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Keyboard Amp....for Bass?
- Thread starter MrKenmore
- Start date
Most keyboard amps are just a bass amp with a tweeter and multiple inputs. Should be no problem
My home practice amp for years has been a KB-100. Big, heavy, loud, and cheap!
Years ago I had an amplifier power supply die on a gig, so I ran home, grabbed the KB-100, taped a good preamp to the top, and finished the gig with it. It sounded so good I kept gigging with it for a month while my amp was being repaired, and I actually got compliments on the tone!
Years ago I had an amplifier power supply die on a gig, so I ran home, grabbed the KB-100, taped a good preamp to the top, and finished the gig with it. It sounded so good I kept gigging with it for a month while my amp was being repaired, and I actually got compliments on the tone!
Most keyboard amps are great! I don't have a bass amp, proper. Instead I run my pedal board into a mixer. The mixer sends my bass, keys, and other stuff into a KC-550. Sounds great and is easily loud enough to get up and over drum volumes.
Before I owned a bass amp I played through my PA, before I did that I played through a keyboard amp. Sounded fine.
Surprisingly though, it blew up later when my wife was singing through it...
Probably just coincidence....
Surprisingly though, it blew up later when my wife was singing through it...
Probably just coincidence....
Not for me, I tried it with a Roland KB300? KB400? Just could hot handle the lows. Seemed to distort easily. Backed the lows down but it seemed to lose the big sound a bass amp has,,,,
Not really, the inputs on keyboard amps are for -10dB line level, not instrument level.
That's why a lot of the people responding on this thread are using preamps or pedals in front of them.
I once plugged into my keyboard player's KC350 just to see what it was like, with a passive bass I really had to jack the volume pot and it sounded ok but not as good as an actual bass amp.
Should work ok for the OP's intended use.
Analogeezer
Keep in mind the KB300 is only rated for 150W. I am not aware of a 150W bass amps that sounds huge and gets loud.
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You already pointed out what I was going to say, keyboard amps tend to be rather underpowered compared to dedicated bass amps and the model numbers have little relevance to the actual RMS power outputs LOL.
Keyboards also have a lot of highs and a lot of mids, so it's easy for a low wattage keyboard amp to sound loud with an actual keyboard going through it.
My keyboard player in a band I was in had a KC-350, he used a rack mixer on the front end of it as he was feeding the amp with four keyboards and two rack modules.
Frankly I thought the thing sounded like ass; he played very aggressively with very spiky synth patches, a lot of Moog style leads, and loud piano.
We ran him through the PA the Roland was just for his monitoring purposes.
So one practice I brought over my keyboard monitoring setup; a pair of JBL Eon10G2's, these are 175 watts each (and biamped).
Put them on the floor in stereo, pointed upwards at him.
He couldn't believe how much better it sounded and how much louder it got. It had the additional benefit of him being able to crank up his own monitoring volume to the level he liked without the Roland blasting forward into the rest of us.
Years ago Yorkville (aka Traynor) had a very kickass keyboard amp. Four stereo input channels, complete with EQ, and 2 x 10" speakers and tweeter in each corner. Set up for stereo; and was a real 300 watts.
The downside was it was about 90 pounds but it did have casters on it stock. Frankly the big Roland keyboard amps are pretty heavy (they use MDF), easily 70 pounds.
Alas I could never actually find one for sale but the reviews in Keyboard magazine said it was by far the best keyboard amp on the market.
It's such a rare amp that even Google seems to think it never existed LOL
Analogeezer
This has not been a problem on any of the keyboard amps I have used. IMHO people may run a preamp because they are trying to dial in a tone that is more to their liking. It's not necessarily required for level matching as long as you use a compatible input channel.
From the Roland KC400 specs:
Nominal Input Level (1 kHz)
CH1 (BALANCED, L/MONO, R): -50-- -20 dBu
CH2 (L/MONO, R): -20 dBu
CH3 (L/MONO, R): -20 dBu
CH4/MONITOR IN (L/MONO, R): -20 dBu
AUX IN (L, R, STEREO): -10 dBu
STEREO LINK (IN): 0 dBu
As long as you plug the bass into Channel 1, it will be fine. The Channels 2-4 is probably borderline without a preamp unless your bass has a really strong output. Only the Aux In is -10dBu.
