hooking up bass to stereo?

totaldoughnut · #1 04-30-2011, 02:15 AM

Please dont flame im a total n00b. I recently bought a left hand Davison bass to learn on. After many adjustments I think it sounds pretty good until I get better and upgrade. My question is this. The guitar came with a little 15 watt amp and already I want something bigger. In my garage I have two very solid cabinets that I built probably 15 years ago that each have an old school 12" kicker and a tweeter in them, with internal crossovers. They are connected to my old stereo that pushes them well. Its mainly my source of music for me while im out working in the garage. Is there a way to possibly plug the guitar in through the stereo and speakers as some sort of a ghetto amp setup? I just want to hear it through some big subs.

Was thinking of cutting the pos cable the guitar came with and maybe splicing to a connector that would fit in the stereos input. Has this ever been done? Thank you.

jay tay · #2 04-30-2011, 02:43 AM

I have done it, but via my computer, then into the stereo, Did it by mistake, when recording some basslines, I forgot to switch output channels. it worked fine, but I didn't have the volume high. but to be honest I wouldn't try it unless, you don't mind blowing your speakers.

If you desperately need to do it, then you could possibly run a line from the output of your amp, splice a stereo audio cable to it. but keep the volume really low, especially on the amp.

I still think its a bit too risky, especially with a stereo that you rely on in the garage.

bluesdogblues · #3 04-30-2011, 03:18 AM

Everyday I plug my bass straight into my Sony- Stereo (compo - All In One CD, Tuner, Cassette Deck)'s mic input (!) for practice. No problem at all for years now

But it's true that you have to be careful about the volume, too high may blow your speakers. But I think everyone has to be careful about volume to not blow it's speakers with any bass amp too, right?

i_got_a_mohawk · #4 04-30-2011, 03:59 AM

It 'should' be alright if you are careful about the volume.

If you want to use it, just to be louder, I wouldn't.

Don't know where you're from, but could could probably sell the wee guitar amp for a little scratch to put towards a bass amp. There are some pretty decent combo bass amps out there that cost absolute peanuts (used). Plenty of deals to be had if you're willing to look

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluesdogblues

Everyday I plug my bass straight into my Sony- Stereo (compo - All In One CD, Tuner, Cassette Deck)'s mic input (!) for practice. No problem at all for years now

But it's true that you have to be careful about the volume, too high may blow your speakers. But I think everyone has to be careful about volume to not blow it's speakers with any bass amp too, right?

This is true, but the problem in this case is that the speakers aren't likely to have been designed to take a bass like this, they'll probably have a much lower excursion than you'd see in a bass cab/combo/sub speaker.

MuzikMan · #5 04-30-2011, 06:54 AM

All of the above advise is good. In your case you don't want to plug your bass directly into your stereo. There needs to be some kind of preamp signal in between. See if your amp has a line out (best) or a headphone out. Use that output to connect to your stereo. You can buy a 1/4" mono to RCA stereo cable to make the connection.

staindbass · #6 04-30-2011, 06:58 AM

my first bass amp was my parents old stereo, it was a zenith with the funky speakers

i think radio shack may sell a rca to 1/4" cord. you may want to get a "y" adapter so it comes through both speakers unless the stereo has a mono switch. go for it. johnny a. - staind

staindbass · #7 04-30-2011, 07:01 AM

you dont need a preamp inbetween, it will work. you just need to turn it up higher. if you want some distortion for fun, plug it into the phono inputs. other wise use the aux/tape input.

totaldoughnut · #8 04-30-2011, 09:12 AM

I guess I should have mentioned that speakers im talking about are old automotive Kickers that I had. Each cab has a 12" 4ohm subwoofer and a 1" tweeter with kicker crossovers in each. The boxes are very solid. 3/4" wood, assembled with woodglue, screws, and siliconed inside seams, inside lined with foam and tune ported for the subs. Thanks for the tips, im going to try it out.

