My home rig is a Blackstar Fly 3 Bluetooth for practising alone to backing tracks. I bring out my 12w Super Fly for the two guitar players when we have a full band practice. No way is 500w 'low powered'.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
Welcome to TalkBass! Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Question About Low Volume/Home Setup
- Thread starter BigDrew
- Start date
-
- Tags
- home setup low volume
Just wanted to share my experience. I bought an Ampeg PF-50T and an 115 Ampeg used. Has great tone, but has a very common loud hum (I actually have at Ampeg repair center for repair right now).
My point of this is to ask how much the fan and other sounds from the amp bother you. I practice very quietly a majority of the time, and noise in the system bothers me a lot. I recently purchased a Mesa D-350 head. It has no fan, and is completely silent. Wonderful for low level practice, and power when you need it.
My point of this is to ask how much the fan and other sounds from the amp bother you. I practice very quietly a majority of the time, and noise in the system bothers me a lot. I recently purchased a Mesa D-350 head. It has no fan, and is completely silent. Wonderful for low level practice, and power when you need it.
I had a Rumble 500 for just in case I needed to use it out but I play silent stages only. At home it was too much for the rest of the family. Best I could do was put a small mixer in line to better control volume levels. The volume knob on the amp was too sensitive to find a good level and it really wanted to be opened up to sound better. I eventually swapped it out for a Rumble 100 and everyone is much happier now.
If tone quality at low to medium volume is main preference then watts and amount of drivers is mostly irrelevant IMHO
Just as example a Mesa D350 at 300 watts and their 1x15[or 1x12] to me would be a much better choice than say a rumble 800 watt head and 4x10 Cab
Just as example a Mesa D350 at 300 watts and their 1x15[or 1x12] to me would be a much better choice than say a rumble 800 watt head and 4x10 Cab
Small speaker. Low wattage.
An 800 watt head strictly for home use…sorry, I'm not sure why you are even thinking about that. You are playing at home not at the local arena backing up Beyonce.
I wouldn’t go beyond a 1-15 or a 2-10 and absolutely no need for anything over 200 watts.
Just use the volume knob of your gig rig. A single speaker low headroom rig or combo will not replicate the heft of a higher powered head into bigger speakers. That doesn't mean it won't sound good, but you're going to lose a noticable amount of the low end.
I've recently been forced to stop using my ABM600/410 rig for home since I moved from a house to an apartment with concrete floors and walls. I'm using my peavey max100 110 with a Celestion driver swapped in and it's the most I can use here without facing eviction and can handle the ton of low notes but isn't delivering the punch and rumble.
I have a RevSound 48VT for gigging and an MAS 18 for home use. Love the MAS because it has 8", 4" and 1" drivers. Gives a well-rounded sound at low volumes. I just use my AI 900 watt amp for both setups at appropriate volume. The little cab makes my bass sound good at lower volumes - no that the RevSound doesn't but I can't stop the urge to crank it 
When I owned only one (gigging) amp,
My home practice rig was a boom box with
L-R aux in’s. I learned lots of songs that way and could work on my chops.
Your needs/wants may be different.
My home practice rig was a boom box with
L-R aux in’s. I learned lots of songs that way and could work on my chops.
Your needs/wants may be different.
As I read through this thread, I'm realizing that “low volume” means different things to different people.
Maybe the OP can somehow express what volume he might be wanting that might be helpful.
The lowest volume for me is playing to music at normal listening levels, that one can have a conversation while it's playing, but often a louder than that.
so I may be insensitive to someone who needs to play at a level that someone on the other side of a wall shouldn't hear.
Maybe the OP can somehow express what volume he might be wanting that might be helpful.
The lowest volume for me is playing to music at normal listening levels, that one can have a conversation while it's playing, but often a louder than that.
so I may be insensitive to someone who needs to play at a level that someone on the other side of a wall shouldn't hear.
Best, as you know, is subjective.
For at home use, if $$ were no object, I’d seriously consider a low power, all tube head (PF-20T or PF-50T, Ashdown Little Bastard or the new CT-30, or a Bassman 100T if I could find one), pick your flavor, into an efficient modern cab that would complement the tone of the amp. But that is going to give you a vintage tone and limit your clean headroom. Very different from the Hartke you mention above.
I don’t see how anyone could go wrong with a Subway D-350 into a Subway 15 for home use.
All that said, if you like the Hartke sound, go that way, the amp/cabs you list are more than you need for playing at home, but if that is the sound you like, go for it. Sounds like that might be “best,” for you!
For at home use, if $$ were no object, I’d seriously consider a low power, all tube head (PF-20T or PF-50T, Ashdown Little Bastard or the new CT-30, or a Bassman 100T if I could find one), pick your flavor, into an efficient modern cab that would complement the tone of the amp. But that is going to give you a vintage tone and limit your clean headroom. Very different from the Hartke you mention above.
I don’t see how anyone could go wrong with a Subway D-350 into a Subway 15 for home use.
All that said, if you like the Hartke sound, go that way, the amp/cabs you list are more than you need for playing at home, but if that is the sound you like, go for it. Sounds like that might be “best,” for you!
Last edited:
Thanks all for the responses! I don't think I expressed my question correctly. Empirically, is there a sweet spot for thickest/best sound at a home level? I know that to get louder you need more watts and more speaker surface. At a lower level, is the best setup a lower wattage head with a single driver, or is it more power and more speakers? That is ultimately what I am trying to understand.
Based on the response, I don't think we know. I know that amps have volume knobs. I know that you can get a rig to play out with, keep up with a drummer, bother my neighbors, etc....that is not what I am asking.
