another "home stereo" equipment use for bass (with specifics)

[BlitzCraig]

I've spent more time than I care to admit searching talkbass trying to come to a conclusion, but I think I just have to bite the bullet and start a new thread:

I've got a v3 fender rumble 40 (which I absolutely love) but am looking for something louder for gigs with a drummer without spending much money. I have a decent older home stereo system, the receiver/amp will output 150w each to two channels, but my understanding is that it would be unsafe (both to the amp and the speakers) to use this at high volume to play bass, though I wonder if <question #1> using the rumble output [EDIT:either the XLR or even the headphones output] to the receiver input would help to balance/control the level to the speakers? and <question #2> I also have two MTX aal212 speakers - info in screenshots below - what are TBs thoughts on using a bass head with one of these speakers? Thanks in advance

 

[Mingo Sanders]

You never know until you try, but please make a video.

 

[BlitzCraig]

You never know until you try, but please make a video.

haha fair enough - I'm going to wait for more input for sure... but if I end up trying it, maybe I'll have a fun (though potentially very sad) video to share

 

[Chad Michael]

Just remember two things:

1) home stereo equipment is rarely, if ever, fan - cooled. This could be an issue when used as live sound reinforcement

2) the gear is not housed in cabinets that are meant to be 'toured' or banged around

 

[steve_rolfeca]

I fooled around with this back in the day.

Hi-fi speakers have very light cones, which helps them to speak quickly and give you lots of detail when listening to recorded music.


Also, power ratings on home hi-if gear are...

...Optimistic.

Meanwhile, live bass guitar has a much wider dynamic range.

Your bass will start to break up at surprisingly low levels when you run it through your stereo, and you'll fry the speakers in no time if you ignore the warning signs.

Also, if you're planning to run your Rumble into the stereo, make sure that you're not feeding it from the Rumble's speaker output.

Even at low levels, the power amp output of your Rumble will fry the front end of your hi-fi amp quicker than you can blink!

 

[Wasnex]

I've spent more time than I care to admit searching talkbass trying to come to a conclusion, but I think I just have to bite the bullet and start a new thread:

I've got a v3 fender rumble 40 (which I absolutely love) but am looking for something louder for gigs with a drummer without spending much money. I have a decent older home stereo system, the receiver/amp will output 150w each to two channels, but my understanding is that it would be unsafe (both to the amp and the speakers) to use this at high volume to play bass, though I wonder if <question #1> using the rumble output to the receiver input would help to balance/control the level to the speakers? and <question #2> I also have two MTX aal212 speakers - info in screenshots below - what are TBs thoughts on using a bass head with one of these speakers? Thanks in advance

93dB sensitivity is incredibly low for musical instrument usage. I used to have an Acme Low B2 which had the same sensitivity rating. I fed it almost 500W and it barely met my needs in a cover band.

Chances are your amp will work fine as long as you don't continually push it into clipping. This is potentially a problem because 150W is not a lot of power for bass applications.

I have played bass through HIFI gear before and it sounded great, but the speakers fell apart at extremely low volume. So, I doubt the speakers will tolerate even 150W of bass for long without self destructing, but I could be wrong.

Honestly, I don't recommend doing this. If you decide to do it anyway, I suggest using both speakers. You will get +6dB in free SPL in the low end from mutual coupling.

If you wind up blowing up your amp or speakers you were warned. Good luck!

 

[mmbongo]

93db sensitivity on those 'party speakers'. You'll need a lot more power than you have available.

Bite the bullet and get a proper bass amp.

Here's an Ashdown for $500 that kills. It's $1000 off until Sunday. Sell the Rumble.
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/ashdown-abm-neo-c210-400w-2x10-bass-combo-amp-neo-speakers-w-horn?rNtt=ashdown 210&index=1

Or get another Rumble. Either way will be worlds better than what you are trying to do.
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/amp...00w-bass-combo-amp?rNtt=fender rumble&index=4

 

[Coolhandjjl]

I remember AAL speakers from the late '70s. Poor man's CVs or HPMs. You will fry them if you attempt to play your bass through them. Don't use a hone stereo amp or receiver either.

