Bought my lad a Bass for Chrimbo

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jonnyburgojonnyburgo Frets: 12253
He's just started playing in his first band and was using one of the lads bass's with 3 strings, so I snagged a Vintage V96 on ebay for £100, its a stingray copy and it is really nice, its an older version with passive pup. It plays really nicely.
now I need to find him an amp, budget is only £50 so hoping for an 80's Peavey or Vox or similar, a few have popped up but too far away.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14321
    Vintage V96 … stingray copy … passive pup
    All regular Musicman-style bass guitar pickups are passive. It is only the onboard EQ and pre-amp that are active (when present).

    Really early V96 examples came with a double J pickup. The routed cavity is of the wrong proportions to accommodate a pukka 'Ray pickup but might accept a Duncan NYC Soapbar or an EMG-35 series.

    Passive (subtractive) tone controls are perfectly viable but not as much fun as active cut/boost systems.

    EBMM's original budget brand, OLP, had a volume pot for each coil plus a treble roll-off tone control. Duh!



    Ashdown does small bass combos that can be found cheaply pre-owned. Unfortunately, there is often reason why these are being sold on. :#

    Considering what goes into a good bass amplifier, it might be worth holding out for something better that will serve for years to come.

    If the guitarists in your son's band use 50w amplifiers, the bass amp needs to be rated a minimum of 200w RMS. 
    Be seeing you.
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    I would say that the biggest bargains in the Bass Amp world are old Trace Elliot combos. 

    Don't be fooled by the wattage - I have a 715SMC rated at 150w and it's louder than any 500w rated Class D modern bass head. 

    If you look around (facebook marketplace etc.) you can get a good one for under £100. It will be built like a tank and sound really good. 
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  • SnagsSnags Frets: 5326
    Going by a friend's old Trace combo, they also provide good physical exercise when loading in/out too.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14321
    Marshall Dynamic Bass System (DBS) combos, heads and cabinets are similarly robust and loud. Heavy duty castors make them easy to push around. Most of them are a two-man lift.
    Be seeing you.
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  • That was my first bass too. A good start! 
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  • jonnyburgojonnyburgo Frets: 12253
    Found a Trace Elliot Commando 100w combo local for £60, think I'm gonna go for it.
    "OUR TOSSPOT"
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    Found a Trace Elliot Commando 100w combo local for £60, think I'm gonna go for it.
    Good choice
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    Found a Trace Elliot Commando 100w combo local for £60, think I'm gonna go for it.
    Make sure it works first…

    "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

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • wrinkleygitwrinkleygit Frets: 255
    edited December 2021
    My old Trace BLX80 is still being gigged by a mate and never had a problem to this day, glad I don’t have to carry it tho’
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  • OssyrocksOssyrocks Frets: 1673
    Snags said:
    Going by a friend's old Trace combo, they also provide good physical exercise when loading in/out too.
    When I was 16 I used to roadie for Buffalo, their bass player had a Trace Elliot 8x10 COMBO! Me and my mate once had to carry it up three floors up a fire escape outside the building. Jeez it was heavy.
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  • jonnyburgojonnyburgo Frets: 12253
    ICBM said:
    Found a Trace Elliot Commando 100w combo local for £60, think I'm gonna go for it.
    Make sure it works first…
    It's all good and rumbles along very nicely
    "OUR TOSSPOT"
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    My old Trace BLX80 is still being gigged by a mate and never had a problem to this day, glad I don’t have to carry it tho’
    The BLX is a much better-built amp. The Commando isn't *terrible*, but let's just say they're not the best amps TE ever made. (Or the worst, though.) And at least pretty easy to work on if they do expire.

    The BLX seemed to be an exercise in using up a global surplus of MDF :). It's quite remarkably heavy for such a small amp  - although when you hear it, you understand the point of all that complex internal baffle construction... it's surprisingly undirectional and fills a space extremely well for such a relatively low-powered amp - a little at the expense of punch right in front of it, admittedly. Better for deep jazzy/funk/reggae-type tones than midrangy rocky/punky ones.

    "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

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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