Does a bass sound fine without the amp?

Question

I was wondering if an electricc bass would sound ok without any amp

Answer 1

na you need the amp in order to get the bass out otherwise it will seem tinny and wring

Answer 2

"the amp?" Do you mean if you hook it up to a guitar amp or a high fidelity amplifier? No, it will sound plain wrong. musical amplifiers aren't straight lines with gain, and various instruments depend upon discolorations and severe yet deliberate distrortions to give them tone and musicality. If you don't believe me, try playing a well-mastered CD through a guitar or bass amp. Yeeoch!

Answer 3

this bass sounds great without an amp

http://www.BogdonMusic.com

Answer 4

I think he means does it sound good with NO amp at all.

It might sound okay, but it'll be really really quiet. Like you might have to put your ear next to the bass to hear it.

You can get acoustic basses that are sort of the same idea as an acoustic guitar, but those are usually pretty pricey, and still aren't always loud enough to compete with an acoustic guitar.

Pretty much, if you're playing an electric bass, you need to amplify it. There are some good small bass amps that will give you good quality sound (though not house-shaking volume =P ) for a good price - check out the Acoustic AB50, Ashdown After Eight combos, or Roland MicroCube combos. (Don't get Behringer; they're really cheap, but you get what you pay for...or worse...)