The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hey guys,
    I recently purchased an old Korean Rouge bass that I fixed up and started playing.
    I want to get a good amp for both electric and upright, im playing through a squire guitar amp right now, is there such a thing? I figure 100 watts at the least to play with my quintet.

    Any thoughts?

    Ps.
    I played bass for years in pit bands and pick up groups while in college but I got out of music for a bit and sold my bass and rig. I am looking to pick up an upright sooner than a new electric.

    Thanks,
    Joe

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    A lot depends on budget but I would take a look at MarkBass. I don't play upright but there are a couple of guys in town who do who use a Little Mark III or the combo version. I gigged heavily for 3 years on electric using the Little Mark III and Tube 800 with no issues. The biggest knock is the black and yellow color scheme. But, if you pair with a different cab, it's not that big a deal. They also turn up on the used market at good prices.

    Others to consider are Ashdown or a used Genz Benz.

    I did end up selling both MarkBass heads and now use an all tube head but, if I ever tire (or can't) lug around a 50 pound Bassman, I would not hesitate to get the MarkBass again.

  4. #3

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    I know several players who use Acoustic Image combos for both upright & electric bass, as well as guitar. Either the AI Coda or the Ten2 would be a good choice.

    Danny W.

  5. #4

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    A big +1 for Acoustic Image. An excellent upright player at a jam I used to participate in had saved for years to get an AI rig (a Corus or Clarus combo, I forget which). At his first jam post-purchase his sound was just immaculate - full, present, "3-D". At one point he very graciously let a much younger, more aggressive solid-body player use the amp, at earth-shaking levels, with all the requisite pops and blangs and so forth (actually his playing was very good, just very loud). The Acoustic Image took it all in stride. This greatly influence my decision to acquire one at the soonest opportunity, which I did. I have a Corus Series III which resides squarely in the "cold dead fingers" category. AI also has some of the world's best customer service.

  6. #5

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    My son plays upright and electric. Jazz on the upright and everything on electric and has a Mark bass combo with a 12 inch speaker. It sounds great for both instruments and he does not use a preamp for the upright. It has a line out to a PA for bigger venues and is light enough to carry around. He previously had an ampeg which sounded good but not as good as the Mark. We made the mistake of buying the ampeg that is monitor style. It made it awkward to carry and transport. Good luck

  7. #6

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    Phil Jones Bass has a nice line of products.

  8. #7

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    I've been happy with the Carvin MB 12 for both electric bass and upright.

    MB12 Micro Bass Amp 12 Inch 3-Way ? Carvin Audio

  9. #8

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    I play with a few guys who use Mark bass for both upright and electric. Both sounds good!

    Jens

  10. #9

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    I use a Mesa/Boogie Walkabout head into a pair of Genz-Benz 10T speakers for a 4 ohm load. Endless tonal options, 300 watts, light weight and great M/B warranty. I play my SR5, '51 P reissue, split-coil P and Godin A5 fretless (piezo) through it. It's pricey but in this case you get what you pay for. Small, light weight, tiny footprint, tone to die for.

    Good bass rig for electric and upright.-godinandmesa-jpg

  11. #10

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    I've been playing with a guy who uses an AI Coda for both upright and electric.
    On both instruments, it's loud enough to drown out an entire big band, which he did the other night.
    The drummer had to tell him to turn down, because he couldn't hear the horns.

    The lights in his car wouldn't work, so he had to use his wife's car, which was too small to fit an upright in, so he used his Ken Smith six-string electric bass.
    I've played with a lot of electric bass players in jazz situations, but this was the first time I've heard one that sounded just as good as an upright.
    Much fatter sounding than an Ampeg Baby bass.

  12. #11
    I have a friend who plays a electric upright. He was always borrowing my MarkBass Jeff Berlin combo, it uses a 15. By itself its 300 watts add another 8ohm cab it's 500 watts. He loved it and he sounded it awesome on it, he finally got one for himself. Which I was very glad he quit borrowing my amp all the time. He played jazz and rockabilly, well he played what ever made him money but he is good. I heard he moved back to England where he came from.

  13. #12

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    I have an "RS110" from Bass Cabinets | RevSound . Light-weight, big sound! I use a Carvin head. Nice rig for a good price. [I'm a guitarist trying to learn bass for fun, and I've actually had paid gigs on bass!]

  14. #13

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    The main thing is to buy something that simply makes your double bass's sound louder. Most people don't want to add "character" to their double bass sound. Then you can experiment with various effects boxes to create whatever character you want for your electric bass.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonzo
    The main thing is to buy something that simply makes your double bass's sound louder. Most people don't want to add "character" to their double bass sound. Then you can experiment with various effects boxes to create whatever character you want for your electric bass.
    Which is of course almost impossible given how double bass pickups work. They are colouring the sound a lot. It's a little bit like expecting the output of a humbucker pickup to sound like an acoustic guitar. It doesn't because it has a very narrow frequency response and compresses the signal quite a bit.

    Many bassplayers would probably prefer a real microphone, but that is just so unpractical that nobody around here does that. I suspect that a lot of modern bass amps try to "undo" the color of the pickups as best they can.

    Jens

  16. #15

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    True, and the bigger the room, the more the house system and building acoustics determine your sound. It is kind of tragic how much acoustic instrumentalists obsess about finding an instrument that sounds perfect in their practice room. But I guess if you are going to practice for hours a day, it might as well sound good to you.

    Still, a rig that reproduces your acoustic sound louder is the ideal, and you can add character to an amp but cannot subtract it.

  17. #16

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    Most the pro bassists I know that use a single rig for upright and electric, use either Acoustic Image or MarkBass. The main factors being low weight, high power, great sound and pro reliability.