Cheap bass amps, are they any good?

[filthyPierre]

Just getting back into playing bass, jamming etc, and my old Peavey TKO80 has bitten the dust. It's not really worth repairing.

So looking for a small(ish) bass amp that's reasonably portable but still loud enough for jamming in a band. Have come across these cheapies:

Joyo JBA35 (https://www.artistguitars.com.au/buy...mplifier/12906)

or

Beta Aivin BP80 (http://www.swamp.net.au/bass-amplifier-80w). Swamp also have the Joyo at the same price as Artist.

Both under $300 and similar size but a bit of difference in power output. Wondering if they're any good, or do I go for something a bit better, like a Laney RB3, which is north of $400.

Other thing is at some point I might want to add a cabinet with more speakers, but none of these seem to have speaker outputs (most have DI or line out). Seems that speaker output is something for more expensive combos.

Roland Cube 60XL looks good as well but it's north of $600 and doesn't have a detachable power cable, which sucks, as I don't know how many times my Peavey had power cable damage from transport.

With lots of companies making their products in China and India, a famous brand name amp can be just as crap as a Chinese-branded one. So, anyone had any experience with Joyo or Beta Aivin?

Also open to other suggestions.

Thanks in advance,

FP

[wokkaboy]

Hey Pierre, I've not heard of both those amps. I usually google the amp name/model and add 'review' and see what people on forums and discussion groups are saying about them.
You really need to compare all the features of each amp and warranty is important. Main factor is your budget as you talk about more expensive amps. Out of the 2 cheaper amps I would favour the Beta Alvin being 80 watts and larger speaker but you have to weigh up all the other factors.
I'd also go to a music shop that stocks them and have a good play on both to see which sound you like the best.

[DrNomis_44]

I've got an old Peavey TKO 80 Bass amp (the one without the EQ section), and I'm in the process of fixing it, it is loud enough for use as a practice amp at home, but I'm going to see if I can buy something a bit better from my local Cashies shop later on this year, depending on what they have in stock.

[Hobastard]

There are a few heads about that might fit your budget, usually a few on Gumtree, just use the TKO speaker you have in the Peavy box.....then get a quad box later on....

I'm currently trying to fix up an old 50W Samick Combo so my Peavy Rig doesn't take up, and rattle half the house......

[filthyPierre]

Thanks guys. Wokka, yeah tried that, not a lot about for either brand. A bit of chat about Joyo but nothing that really says if they're any good. Nothing much about Beta Aivin except one for one of their small battery powered amps. Price isn't really an issue, I have to rein myself in from spending a sh!tload and then having it sit in the corner gathering dust - I've done it in the past, bought stuff that never got used due to projects never taking off thanks to others talking and not doing, if you get my point. So while I would love a nice Laney I don't want to spend the money if this band falls through. And don't want to buy something cheap if it's nasty... false economy and all that.

Dr N, the TKO is past its use by I'm afraid. I bought it new in '89 (it has the EQ) and used it fairly regularly. it developed a fault where it would just cut out for anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds, and then crackle and carry on. I've had it in a number of different shops that all claimed to have fixed it, but alas it comes back with monotonous regularity. The last guy replaced most of the transistors, recitifiers, diodes and so on, and it worked for a while but the problem came back. At one stage I thought it was my guitar, but it doesn't exhibit the problem on other amps. And not just a dodgy cable either. So figured it was better to let it retire to the garage.

As for using the speaker, at 28 years old it's probably getting a bit soft but doesn't look too bad. Maybe I could use it. Didn't really want to buy a head and cabinet, as we're getting into heavy territory, but maybe it is an option. One of my mates has this awesome Ampeg flip-top cabinet that feels like it is about 2Kg it is that light. But he doesn't want to sell it. And none on gumtree :-( Ah well, guess I will keep looking.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

FP

[wazkelly]

Hi Pierre, have you considered Hartke?

I bought this one from this supplier about 8 months ago as I was looking for something similar to Peavey TKO and this looked closest match. Don't be fooled by the 12" speaker, this thing is quite a large cabinet (looks like it houses a 15") and very loud. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hartke-HD...-/391432085202

In hindsight the 50w with 10" speaker may have been adequate... http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hartke-HD...gAAOSw8vZXL~zz

Kick Back styles look good but you pay extra for that feature where this Ampeg one seemed to have the best reviews for the budget you mentioned....http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ampeg-BA-...EAAOSw0vBUaYa4

I had curiously looked at Joyo all valve amps for guitar but the sound clips on YT don't help too much and made them sound less than desirable.

Hopes this helps somewhat.

[Simon Barden]

Joyo make a lot of guitar pedals, I've got a couple. Great sounds but relatively noisy. 35W and a 10" speaker doesn't sound like it will compete well in a band situation. The Beta Aivin looks better on paper with the 80W and 12" speaker. The Beta is outputting 80W into a 4 ohm speaker to maximise the output from the amp, which is why there is no extension speaker socket.

But you could probably use a small bass head as suggested with your old cabinet. You could strip out the amp to make it lighter, and swap the speaker for a new one with a neodymium magnet. I've just replaced a 13lb/5.9kg 12" Eminence speaker in a guitar amp with a 4lb/1.8kg Celestion Neo speaker and it's made a huge difference to the overall weight. Something like the Eminence Deltalite II 5212 would be a good match for that

I've got a small (well more like micro) TC BH250 bass head for my bass amp duties £240/A$380 new but you can find them on eBay for less. There are several other small class D heads available that put out a lot of power in a very small lightweight package. So you could put together a head/cab combo that weight a lot less than the TKO does at the moment. A neo speaker like the Eminence Deltalite II 5212 would be a good match for that TC bass head. Plus I doubt that you'd really need an extension speaker once you had that pair.

[Hobastard]

I like the wedge design of the Ampeg...

[wazkelly]

I like the wedge design of the Ampeg...

Doesn't sound as good as the Hartke's - more dark and muddy which is typical of Ampeg anyways.

Hartke do make a wedge but for the price difference you could almost buy 2 of the combos. Their cheapest one at this supplier starts at $669 but is rated at 500w and has XLR line out.

[billb]

If you're playing bass with someone else then i personally wouldn't go below a 200W setup. Because of the frequencies you're putting out you'll need it to cut through a 50w guitar amp. Also, guitarists generally have zero idea of the importance of volume control...
If you don't want to have to mess about cutting up your old combo id suggest something like the TC Electronics BG250-112 which can be had for around $600. More than you wanted to spend (and you can't run a second cabinet) but will do what you want and sound pretty good.
Enjoy