Anybody else played their bass thru a guitar amp? I played mine through a fender twin chorus the other day and the sound was incredible. Clean, articulate with a nice shimmer. I know the speakers need to be different to survive with a bass, but the sound was incredible. It seems there are more guitar amps for sale used than bass amps and I only play in my room anyways. Anybody have any thoughts?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
guitar amps for bass
- Thread starter kcolyar
- Start date
Fender Dual Showman was a nice amp for bass through the right cabs back in the day. If I'm not mistaken, the Dual Showman was the model for the legendary Alembic bass preamps F1 and F2B.
Way long ago, Fender Precisions and Fender Jazzes through a Sunn Coliseum Lead. Solid and clear.
I think whether or not you'll get the grunt you want will depend on the particular amp's power frequency response and on how much headroom you have in reserve, also on where the tone controls operate. The Coliseum's bass control seemed too far up the range so I used to use a 6-band MXR battery EQ to punch things up a bit. How ancient is that. Drilled out to accept a little jack for a power supply I built for it (batteries would die too soon, was going broke buying 'em). But it worked and the sound was great.
I think whether or not you'll get the grunt you want will depend on the particular amp's power frequency response and on how much headroom you have in reserve, also on where the tone controls operate. The Coliseum's bass control seemed too far up the range so I used to use a 6-band MXR battery EQ to punch things up a bit. How ancient is that. Drilled out to accept a little jack for a power supply I built for it (batteries would die too soon, was going broke buying 'em). But it worked and the sound was great.
bongomania
Commercial User
Yes, go for it. I'm using a 120 watt Peavey Butcher guitar head (JCM 800 clone). It sounds pretty damn good with my avatar bass cab.
You would have to swap those speakers for some stronger drivers geared towards PA/bass use. Otherwise, there is no issue. You may not be able to generate a ton of bass frequencies, but then again it may not be an issue. I'm running my Butcher with the bass at 9 oclock, plenty of thump.
Thanks for the responses. I started this thread because I cant find used bass gear where I live, but the pawn shops always have guitar amps. I figured throw in some different speakers and if it sounds good, why not use it. Sorry bongomania for wasting your time, I tried using the search feature and could not find any threads related. Maybe I dont know how to use it very well.
