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using a Keyboard amp (Hartke KM60) for Bass?

baconmpanada

baconmpanada

Oct 20, 2008
253
13
Quezon City, Philippines
#1
Hi,

I'm thinking of buying a Hartke KM60 for bass purposes. i would like to be versatile in terms of being able to use an amp for both bass and synthesizers thus i'm thinking of buying a keyboard amp instead of the usual bass amp.

Anyone tried playing thru a keyboard amp? What should be my concerns for this?

I play not to play it too loud, just for bedroom and practice purposes.

i hope that someone can share their reviews or opinion of this approach.

Thanks a lot!
 
#3
tekdiver500ft said:
It's not a problem. You'll get fairly hi-fi sound from it, but keyboard amps are designed to play just as deep as bass amps, so you won't hurt anything by doing it.
Click to expand...

+1
You should have no problems at all

I have done about 3 gigs through a peavey kb 60 keyboard amp, while mine was out of action. It worked very well
 
#6
arai said:
+1
You should have no problems at all

I have done about 3 gigs through a peavey kb 60 keyboard amp, while mine was out of action. It worked very well
Click to expand...

Yep, for small gigs, practicing at home and even recording, I really like the sound I get from my Peavey KB60. If only it was louder so I could use it with my power pop trio...I actually like the tone a bit better than what I get outta my SVT-4.
 
#9
Along the lines of what tekdiver500ft said... Keyboard amps are not voiced like bass amps. I use a Roland KC-550 keyboard amp (ported 15" + horn, 180W) for my keys and basses together. It's pretty much hi-fi sounding and fairly flat in frequency response (which is great for keys). In order to get EQ in a range appropriate for bass (plus a little warmth and soft distortion), I use a VT Bass between my basses and amp. Overall, I'm happy with my setup. It gets the sound I like for both bass and keys at a rock drummer's volume.

60W with a single 10" speaker isn't going to get loud. I have no idea how much that model costs or sounds. I can definitely say the Roland KC series amps sound nice.
 
#10
You have stumbled onto the great amp secret for starting bassists. Usually, you can get an equivalently powerful keyboard amp for at least a third less in cost then a bass amp of similar power. Just check out any of the keyboard amp costs and you will see that for a 100W bass amp you typically spend $3-$5 per watt, whereas with keyboard amps you are usually around $2 per watt. And, you get additional channels, so you have built in redundancy.

I tell kids of all ages if they can't afford the big rig, go find the most powerful key amp from their favorite manufacturer. They are basically just bass amps with a few tweaks. And, they do tend to be a touch flat, so a decent pedal/preamp will give you high end bass sound for much less cost.

Go for it. Although, if you can, I'd do the 200W Hartke. What the heck, size does matter....
 
#12
I was at Guitar Center a few months back and they had a keyboard amp or two with the bass amps. Since I didn't wanna fight anyone over the Markbass combo or whatever Ampegs they were stacked to the ceiling with I plugged into a KB amp. I can't remember the brand but it had a 12 and was somewhere around 200 watts. It was clear, loud, and very responsive sounding. I was playing a Squire Jag through it.
 

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