Finding the best bass amp to give your sound a heavy groove can be hard. Affordable bass guitar amplifiers can sound cheap, but sometimes expensive amps don’t have the sound you are looking for.
That’s why we wrote this bass amplifier review. We look at all of the most popular bass amps and compare their features, specs, pros, and cons, so you can figure out which one is right for your rig and your budget.
Whether you are looking for a combo bass amp, a rack, or simply just a bass guitar amp head, we’ve got a review for it.
Let’s take a look at some of the top-rated bass amplifiers to turn your tone up to 11.
Click Below to Research the Top Bass Guitar Amps in 2020
Contents
- 1 Click Below to Research the Top Bass Guitar Amps in 2020
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here is a list of the best bass guitar amplifiers on the market that will make you sound like a rockstar.
- Ampeg SVT-7PRO Head and SVT-410HLF Cabinet
- Fender Rumble 500
- Trace Elliot ELF Micro Bass Amp
- TC Electronic BH250
- Hartke HD500-Bass
- Behringer UltraBass BXD3000H Bass Amp Head
- Orange Crush Bass Combo Amp
- VOX Pathfinder Bass Combo Amplifier
- Blackstar FLY3BASS Combo Bass Amp
Ampeg SVT-7PRO Head and SVT-410HLF Cabinet
Specs, features, and benefits
The Ampeg SVT-7PRO head paired with the SVT-410HLF cabinet is one of the most powerful stacks on the market! The Ampeg SVT-7PRO is a 1000Watt amp head with one 12AX7 tube in the preamp section. It is a hybrid.
On the control panel of the amp you can find the guitar input, a Mute button-switch, a -15dB button switch, Compression control knob, Gain control knob, Ultra-Hi button, Ultra-Low button, Bass control knob, Midrange control knob, Midrange five-way rotary switch, Treble control knob, FX Mix control knob, Master control knob, Headphones out, and the On/Off switch.
On the back of the amp you can find the Footswitch jack, Power amp input, Preamp out jack, Send and Return jacks, Tuner output, speaker outputs, Tube Direct output with a button for Post EQ/Pre EQ, a 0dB/-40dB button, Ground/Lift button, and Left and Right Aux-in ports. The SVT-410HLF Cabinet has four ten-Inch speakers and a nominal impedance of 4Ohms.
It delivers a massive low-end sound that goes down to 28Hz. The dimensions of the cabinet (in inches) are 24 x 30 x 19. The cabinet weights 110 pounds.
Pros and Highlights
- Powerful! – This stack provides you with a MASSIVE low end!
- Flexible – With this stack, you can set a lot of different tones. The controls on the amp are very intuitive and easy to set. The EQ controls, the Gain control is working wonders for your tone!
- Fits on every stage! – Great for small gigs, but it can handle big stadium stages too! Also, this stack is great for recording in the studio.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
If you are a professional bass player you need an amp that can be played on every kind of stage, plus it will provide you great tone in the studio. The SVT-7PRO stack is perfect for that kind of situation. It gives you a big palette of different bass tones and massive low end.
Fender Rumble 500
Specs, features, and benefits
The Fender Rumble 500 is a combo bass amp, great for gigging and practice. We are talking about a 500Watt solid-state amplifier paired with two ten-Inch Eminence speakers. The combo also contains a compression tweeter for Treble definition.
On the control panel, right next to the input, there is the Gain control knob. Then there are three voice buttons, Bright, Contour, and Vintage. Next, we have the Drive control cluster, with a push-button for activating it, and Level and Drive control knobs.
Then we have the EQ control cluster with control knobs for Bass, Low Mid, Hi-Mid, and Treble. On the far right, there is the Master control knob. On the back of the amp, there is the Power On/Off switch, the Horn (Tweeter) On/Off switch, the External Speaker Jack (8Ohm, 250W), the Return and Send jacks for effects, the Aux-in, the Headphones out, the Footswitch port, and the Line out (XLR) with its Ground/Lift push button.
Pros and Highlights
- Great Tone – Fender is famous for its great sounding amps!
- Flexible – You can achieve many different tones with this amp just with a little tweaking on the control knobs.
- Great for gigging – The Rumble 500 is a compact, sturdy, powerful, and flexible bass amp. It is great for gigging, rehearsals and practice.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
The Fender Rumble 500 is definitely a bang for the buck. It is powerful, versatile combo bass amp, great for gigs, rehearsals, and practice.
Trace Elliot ELF Micro Bass Amp
Specs, features, and benefits
Don’t let its size fool you! The Trace Elliot Micro Amp Head is one powerful fella. It has 200 Watts of power!
