Can effects ruin amps? Help!

bencwalker · #1 02-19-2009, 04:07 PM

I went into my local guitar shop the other day looking for a bass fuzz pedal. The employee had to call the manager to check if they had any in back or something like that. After getting off the phone with the manager, the sales associate (who told me he was a singer and doesn't know much about bass and guitar) tells me that the manager told him it's risky for a combo amp to run effects pedals- he says its only safe to run effects onboard your amp (which usually suck and which I do not have on my amp anyways). Is the manager just being a jackass or is this actually true? I used my guitarist's wah pedal thru my amp at practice the other night and it worked just fine....can any one confirm or deny whether they can damage a combo amp?

I have a peavey max 115 combo (http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend....mbo?sku=481445) if that helps.

Thanks

Ampeg SVT · #2 02-19-2009, 04:09 PM

Sounds like a bunch of crap.

Just make sure you have unity gain and you should be fine.

Deluge Of Sound · #3 02-19-2009, 04:12 PM

He's a git.

bongomania · #4 02-19-2009, 04:18 PM

He was a typical ignorant guitar store idiot.

bencwalker · #5 02-19-2009, 04:20 PM

Alright well that confirms my suspicions.

And Ampeg SVT- I do have an onboard gain knob if thats what you mean by unity gain.

Also- can you use a guitar fuzz pedal on a bass, or are there advantages to using a bass specific fuzz pedal?

Ampeg SVT · #6 02-19-2009, 04:22 PM

Unity gain as in making sure the pedal's volume is the same as the amp's volume, or I could be wrong.

Yes you can use a guitar fuzz pedal on bass, you can use a lot of guitar pedals on bass.

bencwalker · #7 02-19-2009, 04:26 PM

Oh ok, thanks, I'll make sure I use unity gain. I'm hardly an effects buff so thanks for the patience.

And there wont be any low end loss or anything?

Thanks

bongomania · #8 02-19-2009, 04:27 PM

Well that depends on the specific pedal.

megadan · #9 02-19-2009, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bencwalker

Oh ok, thanks, I'll make sure I use unity gain. I'm hardly an effects buff so thanks for the patience.

And there wont be any low end loss or anything?

Thanks

Using guitar effects you may or may not experience low end loss, it will depend on the effect.

If you're looking for fuzz, I would recommend the Bass Big Muff, it's a great pedal and has a blend mode so you don't lose your tone and bottom end.
Try it out, I bet you'll be pleased.

RickenBoogie · #10 02-19-2009, 08:02 PM

Just to be sure you understand the concept of "unity gain", It's when your amps volume is the same whether the pedal is on or off. If you kick the pedal on, and all of a sudden your amp is louder, turn the pedal's gain knob down.

Thunderscreech · #11 02-19-2009, 08:08 PM

You wont ruin your amp unless your volume it too loud. And then you'll just blow a speaker cone and have to get it fixed.

I'm running an Ampeg BA115. I use many pedals.

I have zero problems.

Unity gain is just what these cool dudes here are saying. Make sure the pedal is the same loudness when it's on as it is off. Most pedals these days have a pedal volume control so you cna adjust that.

kevteop · #12 02-19-2009, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Just to be sure you understand the concept of "unity gain", It's when your amps volume is the same whether the pedal is on or off. If you kick the pedal on, and all of a sudden your amp is louder, turn the pedal's gain knob down.

As with everything musical, use your ears. Start low and if anything sounds wrong as you gradually turn it up, you'll hopefully notice it's not a sound you want to make and turn it back down again.

But adding gain using a pedal isn't such a bad thing. It's just that there is often a LOT of available gain on some pedals. Start at about 9 O'clock, and if that isn't unity, turn it up gradually.

bencwalker · #13 02-19-2009, 10:12 PM

Alright, sounds simple enough. Thank you all for confirming that the manager at my local guitar shop is a condescending, incompetent *******.

I'm going to check out the Bass Big Muff soon and possibly the El Grande and a few others.

Thanks everyone!

ErnieD · #14 02-19-2009, 11:20 PM

of the story, maybe the mgr was just concerned of you hooking up a pedal to a combo in his store and you cranking the pedal knobs or amp knobs and possibly causing damage to a as yet, unpurchased amp of his. If I read your OP correctly.

So, please dont call me an a**hole,

just offering the possible flipside to the story.

And that's if you were even planning to hook up to a store amp, otherwise......he could just be an *******. LOL

Typically pedals don't automatically mean amp damage.