BP 400: UP TO 11

So what’s your favorite bass amp? Freddy Villano recalls 400 issues’ worth of the big boxes

- 

As much as the playability of your instrument can make or break a performance, so too can your tone. Whether on stage or in the studio, it can be hard to enjoy playing if your tone is fighting you—so it’s as important to have reliable, great-sounding amplification as it is to have a playable instrument.

Luckily for us, bass amp manufacturers have been striving to quantify the essence of a fundamentally good bass tone for more than 60 years. From the OGs of bass amplification like Acoustic, Ampeg, Fender, and Orange, to a new wave of high-end boutique manufacturers such as Aguilar, Darkglass, Markbass, and Phil Jones, bass amp manufacturers have made significant design and technological achievements in the last 30 years. Here’s a look at some of the most revered bass amps to hit the market since 1990...

The greatest leap bass amps ever took in their evolutionary journey was the transition from tube to solid-state—and while that began in the 70s, the proliferation of bass amps that were subsequently released in the 80s and 90s is the direct result of that earlier innovation. Ampeg, for example, a leader in the bass amp market since the 60s, unleashed the SVT-3 PRO, combining the classic tone of the original SVT, with a tighter, punchier sound, favored at the time by players like Jason Newsted and Les Claypool. The Gallien-Krueger 1001RB was tonally more versatile than its predecessor, the classic 800RB, which was used to great effect by the likes of Flea and Duff McKagan. The Eden WT800 was the company’s flagship amp for two decades, while the