Help Out A Beginner

[the_canuck]

Well, I'm very new to bass guitar, I've played electric guitar for a bit but decided to give bass a try. Unfortunately I only have a small, 15W practice amp for my electric guitar. I am looking to get an amp that I can use with my bass, or preferably with both. I have seen a fair number of Peavey amps for sale in my area, and am wondering if they would work with both my electric and bass guitars. I have looked at a Peavey Classic Chorus 130, but am not sure if that would work. If anyone can help me out, it would be very much appreciated. I just want an amp that can do my bass (and hopefully guitar too) justice. I've got around $300 to spend, and am mostly looking at used ones. However, if anyone knows of a good amp I could get new for that price that would be great. Thanks everyone

 

[becker4567]

For $300, you can get a good practice amp. I would not try to use a bass through a guitar amp, not only will you probably blow the speaker, but it sounds really bad! However, running an electric guitar through a bass amp can not only give you some great, clear sound, but great volume also. I currently run both a strat and a jazz bass through an Acoustic B20 practice amp in my living room, and I've had good luck with it. It's a bit small for any type of gigging, but for practice, it's just the ticked!

 

[David Jayne]

Playing bass through a guitar amp will NOT harm it in any way. It's the same amp, which will never deliver more power than it's capable of, no matter what you plug into it.
But it won't sound very good-you really should get a dedicated bass amp. Cruise the classifieds on this site for an amp, lots of them here.

 

[the_canuck]

For $300, you can get a good practice amp. I would not try to use a bass through a guitar amp, not only will you probably blow the speaker, but it sounds really bad! However, running an electric guitar through a bass amp can not only give you some great, clear sound, but great volume also. I currently run both a strat and a jazz bass through an Acoustic B20 practice amp in my living room, and I've had good luck with it. It's a bit small for any type of gigging, but for practice, it's just the ticked!

Playing bass through a guitar amp will NOT harm it in any way. It's the same amp, which will never deliver more power than it's capable of, no matter what you plug into it.
But it won't sound very good-you really should get a dedicated bass amp. Cruise the classifieds on this site for an amp, lots of them here.

Alright thanks guys, I'll see if I can get a dedicated bass amp. Would this amp work?

 

[David Jayne]

That's a guitar amp.

 

[the_canuck]

Darn, I thought I could just use the low gain input for my bass Oh well, I'm still new, I'll get the hang of it

 

[David Jayne]

Here's the sort of thing I'd suggest you look at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SWR-Workingmans...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

 

[gerryjazzman]

Well, yes it would work but the bass won't sound very good since it is an open backed cabinet. And yes playing bass through it won't hurt the amp but if you start cranking it with a lot of bass boost it is possible to damage the speakers with overexcursion (they are guitar speakers with limited excursion capabilities, you will hear folks referring to "xmax"). At practice levels it would probably be fine in that regard. The other thing is what is more important to you right now? A better guitar sound or better bass sound?

One possibility is to get an amp designed for bass (like a Peavey TKO or TNT series), and if you want some good effects for guitar, use a pedal (I've done this although I suck on guitar and it works fine).

Edit: Or something like dmusic148 suggested ^^^. Even better.

 

[the_canuck]

Thanks dmusic148, that looks nice. I'll look for stuff like that then. And at this time the bass sound is more important to me.

 

[David Jayne]

Or this:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=543934

 

[David Jayne]

Or this:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=544671

 

[PRUNEFACE]

Basses work just fine on guitar amps... May not sound the best. I'd look at Roland Cube Amps (if you want something small) or Fender Bassman amps (if you want a more expensive/bigger combo) or Phil Jones Bass amps (if you want something powerful yet portable).

 

[jjl5590]

yeah basses work ok through guitar amps... until you split the speakers.

 

[RickenBoogie]

What ever you do then, just be sure you buy a bass amp. Check back here whenever you find something, we'll give you the low down, and you can decide. Good luck in the search.

 

[the_canuck]

What ever you do then, just be sure you buy a bass amp. Check back here whenever you find something, we'll give you the low down, and you can decide. Good luck in the search.

Thanks, I appreciate the help everyone is offering. I'll just post up any of the amps I find

 

[62bass]

Well, I'm very new to bass guitar, I've played electric guitar for a bit but decided to give bass a try. Unfortunately I only have a small, 15W practice amp for my electric guitar. I am looking to get an amp that I can use with my bass, or preferably with both. I have seen a fair number of Peavey amps for sale in my area, and am wondering if they would work with both my electric and bass guitars. I have looked at a Peavey Classic Chorus 130, but am not sure if that would work. If anyone can help me out, it would be very much appreciated. I just want an amp that can do my bass (and hopefully guitar too) justice. I've got around $300 to spend, and am mostly looking at used ones. However, if anyone knows of a good amp I could get new for that price that would be great. Thanks everyone

If you are living in Canada (which I'm just assuming because you call yourself a Canuck) you can get some great deals on Yorkville Sound bass amps which are made in Canada and noted for their performance vs lower prices and dependability. The Yorkville Sound XM 50C combo puts out 50 watts into a 10" speaker, is pretty loud for such a small and light (30 lbs) combo and sounds very good compared to a lot of others in that price range. You won't be able to play this amp with loud screaming guitars and drummer but for a home practice amp and for jamming with a few other guys at decent volume in a small room it'll do great. It will also get a respectable guitar sound out of it.

