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If anything it's possibly cheaper to get a really good gigging sound with bass because larger and heavier cabinets and amps are quite out of fashion (so cheaper used) but still sound great.
If someone is starting out then it's probably going to be a little bit more beneficial to get a nicer instrument and a smaller usable home amp (which will likely make it cheaper than the instrument). A gig ready amp isn't really a requirement for a beginner to learn to play.
When first starting out it is important to have a usable, and well set up instrument, otherwise it makes the first hurdles a lot harder than necessary. Beginner (especially younger) players don't have the necessary hand strength and dexterity to play the instrument properly to start with, and having a poor setup can really make it that much harder, meaning they're probably more likely to quit out of frustration.
It's also different from guitars in that the amp is far less critical to the sound of a bass - most even half-decent bass amps can produce a wider range of tones, and any that they can't are really something you need a pedal for.
That said I probably wouldn't go as high as 10:1, that would imply spending something like a grand on a bass and a hundred on an amp. Unless it's specifically an amp to play just at home, then you should probably get something a bit better if you do have that sort of money, or more. It's more a decision you have to think about if you have only a few hundred to spend.
But there are really no hard and fast rules. If you find a great bass that isn't expensive, don't feel that you need to spend less on an amp.
In my opinion, obviously…
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I could get away with something from the cheaper end of the market though - say s squier vm and an old trace or peavey head and cab, probably around 200 each with s bit of shopping around. So is say 50:50 is doable until you start spending serious money when the cost of an upmarket bass is probably more than an upmarket amp.
I'd actually have thought that more folk would plump for a slightly higher value amp than bass.
Talking in new prices only, you can buy a perfectly useable bass for £250 or less, but you would struggle to play anywhere other than your house with £250 worth of amp. Obviously when you start looking at old, heavy, s/h amps things are different. Also vintage instrument prices throw things out of kilter too. (Yes, I'm looking at you mr @Bridgehouse !)
I've been at 1:3.5, but that's with a non-gigable amp.
Will shortly be at 1:1 when the new stuff arrives. I think that's quite sensible.
What got me thinking was the £3K P-bass that I played through £1.5K of amp sounded ace, but then so it should! if the £3K P-bass was played through a £300 amp would it be the same? Doubtful. But I'd bet a £300 Squier would sound awesome through the same £1.5K of amp.
So 1:2 works.
1:10 wouldn't, but 5:1 would.
Average price of my gigging rigs = £1500
Average vintage collection price = The missus might be reading...
The vintage stuff doesn't get gigged so sort of a mute point. However, it's used exclusively for recording, practice and writing, so my ratio would be very different in those circumstances.
Though, if I had to start from a clean slate, I reckon I'd probably spend more on basses than on guitars - mostly because there are genuine spec differences on basses at a certain price point you can't easily find on lower priced instruments. For example, re-enforced necks on Fenders (US only), and certain MusicMan type instruments are only available built in the US and not by the cheaper overseas brands.
With guitars there is a lot of choice for instruments with broadly similar spec to higher priced instruments at a moderate price. While the more expensive ones are generally nicer, they're not actually nicer in a practical way - as in there's nothing you can do on the expensive one you couldn't do on the cheaper one. If that makes sense..
Everywhere I ever gig has bass backline provided and the places that don't I just use a decent DI box. So I don't see the point in having hundreds of pounds and space in my house tied up in a Bass amp that would get turned on about once a year.
Even if you're really particular with your bass sound and insist on your own amp on stage with you in my experience the sound engineer will take a DI from before your amp anyway and that's what will be heard out front---so even in those scenarios your amp will basically just be your monitor. Not worth the hassle in my opinion.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
2:1 for me
Cort Curbow - £92 on eBay
Ashdown Little Giant 350w head - £130 on eBay (going back though because the fan doesn't work and it overheated and shut down!)
Ashdown Nate Mendel drive pedal - £55 ebay
Mini compressor - £15 from here
Less than £300 for a fully giggable rig (faulty head notwithstanding) and a huge variety of decent sounds. I also have a 1x15 Marshall bass cab that I picked up for £50 a good few years ago, but it did absolutely fine in every venue I ever took it to.
The Warwick is big enough for anything I've needed so far. Anything that 250W won't cope with is likely to be big enough to have a good PA.
There's normally plenty of them for sale S/H