My practice setup is well… not good. I’ve got the bass from the Ibanez series that was not recommended by bassbuzz (although it’s just the passive version of which Josh was curious about the tone) and the little matching ibanez bass amp.
I am more or less happy with how the bass feels in my hands and can’t really say a lot about tone, because I don’t have a lot of things to compare it to.
Due to budget I can only upgrade one thing in the not so distant future. Probably september when my birthday comes up.
Right now I tend to buy a Rumble 100, because it feels like upgrading the bass without a fitting amp would not improve the sound as much as upgrading the amp.
Do you agree that I should buy an amp first for better sound?
Agree. You’ve already likely got a very playable bass - IIRC the comments from Ben, Josh and Gio were more around its tone and low boost, rather than around how easy it was to play. And if it is anything like the SR series it is very, very playable. So, fine to learn on.
Well, if you have the opportunity to turn up the volume, getting a better amp might be a good choice. If not (practicing by yourself in an appartment for example), some other upgrades might come more handy.
On the other side, getting a new bass for the price of the Rumble 100 would barely be an upgrade
I did it the other way around BUT my first playable bass was a Karrerra ( fender pb copy) which I found way too heavy and very thick on the neck. And that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it
However I have spent the last couple of days browsing the web looking at amps so watch this space as they say lol
Good point - It is meant as a practice amp in my apartment and in there it will barely go over 10% volume - if even. For sound alone in my apartment the Rumble 25 would probably be enough.
Still I have a drummer friend and maybe someone else I could get to pick up an instrument for jamming so it is mainly meant as a practice amp but still should have enough power in it for a jam session.
The drummer also doesn’t actively play anymore, but the offer of a jam session might make him pick up his sticks again.
So a practice amp I can also use for jam sessions is the thing I’m shooting for, because I could not afford two seperate setups for that.
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I appreciate it. I already was pretty set on the Rumble 100 - Rumble seems to be a fav here for a reason.
What model amp is it? How old? Did you buy it new? How small is the speaker? Is there something really broken or wrong, or are you just pushing it beyond design/capabilities?
It’s been a few years, but it was bought as a combo together with the bass and then was unused for years. I think retail it’s the only way Ibanez sells/sold those BSA mini-amps.
It’s a 8" speaker with 15w.
There’s not really something wrong with it for using it in my apartment.
If my judgement is right the tone is just a bit flat. That would be my only complaint.
It’s not a “oh my god I can’t play like this” situation, but a “I want to upgrade - what upgrade would bring the biggest improvement for the sound and/or my enjoyment?”
Hi mac, if your in the UK check out Rimmers music. I’ve trolled the web the cheapest I found a rumble 40 was on Amazon but with a potential 3 month wait. Then rimmers add popped up the price matched the Amazon one so I spoiled myself.
Potential warning though they offer free delivery and harp on about dealing with multiple couriers to get the best deal- for them!. In my case Mon-Fri , no leave in safe place or alternate address. So I probably lost more in income than I saved on the amp. Lol
@juli0r I just bought a new Rumble 100 on eBay at a lower price than most of the used ones I’ve seen, plus free shipping. This listing closes in 15 minutes, but it might be worth a shot:
Well, shipping and taxes would not make it a deal
Somehow, the price for the Fender 100 went down recently. It’s on sale for under 300€ everywhere except on the offical Fender website
Sounds like you have an exact model picked out for your amp. Can you say the same about your next bass? Depending on how much you know what you want and where you are in the process, finding your next bass could take months. Buy the amp now and start saving for the bass, which gives you plenty of time to research, and try as many new basseseses as possible.
The crappy part is spending money on an amp that won’t make your current bass sound much better… But I suppose that is no better or worse than getting a new bass and still only having a bad amp.
I would still like to test it out in the store, but I’ve read through other threads regarding amps and went through the Infos in bassbuzz about the amp.
Also I remember that it sounded already so much better on the amp in the store when I brought it in for a setup so although the bass may not be totally ideal I think it would already be a big improvement in sound.
Also this isn’t a “buy immediately” choice. Although right now I’m thinking about checking my balance and cancelling the DAI order to free up a bit of budget.
Allright. I cancelled the DAI order (I hope. At least I left a message asking to cancel it) and now I’ll wait for my salary to arrive… I’m just not sure how much I will really get with 50% reduced work. I know how roughly how much it should be, but not wanna make such a purchase without knowing exactly how much income I have.
