As a beginner bass player, it doesn’t take so long before you discover that getting a bass amp is as important as getting a bass guitar itself. If you are playing electric bass, you cannot get sound out of your bass without first plugging it into an amp. In most cases, you will need it beyond just during rehearsals. There is a big chance you will need an amp when recording and when performing live on stage. Apart from being a very basic need for electric bass players, it is also a very important factor and determinant in the tone you produce as an electric bass player – and also equally important for acoustic bass players too.
In this article, I will bring to you the 5 best bass amplifiers for beginner bass players. It is important you know these amps are amps that I have had personal encounters and experience with. I have either personally used these amps or recorded other bass players using any of them. Here is a quick summary:
 | 1.Best portable and affordable bass amps for beginners: Donner 15W DBA-1 Bass Guitar Combo Amp Great small amp for beginner bass players. Comes with 15 watts power and a 6.5 inch speaker, very lightweight at 15 lbs | Buy on Amazon |
 | 2.Best 25 watts bass amp for beginners: Fender Rumble 25 v3 Comes with a 25 watts and an 8-inch speaker to give you just enough volume without upsetting your neighbors. Also comes with a built-in overdrive, 3-band eq, and a contour button to modify your bass tone. | Buy on Amazon |
 | 3.Best 8-inch speaker bass amp for beginners: Orange Crush Bass 25W Has a cool orange color look and comes with an all-analog signal path and a powerful EQ circuit | Buy on Amazon |
 | 4.Best multi-purpose bass amp for beginners: Donner 30W (DBA-30) Enough power and volume for small or medium-sized performance. The woofer ensures that the mid and low frequencies sound just perfect and the tweeter provides enough detail to the high frequency. | Buy on Amazon |
 | 5.Best 12-inch speaker bass amp for beginners: Fender Rumble 100 A killer bass amp that will offer plenty of volume and tone. Amazing tone and sound. Excellent tone modulation with a 4-band EQ and FA loop | Buy on Amazon |
5 Best Beginner Bass Amps Reviewed
Best portable and affordable bass amps: Donner 15W DBA-1
If you’re just starting on the bass and want a practice bass amp that is portable, then the Donner 15W DBA-1 is the amp for you. I can tell you that this is one of the best small bass amplifiers you can get. It offers everything that beginner bass players need to start jamming on their bass.
The Donner 15W practice amp comes with 15 watts of power and a 6.5-inch speaker. It is very lightweight as it only weighs about 15 pounds. With its weight, carrying it around with your bass guitar won’t be as much a problem when compared to other bass amps out there. Although quite small, the DBA-1 is also very durable and sturdy. It also comes with plenty of controls like volume, bass, middle and treble knobs. The DBA-1 is a great bass amplifier to get, especially if your primary aim or need is something you can practice at home with.
Pros:
- Super affordable
- It has an amazing tone for the price
- Portable and easy to carry around
- Sturdy and professionally built
- Perfect for beginner players who just want to practice or record music at home
Cons:
- Might not be the best option for professional playing and recording scenarios
- Might quickly burn out
Best 25 watts bass amp Fender Rumble 25 v3
Coming second on this list is one of my favorites which is the Rumble 25 v3. The first striking feature of this bass amp is that it features a lightweight design. Its weight makes it quite ideal for both beginner and traveling/gigging bass players who would need to carry it around quite often. It still comes with 25 watts and an 8-inch speaker to give you just enough volume without necessarily upsetting your neighbors. I have personal experience recording an amateur bass player with this. Although it wasn’t what I would call “wow,” but believe me, I was impressed. It comes with a built-in overdrive, 3-band eq, and a contour button to give you every basic thing you need to learn to modify your bass tone.
The Rumble 25 is more than just a bass amp, it can also be a great companion through your starting days as a bass player. With Rumble 25, you’ll learn the difference between a gritty sound and a sharp bass slap. One of the main drawbacks of this model is that the overdrive is not adjustable, you can’t play around with it and craft something unique out of it. Regardless, the Rumble 25 is a great bass guitar amp that will serve you well as you progress with your bass guitar over time. Because of its overall build and value, it remains one of the best bass amps in the market for beginner players.