On the front of the head, there is the input, a Gain control knob, Bass, Middle and Treble control knobs, and the Headphones output. On the back of the head, you can find the power On/Off switch, the Speaker output (4Ohm), the Ground/Lift switch and the D.I. (XLR) output. The Elf is highly portable, you can put it in your pocket, grab your bass guitar and you are good to go!
Pros and Highlights
- Compact – The size of the Elf is really a great thing. You can literally put it in your pocket and take it on the road.
- Great Tone – The Elf sounds great!
- Affordable!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons! – Just be sure you got the right version. There are Elf with different Voltages, so be sure to check if the one that you are buying has the compatible Voltage for the country you live in.
Bottom line
This is the future of amps! Small size, great tone, and affordable – a great combination, right? Don’t be fooled by the size of this amp, it will do the job for gigs, rehearsals, and practice. Great little amp!
TC Electronic BH250
Specs, features, and benefits
The TC Electronic BH250 is a 250Watt Micro Bass Amp Head with great, modern features.
On the control panel of the head, you can find the input, the Active pick-up/Passive pick-up switch, the Bass, Middle, and Treble control knobs, the Tone Print control knob, the Mute switch for the tuner, the led indicators for the Tuner, and the Master control knob.
On the back of the BH250, you can find the power on/off switch, the footswitch (pedal) port, the Speaker output (4Ohm, “Speakon”), the USB port, the Aux-in, the Headphones output, and the Balanced Output with its Pre EQ/Post EQ switch.
With the Tone Print feature on the amp, you can beam presets from your Android/IOS device using the Tone Print app.
Pros and Highlights
- Micro Head – Size doesn’t matter! (At least in this case 😊)
- Versatile – Using the TonePrint feature you can have tons of different bass sounds with this fella!
- Everything that you will ever need on an amp – Great, intuitive controls, Aux-in, Headphones out, D.I. out, Speaker Out, USB port… Full package!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
If you are playing a lot of small gigs, and you are tired of dragging around a heavy and big bass amp, you’ve come to the right place – the TC Electronic BH250 will save you from all the headaches considering amp transportation. It is small, compact, it has everything that you need, it is extremely versatile due to the Tone Print feature, and it sounds great! Great piece of equipment.
Hartke HD500-Bass
Specs, features, and benefits
The Hartke HD500-Bass is a 500Watt bass amp combo with two ten-Inch HyDrive speakers. On the control panel of the combo, starting from the left, there is the input, the Volume control knob, the Shape control push-button and control knob, the Bass, Middle and Treble control knobs, the Aux-in, the Send and Return jacks, the Direct Output, and the Headphones out.
The Shape control is serving like an additional EQ or a boost. You can set it up front, and engage it on the fly. This way you can have two different bass tones on your gig, with just pushing one button. On the back of the amp, you can find the power on/off switch.
Pros and Highlights
- Great for gigging! – The amp is designed as a perfect amp for small venue gigs! It is compact, lightweight, sturdy, sounds great, and it is flexible!
- Great tone – The Hartke HD500 has a great low-end tone! Just try it and hear for yourself!
- Easy to use – Just tweak those control knobs a little and you are good to go!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- A tweeter could be a massive improvement – Maybe Hartke should insert a tweeter in this amp, and make it sound even more beautiful. The tweeter would make more definition in the higher end… Hey Hartke, take notes!
Bottom line
If you are searching for a bass amp for gigging, you should definitely try the Hartke HD500 combo. The amp is perfect for small venue gigs – it is lightweight, compact, sounds great, and versatile. It is also pretty affordable, having in mind the quality you will get.
Behringer UltraBass BXD3000H Bass Amp Head
Specs, features, and benefits
The Ultrabass BXD3000H by Behringer is a two-channel solid-state bass amp head with 300Watts of power and a lot of tweaking possibilities.
On the control panel, from left to right, you can see these controls: Gain 1 (for the first channel), push-button for activating channel two, Gain, Level, and Shape control for channel two, seven-band EQ cluster with “FBQ” knob that lights up the led indicators on the faders, Compressor control knob and a push-button for activating it, UltraBass control knob with its button for activating octave down signal for super low-end tone, and Master control knob. Also on the control panel, you can find your input, the Headphones output, and the Power on/off switch.
On the back of the head, you can find the Direct Output, the Speaker output, the Aux-in left and right ports, the Send and Return jacks, the Line Out jack, and the Footswitch port.
Pros and Highlights
- Cheap – An absolute steal for the price!
- Versatile – You have a ton of tweaking possibilities with this fella!
- Lightweight – This means you won’t be tired by dragging it on the stage.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It is still a Behringer! – Well, we are sorry to say this, but yeah, a Behringer is a Behringer. It might be great, but it also can die after a short period of usage. You can also get a defective unit right out of the box. Also, there are amps with less Wattage that are way more powerful than this one. Still, this could be a great first head for many upcoming bass players.