Based on the response, I don't think we know. I know that amps have volume knobs. I know that you can get a rig to play out with, keep up with a drummer, bother my neighbors, etc....that is not what I am asking.
There's probably no real answer to that. Some cabs just sound and feel fuller/deeper/thicker than others, probably some single-driver cabs do better than other multi-speaker cabs, and some amps regardless of power sound better, as well.
The advice you're getting, including my own, is far-more opinion, based on limited personal experience, taste and bias.
I wish I had some objective knowledge that would be actually helpful.
I use an ACME low B1 with a GK Legacy800
The Low B-1 – ACME SOUND | Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, PA Cabinets
Legacy Heads — Gallien-Krueger
It is a perfect bedroom rig although I'm sure the legacy500 would be more than enough power. In fact you do need to be careful that you don't turn it up too high and blow the speaker. Here is what I like about it. The LowB1 is a 3 way speaker so it sounds good with music and bass. It also goes very deep so it will be full sounding. The legacy has a variable speed fan which is completely off most of the time at home volumes so there is no constant whirring sound in the background. The legacy also has an aux input so I can play along to music and as I said the LowB1 sounds great with recorded music.
The one thing I don't like is when you turn off the Legacy it has a bright standby light which is great on stage so you know you are plugged in, but annoying at home. I cure this by plugging into a power strip and turning the power off at the strip.
Another little trick is you can block the port on the LowB1 with a plumbing pipe stopper and it makes the bass fatter but less deep at low volumes, kind of like a mini SVT 8x10 with much better high frequencies.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-Gripper-3-in-Plastic-Mechanical-Test-Plug-33402/100168770
The Low B-1 – ACME SOUND | Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, PA Cabinets
Legacy Heads — Gallien-Krueger
It is a perfect bedroom rig although I'm sure the legacy500 would be more than enough power. In fact you do need to be careful that you don't turn it up too high and blow the speaker. Here is what I like about it. The LowB1 is a 3 way speaker so it sounds good with music and bass. It also goes very deep so it will be full sounding. The legacy has a variable speed fan which is completely off most of the time at home volumes so there is no constant whirring sound in the background. The legacy also has an aux input so I can play along to music and as I said the LowB1 sounds great with recorded music.
The one thing I don't like is when you turn off the Legacy it has a bright standby light which is great on stage so you know you are plugged in, but annoying at home. I cure this by plugging into a power strip and turning the power off at the strip.
Another little trick is you can block the port on the LowB1 with a plumbing pipe stopper and it makes the bass fatter but less deep at low volumes, kind of like a mini SVT 8x10 with much better high frequencies.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-Gripper-3-in-Plastic-Mechanical-Test-Plug-33402/100168770
Based on lots of testimony, and knowledge of the product line and engineering behind it (no personal experience),
I'd bet that's a very safe choice.
I don’t know the answer to your question, but would think that maybe finding an amp/cab that were specifically designed to work together might be the best fit for what you are looking for, one that the designers specifically picked for their complementary attributes?
I say this because I just picked up a Walkabout Scout 12, primarily for home use, and am impressed. This amp/cab combo were designed specifically for each other. The cab’s 12” driver and its downward-firing passive radiator were specifically designed to optimize the tone of the Walkabout amp at designed volumes. This, IMO, achieves your stated goal of finding “a sweet spot.”
It’s why I mention the Subway D-350 with a Subway cab, they are designed, by the esteemed Agedhorse, to work together at a reasonable volume.
Edit: Let me add the Genzler Magellan 350 with a Bass Array Cab as another suggestion.
And if money is really no object, take a look at a Sadowsky SA200 with a matching cab. Happy hunting!
Last edited:
Oh one other thing your listening position and the position of the Cab has a huge influence on the bass that you hear while practicing. Experiment with both. I have a certain spot where my bass sounds glorious. If I move a few feet towards the corner it's too boomy and if I stand in the middle of the room its too thin. This probably matters more than your amp once you get to a certain quality of amp/speaker
Home level needs to be better defined.
When practicing by myself at home, as I mentioned aboved, most of the time it is through headphones, or occasionally through my Minimark set up at ear level with me sitting no more than a couple feet away from the speakers.
But then, when I had my last classic pop/rock band, we practiced at my home and we were quite loud (too loud, actually, but we never got any complaints from the neighbors, so we must have been pretty good
). That too, is another version of home level. 
agedhorse
Commercial User
- Feb 12, 2006
- 52,447
- 176,650
- 14,248
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
This is actually a very good question and the answer is "it depends".
Different amps and cabinets are designed with different voicings, intentionally, to appeal to different players and different situations. Amps that are designed as "practice amps" are generally also designed to be small and inexpensive, with less attention to detail and the voicing may very well be a compromise.
My experience (based on designing amps/cabinets) is that in general you get what you pay for, and if you want better performance it's going to cost more but it may not be necessary to go to the high powered amps with large cabinets. There's an entire category of intermediately sized and "reasonably" priced amps/cabinets out there that are suitable for small and mid sized gigs yet are also an excellent choice for practicing while retaining the voicing choices and adjustability that will be helpful in adapting to your practice space.
For example, the Genzler Magellan 350, Mesa Subway 350, Aguilar ToneHammer 350, Ampeg PF-350 would all fit into this category, each will have their own strengths and weaknesses and their own native voicing, but they will all work for both smaller gigs and also practice.
At low volumes, you may find the need to add a little low eq to your tone to account for the ear's lower sensitivity to low frequencies at low (practice) volumes, but all of these amps are suitable. The same arguments apply to a variety of speakers in this category as well.