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playing bass through guitar amp??

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mynameis

Dec 13, 2009
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#1
Hi

is it safe to play a bass through a guitar amp? (the amp in question is a peavey classic 30 valve amp, it's factory standard - 16ohms, 1x 12inch, open backed)

I have been running a bass through an old 'park gr25' guitar amp at low volume for a few months now with no issues (except it sounds ****** - but I think that's due to the amp itself) Question is, will I kill a peavey classic 30 by playing a bass through it?

I've read/heard different people say "you'll kill the amp with a bass" and "you'll blow the speaker with a bass" and "you can play bass through it, no problem" ... what's the truth??

Thanks
 
#2
I practice at home through a little Marshall practice amp at about half volume on the amp, full tone and volume on the bass, and it's fine for me. I get good volume, and I love the tone and the built in distortion is beautiful. I'd say it's fine for practice, if you were planning on gigging with a full size guitar amp, I wouldn't recommend it. It may be ok, may not be, but I know I wouldn't try.
 
#4
It's generally not a good idea unless you keep the volume low. In this case, if the speaker is a lot more burly than what the amplifier is capable of, it could be okay. But I'm guessing it's not. You'd be taking a chance anyway. But it's just a little Peavey combo so the risk isn't too great.

i only know this from reading Talkbass... the low bass frequencies cause a lot of speaker excursion (the distance the speaker's magnet travels back in forth, reproducing the notes). Guitar speakers generally don't handle as much excursion as bass speakers ('bass waves are big waves') meaning that you can destroy the guitar speakers if you play loud and low.
 
#5
I love, love, love guitar amps for recording and praticing. Some of the best sounding bass tracks have ever recorded, have been recorded through a Vox AC15, A Peavey Classic 30, or a Fender Deluxe Reverb. As long as it's at low volumes, go for it.
 
#6
michaelc said:
I love, love, love guitar amps for recording and praticing. Some of the best sounding bass tracks have ever recorded, have been recorded through a Vox AC15, A Peavey Classic 30, or a Fender Deluxe Reverb. As long as it's at low volumes, go for it.
Click to expand...

I track with a single channel 6550 loaded JCM 800 into a Mesa 2x10 Diesel series cab. Makes for GREAT sounding bass tracks. :)
 
#8
I play many different cranked guitar amps through open and closed back cabs with bass. The only time you'll run into problems is if you have an excessively wimpy speaker, in which case if you've got a set of ears you'll likely be able to hear if you're doing something wrong before anything gets damaged. Wimpy speakers tend to fart out in an unmusical way when pushed too hard. When that happens you can get a better speaker, no big deal.

If you want a clean sound, I'd recommend going with something like an Eminence Swamp Thang, which provides huge bass but stays relatively clean. If you want a dirty sound you might want to look into something you can push a bit for a nice musical grind.
 
#14
The speaker is the key. Set the amp clean and if your low notes sound good you're fine. If they "fart out" at the volume you need you'll probably blow the speaker at some point. If so, maybe you could find a bass cabinet cheap and leave the speaker in the amp as is, so that it's still a good amp for guitar as well.
 
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