Your experiences with playing bass through non-bass amps.

blackba · #1 08-22-2011, 01:28 PM

I see a good number of threads about people asking about running a bass through a guitar amp or other amp. There is a thread right now on the first page asking about the Bugera 1960 amp with a bass. What ‘non-bass’ amps have you tried with your bass and how did they work out?

Here is my list. All amp heads run either through an Ampeg SVT410HLF or Ampeg BXT210M with my Geddy Lee Fender Jazz Bass.
1. Fender ’67 Bassman. This amp lived up to its name. Worked very well for bass. A one trick pony for sure, kind of had the classic overdriven bass tone.
2. Fender ’69 Bandmaster Reverb. I thought this amp work work as well as the bassman, but boy was I wrong. Low end was muddy and undefined. Lacked power and punch that the bassman had.
3. Masco MA-50 PA amp from the 1940’s. I had this amp converted to a guitar/bass amp. For bass though it lacked the low end response for the lower strings and kind of farted out. Disappointing for bass, cool and super loud for guitar.
4. Mesa boogie Mark IVA. This amp worked great for bass. It has an onboard 5 band EQ and is 85Watts. This is my current backup bass amp to my Ampeg SVTIIIpro
5. Traynor K4 Keymaster. This keyboard amp worked pretty well for bass. Had a solid low end and the tube preamp section was nice. Not a whole ton of power, but perfect for a grab and go low volume jam.

I want to try my ’66 Vox AC50 with my Jazz bass, but it only has 16 and 8ohm speaker outputs and I don’t want to run a mismatch into my 4ohm Ampeg cabs.

ulynch · #2 08-22-2011, 01:57 PM

This is interesting to me as well, particularly WRT more modern and more common guitar amps. I'd like to get into tube amps, but all-tube bass amps are just too expensive. Guitar amps seem much more common in the used market, and so seem to be available for cheaper. Good topic blackba.

- D

Sifl · #3 08-22-2011, 02:06 PM

I used a Peavey Valveking 100 watt head with an Ampeg 810 with good results. With both the clean and lead channels. I preferred the lead channel, though

boynamedsuse · #4 08-22-2011, 02:07 PM

I ran an Egnater Tweaker (15w) through a G-K 210MBE cabinet after setting the Tweaker's impedance to 8 ohms for use with the G-K cab. It had good tone and was very clear. I was surprised how much clarity it added to the bass compared to running it through my normal MB210/210MBE setup.

I am not running stock tubes in the Tweaker. I replaced the power tubes with Tung-Sol 6V6GT tubes and the v1 preamp tube was replaced with a Tung-Sol 12AX7. This had been done to give me my preferred tone on a guitar, and although I don't know if it affects bass tone, I doubt it makes much difference. I just mention this to make sure all the facts are there to consider. Additionally, the transformer on the Tweaker is disproportionately large for its wattage based on what I have read. This may be why it seems to work well (at appropriate volume) for both guitar and bass

**B-string** · #5 08-22-2011, 07:48 PM

Just Guitard amps huh, not PA or HiFi amps. The only guitar amp I played bass through and didn't like all that much was a Vox AC30. Fender; Showman, BandMaster, Delux and Twin Reverb. Ampeg; V2, VT22 combo, V4 and V9. All combo amps I would disconnect the combo speakers and hook up to a bass cab. There was also a Sunn tube head but can't remember the model. Results excellent with all of them (except the AC30).

sloppy_phil · #6 08-22-2011, 08:15 PM

a Roland JC-120 does a pretty solid job of taking the bass. it's speakers are pretty heavy duty, and held up well to a hard-struck P-bass

**IvanMike** · #7 08-22-2011, 08:16 PM

Vintage marshall Plexi thru my bag end cabs - Nuts.....

blackba · #8 08-23-2011, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B-string

Just Guitard amps huh, not PA or HiFi amps. The only guitar amp I played bass through and didn't like all that much was a Vox AC30. Fender; Showman, BandMaster, Delux and Twin Reverb. Ampeg; V2, VT22 combo, V4 and V9. All combo amps I would disconnect the combo speakers and hook up to a bass cab. There was also a Sunn tube head but can't remember the model. Results excellent with all of them (except the AC30).

