Bass amps?

[tubenit]

There is a teenager who is playing bass in a church band plugging into the PA system. He is interested in buying a bass amp but has limited funds & asked me for recommendations.  Any recommendations of a solid state bass amp that would be $400 or less. He is playing in a small room about the size of a school classroom.

I'm thinking the Carvin BR15, maybe the least expensive Fender Bassman, an Acoustic or Gallien Krueger amp?  Any recommendations for quality/reliability under the $400? He has been playing for a couple of yrs so is in that beginner to lower intermediate range of amateur playing. He does seem to have a good ear and rhythm in his playing.

Thanks, Tubenit

[thermion]

you can get alot of peavey for 4 bills, MAX or TKO look about right. acoustic has cred but I don't know how well they're made these days. I never liked a solid state fender anything. we used carvin bass stuff for awhile but always seemed...buggy. guitar center has the Gallien-Krueger MB115 online for 399, probably a good deal and easy on the back. invest the whole 4 hundy - the PV TNT with black widow speaker we bought in 1997 for around this amount is still rockin hard and we could probably get most of that money back

[loogie]

I have a GK MB 150E-112.  You should be able to find one for four hundred or so.  Big sound, little package.  Very nice little amp.  The older ones used switching power supplies that had a high failure rate.  GK sells, or used to, an upgrade kit.  You can easily tell which ones have the faulty supplies because they weigh practically nothing.