Marshall Bassstate B150 115 Combo

I've owned this amp for about 3 years, was bought from a friend who's owned it since around 1997-1998, so it's a good 10 years old now.

Won't repeat the features, everyone's already mentioned them below, needless to say it has all the requisite bells and whistles.

Apparently it has both a tube and a solid state preamp, but I'm yet to see the 12AX7 inside. Admittedly I haven't taken the thing apart, which is a job I'm about to do soon (see below), but when I contacted Marshall asking for some info regarding the tube used, and its replacement they were pretty confused/hopeless. Regardless, the sonic difference between each preamp is fairly subtle, I tend to run it at about 70% tube for some nice low-mid vintage warmth and fuzz.

There's no tweeter (which would have been really nice) so with only a 15" speaker the overall sound is low and mellow; it's not the best for detail so grungy or slappy styles will probably be left a bit wanting. That said it will shake anything within 10m when you hit the low B, which is cool.

The compressor circuit is a nice touch... very simple (just the one knob) but effective. I find this is the knob I adjust the most actually, to suit each song's playing style.

The EQ is effective.. the deep and bright switches are very deep and bright - which I suppose is better than them being barely effective - but I find I have to take away a bit with the EQ and graphic controls, especially with the depth as I use that all the time and with too much bass the amp gets considerably (unacceptably) louder as you go low. The amp is deathly quiet at idle, which is good. Any buzz or noise is coming from your bass.

The DI functions as it ought - it's a handy feature when you've got a decent PA with subs to plug into.

As others have rightly mentioned, the B150 is a heavy mother of an amp, and comes poorly equipped to deal with its weight. The top handles decidedly crap. I put removable Fender castors on the bottom of mine. Others have put side handles on theirs and that makes a lot of sense - I'm a pretty beefy guy and can manage to lift it solo into the back of our 4WD, but for most other people it'll be a two person lift.

I play in a covers band which does stuff from the 40s to the current day, rock, blues, pop, jazz, ie very wide variety of stuff. Currently my primary bass is an Ibanez BTB675 5-string with active Bartolinis and my backup is an early 90s Yamaha RBX 4 string with a single Hot PB2 Basslines passive pickup. The only thing in between the guitar and amp is an Ibanez tuner pedal. I play fingerstyle primary (I mix the occasional slap and pluck) and generally prefer my tone to be smooth and unobtrusive. We also tend to play quite small gigs (<100 people) so I don't need or use a great deal of volume.

For the most part, the B150 performs well. There's plenty of scope in the EQ to massage the sound however you want. There is not a great deal of dirt to be found though... even with the gain and volume cranked it's pretty mild. That hasn't been a problem for me as I rarely need such sounds, but if you do you'll want to put a foot pedal preamp or similar in front of it.

As mentioned before the lack of a tweeter hurts the high end detail and it certainly doesn't have the midrange punch or body of a 4x10 cab. As my playing and understanding of bass within the context of a band matures, I'm finding the sound of the B150 a little dull and benign. It's not bad, just not hugely interesting. All in all a bit benign.

Well it is a 10 year old amp and I don't give without a spare (I don't have another, though one of the guitarists in the band has a Silverface Bassman so if worst comes to worst...). The amp itself is fundamentally sound... it's been thrown in the back of our 4WD and band gear trailer a million times and the only casualty has been one of the rubber feet (time to get those castors).

Electrically, there's only 2 things of note. The first is the active input socket... mine doesn't work, as appears to be quite a common issue. That's something I'll fix soon, now that I know it's just the socket itself. The second is that my amp had to go into the shop for a repair a couple of years back... ironically when I wasn't using it but it was the 'rehearsal room bass amp' at our then-communal room. I have no idea what went wrong with it and actually only found out it had been repaired by one of the guys months later.

Only dealt with Marshall once via email and they couldn't confirm or deny the existence of a 12AX7 in their own product. Hmm...

I've been playing guitar and piano for 14 years but bass is a relatively new thing for me... basically I filled a hole in a covers band who didn't need any more guitar players, just a bass player. However it's been a full on 3 or so years and we gig 3-4 times a month so I've quickly figured out what works and what doesn't.