Bottom line
A lightweight amp head with a lot of tweaking possibilities and a very affordable price. Sounds good right? Yeah, of course, it does. But it is a Behringer. Behringer is known for their low prices.
Orange Crush Bass Combo Amp
Specs, features, and benefits
The Orange Crush Bass 50 combo consists of 50Watt solid-state bass amp paired with one twelve-Inch speaker. It is an all-analog amp with control knobs for: Volume, Treble, Middle, Freq, Bass, Blend, and Gain.
On the control panel, you can also find the Input for your bass, Headphones output, Aux-in, the Tuner with its push-button and its led indicators, and a PAD push button (-6dB, you should turn it on if your pick-ups are active). On the back of the amp you can find the Send and Return jacks, the Footswitch Port for controlling the “Blend”, and the power On/Off switch.
Pros and Highlights
- Sturdy – All products by Orange are sturdily built. This amp is not an exception.
- Great Tone – Due to the all-analog circuit, and Orange’s magic, the Crush Bass 50 sounds warm and beautiful!
- Affordable – It is amazing what level of quality you can get for the price!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Too small – You probably won’t see this fella played on big stages. However, it is great for rehearsals and practice. I’m pretty sure it will work for some small venue gigs too!
Bottom line
Orange is a go-to when it comes to affordable amps. They are all sturdy built, they sound great, and they have a decent amount of sound versatility and tonal shaping.
If you are looking for a practice amp, or you just started playing bass, you won’t go wrong with the Orange Crush Bass 50.
VOX Pathfinder Bass Combo Amplifier
Specs, features, and benefits
The Vox PB10 is a small practice bass combo amplifier with great sound.
We are talking about a 10-Watt amp with two five-Inch, 4Ohm speakers. On the control panel, starting from the input, you can find the Gain control knob, the Bright on/off switch, the Treble control knob, the Bass control knob, the Volume control knob, the Headphones/Line-Out jack, and the Power on/off switch.
Just as the name suggests, this amp is perfect for newbies at bass guitar. However, it is also a great practice amp for professionals.
Pros and Highlights
- Great for beginners – If you are just testing the waters, you don’t want to buy an Ampeg SVT-7PRO stack, right? You want something affordable, and something that you will outgrow. The Vox Pathfinder Bass 10 is perfect for that situation.
- Affordable – Cheap!!!
- Decent sound – Well, it is a Vox.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Too small – The Vox PB 10 is perfect for home practice situations, but you can’t gig with it. If you want an amp that you can take it on the stage, this little fella is not for you.
Bottom line
The Vox Pathfinder Bass 10 is a great little bass combo amp. It is a perfect practice amp. It sounds decent, it is sturdy, and it is very affordable – the perfect combination for beginners.
Blackstar FLY3BASS Combo Bass Amp
Specs, features, and benefits
Fly3Bass by Blackstar is a compact, mini bass combo that comes for a very affordable price. It is a 3Watt amp with one three-inch speaker
On the control panel of the Fly3Bass you can find the Input, the Gain level control knob, the Overdrive push-button switch, the EQ (depth) control knob, the Compression (Ratio) control knob, the Sub control knob, the Mp3/Line-in jack, the Emulated-out/Headphones-out, and of course, the power on/off switch. The most attractive thing about this amp is that it runs on 6 AA batteries, and you can take your bass anywhere you want and play plugged-in. Of course, you can also power it with the power supply, which is sold separately.
Also, on the back there is an extension speaker port, with which you can pair this fella with the extension speaker that is sold separately. This way you will have even more loudness and tone.
Pros and Highlights
- Extremely portable – It runs on batteries!
- Great for practice! – The Blackstar Fly3Bass is great for home practice. We all have house occupants who are really tired of our practice routines. Blackstar solved the problem!
- Good tone – You will be amazed by this thing. It actually sounds good!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It is not loud enough for a band rehearsal or a gig – Well, of course… You can’t expect a huge, massive sound from a 3Watt amp with a 3″ speaker.
Bottom line
If you travel a lot, and you want to practice your bass in the hotel room, or you just need a practice amp for your home, the Blackstar Fly3Bass is a perfect solution to your problem. It runs on batteries, it is very small sized, it is sturdy, and it sounds good. However, if you want something that you can rehearse with a band or a drummer, you should search the market for something bigger.
What We Recommend and Why
We recommend the Fender Rumble 500 combo! It is a sturdy, great sounding, versatile, powerful, and compact bass combo amp. It can be used for practice, gigs, and rehearsals! It is a professional bass amp!