Mr. Foxen · #9 04-30-2011, 09:30 AM

Basses chuck out signal that recorded music won't, because recorded music is processed a lot, one of the Line 6 products will do a load of the processing part, like a Toneport or something, then you can run it through your stereo happily, or a computer program will do the same. The sort of stuff that makes a bass cab fart out will just destroy a stereo speaker, basically.

bluesdogblues · #10 04-30-2011, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

It 'should' be alright if you are careful about the volume.

This is true, but the problem in this case is that the speakers aren't likely to have been designed to take a bass like this, they'll probably have a much lower excursion than you'd see in a bass cab/combo/sub speaker.

I forgot to mention that from that my Sony stereo, I attach "8 inch Peavey Stereo Studio monitor Speakers" so the low is acceptable. I even use to listen my bass sound from a much smaller Near Field Studio monitor in the Studio Control Room whenever I was recording/hired as a session bass player, so I guess even the Sony's original small speaker (i think about 5", I use it for my DVD Player's speaker) will be OK too.

bluesdogblues · #11 04-30-2011, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuzikMan

...There needs to be some kind of preamp signal in between....

There's some kind of 'mic-pre' with its level knob at my Sony's mic input jack. I turn them a little. Too much it'll distorts.

Actually I was a little 'shy' in sharing here my experience with my stereo, but honestly that's what I do everyday for almost 13 years and no problem at all. I guess it's just me, but I like this Sony Stereo system I have, that I even use it as my main power amp in my MIDI studio. I understand that it maybe theoretically wrong, but it works for me.
After I think over about it, as much as I love to have an SVT+810 rig, maybe I never even need to buy/have a 'real bass amp and cabinets'.. because I just don't...

*At home (practice) I use my Stereo set as I mentioned.
*At band rehearsal I use the Rehearsal Studio's Bass Amp.
*At Recording Studio I just plug direct to the mixer/Pro Tools interface (usually thru a tube mic pre/compressor). Or if the producer wants the bass to be amped and cab-miked (very rarely),.. usually it would be 're-amp-ed' at later time before mixing schedule.
*At Live Performance I use backline bass amp that provided for me just as the spec on our 'riders' list. And usually I never miked the cab onstage, just give the F.O.H. my signal from D.I. Box.

So..I'm glad with what I do and have now a.k.a including use my 'ghetto rig' everyday.

But again...It's just me

**IvanMike** · #12 04-30-2011, 09:56 AM

the speakers are sub optimal for sure as auto "kickers" are not suitable for real instrument amplification. So yeah, it's going to be a ghetto rig!

You have to be careful with input impedances so I would proceed with caution. That said, on many amps I've used the line out or post EQ effects send into a 1/4 radio shack jack that has a female "stereo" "mini" TRS jack at the other end. This not only lets you use a mini plug, but also does a simple splitting of the signal to send signal to both channels of the mini jack. Then you need a cord from radio shack intended for ipods and other mp3 players which has a male "mini" "stereo" TRS male plug on one end, and two RCA male jacks on the other. You can plug those into something like the tape in jacks of your stereo (NOT the phono!). At this point you should keep the volume of your stereo way down and also start from zero on your preamp gain. slowly turning up the volume on your stereo you can then very slowly turn up the gain on your preamp of the amplifier (be careful to listen for distorting of the stereo amplifier's inputs as the full signal from your amp's line out or effects send will be too "hot" for your stereo if cranked. Then once you determine a safe level to put your amplifier's gain on, you can slowly keep turning the stereo amp's volume up. Listen carefully for any distortion, including overdriving your speakers. (remember that by the time they make a CD the bass and the entire track have been compressed about a zillion times, so the dynamic range of your bass is something your stereo's inputs and speakers aren't used to.

totaldoughnut · #13 06-01-2011, 03:16 AM

I did it and to my rookie ears it sounds great. The cabs are as solid as you could ever want. Internal crossover for the sub and tweeter in each box. Im really happy with the sound the old kicker subs have enough throw that they dont seem to pop or distort. Then again ive never played through an actual high end rig. But, it sounds hell of alot better than the 25w china practice box.