Bass into a guitar amp

[RattlebackBass]

Hey, long time lurker, first time posting.

I play in a punk band with no guitarist, just bass, drums and vocals. I split my signal 2 ways, one into a bass amp and the other through a few pedals and then into a guitar amp.

The pedals are an EHX Pitchfork, Fuzzrocious Demon with an octave mod then a Boss EQ with mids boosted. In that order.

I've had no issues for 3 years, playing live etc, but recently my guitar amp died, just done, it sounds horrendous. The speaker looks like fine though, no splits or anything.

I dont have a great understanding of electrical stuff, like amps and watts, but I've read somethings about how running a bass into a guitar amp is a very bad idea. Can someone explain like I'm five whats going on here and why this might have happened?

Also is there a pedal or some kind of trick I can do to ensure this doesnt happen again, I'm not super into buying a new amp every 3 years. It is essential to our sound that I use a guitar amp though... Unless there is an amp I can get thatll give me the sound I need and wont die? Im all ears! I'll link my band for reference at the bottom.

The amp I was using was a Blackstar ID:60 TVP
Link Removed

I'd much appreciate any insights.

And here's my band for reference and I guess shameless self promotion reasons?

 

[sprag]

I assume you're using the pitchfork to split your signal and sending the lows to the bass amp and the highs through the other pedals then the guitar amp?

I've seen it done that way plenty of times with no issue.

Have you had the amp looked at by a tech?

 

[Riff Ranger]

Too much low end and/or power from a bass can certainly damage guitar speakers but I can’t think of any reason why it would damage guitar amplifiers. As your guitar speakers seem fine, it seems unlikely that you damaged the amplifier by playing bass through it.

 

[ashtray]

Too much low frequency through a guitar speaker can cause speaker distortion. If you are running a distortion pedal, you won’t even notice you’re destroying the speaker until it is so blown it barely makes a sound.

Guitar speakers are designed to produce sounds at certain frequencies. Bass guitars go a lot lower than that and must be played through speakers designed for the lower frequencies. Snd those speakers need to be in an enclosure meant for that speaker - so it’s not just as easy as putting a bass speaker in a guitar amp. That won’t work. You could play a guitar amp through a bass cabinet - depending on the amp and cabinet, that could work, but it might not sound great.

It could also be that your guitar amp decided to break. That happens over time too.

 

[Wasnex]

Hey, long time lurker, first time posting.

I play in a punk band with no guitarist, just bass, drums and vocals. I split my signal 2 ways, one into a bass amp and the other through a few pedals and then into a guitar amp.

The pedals are an EHX Pitchfork, Fuzzrocious Demon with an octave mod then a Boss EQ with mids boosted. In that order.

I've had no issues for 3 years, playing live etc, but recently my guitar amp died, just done, it sounds horrendous. The speaker looks like fine though, no splits or anything.

I dont have a great understanding of electrical stuff, like amps and watts, but I've read somethings about how running a bass into a guitar amp is a very bad idea. Can someone explain like I'm five whats going on here and why this might have happened?

Also is there a pedal or some kind of trick I can do to ensure this doesnt happen again, I'm not super into buying a new amp every 3 years. It is essential to our sound that I use a guitar amp though... Unless there is an amp I can get thatll give me the sound I need and wont die? Im all ears! I'll link my band for reference at the bottom.

The amp I was using was a Blackstar ID:60 TVP
Link Removed

I'd much appreciate any insights.

And here's my band for reference and I guess shameless self promotion reasons?

If you sent low frequencies at high volume to the guitar amp, there is a good chance that you have blown the speaker. You won't necessarily be able to see the damage.

First thing to do is confirm whether the problem is the speaker or the amp. Guitar amps generally do not have problems with bass. Guitar speaker on the other hand tend to have very limited Xmax and also very low mechanical power handling below 100hz.

The one thing that may be working in your favor is the amp appears to have a back panel and it may be a ported design. Link Removed

The porting is likely to extend the low frequency response, but power handling below the port tuning frequency still tends to be very low. Since the amp is designed for guitar, the port tuning is probably not super low.

The amp has a speaker output on the back and is rated for 4 ohms minimum. I suggest plugging your bass speaker cab (4 ohms or higher) into the amp. If the amp sounds fine, you need to replace the speaker.

You could also try running the speaker with another amp.

If the problem is the speaker, the way to reduce the chance of recurrence is to limit the low frequencies. This can be done with an HPF pedal. You probably want to run the HPF up to 150hz or higher. If this compromises your tone, you may have to choose between tone and reliability.

If the problem is the amp, I would suspect it's probably a random failure. It may not have anything to do with playing bass through it. However, if you were really crank the amp to the point where the output section was massively overdriven, that could potentially be the source of the failure.

It looks like street price for this model is about $500-600. It's probably worth repairing.

Service Centres - Blackstar (blackstaramps.com)

 

[RattlebackBass]

The amp has a speaker output on the back and is rated for 4 ohms minimum. I suggest plugging your bass speaker cab (4 ohms or higher) into the amp. If the amp sounds fine, you need to replace the speaker.

