Bass amplifier facts for kids

Bass instrument amplification is a special type of amplifier used for instruments that make low sounds, like the bass guitar and double bass. It helps make their sound much louder so everyone can hear them, whether in a band or a concert hall.

What Makes Bass Amps Special?

Bass amps are different from amplifiers used for other instruments, like electric guitars. This is because low-frequency sounds, also known as bass sounds, are harder to make loud and clear.

Powerful Speakers and Cabinets

To handle these deep sounds, bass amps need very strong loudspeakers. They also need a relatively larger speaker cabinet. These cabinets usually have bigger speakers, or more of them, compared to amps for other instruments. The speakers themselves must be extra sturdy to handle the high power needed for bass.

How Bass Amps Work

When you play a bass guitar, the sound goes into the amplifier. The amplifier then makes the sound much stronger. This stronger signal is then sent to the speakers inside the cabinet. The speakers vibrate and push air, creating the loud bass sound you hear.

Some bass amps are "combo" amps. This means the amplifier and the speaker are built together in one cabinet. Other setups have a separate amplifier "head" and one or more speaker cabinets. This allows musicians to mix and match different heads and cabinets.

Why Bass Amps are Important

Without bass amplification, instruments like the bass guitar would be very quiet. You wouldn't be able to hear them over drums or other loud instruments in a band. Bass amps help the bass player provide a strong foundation for the music. They make the low notes clear and powerful, which is super important for many types of music, from rock to jazz.

Images for kids

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  An Ampeg SVT cabinet with eight 10" speakers, with a separate Ampeg SVT amplifier "head" on top.

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  A Yamaha B100-115 combo amp, which contains a 100 watt amplifier and one 15" speaker in a wooden cabinet.

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  A Hartke 500 watt amp "head" on top of an Ashdown 4x10" speaker cabinet.

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  A 1930s era combo amplifier and a Rickenbacker electric upright bass from 1935.

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  A vintage Ampeg B-15 amp and speaker cabinet.

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  A Kustom 200 bass amplifier from 1971, featuring a separate amp head on top of a 2 x 15" speaker cabinet..

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  A bass rack from a professional bass player's touring setup. The bass amplifier is the lowest chassis in the rack; above it are a wireless receiver, several pre-amplifier devices, and a power conditioner.

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  In this 2007 photo of The Police's singer-bassist Sting, several Ampeg cabinets with multiple 10" speakers can be seen on the left side.

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  Small practice amplifier have low wattage and low volume which make them mostly suited to individual learning of basslines.

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  A Markbass 3x10" combo amp.

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  Bassist Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) in front of a wall of bass stacks.

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  Psychobilly bassist Jimbo Wallace onstage with Reverend Horton Heat and a large bass stack consisting of a 1x15" cabinet, a 4x10" cabinet, and an amplifier "head".

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  A selection of bass cabinets. From left to right: a Fender cab, a Genz Benz cab (and amp head) and two Aguilar cabinets.

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  A Hartke LH500 bass amplifier "head", which is rated at 500 watts.

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  A Mesa/Boogie bass amplifier "head"; note the graphic equalizer sliders on the right side

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  The glow from four "Electro Harmonix KT88" brand power tubes lights up the inside of a Canadian-made Traynor YBA-200 bass guitar amplifier.

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  A Peavey bass amp head with an Ampeg 8x10" speaker cabinet.

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  A close-up of an Ampeg SVT amplifier head's front panel.

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  A bass stack consisting of an SWR amplifier head on top of Mark Bass 4x10" and 2x10" cabinets.

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  Don Kerr playing a cello through an Acoustic brand amplifier head.

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  The Ampeg Portaflex is a small, lightweight, yet powerful bass amplifier head. It is small and light enough to be carried with one hand, yet powerful enough to run a large bass stack.

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  Music store display showing a variety of bass "combo" amplifiers and speaker cabinets.

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  In some genres, bass players use a large number of speaker cabinets for a powerful onstage sound.

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  A bass reflex enclosure schematic (cross-section).

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  A 150-watt "combo" bass amp with a horn-loaded tweeter (in the top right of the speaker cabinet).

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  The controls for a rackmount bass amp "head", the Hevos400D.

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  An unusual feature on Ashdown bass amps is a VU meter with a needle, which indicates input signal levels (pictured is the Ashdown ABM-300).

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  This rear view of an Eden WT-400 Traveler Plus amp head shows a 1/4" speaker output, a 1/4" signal out (to plug into a second amp, if needed), a "send" and "return" jack for creating an effects loop, a DI output, auxiliary left and right inputs and a tuner out jack.

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  The rear jack plate of an Ashdown 4x10" speaker cabinet shows the parallel speaker cable jacks that are usually provided on speaker cabs.

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  A DNA-1350 amp head; note the three indicator LEDs on the right-hand side, indicating amplifier status.

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  A jazz bassist performing on an upright bass, using an amplifier and speaker to augment the instrument's natural volume

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  A selection of bass effect pedals at a music store.

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  Over the years, various Peavey bass amplifiers have had built-in distortion effects.

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  Lemmy Kilmister, the bassist for Motörhead, obtained a natural fuzz bass tone by overdriving his triple 100 watt Marshall Bass stacks.

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  A bass amp head used with two speaker cabs, with each cabinet containing two loudspeakers and a high frequency horn.

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  A Little Dot Mk III tube headphone amplifier.