Your experiences through any amps that were not 'bass amps' is welcome. If you have comments on HiFi, PA, or keyboard amps that works. One of the amps I commented on was a keyboard amp.

NKBassman · #9 08-23-2011, 07:19 AM

I used my guitarist's Marshall JCM900 at a practice once just for fun, and it didn't have NEARLY enough low end to even consider using again. Could have been the Crate 410 I was using, but it really did not work for me at all.

dbase · #10 08-23-2011, 07:23 AM

I borrowed a friends 1968 B15 Ampeg and my guitard player decided to play thru it and blew the speaker... I replaced it with a Radio Shack 15... Not the same... my friend doesnt call me anymore.

KramerBassFan · #11 08-23-2011, 11:34 AM

I use a Superbass Copy and an Ampeg V4 all the time. Neither of them are lacking in low end or headroom.

funkinbottom · #12 08-23-2011, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackba

I want to try my ’66 Vox AC50 with my Jazz bass, but it only has 16 and 8ohm speaker outputs and I don’t want to run a mismatch into my 4ohm Ampeg cabs.

I had an AC50 25 years ago. Wish I still had it. I used it with a single 1x15 cab. Absolutely rocked. And what a simple amp to use. Volume, bass, treble.
Also had a 67 Fender Bandmaster with single 1x12. Tube goodness, mmmmmm

nemo · #13 08-23-2011, 12:55 PM

At one rehearsal I have played fretless through Vox AC30 - it was really delicious, but I kept the volume low to not destroy it.

faviobarrio · #14 08-23-2011, 01:53 PM

Sunday night, I played through an old Mesa Boogie Mark III guitar head through an (unidentified) Ampeg bass cab (8 ohm, either 1x15 or 2x12.)

Incredible old school sound. I loved it.

**garmenteros** · #15 08-23-2011, 02:02 PM

I've played passive basses through twin reverbs (with their stock speakers) and if you don't push it, it gets the job done nicely. I also used a roland bolt 120 head (tube power section, solidstate pre) with my b15n's cab and it was pretty sweet too, i cranked it up and it held low end quite nicely. Never gotten the nerve to use active basses with guitar amps for fear of over clipping them and getting unusable sounds.

Arthur U. Poon · #16 08-23-2011, 02:18 PM

Many years ago a keyboardist friend plugged my Rick 4001 into his Leslie speaker cab and pushed it into a mild distortion. -Very cool sound.

u84six · #17 08-23-2011, 02:21 PM

I ran my bass through the PA system for years without even having to lug anything around. Of course these were very small gigs. Most of the time it sounded great to my ears.

I'm working on a new rig right now that includes a PA power amp and a mic tube preamp. I've tested some configurations (not the one I'm thinking of buying) and I actually like the sound better than a dedicated bass head. I'm getting lots more headroom, and with the mic pres, I'm finding that I can dial in a larger variety of tones. I think the trick is to get the right cab config with a decent crossover to make it work (looking at custom made).

Mojo-Man · #18 08-23-2011, 02:23 PM

I've recorded with a 1963 Bassman, with 2x12 cab.
It sounded great with my Jazz bass, played with a pick.

Duke21 · #19 08-23-2011, 02:29 PM

It was quite common in the 70s to play through guitar rig, Fender Twin, Fender Dual Showman, HiWat 100, Marshals, you name it. Some as Squire still use a Marshal guitar head with an SVT 2 pro and Ric O sound.

**B-string** · #20 08-23-2011, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackba

Your experiences through any amps that were not 'bass amps' is welcome. If you have comments on HiFi, PA, or keyboard amps that works. One of the amps I commented on was a keyboard amp.

HiFi; McIntosh MC60, MC75 and MC275, old tube Fisher, old tube Marantz, Eico and Dyna. PA; Crown (poweramp), Fender, Kustom, Shure, Acoustic Control and Altec. Only the Shure sucked rotten eggs.