Hey guys, need some help picking my first bass amp (been playing through headphones for a while). My main use for the amp would be for practice at home, jamming with some friends, etc. I have been researching for a while and i narrowed it down to these three options based on price and availability (i am not from the US): Fender Rumble 40w, Orange Crush Bass 50w, Ampeg RB-110.
Bear in mind that the fender and orange are nearly the same price and the ampeg is about 60 usd more.
Would like to hear your opinions,
Thanks!
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Own the rumble 40 for bass ans orange products for guitar. Those r my choices.
The rumble is what Josh has in his newbassist amp recommendation video
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I got a Rumble 40 as my first amp. I have upgraded to a Genzler combo, but still play the Rumble while I watch TV. It is a really solid choice.
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Will you be playing with a drummer?
Rumble 40 all day
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All three are more or less equivalent. I would actually go with the Ampeg over the Rumble if it were me but really all three will be fine.
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I second this.
who and what your playing with will matter here. Acoustic folks - 40w is fine. Anything louder, electric guitar/drummer - you might want more power now vs re-upgrading later.
Orange is a very specific tone - love it or don’t buy it
@howard is right Ampeg is winner here if enough power as above
My first amp was the Rumble 40 - it didn’t last long.
I would too, but I already knew that I prefer the Ampeg sound. The Fender is a good general purpose amp. The ampeg is a bit more specific (whether thats the SVT or BA15 sound you’re going for).
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The Fender is actually probably less flat than the Ampeg - Fender amps at noon have a large mids scoop, it’s their historic sound.
Well ok not less flat, but the Fenders are absolutely not a neutral sounding amp - they have their own color.
Yep, true but we (waves hands around at the general “we”) are used to that mid scoop as like, the bass sound. Ampeg SVTs are way more mid forward. The BA-15 sound is much closer to a Fender boomy mid scoop.
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As howard brought up, all 3 are fairly equivalent.
I would recommend the Ampeg because it’s a bit more versatile and sits more in the middle of the road.
The Rumble is a great product and if you want that distinct Fender sound that’s the way to go.
The Orange is what I use daily, I love the tone and features as it is but it’s not for everyone. It’s the spicy jalapeno jack when you were expecting mild cheddar on the burger, not unpleasant just different.
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Yep that’s about how I would describe them too 
Fender or Ampeg are both very versatile. Orange only if you like a bit of British flavor in your sound.
Can’t really go wrong with any of them. Just pick the one that sounds best for you. You can check them on YouTube or perhaps in a store.
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I have an Ampeg RB-108 Rocket bass. It’s only 30w but has some good features like a headphone jack and an Aux In socket (I have a bluetooth receiver plugged in, about £15 on Amazon, which allows me to stream music in to play along with).
I’m going to call in to my local music store where I bought it from and see if they’ll take it in as a part-ex against another amp. I’d almost certainly go for the 100w Ampeg REB-112, but after reading this thread I’m now tempted to at least try a Fender Rumble (they have a Rumble 100 and a Rumble Studio 40 in stock).
My opinion on a first amp, based on my very limited experience, is buy whichever sounds best to you. Keep in mind future use; it might be better to spend a little more now than having to upgrade in the future, which will cost more (as I’m now finding out the hard way).
In any case try to get an amp with a fx loop. Both the Rumble 100 and RB-112 have one. You can always use the return of the fx loop with a different preamp pedal to change the tone of your amp.
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That’s very helpful, thank you 
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I don’t know why I never did this. I have 5-6 preamp pedals on a switcher since you only use one at a time but in the larger signal chain. I think I’m going to rebuild and put the preamp circuit in the loop. Makes more sense!
Sometimes you have to hear things in a certain way for them to make sense lol
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I do have a question about this though. Since the preamps are no longer going through the amp input, they are no longer part of the overload protection circuit, correct? If that’s so, then care must be taken not to have too much gain added, or am I wrong?
I’m not an expert but fx return mostly comes down to gain staging. On a class D amp it’s built for line level signals and usually has limiting, so there’s very little risk of damage. The front input isn’t responsible for protection, that mainly comes from the amp’s internal circuitry.
Bergantino amps handle pedals in the return really well, but with cheaper amps it’s worth checking how they behave. Tube amps are less forgiving, so you need to watch the levels.
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