The B-150 is decent, affordable bass amp. It has plenty of EQ and compression control, plenty of bottom end to fill out the sound of a band and is loud enough for small gigs... though anything more and the 150W isn't really enough, especially if you want loud and clean headroom.

After a while though you will yearn for more... more personality from the pre - grit, rumble, etc. - and more definition from the speaker. It's massive weight isn't an issue if you don't move it, but if you're regularly gigging the 1x15" combo format isn't the way to go... it's probably the most hated and awkward piece of gear in our band kit - and we have some heavy, awkward stuff to move!

For the interim I'm going to put a Sansamp Bass Driver in front of it to get a bit more of out it tonally, but eventually I'll upgrade to something like an Ashdown Little Giant head and run a separate 2x10"+HF and a 1x15" cab, ditching the 15" when I don't need it.

The BassState B150 is no longer available, replaced by the US$600ish MB150 which ditches the graphic EQ for separate vintage and modern channels... it is however still a tweeterless 1x15" and for that reason I wouldn't recommend it... sooner or later you will want that HF driver, and even if you don't gig that much you will tire of the weight. These days you can get head+cab packages from Hartke, Ashdown and the like for very reasonable money and sonic and packaging advantages are well worth it. If you're serious about gigging and have some extra cash the Markbass stuff is amazing... unfortunately a little pricey for moi at the moment :-(

All in all, it's a good amp, but nothing you'd seek out especially. If you're just beginning with bass and can find one cheap secondhand then by all means consider it... as a rehearsal amp it works well. But if you're serious about tone, play a lot of slap or gig a bit, look elsewhere.

Got everything I need for a bass amp. I play in a60's / 70's rock covers band bin playin about 25 years for effects I use a zoom B2.

Wonderful sound (when it works) Using epiphone allan woody rumblekat and thunderbird basses, also gibson eb3 and old 70's copy that i modded with a new bridge and p bass pickups.

Here's where this amp falls down...other reviews I've read mention problems with the input sockets...2 days after purchasing amp the active socket failed... okay still got the passive... 4 songs into a gig... no 'kin bass.. spent next 3 songs with my foot against the jack to keep it going .. then it gave up the ghost.Not very amusing! Back to the van, pulled out my old amp and cab (the head originally came out of a skip).. bass back in buisness. Next day dissasembled marshall to find that not only the input socket contacts were bent but also the line out socket was in the same shape. Cured this problem by modding the pcb and fitting some decent sockets (same manufacturer different model (70's stuff!)). I can not for the life of me understand how a company with the reputation of marshall can put cheap sh*t like those in an amp. Rant over

Used them a couple of years ago for another amp I was repairing for a freind really helpful engineer .. even sent me some free transistors.

I love the sound ... just hate the crap sockets that fail mid gig !!!!

Not sure of the year, bought it to be my back-up, and basicly for a practice-at-home amp, turned out to be more. Ended up playing small clubs, as well as many practices.
I play rock, metal, blues, funk-this amp handles it all=low "B"
Active & Passive channels
7 Band EQ
Solid state & Tube Pre-amp sections

I use Ibanez and Fender's along with with my guitarists one Marshall, and one Mesa.

Never had any problems. Had it for 4 years

Never had problem.

15 years, played Ampeg, Fender, Randall, SWR, Trace Eliott, Hartke. Marshall's are the best. The only reason I'm letting this go, I'm getting a full stack to go with the half-stack I'll now keep for practice. If I can, I'll always play Marshalls.

I think the comments below have covered the features well.
Something worth mentioning is the hopeless design of the box. It has only one tiny handle on top and none on the side - literally back-breaking to lug around gigs.

Gets a good range of sounds with the EQ control, but it just never had the bottom end I was after. Also, shortly after buying this amp my band asking me to turn it up a bit - I was already on 10. It just doesn't have the power to play live.

Reliability has been hopeless. First to go was the DI. Then shortly after the active input failed (I see someone else had the same problem) and I was reduced to using the passive input. Shortly after this, the passive input started to get dodgey. Now finally, it just farts - and that sealed its fate.

I wasn't happy enough with it to bother repairing it.

Graphic EQ was great for doing a recording, but I would never recommend it for live gigs - no point having a great sound if no-one can hear it!

