The Student Room Group

Bass Guitars

Hey all, been playing electric guitar now for a few years and I was looking at getting a bass guitar to try that out.
I have a stage amp for my electric guitar and was wondering would I have to buy a new amp specifically for a bass guitar as well as any cheap/decent bass guitars people recommend.
Original post by DarkIronsBarzakh
Hey all, been playing electric guitar now for a few years and I was looking at getting a bass guitar to try that out.
I have a stage amp for my electric guitar and was wondering would I have to buy a new amp specifically for a bass guitar as well as any cheap/decent bass guitars people recommend.


Guitar amplifiers and speakers together with their tone controls, overdrive distortion effects etc, are voiced to produce a great sound for electric guitars.

Depending on where you want to use it (messing around at home or performing on stage), will determine what you can get away with or need to invest in.

To get a good bass sound, needs a bigger bass loudspeaker cone which can handle the extra power needed, bigger cabinet and higher output power amplifier to drive more sound pressure at bass frequencies. A guitar amplifier of 20 Watts output may be perfectly adequate for smaller venues, whereas a bass amp would need 200W+ to balance the sound from the rest of the band.

At a push for home use only, you could use an electric guitar combo, but it will not do the sound any justice and you could easily end up stressing the loudspeakers or burn out the voice coils if pushed hard for a protracted period.

Depending on how much you want to spend on a bass, you may be better off buying second hand.

Yamaha TRBZ 174:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-bass-guitar-TRBX-174-RM/142761223183?hash=item213d3b640f:g:9LwAAOSw4ZxazNgF

Ibanez SR300:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ibanez-SR300-recently-serviced-and-restrung-good-condition-reduced-20/273043423269?hash=item3f92a80025:g:ysgAAOSwM~tabF6o
(edited 5 years ago)
Thanks for the advice, wasnt aware that bass amps needed more power than electric amps. probably saved m there from making a huge mistake xD.
I'm really only looking for home use at the moment and I don't have buckets of money so those links are a lifesaver.
Currently still looking around but ilbanez seems to be the make i'll probably go with.
Reply 3
I used to have a Washburn one that I sort of inherited off a mate and it was brilliant, should never have got rid of it.
Original post by DarkIronsBarzakh
Thanks for the advice, wasnt aware that bass amps needed more power than electric amps. probably saved m there from making a huge mistake xD.
I'm really only looking for home use at the moment and I don't have buckets of money so those links are a lifesaver.
Currently still looking around but ilbanez seems to be the make i'll probably go with.


Whether or not you need more power really depends on what you're doing with it. When at home, I play my bass through a 15 W guitar amp and that is plenty loud enough to practice.
When at band rehearsals I usually borrow a 100 W bass amp and even on a pretty low setting (on Thursday I had it on about 2 to 4 out of 10) it is loud enough to be heard over a hard hitting drummer.

Unless you're going to be gigging imminently, I wouldn't bother getting anything over 20 W as you simply do not need that power.

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