12 Of The Best Bass Amps In The World Today

First up we have one of the new industry standard bass amplifiers and easily one of the best bass amps in the world today.

The Orange OB1-300 Bass Combo Amp, which is also available in a rack-mountable head, is an extremely powerful 300-watt bass amp. This has quickly become an industry-standard bass amplifier as it includes a foot-switchable Blend circuit which effectively adds controllable gain and increased harmonic sonic qualities to the upper register of your signal.

This basically means you add overdrive to your core bass tone rather than replacing it. This is one of the best bass amps for tone purists as it splits your signal into two separate paths.

One side amplifies the clean tone and the other adds stages of gain to the upper harmonics only. This allows you to blend between clean and dirty without losing the low end.

Next up we have the Fender Rumble 500 Bass Head which offers a huge amount of power and the classic Fender vibe. This incredible bass amplifier head provides 500 watts of pure Fender bass power and includes a newly developed foot-switchable overdrive circuit that can take you from smooth grit to all out distortion at the push of a button. You have a selectable Bright switch, Contour switch and Vintage setting, allowing you to choose from a variety of sounds. You also have total control over your tone via the Bass, Low Mid, High Mid and Treble controls. This is an incredible bass amplifier head that offers awesome sound and control. Perfectly paired with the Fender Rumble 115, Bass Speaker Cabinet. If you don’t fancy carting around a bass amp head and cabinet, then the Fender Rumble 200 Combo (V3) is also available. Offering 200 watts of power in a combo bass amp.

 When you need absolute power, the Darkglass Electronics Alpha Omega 900 Bass Head is an ideal option.

We think this is one of the best bass heads in the world today as it offers a huge amount of control over your sound. You can quickly flick between drive and clean blend control with separate bite and growl switches.

 The Fender Rumble LT25 Bass Combo Amplifier brings together solid-state reliability as well as great sound and an easy to use interface.

We think this amp is particularly brilliant value for money because it features a collection of 50 presets which are essentially enough to cover any musical style.

25-watts might not be up to large gigs but this amp is ideal for rehearsals, studio time and even band practice. The price alone is a great reason to get hold of one.

Carrying around a massive bass amp, no matter how good it sounds can be extremely annoying.

The weight alone can put people off! However, the Ashdown STUDIO-15 Super lightweight 300w Bass Amplifier makes travelling, and setting up a lot easier. This 300-watt bass amp weighs a mere 11.2kgs, which is particularly lightweight. However, it still packs a massive punch thanks to the valve emulated overdrive circuit and 1 x 15" Ashdown Speaker and Hi-Frequency Tweeter.

It’ll push around some serious air. The 5-band EQ system has been lifted from the Rootmaster and OriginAL range, so you know you have exceptional control and the headphone input allows for practice whenever, wherever you want. This is a very practical bass amplifier for musicians who care about their tone AND their back.

Well, obviously we have to have the Orange Crush Bass 100, 100W Bass Guitar Amp Combo in this list. The Orange Crush range is relied upon by players of all levels, from absolute beginners to consummate professionals as it has plenty of features and exceptional sound.

The all-analogue circuitry combined with 100w output makes it great for stages of all sizes and tone purists as you get a very detailed, yet fat sounding tone. The powerful preamp section ensures all the tonal qualities of your bass are preserved whilst retaining the dynamics you need.

An active EQ section with its sweepable parametric mid band and bi-amp inspired Gain and Blend circuit allows you to sculpt your tone whilst keeping all the subtle low end intact. This happens regardless of how much gain you add – your low-end tone is still right there. An integrated headphone out, buffered effects loop and Cabsim technology makes it great for studio and practice.

The Mesa Boogie D-800 Subway Bass Head is a lightweight, portable Class-D bass amplifier head that offers immense power in a small package perfect for gigging. The amp itself is only 5.5 lbs - around 3 inches tall and 10 inches wide, so it’s not going to cause much fuss when you’re travelling with it. It'll fit in your backpack with minimal fuss.

