6 Best Bass Amps for Beginners [UPDATED FOR 2021]

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Ready to start learning how to play the bass guitar? Looking for the best bass amps for beginners to get started with?

You’ve heard all the songs, you’ve seen all the videos, and you’ve heard the call to start playing. After picking out your bass, the next most important decision you will have to make is your amplifier. A great bass amp is essential for learning how to play the bass guitar. Amps vary in tone, wattage, and of course price, however, so you need to be informed when it’s time to purchase yours.

Luckily, we’re here to help. We’ve decided to give you a hand and compile a list of the five best bass amps for beginners. Keep reading to see our top choices.

Best Bass Amps For Beginners – Quick View

ImageModelSummaryPrice
Fender Rumble 25 v3 Bass Combo AmplifierFender Rumble 25 v3A great little amp to cut your teeth on. Features plenty of volume and a built-in overdrive, contour button, and 3-band EQ.Check Price on Amazon
Ampeg BA108V2 20-Watt 8" Bass Combo AmplifierAmpeg BA-108 v2The Ampeg features a great tilt-back design so you can hear every note and nuance. Features great volume and a nice, rich tone.Check Price on Amazon
Fender Rumble 100 v3 Bass Combo AmplifierFender Rumble 100Another killer Fender bass amp that will offer players plenty of volume and tone.Check Price on Amazon
Gallien-Krueger MB110 Bass Combo AmplifierGallien-Krueger MB110The MB110 delivers a wonderful tone and has the punch to take you all the way up to your first medium-sized venue gig.Check Price on Amazon
Hartke HD150 Bass ComboHartke HD150 Bass ComboAn amp with great features and an excellent sound that will offer a lot of value to the beginner bassist.Check Price on Amazon
Donner 15W DBA-1 Bass Guitar Combo AmpIf you need a portable practice amp for the bass, this Donner product is what you're looking for.Check Price on Amazon

Best Starter Bass Amp – REVIEWED

If you want to get a great sound on your bass guitar, you don’t have to wait any longer. Here are some good bass amps that you’ll want to take a close look at.

1. Fender Rumble 25 v3

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Best Bass Amps For Beginners

The first bass amp on our list of amps for beginners is the Fender Rumble 25 v3.

Featuring a fairly lightweight design, it still packs 25 watts and an 8-inch speaker to deliver just enough volume to rattle your head without knocking down the walls. It has a built-in overdrive, contour button, and 3-band EQ to give you what you need to learn to modify your tone.

The Rumble 25 is a great little amp to cut your teeth on as you become accustomed to the difference between a gritty sound and a sharp bass slap. Our main drawback with this model, however, is that the overdrive is not adjustable, so you get what Fender decided you get and nothing more.

Overall, this is a great bass guitar amp that will serve you well as you learn the instrument over time. Due to its combination of power and value, this may be the best bass amp for beginners you’re likely to find.

2. Ampeg BA-108 v2

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Best Bass Guitar Amps For Beginners

The Ampeg BA-108 v2 is another one of the top bass guitar amps for beginners to the instrument.

The first thing to notice is the Ampeg features a great tilt-back design so you can hear every note and nuance without having to crank the volume up too high for that late-night practice session, which perfectly accents it’s 20 watts and 8-inch speaker. A great amp to learn on without irritating the rest of your household.

The BA-108 delivers a nice rich tone with great volume from such a small box and don’t forget the innovative tilt feature if you hate playing with headphones. However, our main drawback is that it can tend to rattle if you push the low-end a bit too much, which is just never fun for a bassist.

Overall, this is still a great beginner’s amp that will give you great tone and will allow you to rock out in style.

3. Fender Rumble 100

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Starter Bass Amplifiers

That’s right, Fender makes it to this list twice with the Rumble 100. This is another killer bass amp that will offer plenty of volume and tone.

Featuring 100 watts pouring out a 12-inch speaker housed in a classic Fender black with silver cloth grille front, the Rumble 100 will easily produce the volume and quality you want for practice or rehearsals. It also delivers excellent tone modulation with a 4-band EQ and FX loop.

The Rumble 100 has excellent tone and sound regardless if you’re at low volume or high volume. It also has three filters (our favorite was “Vintage”).

Overall, Fender delivers once again with a great starter bass amp. For a beginner’s amp, we really couldn’t find a drawback with this one!

4. Gallien-Krueger MB110

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Bass Amplifiers For Beginners

TheĀ Gallien-Krueger MB110 is another excellent amp for bass guitar newbies. It’s well worth a look if you need a reliable bass guitar amp.

The MB110 is an excellent amp for both practices and for playing your first small gigs. Aside from having 100 watts coming through a 10-inch speaker, it has excellent tone control featuring gain, contour button, and a 4-band EQ. Oh, and did we mention it also has a Chain Output to Drive MBP Series Powered Cabinets?

Overall, this is a pretty decent option for the beginner bass player and we really couldn’t find a downside to it. Overall, this is a pretty decent option for the beginner bass player and we really couldn’t find a downside to it. The MB110 delivers a wonderful tone and has the punch to take you all the way up to your first medium-sized venue gig.

5. Hartke HD150 Bass Combo

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Top Bass Amps

The Hartke HD150 Bass Combo is the final amp on our list of the best bass guitar amps for beginners. This amp really offers a pretty great value and will serve any bass player well when getting started.

A beginner’s amp for the beginner who likes it loud. The HD150 boasts 150 watts screaming out of a 15-inch hybrid speaker guaranteed to shake the pictures off your walls. It comes with excellent top-mount panel controls including a 7-band graphic EQ for minute tone adjustments. The HD150 also features a full effects loop.

The HD150 has an amazingly deep and clean tone so this amp is great no matter what style you pursue and at any volume. We have no complaints about this bass guitar amplifier.

6. Donner 15W DBA-1 Bass Guitar Combo Amp

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Donner Amplifier

If you’re a true beginner and want a portable bass guitar amp that you can practice on, you can’t do any better than the Donner 15W DBA-1 Bass Guitar Amp. This is the best small bass amp around and offers everything that newbies to the instrument need to get started.

This small bass practice amp has 15 watts of power and a 6.5-inch speaker. It only weighs about 15 pounds, making it pretty light as far as bass amps go.

The bass amp, while small, is also very durable and is built well. You’ll also have plenty of control at your fingertips with the volume, bass, middle and treble knobs.

Overall, this is another great bass amp to consider, especially if you’re only aiming to practice at home and want something portable and simple to use.

Final Thoughts

If you’re ready to get started with rocking out on the bass guitar, you’ll be more than pleased with any of the bass guitar amps on this list.

Make sure you do your due diligence and don’t cut any corners in your search for the best bass amps for beginners. Having a great amp will make your bass guitar sound much better and will give it the sound and volume it truly deserves.

Need to get your first bass guitar too? Click here to see our list of the best electric bass guitars for beginners.