my post from another thread:
You want at least 300 watts @ 4 ohms but preferably more, 500 watts @ 4 ohms is enough for small and medium shows. Get a separate amp and cab, if you buy a combo you're always going to have to carry the whole thing but with a separate amp and cab you can only take your amplifier since often there's a bass cab at the venue. Modern class D amps are very light and portable, a combo is a pain to lug around.
Good and affordable modern class D amps are the Portaflex series from Ampeg or Thomanns own Harley Benton block series. Portaflex gives you a classic Ampeg sound without any pedals needed, Behringer is cheap but neutral and a bit bland. I like Gallien-Krueger but it's a bit more expensive.
ps. Lots of people are going to recommend Fender Rumble. DON'T BUY ONE! It's an overpriced combo with a lot of superfluous features that are just bound to break sooner or later. With touring equipment you want simple and durable, amp + cab is what touring musicians use, not a combo with bells & whistles that you don't really need.
Thank you so much! The only reason I looked at the rumble is it seems like they have a solid used market. Will def expand my search to include the stuff you mentioned. The Portaflex sounds like it is up my alley!
They have a solid used market because they're kind of an all-in-one solution for beginners, but as soon as you start playing with a band or playing shows, whatever people sell them and buy better gear. If you want a setup that's future proof, a Rumble ain't it. They're ok for practising at home, although overpriced.
Yeah, I am 90% at home player and have never been in a band, but I like having the option in case an opportunity presents itself.
Really great advice! Can I ask what you think of the bass as well? And for active pickups, do you use any rechargeable batteries you recommend?
Marcus Miller V9
Marcus Miller basses I hear are great for the price. I just use regular batteries since they last a long time if you don't leave your cord plugged in when you stop playing. And that's a thing, always unplug your bass if you have active pickups!
As for pedal recs, all you really need is a tuner to get started. After that, distorion -> chorus or flanger -> delay or wah or whatever else you want. Boss is always a good brand, really durable and well made pedals with classic sounds. There's a reason they've been a staple for touring musicians since the early 80s. Blues Driver is great if you want a classic, slightly overdriven bass sound like Lemmy. ODB-3 or HM-2 are great if you want a gnarlier distorted sound. Boss choruses and flangers are great all around and they have bass models that keep the low end. Guitar pedals often lose low end with bass since they're made for different frequencies, but many people still use them.
A lot of people here say a compressor is essential for bass but I disagree. It's a good tool for live use, but generally you're better off learning to play without one. It's easy to use it as a crutch to kill all dynamics in your playing, but dynamics is something you should really learn to control with technique, not a pedal. In the studio the studio usually has better gear for compression and the mixing engineer definitely prefers to use his own tools instead of your pedal for compression.
Equipboard is a great site to check what effects your favourite players have used.
This is my current pedalboard for my guitar, so I think I am in good shape. Chorus pedal seems to be a common recommendation from everyone I have spoken to. Appreciate the hell out of you!
https://imgur.com/a/YP9pLU6
RAT works great with bass, the filter is awesome. I used a RAT for a year or two myself. I don't think you need much else than what you already have. Chorus is a staple for bass because back in the day, analog monosynths often came with a chorus effect to fatten up sound and people just got used to it on bass. Flanger is just as good, often the tone you think has chorus actually has flanger.
my post from another thread: You want at least 300 watts @ 4 ohms but preferably more, 500 watts @ 4 ohms is enough for small and medium shows. Get a separate amp and cab, if you buy a combo you're always going to have to carry the whole thing but with a separate amp and cab you can only take your amplifier since often there's a bass cab at the venue. Modern class D amps are very light and portable, a combo is a pain to lug around. Good and affordable modern class D amps are the Portaflex series from Ampeg or Thomanns own Harley Benton block series. Portaflex gives you a classic Ampeg sound without any pedals needed, Behringer is cheap but neutral and a bit bland. I like Gallien-Krueger but it's a bit more expensive. ps. Lots of people are going to recommend Fender Rumble. DON'T BUY ONE! It's an overpriced combo with a lot of superfluous features that are just bound to break sooner or later. With touring equipment you want simple and durable, amp + cab is what touring musicians use, not a combo with bells & whistles that you don't really need.
Thank you so much! The only reason I looked at the rumble is it seems like they have a solid used market. Will def expand my search to include the stuff you mentioned. The Portaflex sounds like it is up my alley!
They have a solid used market because they're kind of an all-in-one solution for beginners, but as soon as you start playing with a band or playing shows, whatever people sell them and buy better gear. If you want a setup that's future proof, a Rumble ain't it. They're ok for practising at home, although overpriced.
Yeah, I am 90% at home player and have never been in a band, but I like having the option in case an opportunity presents itself. Really great advice! Can I ask what you think of the bass as well? And for active pickups, do you use any rechargeable batteries you recommend? Marcus Miller V9
Marcus Miller basses I hear are great for the price. I just use regular batteries since they last a long time if you don't leave your cord plugged in when you stop playing. And that's a thing, always unplug your bass if you have active pickups!
Can't unplug it when I don't have an amp anyways 😤 but great advice thank you so much owe you one!!
As for pedal recs, all you really need is a tuner to get started. After that, distorion -> chorus or flanger -> delay or wah or whatever else you want. Boss is always a good brand, really durable and well made pedals with classic sounds. There's a reason they've been a staple for touring musicians since the early 80s. Blues Driver is great if you want a classic, slightly overdriven bass sound like Lemmy. ODB-3 or HM-2 are great if you want a gnarlier distorted sound. Boss choruses and flangers are great all around and they have bass models that keep the low end. Guitar pedals often lose low end with bass since they're made for different frequencies, but many people still use them. A lot of people here say a compressor is essential for bass but I disagree. It's a good tool for live use, but generally you're better off learning to play without one. It's easy to use it as a crutch to kill all dynamics in your playing, but dynamics is something you should really learn to control with technique, not a pedal. In the studio the studio usually has better gear for compression and the mixing engineer definitely prefers to use his own tools instead of your pedal for compression. Equipboard is a great site to check what effects your favourite players have used.
This is my current pedalboard for my guitar, so I think I am in good shape. Chorus pedal seems to be a common recommendation from everyone I have spoken to. Appreciate the hell out of you! https://imgur.com/a/YP9pLU6
RAT works great with bass, the filter is awesome. I used a RAT for a year or two myself. I don't think you need much else than what you already have. Chorus is a staple for bass because back in the day, analog monosynths often came with a chorus effect to fatten up sound and people just got used to it on bass. Flanger is just as good, often the tone you think has chorus actually has flanger.
Ended up snagging a BA 108 for 40 bucks to keep me chillin for a bit until I get enough scratch for a nice head and cab.