Amplifying Guitar With A Bass Amp

AcidFripp · #1 09-07-2010, 03:14 PM

Alright, so here's the situation. I'm set to take a guitar course in school, but it's an electric guitar course. Anyway, I'm meant to produce an electric guitar. So, alright, I will. But, for practicing at home, will I be able to amplify it with a bass amp (I don't have a guitar amplifier)? I mean, it seems like I would. Josh Homme did it, after all. But I had a friend who told me that it could damage your bass amp... but then I thought it was the other way around, that playing bass through a guitar amp would damage the guitar amp...

Can anyone answer this for me? Thanks in advance, TB!

lunarpollen · #2 09-07-2010, 03:20 PM

You should be fine. It might not have some of the features that might be built into what you'd like in a guitar amp, but it will amplify your guitar with no danger.

tekhedd · #3 09-07-2010, 03:21 PM

Sure, just turn off the tweeter (unless you're using an acoustic or like a very strange sound).

Should work fine, but depending on the amp you might need a pedal or something to make the distortion sound acceptable.

jazzblade · #4 09-07-2010, 04:04 PM

Shouldn't be a problem at all. My strat sounds killer thought my Ashdown rig.

aledeville · #5 09-07-2010, 04:17 PM

Maybe a guitar preamp might help a little. I have a lot of fun playing with the H&K TubemanII directly into the power section of my amplifier.

C.Linton · #6 09-07-2010, 04:22 PM

One of the most popular amps ever for guitar players was (and still is) the old Fender Bassmans. Supposedly tone to die for. Never heard of them getting damaged by playing a guitar thru them.

Jim Carr · #7 09-07-2010, 04:28 PM

@ Op: In effect, bass amps are really really loud and clean guitar amps that can safely handle low (and high) frequencies way better than regular guitar amps. Get a tube screamer if you want overdrive. Your friend is misinformed.

jazzblade · #8 09-07-2010, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C.Linton

One of the most popular amps ever for guitar players was (and still is) the old Fender Bassmans. Supposedly tone to die for. Never heard of them getting damaged by playing a guitar thru them.

AGGG!!!! When I was young and foolish I sold mine to a guitard. God if I had only kept it.. but in reality , it was a kind of sucky bass amp. He LOVED it!

ga_edwards · #9 09-07-2010, 04:29 PM

Won't damage at all. Perhaps an amp modeller of some sorts to use as a preamp either into the front of the amp or the fx return if you have one. A pocket pod, or Zoom G1 would do the job if funds are an issue.

I've done this my self years ago with a TE BLX80 and a primitive zoom amp modeller. Was very difficult to overcome the inherent brightness of the Trace even with tweaking the eq, but you may have more luck with your amp.

AcidFripp · #10 09-08-2010, 03:52 PM

Yay! So I'll be fine! Thank you very much, guys! Always incredibly helpful, as usual!
So not only will it be OK, but it'll sound cool as well? Great!

Alexander · #11 09-08-2010, 06:00 PM

I picked up a cheapie Squier strat recently and have been playing it through my SVT\4x12 - makes for one heck of a practice amp...

I can get a little bit of bite with the drive maxed and digging in a bit, but am looking to get a nice pedal (Tube Screamer, Fulltone OCD, Jeckyll & Hyde or the like). Can't imagine trying to gig with it, though I understand the Stones did. Just not in a position right now to buy a guitar amp, so the SVT is doing double duty...

C.Linton · #12 09-08-2010, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcidFripp

Yay! So I'll be fine! Thank you very much, guys! Always incredibly helpful, as usual!
So not only will it be OK, but it'll sound cool as well? Great!

Absolutely no guarantees of that. It will depend on the individual amp.

FritoBandito · #13 09-08-2010, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Carr

@ Op: In effect, bass amps are really really loud and clean guitar amps that can safely handle low (and high) frequencies way better than regular guitar amps. Get a tube screamer if you want overdrive. Your friend is misinformed.

+10 Typically, a guitar will sound killer through a bass amp (I know mine does), but run a bass through an electric guitar amp and YIKES! Have fun and don't worry about the amp, it will handle anything your guitar can throw at it with a smile.

steelhead2 · #14 09-08-2010, 08:41 PM

just play it,i had one`strat' copy that i couldn't get to sound like a strat thru a bass combo(prolly`cause it WAS a cheap plywood bodied copy and the phat strings i hung on her,but hey! i bought it for the neck what can i say

,i'd always end up fingering her like a bass,,uhem!)

anyway i thought it was the other way around; the low frequencies would blow the speaks on a guitar amp?

i have a GK 1/15 (BASS)combo out there that has an overdrive channel and a buddies Lotus brand `strat' and she sings well dimed out,,,i mean ya bought the equipment to use it,right!?

Nic. · #15 09-08-2010, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FritoBandito

+10 Typically, a guitar will sound killer through a bass amp (I know mine does), but run a bass through an electric guitar amp and YIKES! Have fun and don't worry about the amp, it will handle anything your guitar can throw at it with a smile.

I organized a gig last Fri. One of the bands came up to set up on stage... and well, their bassist walks up, looks around, and plugs into the Line6 Spider III guitar amp. I didn't have time to tell him though, since their guitarist doesn't have a pedalboard and was laying out all his pedals on stage and plugging in the patch cables, and then spent the next 15 mins finding his sound (and apparently forgetting to tune his guitar) before starting to play.

The next half an hour was highly amusing.

GBassNorth · #16 09-08-2010, 09:01 PM

No problem. I use my Thunderfunk amp and Bergantino HT322 stack with my Gibson LP for rock and even use the stack with my Fender Mustang guitar for Surf music. To really throw a curve ball I run my guitars into a Tech21 multi effects bass pedal. Sure, half of the effects sound like crap but there's some real gems in there as well. Of course I do have a Fender Super reverb blackface 410 guitar amp as well, but if I'm gonna play both guitar and bass I just bring the bass rig.

Jim Carr · #17 09-08-2010, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcidFripp

...So not only will it be OK, but it'll sound cool as well?...

Uhhh...no.

It will be dark, bright, clean, and potentially very loud. If you want typical guitar tones, use pedals. Overdrive, Chorus, Wah, etc., etc.

So keep this in mind: that bit of tone that guitarist's get from over driving their tube amps is due to a variety of different kinds of distortion. You will probably not get anything like that unless you are running very very loud. You need effects/pedals to get guitar sound. Wait, so do most guitarists, so I guess all is well, LOL!

Simo98 · #18 09-08-2010, 10:26 PM

My guitar sounds like arse though my bass amp.

Then again, 15" drivers are not know for their high frequency response.

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelhead2

anyway i thought it was the other way around; the low frequencies would blow the speaks on a guitar amp?

*nod*

Though even then, the average guitar amp is fine with a bass unless you are going to be cranking it.

Sartori · #19 09-08-2010, 11:13 PM

Guitar actually sounds pretty cool through my 15".

AcidFripp · #20 09-11-2010, 06:48 PM

Alright, guys. I did it. I got a guitar and tried playing it through my bass amp.
Well, what can I say? The tone is pretty cool, I dig it. I don't need distortion or anything right now anyways. It can get quite loud too, as one of you guys said, so that's cool too.
Thanks much for everything, TB! Extremely helpful as always.