I currently have two ways of playing my bass (not counting unplugged): through my iMac setup and through a Roland MicroCube. Using a computer rig to just play is a PITA, but playing through the cube sounds unspeakably dinky.
So, I'm looking for a decent bass amp for strictly studio use.
If you're looking for something small, for studio use..... I would suggest the Spark 40. It's a small 40w amp that has a number of bass models in it. Run it direct to your interface via audio out or USB direct and you get the quality of the sound without having to use big speaker cabinets and lots of power.
I've got the spark and use it audio direct for recording and I'm fairly impressed with it's versatility and sound quality. All of my recent recordings are using it so you can search back and listen to it. Of course,,,,, I'm not playing a bass through it but I have heard a few folks using it for bass on the spark FB page and it's sounds pretty decent.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
I have the Bronco 40 and love it. It's a rugged little amp, pushes plenty of air for studio work, and has an XLR-out with a 10" speaker. It also has an Aux-out that I've used with a vocal mic.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2025 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
Indeed, you do not actually need an amplifier for studio work. For many years, I used my Line 6 POD 2 as my studio "amp". It worked very well. The only reason I moved to the Spark amp was that the POD2 was limited to the built-in models and that was about a dozen or so, most of which I didn't use because I didn't like their sound.
There are a number of small modeling racks and "pedals", for lack of a better term, that will do a superb job in the studio.
I picked up my POD2 on Ebay for half the price of a new one at the time. Even it has a bass amp model in it that was a favorite of guitar players and it was one of my go-to models.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
As Herb said you don't really need an amp for studio recording/playing. I use Amplitube, I use it for guitar and bass, but you may not need to spend a lot of money, if any, to get a good sounding bass amp vst.
There are also a lot of free pedal VSTs available.
Google/bing free bass amp vst and you will find a number of bass amps and pedal.
Note that I do not have any experience with any of the above. Also I always check for viruses and malware prior to installing any freebee and most are not infected if gotten from a reliable source.
[edit] typo
Last edited by MarioD; 03/15/2204:10 AM.
I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Thanks for all the thoughts, folks. To be clear, I'm specifically looking for an amp, that I can just plug into and play, without using a computer. Carry on! =8^)
Thanks for all the thoughts, folks. To be clear, I'm specifically looking for an amp, that I can just plug into and play, without using a computer. Carry on! =8^)
I recommend that you check out the Fender Rumble line of bass amps. I had a Rumble 40 combo and a Rumble 200 combo in the U.S. but had to sell them when I moved to France (no 230VAC support). I just ordered a Rumble Studio 40 and GTX-7 footswitch from Thomann. The Studio 40 costs 422 € at Thomann.fr. It contains a lot of presets of different bass amps and more input/output options. The GTX-7 footswitch costs 95 €. The regular Rumble 40 costs 299 € at Thomann. It is an excellent sounding amp, without the extras bells and whistles. If 299 € is too expensive, a Rumble 25 (169 €) or Rumble 15 (130 €) are decent options. [NOTE: All Thomann prices include 20% TVA.]
I've owned a lot of different bass amps, but Fender Rumbles are really good for the amount of money they cost.
Part of it's brand loyalty, the only other amp I've ever owned was a tiny Fender Vibro Champ. I still remember that awesome red crystal ON light. Anyhood, looking forward to delivery, a lot!
I'm wondering how good this amp will be for guitar as well as bass.
For the record, here's what I got:
Gibson Les Paul Studio guitar Aria Pro II bass Boss GT-8 multi FX processor Roland GR-20 guitar synthesizer
and I can't imagine I'd have a problem getting those to sound good.
Guess you've tried Logic's zillions of combinations of bass amps, cabinets and speakers? I frequently render RT bass tracks DI and use them. FWIW.
But then I'm just an ole hack upright player
Bud
Last edited by Janice & Bud; 03/16/2208:16 AM.
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Part of it's brand loyalty, the only other amp I've ever owned was a tiny Fender Vibro Champ. I still remember that awesome red crystal ON light. Anyhood, looking forward to delivery, a lot!
I'm wondering how good this amp will be for guitar as well as bass.
For the record, here's what I got:
Gibson Les Paul Studio guitar Aria Pro II bass Boss GT-8 multi FX processor Roland GR-20 guitar synthesizer
and I can't imagine I'd have a problem getting those to sound good.
ThinkPad i9 32GB RAM 7TB SSD; Win11 Pro; RME Fireface UCX II; BiaB 2026 Ultra Bitwig Studio 6; Studio One Pro 7; Melodyne Studio 5; Acoustica Premium 7 Gig Performer 5; NI S61 MK3; Focal Shape 65; Beyerdynamic DT 880 & 770
Mark, You might also want to consider if your amp has a rugged face or a fabric one. Fabric faces makes me nervous, just takes a guitar stand or stool to poke thru and tear it. I chose the Fender Bronco 40W amp in part because of this. It has a steel grille.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2025 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
You might also want to consider if your amp has a rugged face or a fabric one. Fabric faces makes me nervous, just takes a guitar stand or stool to poke thru and tear it. I chose the Fender Bronco 40W amp in part because of this. It has a steel grille.
Eh, I'm good with the risk, if that's what I'm getting =8^) because whatever I'm getting, it has THAT LOOK (see Amazon listing) and I am PSYCHED. I'm getting a bass amp, yay! And like I said, this thing won't be hitting the road or facing bottle throwers any time soon. Probably the biggest physical risk will be coffee spillage.
Guess you've tried Logic's zillions of combinations of bass amps, cabinets and speakers?
Oh, yeah. I love what Logic can do to an electric guitar. And I'll probably still do any bass recording by direct inject, I mostly want the amp for just playing and noodling.
True Confessions: Part of why I'm getting this amp now is incentivizing myself to play at all, so I want to make it as EASY as possible to pick up the bass and play it, and hey, a new toy CAN help with motivation – I once cracked a years long cold streak by getting new guitar strings.
I only know Mark Bass because my last band's bass player used one. I doubt he chose it for any reason that the speakers are yellow and draws attention to him. Part of why I don't play with them anymore.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
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MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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