This is a great idea, I'll try this when I get home.

 

[RattlebackBass]

I assume you're using the pitchfork to split your signal and sending the lows to the bass amp and the highs through the other pedals then the guitar amp?

I've seen it done that way plenty of times with no issue.

Have you had the amp looked at by a tech?

I use an A/B box to split the signal not the pitchfork, should have included that in the pedals sorry.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hey, long time lurker, first time posting.

I play in a punk band with no guitarist, just bass, drums and vocals. I split my signal 2 ways, one into a bass amp and the other through a few pedals and then into a guitar amp.

The pedals are an EHX Pitchfork, Fuzzrocious Demon with an octave mod then a Boss EQ with mids boosted. In that order.

I've had no issues for 3 years, playing live etc, but recently my guitar amp died, just done, it sounds horrendous. The speaker looks like fine though, no splits or anything.

I dont have a great understanding of electrical stuff, like amps and watts, but I've read somethings about how running a bass into a guitar amp is a very bad idea. Can someone explain like I'm five whats going on here and why this might have happened?

Also is there a pedal or some kind of trick I can do to ensure this doesnt happen again, I'm not super into buying a new amp every 3 years. It is essential to our sound that I use a guitar amp though... Unless there is an amp I can get thatll give me the sound I need and wont die? Im all ears! I'll link my band for reference at the bottom.

The amp I was using was a Blackstar ID:60 TVP
Link Removed

I'd much appreciate any insights.

And here's my band for reference and I guess shameless self promotion reasons?

Spiders on my web slinger

 

[Ric5]

Hey, long time lurker, first time posting.

I play in a punk band with no guitarist, just bass, drums and vocals. I split my signal 2 ways, one into a bass amp and the other through a few pedals and then into a guitar amp.

The pedals are an EHX Pitchfork, Fuzzrocious Demon with an octave mod then a Boss EQ with mids boosted. In that order.

I've had no issues for 3 years, playing live etc, but recently my guitar amp died, just done, it sounds horrendous. The speaker looks like fine though, no splits or anything.

I dont have a great understanding of electrical stuff, like amps and watts, but I've read somethings about how running a bass into a guitar amp is a very bad idea. Can someone explain like I'm five whats going on here and why this might have happened?

Also is there a pedal or some kind of trick I can do to ensure this doesnt happen again, I'm not super into buying a new amp every 3 years. It is essential to our sound that I use a guitar amp though... Unless there is an amp I can get thatll give me the sound I need and wont die? Im all ears! I'll link my band for reference at the bottom.

The amp I was using was a Blackstar ID:60 TVP
Link Removed

I'd much appreciate any insights.

And here's my band for reference and I guess shameless self promotion reasons?

(5942) The Winery Dogs' Billy Sheehan - GEAR MASTERS Ep. 41 - YouTube

(5942) Rick O Sound - Motörhead Rickenbacker Bass Sound - YouTube

(5942) Clatter - "Tree of Secrets" Music Video - YouTube

 

[6Bass101]

The speaker may look fine visually but still be damaged. You got some good advise in the previous posts for testing the amp and avoiding speaker damage in the future.

Also, not my preferred vocal style, but I love the music.

 

[NoSlapForYou]

As others have said, there's nothing wrong with running a bass into a guitar amp. However, guitar cabinets are not designed for as much low end as a bass produces.

I would consider getting another guitar amp that's just the head. And then use it with a bass cabinet (assuming the impedance matches). I was running my bass through a Marshall head for a while and loved it.

 

[Boneless]

As others have said, there's nothing wrong with running a bass into a guitar amp. However, guitar cabinets are not designed for as much low end as a bass produces.

I would consider getting another guitar amp that's just the head. And then use it with a bass cabinet (assuming the impedance matches). I was running my bass through a Marshall head for a while and loved it.

Or just cut the low end going into the amp (or setting bass to 0, although this won't be as effective). You can easily do so with a variety of ways; I don't know if there are any commercial solutions, but a sweepable high-pass filter (to use right before the amp) is an easy way to protect the guitar speaker. That said, this might introduce phasing issues; on the other hand, running your bass into two different amplifiers (and cabinets, etc.) set differently is bound to cause phasing issues anyway, but this isn't probably a big problem, since you're not aiming at fidelity.

 

[NoSlapForYou]

That's a solution too. I was just thinking using a bass cab would be a way to retain more low end coming out of the guitar amp. But of course, the guitar amp is going to have less low end to begin with. And that's part of what makes the bi-amp setup appealing. The guitar amp gives you the high end character and grit while the bass amp is your clean low end. So maybe the high pass filter is really the best solution.

If you do go that route, I recommend the Broughton HPF, which is sweepable to 190 hz. Great pedal.