Love the 7 band EQ, I play metal, rock, and blues and this amp fits all styles to a "T". I play a Spector 4 string and aN Ibanez 5, this jewel takes all the low B that I can dish out. Has both active and passive channels, and high and low boost. I only wish it had an external speaker for when I'm playing metal, but it's really not ever needed. I just wannna turn it to 11-'ya know? Having both solid state and tube preamps are nice.

A very quiet amp, even with the EQ boosted. This amp can showcase any tone that you wish to project/

Never had a problem, not one. It's a TANK!

Never had to deal with them, so I have no idea.

I've been playing for over 25 years, this has been one of my favs. I've owned Ampeg, Trace Elliot, Eden, and Mesa too, but this has been the most reliable, smoothest sounding amp I've owned for the money. I would gladly buy another if this was stolen or damaged in some way-that is, if you can find them. They're kind of hard to come by in the states.

This amp features active and passive inputs, gain pot, EQ (with 7-band graphic EQ!), variable compressor, a very handy limiter, DI slot, effects loop and your traditional line out socket.

It doesn't have any of the built in effects like some of the new amps they're producing, but this amp has the most superior tonal control I have ever experienced in a combo! The bass and treble pots are effective over their full range, and the 7-band graphic EQ takes the cake! It allows you to alter your sound over a full frequency range, with a huge cut/ boost ratio. Be careful, though. This extreme versatility also allows you to increase the output of the amp drastically. This could damage your speaker, so don't over do the EQ.

This combo is incredibly quiet. Not a hint of 50Hz buzz, and very little "snow" even when all pots and sliders are all the way up. This amp is suitable for a wide range of playing styles, mostly due to the versatile tonal control. You can easily create a sound suited to styles of heavy metal and jazz, right through to classical bass. If you are using an active bass, i would advise running the bass output volume at just under maximum. If the amp's input is just under maximum it won't distort at all. If not, a hard pluck of the strings will buzz a little

I have been using this amp for a year and a half now. It has given me no problems at all. It is completely trustworthy in a gig situation (i've never carried a back-up). At the odd gig i've had to push it to its limits, bumping up the graphic EQ a little too high. It didn't complain for a second. I was worried that my speaker might have been damaged, but it is crystal clear. I have never had the amp serviced, but I am now encountering some strange behaviour. Other reviewers have mentioned that the active jack is a bit temporamental. Every now and then, the output is highly distorted, but when i extract and re-insert my cable into the active slot, everythings peachy again.

I have never had to service or repair this amp...

i am currently playing a Cort Artisan A6. Together with this special combo, i have been able to create a multitude of tones for rock, jazz, slap and classical styles of playing. I would definately by this amp again. I compared the amp with Peavey and Ampeg models in the same range, and found that this one had the most tonal flexibility and power in its price range. I would have liked to have more power for its size, or at least more potency. The amp is bulky and weighs 40kg, but it surprisingly has a little dinky handle on top, and no castors. I haven't added decent handles or castors for fear of disturbing the wonderful tone this combo produces. It should fit in most car trunks, but it will definately fit on the back seat. A great buy if you have someone to help you lift it into the car. I'd suggest you but a luggage trolley to move it over flat areas. I've done that and it really helps...

Passive/ active inputs. Preamp can be valve or solid states or any combination of both. Bass/treble controls with boost buttons for both. 7 band eq. Built in compressor and DI with earth lift.

This is a very versatile amp which can accomodate most styles of play. The bass and treble boost switches offer a very quick change of sound. This amp has buckets of power. I have played with it in many different rooms ranging from studio to concert hall and I can't think of a situation where more power would be required. In concerts when its used as a monitor I can turn it up to gain 5 volume 8 and it can be heard clearly over the mix. Most sound engineers snub my DI though, and for no apparent reason! This makes silent disconnection of my active bass impossible without sound mans awareness.

I wish it had external speaker options and a switch for the eq.

For practical reasons I have added castors to base and handles on sides as it is a beast of a combo (15" speaker). Marshall probably could have done a tidier job!

I use a yamaha bbg5s. This guitar has a beefy sound so the eq can boost the high end for more attack. I love the bass and treble boost functions (which I tend to leave off), they really offer a hugeness to a thumping bass line. Its really punchy even without the boost. So much variety. I've found distortion to be poor but that suits me fine.

