little headroom in case the folks at the front tables start talking during your set.
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Well I am more than likely going to look into the rumble 500 head, PMT have them on clearance at the moment as I believe fender have discontinued them! Then for time being I think I will look at a 410 to go with it and look to expand with a 115 to push the low end a bit further!

And you absolutely cannot argue with Lemmy when it comes to mighty bass in a trio ;)

Cheers again folk
 
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Well I am more than likely going to look into the rumble 500 head, PMT have them on clearance at the moment as I believe fender have discontinued them! Then for time being I think I will look at a 410 to go with it and look to expand with a 115 to push the low end a bit further!

And you absolutely cannot argue with Lemmy when it comes to mighty bass in a trio ;)

Cheers again folk
Is that a 4-12 on top of a 4-15 Marshall cab that Lemmy's playing through? That must move some air!
 
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Well I am more than likely going to look into the rumble 500 head, PMT have them on clearance at the moment as I believe fender have discontinued them! Then for time being I think I will look at a 410 to go with it and look to expand with a 115 to push the low end a bit further!

And you absolutely cannot argue with Lemmy when it comes to mighty bass in a trio ;)

Cheers again folk

Please don't.

Many threads on this site explaining why. It was an old outdated thought process. Fact is, most 4X10's get louder and go lower then most 1X15's. The whole 10's for punch, and 15's for lows is false.