 

[NoSlapForYou]

Or I guess if the guitar amp still works, you can potentially disconnect it from the speaker and hook up a different speaker. Whether that's easy to do or not depends on the combo amp. It's very easy on the Blues Junior I have because the back is open and the speaker wires are easily accessible.

 

[micguy]

There’s a good chance you overheated the voice coil of the speaker, which can physically warp it, which often results in a rub - the coil is touching the pole piece, and no longer free to move as it should. It’ll still make sound, but it’ll sound awful.

As others have said, trying the amp with a know good speaker will let you decipher if it’s the speaker or the amp.

No matter if it’s the speaker or the amp, high passing the signal going to the guitar amp so it’s not trying to do low frequencies will limit the power demands to both the amp and speaker, making things more reliable.

 

[RattlebackBass]

Thanks for all the responses so far, I'll be trying a few different things out that have been suggested.

Thanks again, I'm surprised by the amount of responses

 

[Fernando Costa]

It's okay to use a guitar amp with the bass. Just be careful with the low frequencies that can damage the guitar speakers. A simple HPF pedal before input to the guitar amp solves your problem. The ideal would be to use an active crossover, but I don't know any for instruments, only for P.A. As for the problem in your system - defect - the guys have already given all the suggestions.

 

[Jefus]

I'll second the suggestion for the Broughton high pass filter. I bought one of the 'always on' ones for a setup I run where my bridge pickup goes through the HPF, some pedals, and on to a Peavey Classic 30, and my neck pickup goes to a bass amp. It keeps me from damaging the speaker but still allows the tone of the guitar amp to add some rich harmonics in the midrange.

 

[Michedelic]

Hey, long time lurker, first time posting.

I play in a punk band with no guitarist, just bass, drums and vocals. I split my signal 2 ways, one into a bass amp and the other through a few pedals and then into a guitar amp.

The pedals are an EHX Pitchfork, Fuzzrocious Demon with an octave mod then a Boss EQ with mids boosted. In that order.

I've had no issues for 3 years, playing live etc, but recently my guitar amp died, just done, it sounds horrendous. The speaker looks like fine though, no splits or anything.

I dont have a great understanding of electrical stuff, like amps and watts, but I've read somethings about how running a bass into a guitar amp is a very bad idea. Can someone explain like I'm five whats going on here and why this might have happened?

Also is there a pedal or some kind of trick I can do to ensure this doesnt happen again, I'm not super into buying a new amp every 3 years. It is essential to our sound that I use a guitar amp though... Unless there is an amp I can get thatll give me the sound I need and wont die? Im all ears! I'll link my band for reference at the bottom.

The amp I was using was a Blackstar ID:60 TVP
Link Removed

I'd much appreciate any insights.

And here's my band for reference and I guess shameless self promotion reasons?

What is the nature of the “octave mod” on the Fuzzrocious? Where do you place the A/B box? I have something of a similar set-up for my oldies trio, but I use the EHX Micropog, which features a “dry out” send. I engage it during guitar solos to fill out the sound or replace riffs, and so forth. Tuner, then mild compression(more to help faciltate the Pog “grabbing” the note), then the Micropog(which is always on); dry out is the standard bass signal, which goes thru dirt and modulation, and then to a proper bass amp. Effect out(and it is octave up only, therefore mimicking a guitar sound)then goes to a volume pedal, where I can fade in the fake guitar as needed, then into a separate set of guitarcentric effects(this is where Mooer and Hotone stuff comes in handy). On to a standard guitar combo, single 12”, no low frequency signal at all, and there hadn’t been any problems.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hey, long time lurker, first time posting.

I play in a punk band with no guitarist, just bass, drums and vocals. I split my signal 2 ways, one into a bass amp and the other through a few pedals and then into a guitar amp.

The pedals are an EHX Pitchfork, Fuzzrocious Demon with an octave mod then a Boss EQ with mids boosted. In that order.

I've had no issues for 3 years, playing live etc, but recently my guitar amp died, just done, it sounds horrendous. The speaker looks like fine though, no splits or anything.

I dont have a great understanding of electrical stuff, like amps and watts, but I've read somethings about how running a bass into a guitar amp is a very bad idea. Can someone explain like I'm five whats going on here and why this might have happened?

Also is there a pedal or some kind of trick I can do to ensure this doesnt happen again, I'm not super into buying a new amp every 3 years. It is essential to our sound that I use a guitar amp though... Unless there is an amp I can get thatll give me the sound I need and wont die? Im all ears! I'll link my band for reference at the bottom.

The amp I was using was a Blackstar ID:60 TVP
Link Removed

I'd much appreciate any insights.

And here's my band for reference and I guess shameless self promotion reasons?

a
Just my opinion, running a bass into a guitar amp is a problem. It's will the speakers hold up.

I've run my bass through guitar amps like Hiwatt Custom 100, Marshall 100 lead, a few assorted Ampegs, and a 15 watt Dean Markley with an 8 inch speaker. and never had a problem with the amps due to playing bass. Most of these were used with a Rick 4001 in Ric-o-Sound mode.