This bass amp any good?

[MDV]

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/14408-ashdown-five-fifteen-15-inch-bass-amp.html

The other contender is a cube 30. While I've heard that in action and its pretty impressive, I'm dubious of a bass through a 10 inch speaker; it was pretty weighty but didnt rumble quite like it should.

This is for pairing with a DI and recording off.

Any better suggestions?

At the level I mix bass too (slightly louder than, say, justice for all) it doesnt really need to be amazing, but with what I tune to (drop A#/drop B/C/C#) it needs to produce some seriously low frequencies with some authority.

And I know nothing about bass amps on the market, hence the thread. Point me in the right directions and I'll order if confident enough or go and test it if not.

Thanks.

[Dmoney]

UG says you need this

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/ClogsUGS/stack.jpg

[Ratrod]

UG says you need this

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/ClogsUGS/stack.jpg

UG is right.

[James C]

Ashdown have a good rep with their bass amps so it should be quite good, but i haven't had any experience of that amp in particular.

[maverickf1jockey]

If you're going to DI then what do you need the speaker for?

A 10" speaker is fairly common for bass, they just tend to be paired up with others to bolster the sound and get a more midrange-focused sound that cuts better but doesn't have the weight of a 15".

It's horses for courses, really, but given the tunings you tend to favour with your guitars, were you going purely on speakers, the 15" would probably suit your needs better.

The ideal for many is to have two cabs with different cone diameters to get the best spread and resonance possible.

[d1dsj]

Depending on your budget go try the Phil Jones range of bass equipment, great little amps.

[MDV]

I intend to record both the amp and DI. The amp for some natural compression and space, the DI to fill its holes, so to speak, and add, well, directness.

My budget isnt too great. I dont need it to be really good gear, just workable. I'm still likely to smash it to all hell and EQ the shite out of it in the project; I'd just prefer more to work with than plugin effects and impulses. Nothing beats tracking it better to begin with.

Looking good so far. Does anyone have anything to say against it?

[Bob Johnson]

I have an Ashdown Perfect Ten practice amp and a Peavey Basic 112. In short the Peavey beats the shite out of the Ashdown.

The Peavey has a pre-amp out that (who needs a DI box?) doesn't cut the power amp. The four band EQ, pre and post gain and 10db pad make it very versitile; it even makes a nice little guitar amp for Cafe gigs. Handles the massive fundamentals from my Villex pickups with ner' a fart or a cough.

Pick up a good used one for about £80.

QED.

[HTH AMPS]

Get a bass Pod, I think getting a bass amp plus the DI is overkill for home recording.  For the low tunings you use, you're not going to be dealing with fundamentals anyway.  If you were getting a bass amp, I'd look into a 12" speaker - that size speaker gave the best bass tone that sat in the mix well back when I was doing lots of recording with bands.  I used a DI box plus a 2x15 and 2x12 - monsterous!!!

[MDV]

I have an Ashdown Perfect Ten practice amp and a Peavey Basic 112. In short the Peavey beats the shiteee out of the Ashdown.

The Peavey has a pre-amp out that (who needs a DI box?) doesn't cut the power amp. The four band EQ, pre and post gain and 10db pad make it very versitile; it even makes a nice little guitar amp for Cafe gigs. Handles the massive fundamentals from my Villex pickups with ner' a fart or a cough.

Pick up a good used one for about £80.

QED.

Plan. I'll look out for the second hand peavey, thanks for the heads up.

I thought of bass pod, but then I remember that I loathe pods. And its not just the tones; its wading through endless options and menus on an itsy bitsy screen with a couple of buttons and dials. Would be fine with a monitor and mouse, but no. Nonetheless, that is sort of on the backburner though, since it may work better for bass (or rather I may be more forgiving with it for bass).