Bass through a guitar amp...

[arroyomusic]

how bad is it for a guitar amp head? the reason i ask is because i recently started play bass after being primarily a guitarist. and i acquired a new bass and just ran it through my guitar cab. i play it at extremelly low volumes, just enought for me to hear it. and also, i dont play it for any long, extended periods of time. just for 15 minutes hear and there. and now i am worried that i could've damaged my head. i read the posts on this here forum, and i want to know, could i have damaged my head by the minimal amount of bass playing i have done, or is it only really in danger if i played for extended periods of time and cranked loud? and what is in danger, the head or the speakers or both? thanks in advance for any help/responses.

[popmusic_sux]

I wouldn't recommend it, I know many-a speaker that's been blown because of the low frequencies.

[arroyomusic]

so what you are saying is that it is mostly the speaker that takes the abuse? if so, then i should be okay becuase the volume was extremelly low. and also, i definatly will not be doing that again! do you guys think i will be okay? or rather, myamp///and the head, does that get jacked up?

[popmusic_sux]

Amps are certainly not my forte. I've been told it's ok for short periods of time at low volumes but don't do it a lot, I'd spring for a cheap bass amp.

[BassTallica]

DONT DO IT!

-

[quasnero]

If you run a bass through a guitar amp you crack the cone likewise with a guitar through a bass amp the cones arn't ment to handle the pitch

[arroyomusic]

Thanks for your replys, guys. I really appreciate it. I think i am okay. I only used the bass a handful of times and it was only for about 15 minutes here and there and at an extremelly low volume. I have been playing my guitar loud to hear anything out of the ordinary, and everything seems okay. Thanks again!!!!

[toast]

Originally posted by quasnero
[1]If you run a bass through a guitar amp you crack the cone
[2]likewise with a guitar through a bass amp the cones arn't ment to handle the pitch
[1] Don't know enough about amps to know about cones, but yeah, you'll blow it
[2] I think that's incorrect. Guitars can play through bass amps fine. I think some people played guitars through the Fender Bassman for different sound, but I may be mistaken.

[popmusic_sux]

Originally posted by toast
Guitars can play through bass amps fine. I think some people played guitars through the Fender Bassman for different sound, but I may be mistaken.

Yep, guitars work just fine through bass amps, I play mine through my bass amp actually, it's a lot easier than lugging around two amps (plus the bass amp has more power anyway._

[toast]

I'm not sure if 100w for bass amp is as loud as 100w, but i know 100w bass amp goes for cheap, whereas 100w guitar amp costs atleast 500+

But yeah, thought you could play guitar through bass amp.

[popmusic_sux]

I'm not sure either but my bass amp is 100w and cost me $239 (it's not exactly the best out there though.) My guitar amp is 40w and cost me $200 used (half price book value.)

[quasnero]

No you'll crack the cone if you play a guitar through a bass amp because the denser cone isn't made to handle the high frequencys. Ask any guy at a music store or a guitar magazine they'll tell you the same. You might not notice it at first but its happening you'll see it iff you open up your amp and look at the cone you''l see a crease around the edge

[popmusic_sux]

Originally posted by quasnero
No you'll crack the cone if you play a guitar through a bass amp because the denser cone isn't made to handle the high frequencys. Ask any guy at a music store or a guitar magazine they'll tell you the same. You might not notice it at first but its happening you'll see it iff you open up your amp and look at the cone you''l see a crease around the edge

Jimi never had a problem...

[ianb]

The Fender Bassman got to be quite popular with guitarists.

[quasnero]

think of it this way. Guitar amps frequency ranges frequency goes from 100hz to 10khz bass amps go from 10hz to 4khz as long as your amp is withing the frequency range for the instrument your ok if your not the amp will eventually crak. Plus bass amps require more power to run a bass drive so its not as bad to run a guitar on a bass amp for along time nothing will happen but don't put a bass in a guitar amp because it doesn't meet its power requirements.

[Fussygirl]

I'm with Popmusic sux - playing guitar thru a bass amp gives me that dirty gritty nasty i-need-to-take-a-shower sound that a regular guitar amp just won't give me. Josh Homme of Queens of the Stoneage use Ampeg bass amps. Plus it is much better than hauling around 2 amps if you play bass also.

Wouldn't it be neat if there was like a 2-in-1 amp you could switch back and forth for electric/bass? Course it would probably weigh as much as a whale.

[Bahamut]

guitar+bass amp=might work
guitar+guitar amp=do
bass+bass amp=do
bass+guitar amp=unless you like spending money on new amps every week or so, DONT

[55'gibby]

you folks have two thing wound up in one:

you can play a bass amp with a guitar, just use guitar speakers (they'll sound much better). you can use bass speakers, it just not going to sound right (unless that's the sound your after).

never play a bass thru a guitar amp.... ever.... even on low volume.

[Oblique]

so is it just the cone of the speaker that gets damaged and not the amp?...

cuz I know I messed up my stupid lil 10w guitar amp by running my bass thru it, but I opened it up, and the cone was fine, yet it sounded like it was permanently set on light distortion, even thru headphones... so was it just my crappy amp, or did my bass actually cause this?...

[55'gibby]

you bass caused it, there ar filters within you amp that will give you the tone. if you overdrive say a low pass filter you can damage it. there is more that can happen, but I'm to lazy to keep typing