voxjockey Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 I play in 2 bands: bass in one, lead guitar in the other. My only amp is a Peavey TNT-160 bass amp that I use for both satisfactorily. Unfortunately, it's coughing up blood and needs to be replaced. The speaker is still good. I'm on a very tight budget (2 kids in college) and want to try to buy a new head and use my existing 15" speaker. Question: what are the ramifications of playing bass through a guitar head? Any problems? Anyone have any suggestions? All help would be appreciated. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Hey Gary, Welcome to the forum. This is probably the best forum you could have started a relationship with. As far as your problem goes I can only say I have, along with my son, played bass through a standard guitar amp with no discernable problems. We played through a Fender Hot Rod deVille. I don't know if problems would crop up in a long term situation but the 2 12's worked fine, as did the amp part of it. I think you could get by that way for a while but when you can, at least look at the Carvin amps. They're really decent and priced right. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboDog Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Guitar amps and bass amps are different animals. And while they may work back and forth, it's not very advisable. The Fender amp you have is not designed for the frequencies needed for a bass. And it will break up a bit when the power tubes start to saturate. Bass players, unlike guitar players, are looking for exceptionally clean signal. This is why the vast majority of bass amps are solid state. The next problem is the speakers. I am by no means an expert on bass amps, but I believe the speakers are designed for the lower frequencies, where guitar amp speakers are mid-range oriented. Of course, we all know that the Fender Bassman is commonly used as a guitar amp. You can get a ton of clean headroom thru those with a guitar, and add an overdrive pedal for needed distortion. I have played guitars thru bass amps in the past. Too much clean raw power for me. But to go the other way and play a bass thru a guitar amp is a different story. Some of the amp gurus here will correct me if I'm wrong, and will surely be able to give you a technical answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboDog Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Okay, scratch everything I just said, as I see now it is a guitar HEAD and not a combo. I will still stand by the notion that your head will distort at higher volumes, which is undesirable for bass. Sorry for the mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 The main problem you get into is that the tone controls are voiced very differently. I'd say a guitar head could work if it's at least 100 watts (bass needs A LOT more headroom) and you're not too fussy about your tone options. I'd stay away from Peavey just because I personally have had bad luck with them. Many around here have had good luck with Carvin but I've known of a bunch of their amps failing. Another option to consider would be a good bass head and a pedalboard. That ought to solve your problem. You might check the Low Down boards to see what's reliable. For what it's worth, my Galien Kruger bass head is sitting here dead and it's pots were way scratchy before it gave up. The only brand I can recommend 100% is Mesa Boogie but they're pricy and you said you were on a budjet. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat0124 Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 Originally posted by DC: I'd stay away from Peavey just because I personally have had bad luck with them. Many around here have had good luck with Carvin but I've known of a bunch of their amps failing. .Our bassist in the Moaning Lisas gigs with a Peavey Classic 50 into a 4X12 cab. Not ideal but for pubs it works great, plus he uses a Sansamp BassDI to the mains....plenty of oomph. Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voxjockey Posted April 2, 2002 Author Share Posted April 2, 2002 Thanks for the input guys. From what I'm hearing and what I want to do, it sounds like a bass amp head is the way to go. It never hurts to have more power anyway I can rely on pedals for overdrive and crunch. My pedals aren't the most tube-sounding out there, but the bass amp should help me boost the bass frequencies and fatten them up a bit. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrbreez Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 The only new amp out that can be used for both lead and bass is a Fender '65 Twin Reverb reissue. You will need to unlug the combo speakers and plug in a bass speaker cabinet (a 1x15 or 2x15 cabinets work very well). You might try an old Showman head or Bassman head. Buddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dylumph Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 Then again, theres Hiwatt Dr-103 or 201. Their called AP-100(all purpose) on their tags.They work very good in both situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted April 8, 2002 Share Posted April 8, 2002 Night before last, I conducted a scientific experiment. I hooked up my Mesa Mk IV head to my ampeg style 4-10" cab and pulled out my Schecter PJ bass with active EMGs. This set up sounds unreal! Solid rip roaring bass through a guitar head. Of course this amp is 100 watts and features a 5-band graphic eq, but I ended up running it almost flat with just a bit of treble boost. Ran the neck pickup full and added a bit of bridge pickup. Wow, works great. I would not hesitate to use this rig for gigs. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip McDonald Posted April 9, 2002 Share Posted April 9, 2002 Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) used to play through Marshall Super Leads, had a characteristic clanky tone.... I dunno if that makes sense for a non-idiomatic sound, though. Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/ / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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