Pros:
- The lightweight design makes it perfect for beginner players who would also love to carry it around
- Considering the overall quality and build, the price is super amazing
- The inbuilt overdrive and 3-band eq gives it an added advantage over other bass amps in the same price range
- It is built to last
Cons:
- Aside from practice and small jam sessions, you might want to consider another option if you are looking for something to use in more serious playing scenarios
Best 8-inch bass amp Orange Crush Bass 25W
If I didn’t have any other reason to include the Orange Crush 25W, I would include it for its looks and aesthetics. The Crush Bass 25 is the smallest model in the Crush Bass amp range. It comes with that warm and rounded tonal character that Orange Amplifiers have come to be known for.
Another distinguishing feature of the Orange Crush is that it comes with an all-analog signal path. It also has a ported cabinet for improved low-end response and a very active EQ section. If you are just starting with the bass and you need something with a mix of analog, improved low-end response, and some aesthetic design, then you might want to consider getting this. The name “Orange” is not a new name in the guitar world. Since the company was birthed in 1968, it has been a pioneering force in the guitar amp industry.
The Crush Bass 25 comes with an EQ circuit inspired by the company’s prestigious 4 Stroke Series amplifiers. At the center of it is a parametric mid-band. The EQ gives players a much greater degree of control over their tone than what a traditional EQ can give. It allows players to vary the frequencies they want to hear. The mid-band covers quite a wide range; it goes from 300Hz (fully counter-clockwise) to 2.7kHz (fully clockwise). What this means is that the Orange Crush amp can be fine-tuned to suit any musical style or playing scenario. Because it comes with an active circuit, it permits up to 15dB of boost or attenuation on the bass and middle frequencies, and up to 20dB on the treble frequency.
Pros:
- Very versatile as you can adjust it to suit a wide range of styles
- Can be easily carried around as it is very portable
- The design is quite sleek and eye-catching
Cons:
- Might be a little too quiet for stage playing scenario
Best multi-purpose bass amp Donner 30W (DBA-30)
The DBA-30 is one amazing bass amp that I can’t help but include in this list. It has 30 watts of power and that is just enough for any small or medium-sized performance or rehearsal scenario. With the DBA-30, you don’t have to fret in scenarios where high volume is an issue, because it is also equipped with a headphone interface. Also, it has a 3.5mm “AUXILIARY IN” interface that you can connect to various digital media. With the DBA-30, you can jam along to your favorite track while putting your headphones on.
Normal bass amps always only come with a large woofer to ensure volume, but the DBA-30 has an 8-inch woofer and a 2.5-inch tweeter – it is a 2-way bass amp. The woofer ensures that the mid and low frequencies sound just perfect and the tweeter provides enough detail to the high frequency. To avoid the tweeter influencing or negatively affecting the bass sound, the DBA-30 also comes with a special circuit design for the tweeter’s sound. The special circuit design ensures that the sound is not too cold, but has some warmth while maintaining some richness in details.
Pros:
- Comes with both woofer and tweeter
- The “AUX IN” capability is an added advantage
- The build is quite sturdy
- Portable and reliable
- Extremely versatile
Cons:
- Might encounter some issues while playing at very low volumes
Best 12-inch bass amp Fender Rumble 100
I just couldn’t help but include Fender twice in this list. The Fender Rumble 100 is like the bigger brother of the previously mentioned Rumble 25. The Rumble 100 is one killer bass amp that will offer plenty of volume and tone.
It features 100 watts coming out from a 12-inch speaker housed in a classic Fender black with silver cloth grille front. The Rumble 100 will easily produce the volume and tonal quality you desire for practice or home recording. It also gives you excellent tone modulation with a 4-band EQ and FX loop. The Rumble 100 has an amazing tone and sound regardless if you’re jamming at low or high volume. It also features three filters. The Rumble 100 is one amazing bass amp for beginner players.