Other Roland current keyboard amps have the same if not identical specs.
I have played bass through the older model KC500 many times with no problems. Alway just plugged the bass straight in.
KC500 specs
I have also played bass through a Peavey KB300 quite a bit, and it always had enough gain. I always plugged the bass straight in...no extra preamp.
From the Peavey KB300 specs
-16dBv to -34dBv converts to about -14dBu to -32dBu.
Depends on the tone you want. I have always found the big Peaveys and Rolands with 15" speakers to be rather loud given their modest wattage. But I agree they don't pump out big huge lows. That's not a problem for me. I don't generally go for a big fat sound on stage.
I dont remember the exact model, KB450? I know it weighed about 90 lbs. My SWR 15" sounded much better. 150w bass amp not loud? depends on where you play it! I played at a small football stadium with FOH. I used a 140w combo as a monitor. I could barely hear it. Many years ago I borrowed a friends 150lb (felt like 150lbs) Peavey TNT??? 1x15 combo for a gig. It hurt to stand in front of it! It would make your heart beat funny!
I played through a Bass Buddy once. Even the store owner said, “It sounds alright.” The good is the enemy of the best. Near is good in horseshoes and handgrenades.
Unless it or anything is the last thing on earth to play bass through or it’s free and you have limited fundage why not play through what makes you never want to stop playing?
Unless it or anything is the last thing on earth to play bass through or it’s free and you have limited fundage why not play through what makes you never want to stop playing?
What if I actually like the way a keyboard am sounds. As I said in my first post, I have definitely played through bass amps that sounded worse than some of the keyboard amps I have used.
For example:
GK MB150S...
GK 200MK...
GK 200MK...
This reflects my tone preferences and YMMCV. C =certainly
.Of course! I'm responding to the posts here that say, "it sounds alright." That is a less than glowing recommendation.What if I actually like the way a keyboard am sounds. As I said in my first post, I have definitely played through bass amps that sounded worse than some of the keyboard amps I have used.
For example:
GK MB150S...
GK 200MK...
This reflects my tone preferences and YMMCV. C =certainly
Sure they work, my point wasn't you can't play a bass through a keyboard amp, it was in reference to the comment keyboard amps are just bass amps with a tweeter. That is not the case. In the case of the Roland Bass amps they made, they were completely different from their keyboard amps.
Analogeezer
After googling about using my bass amp with my keyboard I saw a few threads listed on the subject right here on TB. For shows I always connect my keyboard right into the main mixer without any issues, now this new band requires me to bring my amp for our very first practice. I own a very small practice amp too, a Peavey 25w I think, but it just won't work for practice, much less for auditions (don't ask me how I know that ).
I guess I'll have to adjust my signal level through my audio interface and then send it to the lower input in the bass amp. From what I understand, keyboard output signals are hotter than other instruments. I hope I don't have any problems at practice next week
I guess I'll have to adjust my signal level through my audio interface and then send it to the lower input in the bass amp. From what I understand, keyboard output signals are hotter than other instruments. I hope I don't have any problems at practice next week
After googling about using my bass amp with my keyboard I saw a few threads listed on the subject right here on TB. For shows I always connect my keyboard right into the main mixer without any issues, now this new band requires me to bring my amp for our very first practice. I own a very small practice amp too, a Peavey 25w I think, but it just won't work for practice, much less for auditions (don't ask me how I know that ).
I guess I'll have to adjust my signal level through my audio interface and then send it to the lower input in the bass amp. From what I understand, keyboard output signals are hotter than other instruments. I hope I don't have any problems at practice next week
I have played bass through several keyboard amps and never had a problem.
Keyboards do tend to have hotter max signal level than most basses, but you should be able to adjust it down to a suitable level that will allow you to plug straight into the instrument input. With some keyboards, I believe you can adjust levels using internal menus.
If your bass amp has an input pad or and input labeled "active," use it.
Always a good idea to try it out before relying on it in a situation where it has to work.
