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G****r through a bass amp?

jackn1202

jackn1202

Feb 14, 2018
895
1,341
Austin, TX
#1
Will running a guitar trough a bass combo amp harm the amp? I know running a bass into a guitar amp will tear up the speakers, but I was wondering if it was as damaging the other way around. I know people been doing this for decades (I got the idea from Kyuss but I’m sure it was done beforehand- the Fender Bassman amp comes to mind), but I’m wondering if maybe this was done by people who could afford another bass amp if theirs crapped out. I couldn’t afford one.

If it changes anything, I’m running a Tele copy through a fuzz pedal and octaver into an older model Ampeg BA-115 solid state combo.
 
#3
It can be done, but if you've played guitar into a decent amp then the results can be underwhelming. I've plugged my Telecaster into a couple of bass amps, and always found the same thing. Even if you EQ the amp to be bright, and roll off the bass a bit, the results are still dull. If the amp has a tweeter then the results are dull with fizzy on the top. Plus, solid state bass amps don't have the dynamic range or sensitivity of a tube amp. You dig in, or hit a pinch harmonic, and nothing happens from the amp that is especially musical.

It won't hurt the amp, however.
 
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#4
I play my guitars through my rumble 25 all the time. Guitar speakers aren't typically designed to handle the low frequencies of a bass. Bass speakers can easily handle anything a guitar will throw at them. The voicing of bass speakers may not be to your liking when playing guitar through them though.
 
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#5
I used to play my bass through my brothers Peavey guitar amp at high levels. That was twelve years ago and his amp is still running with zero issues. I’ve run acoustic guitar through bass amps with zero issue as well.

I believe the Peavey was a classic 50, and I actually wouldn’t mind getting one for cheap to use for bass. Kinda had a cool sound.
 
#6
I used to play guitar through my Fender Bassman head six nights a week, four hours per night. Awesome guitar rig. The cab had two EV SRO 12" guitar speakers. These days I sometimes play guitar through one of my bass amps and cabs just for fun. It won't hurt them.
 
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#7
Should be fine for the most part.
Then again I see a lot of guitar players playing through bass combos for" more bass"

When they don't realize how much deeper and more bass you get from a well equipped 4x12 with the right drivers.

Such as 55hz G12s or EV12L and even at that just plain Jane V30s

Not a "X" pattern of mismatched drivers....all the same dam drivers in a straight front Marshall Cab
 
#10
One of the most glorious acoustic guitar tones I ever heard was my brother playing his old Yamaha classical with a pickup through my SWR SuperRedhead 2-10 combo. It sounded way better with that acoustic than it ever did with any bass I played through it. Kinda "blah" for bass.
 
#11
AboutSweetSue said:
I used to play my bass through my brothers Peavey guitar amp at high levels. That was twelve years ago and his amp is still running with zero issues. I’ve run acoustic guitar through bass amps with zero issue as well.

I believe the Peavey was a classic 50, and I actually wouldn’t mind getting one for cheap to use for bass. Kinda had a cool sound.
Click to expand...

Once the apocalypse happens, the only things left on earth will be Twinkies, cockroaches, and Peavey amps..
:roflmao:

Had a little transition to guitar years back, and scored a used classic 30 for pretty cheap. Sturdy, loud, and pretty good for an "entry level" tube amp!
 
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#13
I use bass amps for acoustic guitar a lot, it works very well. I have also used my Rumble 100 as a powered PA(ish) speaker. I run a vocal mic, a porch board and acoustic guitar into a behringer mixing board then out to the amp. Pretty lowbrow setup but it works
 
#14
I use my Mesa Walkabout Scout 12 combo with my Mesa F-50 combo stacked on top of it. The combination together sounds like DOOM. I'm currently running both amps as clean pedal platforms and getting my overdrive entirely from pedals: tc electronic Spark booster, tc electronic MojoMojo overdrive, Catalinbread Formula 5F6 foundation overdrive, and One Control Honey Bee overdrive. My Walkabout Scout combo cab can handle 300 W of power, far more than the 70 W rating of the Celestion Vintage 30 driver in my F-50.

I even use a Digitech FreqOut feedback generator. My Walkabout doesn't even break a sweat.
 
#16
jackn1202 said:
Will running a guitar trough a bass combo amp harm the amp? I know running a bass into a guitar amp will tear up the speakers, but I was wondering if it was as damaging the other way around. I know people been doing this for decades (I got the idea from Kyuss but I’m sure it was done beforehand- the Fender Bassman amp comes to mind), but I’m wondering if maybe this was done by people who could afford another bass amp if theirs crapped out. I couldn’t afford one.

If it changes anything, I’m running a Tele copy through a fuzz pedal and octaver into an older model Ampeg BA-115 solid state combo.
Click to expand...
You may have to add outboard Reverb
 
#18
Spectrum said:
I'm pretty sure I read that Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age were known for doing this. I could be wrong.
Click to expand...
Nah, you right. Queens is my favorite band and Kyuss is on that list, that's where I got the idea. Josh Homme used Ampeg bass amps and cabs in Kyuss. I love that sound, just not 100% sure it wouldn't damage my amp. Now I know it won't! Thanks for the replies everybody.
 
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