Members J-chot Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 My understanding is that you shouldn't run a bass guitar through a guitar amp because it can destroy the speakers. am I correct in saying this is because of the actual low frequencies of the strings and not the ones picked up by the pickups? (ie: putting guitar pickups on a bass would not stop the frequencies that destroy speakers) if I were to cut out the lows completely with the amp controls, would I avoid this meltdown? ***EDIT**** perhaps I should clarify the usage of this amp: my bass has both a guitar humbucker and a p-split coil in it. each pickup goes to a seperate tone knob, and output. the bass signal goes to an octave effect, distortion, then is played through a peavey mark V/ tvx 410, and the guitar signal goes to a whammy (which is frequently pitched an octave up), through a muff, then to a dinky kb-100... and I'm pretty sure something's wrong with the kb100...and it's not loud enough. I need an upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 Uh oh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wades_keys Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 if I were to cut out the lows completely with the amp controls, would I avoid this meltdown? It would probably sound pretty crappy that's for sure. Plenty of bassists use guitar amps for "color" but you're not gonna get enough bottom off of that to be of much use IMO. Get a bass amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeyen Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 My understanding is that most guitar speakers are not designed to handle the low frequencies, and you'd risk damaging the the speakers by putting too much of the lows through it. You'd probably be ok if you filter out the lows, if the amp knob works as a shelf, and I think most do (I still wouldn't crank it to be safe). With that said, I doubt it'll sound very good. A dedicated bass amp (even a small practice combo) would work much better IMO, as would running it direct through your PA/monitors/headphones. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blueyedmule Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 It's not the amp, it's the cabinets. Bassists in the past have used guitar amps (Bob Daisley recording with Ozzy on Blizzard of Oz always comes to mind), just don't use the combo amps that have speakers built in. You won't hurt the amp, but the speakers aren't designed to handle the low freaks like us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bnyswonger Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 Don't ever expect it to work within the context of a live band, but for recording you can do it...as long as you are careful not to crank it to the point of distortion. Pickups have nothing to do with it - some manufacturers use the same pickups for guitars & basses. As for rolling off lows - you can get a little more level before it starts to crap out, but it will stop sounding like a bass. Guitar rigs roll off real quick at 100HZ which is above the fundamentals on a bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jateca Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 On the other hand, as part of a Bi-amping setup this can sound amazing, providing there's something decent to cover the lows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bnyswonger Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 On the other hand, as part of a Bi-amping setup this can sound amazing, providing there's something decent to cover the lows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thumper Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 if I were to cut out the lows completely with the amp controls, would I avoid this meltdown? Why don't you try it and let us know how it worked for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Renfield Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 Haven't you asked this exact question before when you were building your banjotar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chunky-b Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted January 30, 2009 Moderators Share Posted January 30, 2009 I had to look and verify that was you posting. I expect Goofball Jones to post things like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chunky-b Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 I had to look and verify that was you posting. I expect Goofball Jones to post things like that. Actually I just upgraded: I just made this one: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted January 30, 2009 Moderators Share Posted January 30, 2009 Guitar rigs roll off real quick at 100HZ which is above the fundamentals on a bass. Actually, most bass rigs roll off pretty sharply around 100 Hz. The real limitation is the displacement limits of the guitar drivers. They can crank out tons of midrange, but lows create problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zon5string Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 So, what about all these guitar players (say, seven-stringers who tune down 3 1/2 steps for that awesome rockin' tone) who totally boost lows & highs with all the mids cut ("smiley-face EQ)? Sure, it's not as low as an open B on a 5 string, but still.... If a bass is tuned to A=440 Hz, the D string is about 73 Hz.... A standard six-string guitar tuned to A=440 Hz...the E string is about 82 Hz....and, if tuned to drop D, that puts the D at 73...just like a bass. It makes THAT much difference that it is a "guitar" cabinet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J-chot Posted January 30, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 yes, it's being used for "color" in addition with a Peavey mark VI and a peavey tx-410. for yes it's being used for what is repeatedly being called "the banjotar" since the only thin string long enough to fit a bass had to come from a banjo. (it doesn't sound even remotely banjo-y) I'm gonna have another practice on saturday, and I'll try to record it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flogger59 Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 So, what about all these guitar players (say, seven-stringers who tune down 3 1/2 steps for that awesome rockin' tone) who totally boost lows & highs with all the mids cut ("smiley-face EQ)? Sure, it's not as low as an open B on a 5 string, but still....If a bass is tuned to A=440 Hz, the D string is about 73 Hz.... A standard six-string guitar tuned to A=440 Hz...the E string is about 82 Hz....and, if tuned to drop D, that puts the D at 73...just like a bass.It makes THAT much difference that it is a "guitar" cabinet? The fundamental of a low E on a bass is 41hz. Another reason is that guitar amps, especially combos, tend to have open backed cabs, while bass amps have closed cabs. Ask Leo Fender why the Bassman went from a 4 x 10 open back combo to a 2 x 12 closed back head and cab. Too many warranty repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeyen Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 So, what about all these guitar players (say, seven-stringers who tune down 3 1/2 steps for that awesome rockin' tone) who totally boost lows & highs with all the mids cut ("smiley-face EQ)? Sure, it's not as low as an open B on a 5 string, but still....If a bass is tuned to A=440 Hz, the D string is about 73 Hz.... A standard six-string guitar tuned to A=440 Hz...the E string is about 82 Hz....and, if tuned to drop D, that puts the D at 73...just like a bass.It makes THAT much difference that it is a "guitar" cabinet? There're definitely some overlap in frequencies between some of the detuned seven-string guitars, but they're still nowhere near a bass guitar. A-string on bass is tuned to 55 Hz if I'm not mistaken. On a side note, I tend to favor open-back cabs for guitars these days for that reason. Closed-back guitar cabs have a huge thump by itself, but in a full mix, if your soundguy doesn't know what he's doing, it tends to get in the way of bass and the kick drum. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted January 30, 2009 Moderators Share Posted January 30, 2009 A-string on bass is tuned to 55 Hz if I'm not mistaken. Same as an A-string on a detuned seven string guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeyen Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 Same as an A-string on a detuned seven string guitar. Ha ha, silly me. It's a long day at work. However, I will say though that even with the same tuning, bass guitar puts out a heck of a lot more lows than the guitar (string gauge, tension, scale length...etc). Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zon5string Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 Same as an A-string on a detuned seven string guitar. So....I'm not convinced yet. Please, someone....try! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted January 30, 2009 Moderators Share Posted January 30, 2009 However, I will say though that even with the same tuning, bass guitar puts out a heck of a lot more lows than the guitar (string gauge, tension, scale length...etc). Absolutely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikeyen Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 So....I'm not convinced yet. Please, someone....try! Bad math aside (), I've actually heard folks run bass through guitar amps/cabs. It certainly "works," and if you keep it down the speakers probably won't blow, but it sounded pretty crappy to me. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted January 30, 2009 Moderators Share Posted January 30, 2009 It makes THAT much difference that it is a "guitar" cabinet? It depends what the cabinet is, what the speaker is, what you are asking it to do, etc. There is no catch all answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zbasstringer Posted January 30, 2009 Members Share Posted January 30, 2009 I use my hot rod deville for jazz. the tens provide a lot of punch, while not producing a lot of boom. the school only has a backline 115 right now, and with my wick, the e-string has a growl that shakes the stage. so, witht he 410, the bass control turned down a bit, it sounds good in the mix for jazz. i would say IME, tube guitar amps work better with basses than solid state guitar amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.