Pros:
- Features effects loops for better practice experience
- The overdrive switch is a plus
- Sturdy and easy to carry
Cons:
- Might run into some issues after a few months.
Best Bass Amp for Beginners Buying Guide
Should I buy A Combo amp or Stack Amps?
Beginner bass players may prefer a combo bass amp because of the ease and simplicity of carrying it around. Amp stacks have separate units for the amplifier (head) and the speaker (cab) . This separation gives you more flexibility if you want to drive more than one speaker or change speaker types.
Combo amp does come with a few downsides that beginners should be aware of. First of all, combos can be quite bulky as it has both the amplifier and speaker in one unit. Secondly, combos amp may not be as durable and long lasting as the stack amps since the vibration of the sound could hurt the tubes in the amplifier. Thirdly, as the speakers in the combo vibrates the amp, it is more susceptible to rattles.
What Size of Bass Amp is best for beginners?
The general rule will be to pick the amp size that fits your style of music and playing scenario. The bigger speakers usually have a fatter tone with more emphasis on the bass. On the contrary, smaller speakers will have a more fast response with greater emphasis on the midrange.
On that note, a common pro setup will always look something like a 4×10-inch cab with a 1×15-inch cab. With a setup like this, you will get the punch and note definition from the 10-inch speakers and some very deep bass responses from the 15-inch speaker.
But the truth is that this will be quite heavy for most players to carry around. The only practical thing to do in most cases will be to decide what cab will best suit your genre and style. If you are playing traditional styles like jazz, folk, and blues, the heavy low-end of a 15-inch speaker will probably do you some good. Should I buy A Combo amp or Stack Amps?
How Much Should You Spend on a Beginner Bass Amp?
Because you are buying a beginner bass amp doesn’t mean you can’t spend as much as you want to. But going through this list, you will notice that almost all the bass amps are fairly affordable, around $100. Because this will probably be your first bass amp, you do not need to break the bank for it. The goal is to get affordable but with decent quality, so that it can go a long way. As you have more specific needs and get a better idea of your play style, you can upgrade to model that fits your style better.
How to choose Wattage (Watts) for bass amp?
Typically, bass amplifiers need higher wattage because of how humans hear sound. Bass amplifiers that are between 300 and 350 should be just good enough for most playing situations. 10 to 30-watt bass amplifiers are good enough for just practice and home use. Even if you are playing in a low-volume band, it is still advised you aim for around 100 watts.
Just like every other electrical appliance, the wattage of a bass amp contributes a great deal to how it functions. Here is it; lower frequencies are a lot harder to hear and for that reason, they require a greater amount of amplification (higher wattage). Another reason for greater amplification is because bass amps are often solid state. Solid-state amplifiers do not always sound very pleasing to the ears when they distort. Because of that, we need enough power to prevent distortion from happening at high playing volumes.
For most bassists who play in a loud band, 300 watts is just perfect for them. In order to be heard above the guitar amps and drums, you will need just enough power.
Most of the bass amps on our list are within the range of 10-30 Watts. They are good for beginners to practice at home. They are not ideal for playing with a band where there are other very loud instruments. However, there is an exception if you are running a line to the house PA system. This way, you let the audio engineers handle your bass amplification while you use your small (10 – 30 watts) bass amp to simply shape your tone. So, apart from during practice, it can also be quite useful on live stages.
Conclusion And Winner
All the bass amps on this list are very amazing bass amps with unique features that make each stand out from the other. But having put a lot of things into consideration, I have chosen a winner. The winner is none other than the Orange Crush Bass 25W. The Orange Crush stands out from the rest in all ramifications. This very versatile unit features an all-analog signal path, an EQ circuit inspired by the company’s prestigious 4 Stroke Series amplifiers, and many more distinguishing features. To top it all, it looks quite amazing.
Coming second is one of my favorites which is the super lightweight Fender Rumble 25 v3. It comes with a built-in overdrive, 3-band eq, and a contour button to give you every basic thing you need to learn to modify your bass tone. This is one bass amp that I can always comfortably recommend to beginner bass players.
Last update on 2023-04-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