Some home components are built to use for live music PAs and bass, like Dynaco tube power amps, MacIntosh power amps, SAE power amps, but you gotta know what you're doing.

 

[BlitzCraig]

thanks to everybody so far

I'm really hoping for some specific reason as to WHY it wouldn't work. The sensitivity issue is really helpful -- I was looking at 93dB as fair to good... which looks to be true for its intended application, but low for instrument purposes - finding bass cabs ranging 96-104, which as I understand it means they could output as much as 150% to 400% the volume from an equal powered source... that's clearly very problematic -

still looking forward to any other input - thank you again

 

[dbase]

My first bass amp

 

[chadds]

Program material is compressed. When recording in a studio the difference in dynamic range between a store bought CD and raw wave files is huge. Ever play through a cab that if you touched the strings lightly the cones would jump?

Sell it all and get an actual bass amp. Also as the member of a band you owe it to them, the person who booked you and the audience for your gear to survive and thrive throughout the night.

We've been here before in our early days. You'll look back and say, "I considered that and now I've bought and flipped a lot of amps as my needs and ears have changed." It's actually one investment that you may add a little to to get the next one but it's doable. Sell a pancreas.

 

[BlitzCraig]

LoL - not sure I'm ready to go selling my internal organs just yet - but you definitely made yourself clear about how much I shouldn't do this

 

[klyph]

I have used a lot of hi fi/recording or cheap/ancient pa gear to drive bass sounds through legit bass speakers, sometimes with great results, almost always with comically complicated signal chains. But home stereo speakers will never cut it for bass guitar use, especially at stage volume.
Surely there is an old peavey cab for sale somewhere near you? If you can scrounge a slave amp...

 

[Scarey Larry]

I went down this road before rocks were invented. I seem to remember the incoming line from the bass amp was too "hot" for the receiver and the receiver then speakers dramatically failed. Failed at the speed of light. No actual fire but that burning electrical smell let me know if the stuff was "all right". Later that day rocks were invented so when I left the cave I could "rock out".

 

[bassliner50]

I would expect disappointing sound production. Possible damage to stereo equipment, especially speakers. Find another way, you wont regret it.

 

[Goatrope]

You never know until you try, but please make a video.

Yes, please.

I also like to watch those Russian dash-cam videos on YouTube. =D

 

[JW56789]

Ask yourself: Have you EVER, from the grungiest, poorest punk band to any concert, club date, concert or concert video you've ever seen, noticed any bass player using home hi-fi gear on stage? In my 30+ years around this stuff, I've seen just about everything, but never, not once, anybody using backyard BBQ party speakers and a home stereo. Never. Ever.

Speaker bins made for playback of recorded music and live music bins are two different animals. You can use live bins for recorded music, but it's an extremely iffy and difficult task for the reverse: The components are not built for higher power and wide dynamic range. You can't do Peterbilt or Kenworth tasks with a Silverado or Ram.

Bass amps and cabs are cheaper and higher-powered than they've ever been. Go to the used market, and there's real buys to be had, cheaper still. Leave these bins alone.

 

[EarnestTBass]

You can learn through academic "book" studies, or experiential "hands on" education.

There is a large group of us old timers that destroyed our home stereo gear as teens. I blew up a nice set of Pioneer 15" 3 way speakers with my guitar. Took me less than 5 minutes to get a lifetime of learning.

Go ahead and ignore all us and join the experiential learning club. Sorry about your gear (in advance)

 

[TheReceder]

Back in the day I was short one power amp for a church festival I was providing sound for. It was only for a pair of monitors so I grabbed an old Yamaha power amp. 300 watts rms per channel. Ran it for 2 1/2 hours.

Unfortunately it was a 3 hour show. It died. But I'm convinced it now qualifies to be on the walking dead. After plugging it in every couple years to try and fix it, it started working on it's own again...

 

[DrThumpenstein]

My first bass amp
View attachment 3357386

You musta needed 2 roadies!

You can get by with something along those lines to practice quietly around the house, but you'll never get enough volume to sit in a mix without destroying those cones.

You dig the rumble, lots of TBers vouch for fender 100s keeping up with drummers. What about trading up? Used is where it's at when upgrading on a tight budget.