I have both and the sound is a little different on the Beta Bass, but not by much. I have attached both my Beta Lead and Beta Bass to the Beta Lead 2x12 cabinet and they both sound very similar the Beta Bass just shapes the tone differently. As for loudness, I would say they are both even. I know when I did hook up my Beta Bass to the 2x12 the very first time, the pots were super scratchy, to the point were it sounded like crap and the sound was cutting in and out unless you had the knob exactly right. All I did was clean out the pots and it sounds as good as new. Personally, if you want a Beta and don't want to spend as much money, I'd go with the Beta Bass. You can always get a reverb pedal. Hope that helps somewhat.
