Playing a bass guitar through a std guitar amp

[avoriaz]

I have bought an inexpensive 4 string bass (Aslin Dane) to try my hand at it.

I have a Marshall MG Series Model G30R CD 30 watt amp for my strat style 6 stringer.

Will I harm this or any other standard amp by playing a bass through it?

Will I get a decent sound, or will I lose the low end, which is kind of the whole point of a bass. I don’t need loud. Well not yet anyway.

I have tried it at very low volume and it seems ok but I don’t want to crank it up or play for long just in case I blow or damage the amp.

Can I use any of my pedals with it?

I did read a few other threads. One suggested that a guitar amp will be a bit too dirty for a bass, and a bass amp a bit too clean for a guitar and that suggests that I can do it safely, I just won’t get a decent clean sound. Another recommended a keyboard amp for guitar and bass but I’d like to avoid yet another expense unless I really get into playing bass so if my Marshall will be fine for playing around at home that will suit me fine.

Thanks

[gfxbss]

alright, at very low volumes and done very very sparingly, you should be alright. however, i wouldnt push it. think of wavelengths here.




Alright, notice the difference. high frequency being guitar, low frequency being bass. as you can see, the wavelengths are much larger for low frequency. the larger wavelengths will damage your speaker.

your best bet is to just get a cheap bass amp. thats what i started out with, now i have a half stack and use the little amp for a speaker on my computer.


Tyler

[avoriaz]

Thanks Tyler.

I do understand the wavelength issue but I didn’t know how much difference the extra bottom octave would make and whether there would be any other considerations.

I know a bit about Hi-Fi design and electronics but I am new to guitars and guitar amps. Decent Hi-Fi amps are normally designed to have a flat response from 20hz to 20K hz so, unless my Marshall amp has a brick wall type of filtration at the low end, the electronics should be OK.

If I keep the volume fairly low I would expect the speaker to cope with the extra octave.

One thing I have discovered.

Playing Bass is not easy. ;D

[sumgai]

avoriaz,

........
I know a bit about Hi-Fi design and electronics but I am new to guitars and guitar amps. Decent Hi-Fi amps are normally designed to have a flat response from 20hz to 20K hz so, unless my Marshall amp has a brick wall type of filtration at the low end, the electronics should be OK.

If I keep the volume fairly low I would expect the speaker to cope with the extra octave.

If you keep the volume low enough, you can make any speaker handle any frequency..... but that's counter-productive. And yes, it is the speaker that's the weak point in this particular chain, the amp's fine. At least electrically..... the tone might leave something to be desired though.

Since you're familiar with Hi-Fi speakers and their design parameters, you need only look at the design of your guitar amp's cabinet and speaker as you ask yourself the question "Would I expect this to reproduce a full range recording?" If not, then you probably shouldn't expect a bass to be able to play through it, eh?

HTH


sumgai

[ux4484]

I've used the clean channel on my Fender practice amp through a separate bottom in a pinch with fair results, though I usually use a old Tube P.A. for my bass amp. As far as effects go, for tinkering, it's o.k., but a guitar effects box won't sound as rich as one designed for bass frequencies. I regularly use my Digitech guitar modeler for my bass, but I really had to tweak the particular effects to get them to sound halfway decent. If I was still gigging, I'd pop for dedicated bass-only effects.

If you'd like a bare bones, ultra reliable bass practice amp, you can't do much better than a Crate BT 15. It's pretty much all you need in a decent practice amp, works good for keyboard and vocals in a pinch as well.
It can usually be found on sale for $99 bucks at MF/GC or SA.

[ChrisK]

Generally speaking, guitar amp combo's are of the open back cabinet configuration.

Bass amps tend toward closed back or acoustic suspension configuration. A notable exception is the '59 Bassman (which found its niche as one heck of a guitar amp).

Bass frequencies require a greater speaker cone excursion for the same relative loudness as compared to a guitar, or a larger speaker (with efficiencies being equal).


An acoustic suspension design supports the speaker cone with the air enclosed within the cabinet. An open back (really just a perverse form of a ported enclosure) does not below the tuned frequency of the back opening (port). As a result, the speaker cone is "unloaded" (from such support) below the resonant frequency of the driver/enclosure.

The large excursions of the cone from the greater power required in conjunction with the reduced air suspension leads to speaker damage.


Of course one can play thru a guitar amp, but the response will be limited, and damage can occur quickly.


The '59 Bassman was modified to use 4 10" speakers in an attempt to reduce the "flappiness" (as in loss of suspension) of the original 12" units. It was meant to compete with the guitar player of the day who was using a 10 Watt amp.

[crazymanandy]

Well, I know that Jeff Ament (of Pearl Jam) recorded his bass through a Fender Dual Showman guitar head and a guitar cab on the song "Green Disease". He did it to suck the low end out of it and get a specific sound.

Of course, I suppose that they could afford to replace the gear if it broke.

CMA

[mr_sooty]

I have a peavey classic 50 4x10, and I used to practise bass through it before I sold my bass. It sounded great! Maybe a bit bright for more ballsy stuf, but awesome for funky slappy stuff.

[pollyshero]

OPINION:

In the end, it'll all come down to what you want to hear. Playing bass through a guitar amp won't hurt the amp. In all but the lower $ models it most likely shouldn't damage the speakers if you play conservatively.

Some of the best bass sounds you've ever heard recorded weren't played on "bass" amps. Dusty Hill played through a Marshall & 4X12's for years and reportedly still does.

If you want earth shattering, gut-rumblin' bass every time, or you want versatility and control over a wide spectrum of the low-end, you'll definitely want to find a rig that's built for it.

I'm still looking for a decent amp to play bass through - haven't found a better one than what I had in Jr. High: An old Bogen tube PA head played through 3 mismatched unidentifiable and one brand new Radio Shack 12" speaker in a homemade plywood box. Go figure - I got rid of it 'cause it was "cheap". Now, sometimes I think about that rig and just wanna cry...

Anyway... Keep practicing on your MG, at bedroom levels. When you need loud, go shopping.

And you're right - playing bass ISN'T easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is.

Later