It's a bass amp so the speaker won't blow up if you push it hard with an electric bass.

I bought mine new over a year ago for $320 Canadian so you should be able to find a used one for around $200. I have another much more expensive small amp at home for teaching and practicing and the Yorkville stands up to it pretty good at about 1/3 the price.

Check Craigslist, the Buy and Sell Press and local newspapers for used ones.

Any Yorkville Sound bass amp is usually a good investment. New ones can be found in Long and McQuade who own the Yorkville Sound and Traynor companies.

Used Peavey amps are a good deal too. Just make sure you buy a bass amp if you want something that sounds better than what you have now.

 

[Ezbass]

Get a bass amp as basses sound bad through guitar amps as the speakers are not voiced for bass frequencies and will probably overheat IMO, whereas guitars sound great through bass amps, just add an O/D and Reverb/Echo pedal and you're good to go.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

*Correction to anyone who said a bass won`t hurt a guitar amp*

I had to use a Fender guitar practice amp for a week while I waited for my bass amp to be shipped across country. As a safety precaution I had set the bass on the amp to only around 8 to make sure it wouldn`t blow, but after a few days I couldn`t take the trebly sound any more so I raised it up to 3-4. I maybe got two notes out of the amp before it hissed out and died on me. Basses and guitar amps do not mix. Othewise we`d a see a lot more bassists playing through guitar cabs because of how much cheaper they are.

 

[the_canuck]

If you are living in Canada (which I'm just assuming because you call yourself a Canuck) you can get some great deals on Yorkville Sound bass amps which are made in Canada and noted for their performance vs lower prices and dependability. The Yorkville Sound XM 50C combo puts out 50 watts into a 10" speaker, is pretty loud for such a small and light (30 lbs) combo and sounds very good compared to a lot of others in that price range. You won't be able to play this amp with loud screaming guitars and drummer but for a home practice amp and for jamming with a few other guys at decent volume in a small room it'll do great. It will also get a respectable guitar sound out of it.

It's a bass amp so the speaker won't blow up if you push it hard with an electric bass.

I bought mine new over a year ago for $320 Canadian so you should be able to find a used one for around $200. I have another much more expensive small amp at home for teaching and practicing and the Yorkville stands up to it pretty good at about 1/3 the price.

Check Craigslist, the Buy and Sell Press and local newspapers for used ones.

Any Yorkville Sound bass amp is usually a good investment. New ones can be found in Long and McQuade who own the Yorkville Sound and Traynor companies.

Used Peavey amps are a good deal too. Just make sure you buy a bass amp if you want something that sounds better than what you have now.

I think I've seen a few of those around, I'll post up an ad if I can find one. And yes I'm Canadian. Thanks for your advice

Get a bass amp as basses sound bad through guitar amps as the speakers are not voiced for bass frequencies and will probably overheat IMO, whereas guitars sound great through bass amps, just add an O/D and Reverb/Echo pedal and you're good to go.

YEah I'm definitely going with a bass amp.

*Correction to anyone who said a bass won`t hurt a guitar amp*

I had to use a Fender guitar practice amp for a week while I waited for my bass amp to be shipped across country. As a safety precaution I had set the bass on the amp to only around 8 to make sure it wouldn`t blow, but after a few days I couldn`t take the trebly sound any more so I raised it up to 3-4. I maybe got two notes out of the amp before it hissed out and died on me. Basses and guitar amps do not mix. Othewise we`d a see a lot more bassists playing through guitar cabs because of how much cheaper they are.

Thanks for that input, glad to know.

And I'm probably going to buy a used Ampeg BA115 Bass amp. It has a 5 year warranty, and the guy just bought it, used it a few times, but is now selling it for money that he needs for car repairs. He's willing to sell it to me for $275, is that a good price?

 

[the_canuck]

Is buying a used Ampeg BA115 Bass amp a good choice. It has a 5 year warranty, and the guy just bought it, used it a few times, but is now selling it for money that he needs for car repairs. He's willing to sell it to me for $275, is that a good price?

I have also been offered a Kustom KMA100 Amplifier for the same price. Which is the better amp?

Sorry for the double post, I just would like some advice. Thanks