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Guitar+Bass combo amp?

Lunatique

Lunatique

Nov 23, 2007
937
1,636
Lincoln, CA
www.ethereality.info
#1
I play guitar, and just started bass recently, and I usually just record DI into the soundcard and then use amp sim softwares like Guitar Rig, Amplitube..etc. I do have a small practice amp (Crate GFX-15) that I use for the guitar, but it cannot handle the low-end of a bass at all. I'm looking to get a practice amp for the bass (Warwick Corvette $$ 5 string), and I'm wondering if it should be a decent amp that can be used for both the guitar and the bass, or one just for the bass. I don't even know if there's such a thing as an amp that can handle both guitar and bass?

My main reason for using amps at all for practicing is so I don't risk blowing out my $7,000 studio monitors (I'd kill myself if I did that). for recording I just go DI like I mentioned.
 
#3
you can play a guitar through a bass amp but you cant play a bass through a guitar amp,
having said that its not ideal to play guitar through a bass amp as it will eventually cause problems.
if your worried, get a cheap bass amp, 30-60 watter. if its only for practicing then that would be the way to go, but your main system should be able to go it no worries.
 
#4
WashburnBass said:
you can play a guitar through a bass amp but you cant play a bass through a guitar amp,
having said that its not ideal to play guitar through a bass amp as it will eventually cause problems.
Click to expand...

amps are amps are amps....

a low watt guitar combo works nice for low volume / living room bass use. I've played bass through a Peavey Delta Blues combo (1x15" & 30 watts tube combo) and almost bought it for acoustic jams with my basses. I've also gigged playing rhythm guitar through a bass rig for a summer... have been plugging a guitar into bass gear since the early 80s and NEVER had an issue.

Guitar speakers can blow from too much bass, bass amp tweeters can sound bad with guitar distortion.
 
#5
WashburnBass said:
...
its not ideal to play guitar through a bass amp as it will eventually cause problems.
...
Click to expand...

That's big news to me.

What gives you that idea?

OP, don't know what your budget is.
Thunderfunk, EA, the old Raven Labs preamps, almost any bass preamp with a decent power amp will reproduce what your guitar puts out (if you need effects or pedals, those will be seperate issues).
There's a lot of bass cabs that are full range and some that have relatively flat freq. response.
Almost any decent bass combo will handle guitar, the tone may not match up to what you're used to.
A keyboard combo amp should be able to handle both and if decent quality should give you back pretty much whatever you feed into it.

Distortion and tweeters may not sound great, but you might be able to EQ it to acceptable tone.
 
#9
An old Ampeg VT-22 was built for guitar and bass. I used to use one for band practice when I first started playing bass. Pretty loud for 100 watts. Its also, in my opinion, one of the least appreciated guitar amps in history. A little like a Fender Twin with a better reverb (my opinion). 18 years later I still use mine as my main guitar amp. Got it re-tubed a couple years ago, but other than that no reliability issues from having played a bass through it. However, its not going to be the best sounding bass amp when compared to a dedicated bass rig. I see these on e-bay occasionally in the two to three hundred dollar range.
 
#11
I know this is a long dead thread, but if anyone finds it nowadays, there is now an actual amp, actually amps, that do(es) this, the Peavey Vypyr VIP series. I have a Vypyr VIP 2, and I can say I am really happy with it. I wish I had ponied up the extra hundred bucks for the 3 for the extra wattage and pure digital interface, but oh well. You're not going to be able to use it for anything other than a practice or recording amp, unless you mike the hell out of it, but for the money and if you're like me and you have need for an amp for both instruments but limited funds, this is the answer. Tons of built-in effects, and a USB interface for recording. I highly recommend it.
 
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#12
Febs said:
So I guess all those guitarists who have played through a Fender Bassman for the last 55 years are really going to run into trouble some day. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Both the Fender Bassman and even Ampeg B15 go both ways very well. At low recording volume I have had great luck with some Fender guitar combos. I tracked with a Princeton once that was very fat with the stock speaker. This was a low volume
 

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