Hmm, could be a lot better. I don't trust it and I can't afford a back up. The active jack died after a long illness. It would suddenly lose 50% power, obviously didn't think the jack was to blame until by accident I discovered that moving the jack rescued the power. Since then it has completely stopped functioning. So I'm onto the passive input now with an active guitar. I know that marshall don't have a great reputation for customer support which is why I keep putting off getting it seen to. As far as build qualtiy goes, this is rock solid.

I know where the dealer is but he'll only take it off me and send it away for big money, and I just can't do without it! My friends have used this service before with guitar amps only to find their amps were returning with new problems.

3 year warranty

This is a case of sound and features vs reliabilty and customer support.

Reasonable price- similar to trace. I chose Marshall as it had 20 more Watts and it had more features than its trace equivalent.

I love it, sounds fantatic. If only it worked as it was made to. This is why it doesn't have a 9 from me.

Bought it for 28 000 BEF, almost 650 US$. Quite a versatile amp, suits poppy and sweet melodic lines, as well as heavy metal bass-thunder. Required some tone-research, but then off you go! I mostly use the tube preamp. The only things I would add are a footswitch for the 7-band graphic and an external speaker out. With its 150 watts rms, you never get blown away by the drums or the guitar player (100 watts marshall tube...), but in extreme conditions I'd wish for some more headroom (the solid state pre can help you already on the way in this condition). As long as you don't play in a super-heavy metal band with all amps on ten, this thing will put a smile on your face. (Besides, the B150's metal sounds are quite good!)

I'm using a Pedulla bass, fourstring, P-J-configuration. It has bartolini pickups: so subtle growlin' lines and heavy thundering tones. The amp can handle them all. Marshall is primarly a guitar amp designer, but their bass amps have the same quality. It requires some training to know the ins and outs of this combo, but once you are familiarized with it, it's all in there. Only a little bit more of power and it would be IT! I haven't met another amp in this price class that has as many quality sounds, but of course it still isn't a top-of-the-line stack, so...

Since it's a Marshall, it is built like a tank! I'm giggin' with this boy for 4 years now without backup, and it never let me down. Off course, it now shows some "life-on-the-road" scars...

Here in Belgium, you are dependent on the retailer, and not on Marshall themselves, but since my retailer is very pro and friendly,... But I never needed him for this amp.

When I bought it, I compared it with almost every amp around here. Some other amps had more power available, but then hadn't the quality sound or the features. However, on this very moment now, I'm going to sell it. And yes, maybe I'll miss my Marshall, but it's time to move up another stair in bass playing now. My next amp will be an ashdown, trace or ampeg head in the 300+ watts range... But it was a very pleasant musical instrument.

2000 Marshall Bassstate B150. Blendable valve preamp with 7 band graphic and compressor. Sweet amp. 150W of the acclaimed valvestate powersection. Loud, but really loud enough for gigs. I use it's XLR DI socket to link it to the PA for live situations. Single 12AX7 in the preamp but you can blend it in with some valve. I lie the warmth of the valve so I have it cranked all to valve. Quite versitile, I would like to see an external speaker out to spread the sound.

I use a Tobias PRO-5 active 5 string (brilliant bass for the price www.musicyo.com). Sounds very very nice. Can crank up the gain to get some nice distortion and use the blend control to get some flavour! I love the sound of this amp, If only it was more powerful and could power an extra cab.

When used live, it handled well in every way apart from the volume problem. I always take backup, I don't like the backup amp but it does the trick (Peavey TKO115S). The jack inputs have started playing up and I contacted Marshall...

...Marshall have not got back to me. They were eager to advertise by sending me catalogues but when you have the amp and get the 'personalised letter' from Jim Marshall, they forget you. 3 Year Warranty... that will be up by the time they sort out your problem.

I have been playing bass for 6 and a half years and play some heavy s**t. It sounds great, has some super duper features... but I only plead to Marshall to GIVE IT SOME MORE F**KING POWER! It will be nice. I plan next to get an 8x10 Ampeg stack, SVT stuff is used mostly by my influences... which is nice. http://go.to/redroots