However, it’s all about the sound. This makes our best bass amps list as it features 800 watts of power and has been built around a combo of some of Mesa’s most revered circuits including the tube driven models like the Bass 400+ and Bass Strategy 8:88.

This essentially distils a range of classic Mesa amps into one unique amplifier and offers tone shaping options, active/passive switching and a lush input gain. We recommend checking out the Deep Switch as it offers enhanced low end that really rattles your bones.

 We love the Ashdown MAG-C210 300w Bass Combo Amp as it features an authentic, old school transformer driven bass sound.

This means you get a serious growl when you dig in! This makes our best bass amps blog as it offers incredible control, includes a built-in compressor and has a tube emulated drive control so you can really get some serious tonal grit when you want it.

There’s 2 x 10" Ashdown Custom Speakers built into the cabinet, which when coupled with the 300w output makes it an incredible stage amplifier that you can really feel. We love the inclusion of the sub harmonics and overdrive features, which really transforms your sound. The classic Ashdown VU meter and custom green control panel top it off nicely too. Available exclusively at Professional Music Technology.

If you need a powerful yet portable bass amplifier, with plenty of tonal options then the Blackstar Unity Bass 250 Watt Bass Combo is ideal.

Straight out of the gates you have a Drive section with 3 different overdrives (Overdrive / Distortion / Fuzz) and the ability to control the blend easily. You can choose from a range of tones here, spanning doom laden fuzz, to smooth creamy blues all the way to hard rock tones. Or just play it safe and enjoy the lush clean tones on offer. All of these tones are footswitchable too, just to make gigging and recording easier.

The inclusion of a 4-band semi-parametric EQ allows you to create your perfect sound. Whilst an onboard compressor, Chorus and Sub-Octave effects gives you even more sonic options whilst you bust out the big riffs and make use of the 250 watts of power and custom designed Eminence 15" Opus Speaker.

 A list of the best amps in the world wouldn’t be worth anything if the Orange Terror Bass 500-Watt Hybrid Bass Amp Head wasn’t included.

This is another option that has quickly become an industry standard bass amp relied upon by professionals everywhere. We love it as it utilises a hybrid technology, taking the all-valve front end of an AD200B bass amp, but adding a solid-state power amp to bring the weight down and make it easier to travel with.

There’s also none of that shrill that sometimes comes with solid state amps. This is capable of pumping out 500 watts of power a 4 Ohm speaker, or 250 Watts into an 8 Ohm speaker. This make sit a great option for live use, session work and rehearsal. We also think it’s one of the best bass amps for professionals as it features a ground lift switch that reduces/eliminates and ground related noise – no more humming amps.

 The Ashdown AAA-300-210T 300W Bass Combo is perfect for those who need power, features and expert level sound.

This is one of the best bass combo amps if you’re on a budget as it’s way under £400 but still packs a whopping 300 watts of power. You have 2 x 10” speakers built in which make full use of the Drive features and an easy to use EQ which includes Bass, Hi-Mid, Lo-Mid, Treble and Variable Mid Sweep functions.

So why is it one of the best bass amps you ask? Well, those who need a wide range of tones and sounds on tap will enjoy the ABM Pre App which expands the EQ to 7 bands and also allows you to add Sub, Tube Drive and Compression to your bass amp. You can download the Ashdown app via Agile Partners Amp Kit HERE

It’s one of the older amps out there, but the Orange AD200B MK 3 Bass Guitar Head is a mainstay on the live scene thanks to its pure valve output. This all-valve bass amplifier busts out 200 watts of power via four 6550 output valves, so you get an ultra-dynamic low end a tight yet focused mid-range.

We love this amp as you can sculpt your ideal tones to suit a variety of playing styles and really make use of that lush tube-driven gain. One of the cool features about this amp is that you can really dial in some incredible sounds from mellow to rock. Dial the gain back and enjoy the punchy, yet smooth sounds ideal for flatwound strings, or crank up the distortion and really enjoy how heavy and percussive things can get – perfect for humbucking bass pickups.

You even have two inputs, one for either passive or active pickups – perfect! This is an amp you should aspire to if you’re a bass player, you like Orange bass amps and you care about your tone.