AXL 112 Bass Combo

I bought this amp a few years ago shortly after I bought my first bass. It was extremely cheap on Musician's Friend, so I went for it. The EQ options are pretty good, especially for the price, and the two inputs have come in handy a few times. The grille rattled like mad whenever I first got it, but I put some of the tape that I use for my lacrosse and hockey sticks underneath it and screwed it back on and it hasn't been a problem for, quite literally, years. One thing I was rather disappointed in was that the closed back is, as far as I know, impossible to get open without destroying part of the amp. I tried to get into there a while back to check on something that started buzzing (then stopped pretty soon afterwards) but I had no luck.

I play through a jazz bass knockoff with Seymour Duncan basslines installed. There's a mild hiss whenever the amp is on, but I'm extra-sensitive to things like that so I don't know if that would be noticable to everyone. Like I said, the EQ is rather useful on this thing, and can be used to create many different tones. I believe there's 5-bands on it, whereas most amps in this price range are only 3. There is a little bit of distortion at the higher volume levels, but for what I've used it for, that hasn't been an issue yet, because this thing can get loud pretty quick.

Like I mentioned in the first part, there was a short period where the amp was creating a weird, distorted echo effect, as well as having a much quieter signal than I had gotten accustomed to. I have no idea what the root cause of it was, as it was in my brother's possession at the time, and I don't know what it was in the end, as it seemingly fixed itself. As I write this it plays just as well as it did when I got it.

There is a company called AXL guitars that is in business currently, but I have no idea if they're the same company that made this amp. If they are, their customer service was terrible, not even replying once to multiple emails sent about the problem I had. If it isn't, sorry to the techie that had to read them. Since I have no idea if it's the same thing, I'm not going to give it a rating.

Overall, it's a decent, extremely cheap amp that is definitely true of the "get what you paid for" turn of phrase. It has had some quirky spots, and is EXTREMELY heavy and cumbersome to carry, but it's also a good value, and if you stumble across someone selling it used (I don't believe musician's friend sells them new anymore) it'd be worth it to pick it up. Just don't let anyone charge you over, say, 75 bucks for it.

These appeared in August '05 on Musicians Friend website for $99 with FREE SHIPPING and I took a chance for a school bass amp. So far (three weeks) it is holding up and bassists are satisfied with its sound and performance. It has a tweeter defeat switch on the back which I think is a good design. Two channels -both with balanced mic inputs. I ran a budget Samson R21 mic through it and was pleased with the voice clarity. I've taken off the grill and carved out some side moulding additions to glue onto the mounting face so the grill is affixed on all four sides instead of top and bottom. I did this because some Musician Friends reviews said the grille rattled. I didn't even wait to see if that was the case but instead made sure the grill was attached very solidly. Pamphlet said it was 60 watts at 8 ohms with NO other data whatsoever to discern noise or distortion specs. Effects send/return on back panel No headphone jack which to me is fine- nice semi parametric tone shaping. Might be a good investment as a back up unit for those with more expensive rigs.

We've been running a four string fretted Mexican Fender Precision bass with good results. Pop rock not too much funk- general purpose use. Modest levels not really asking too much of the piece.

No way to tell- made in China by children serving time in prison I guess. At the cost we won't mind tinkering with any glitches that may arise such as balky knobs, switches or jacks. Closed back of course. Weighs I would guess 45lbs -no casters or tilt back feature.

AXL? I guess it would go back to Musicians Friend or they would refer it to a local repair tech. I think it said 90 days on the electronics.

since a mic sounds very nice through either channel a speaker mount socket will be installed. When not being using for bass in class it can serve nicely as a modest PA system for small scale outdoor sports events 60 watts into 12" 8 ohms.