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I’m playing guitar through my bass amp
- Thread starter glxtreme
- Start date
the only issue I see is using distortion or anything high volume, high frequency. loud volumes of that may damage the speakers because they are pushing higher frequency than designed for.
We aren’t judging you. Even if you are wracked with guilt, playing guitar can be quite satisfying. So when you quit fooling around, and you’ll know when is correct for you, put it down, pickup a bass and feel the music. No longer will you be playing about the tune you will be making the tune. It won’t be an afterthought but the essence of music. Enjoy what you’re doing and when you feel like it join the music makers and leave listening then playing behind. Stop waiting for adoration and nail the one so you really are at the heartbeat of the audience.
It’s great you have appropriate bass gear so this transition will be flawless.
It’s great you have appropriate bass gear so this transition will be flawless.
I do this a lot. Anytime I need a lot of volume on guitar (which is rare) I use my TC RH450 into an Ashdown 410, just using the head’s gain knob for distortion. Sound pretty gnarly if you ask me. It’s my only big boy amp that gets to leave the house, I have an old Silvertone guitar amp that’s plenty loud but it’s pretty fragile.
I know back in the 90’s Josh Homme did that with Kyuss and early on with Queens of the Stone Age. The guitar parts of Songs for the Deaf were largely recorded using an Ampeg B-15.
I know back in the 90’s Josh Homme did that with Kyuss and early on with Queens of the Stone Age. The guitar parts of Songs for the Deaf were largely recorded using an Ampeg B-15.
back in the day a lot of guitarists played through Bassman amps. Glad you found a good sound.
I used to play coffee shops and art shows with my vocal mic and my acoustic/electric guitar plugged into my Bassman 100, with a dual channel pre. Maybe not the best rig, but it was portable and guaranteed to sound better than whatever karaoke PA the house had in the back.
I play guitar and was hoping I could do double duty with an amp. It doesn’t work with my setup. I play guitar through a Dr. Z EZG-50 and a 4x10 and it’s a clean machine, I use pedals for dirt. At low volumes my bass sounds great through this set up but not enough headroom to gig.
For Bass I use a GK RB750-II or RB100-II and either a 2x10 or 4x10. Guitar sounds lifeless and sterile through this. Even with my pedalboard it’s just too tight. Playing it through my guitar 4x10 it sounds a little better but that kills the dual use rig.
So I just use the amps and cabs for what they were designed for and love the tone and feel of each.
For Bass I use a GK RB750-II or RB100-II and either a 2x10 or 4x10. Guitar sounds lifeless and sterile through this. Even with my pedalboard it’s just too tight. Playing it through my guitar 4x10 it sounds a little better but that kills the dual use rig.
So I just use the amps and cabs for what they were designed for and love the tone and feel of each.
Agree with the reminder ok to play guitar trough bass amps but not bass through guitar amps. I did very briefly and at low volume levels when I bought my 1st bass awaiting my 1st bass amp.
Trivia- the solo on Steely Dan’s Reelin’ In The Years was recorded with a telecaster and a Gibson PAF in the neck and into an Ampeg SVT and 8 10 cab.
Trivia- the solo on Steely Dan’s Reelin’ In The Years was recorded with a telecaster and a Gibson PAF in the neck and into an Ampeg SVT and 8 10 cab.
I certainly play plenty of guitar in bass amps: notably the Bassman Ten (which I did some speaker changes and mods to make it more guitar friendly) which is still a great Bass VI amp. THe Century 200 head works great for guitar, too.
Used to use my SWR Workingman's 12 as an acoustic amp, but sold it for a Markbass CMD121P--which is now my acoustic amp.
Bass into guitar amps? Sure! The Peavey Special 130 stacked on my 1x12" with a Delta Pro 12A is killer for the Bass VI. My 100W Mesa MKIIA clean channel is really similar to a BF/SF Fender tone. Plugged into a proper cab, it has a Bassman 100 kind of vibe. It also has a 5 band EQ, so it can do much more than an old Fender.
Used to use my SWR Workingman's 12 as an acoustic amp, but sold it for a Markbass CMD121P--which is now my acoustic amp.
Bass into guitar amps? Sure! The Peavey Special 130 stacked on my 1x12" with a Delta Pro 12A is killer for the Bass VI. My 100W Mesa MKIIA clean channel is really similar to a BF/SF Fender tone. Plugged into a proper cab, it has a Bassman 100 kind of vibe. It also has a 5 band EQ, so it can do much more than an old Fender.
KohanMike
Los Angeles, Beverly Grove West, near Cedars-Sinai
I’ve played acoustic guitar through my SWR Baby Blue II combo (which uses a 12AX7 tube in the preamp, a SS power amp and a speaker setup designed to be like "studio reference monitors"). I’ve also used it as a very mini PA here and there.
For electric guitar though, as RJC1811 said above, it sounds lifeless and sterile. When I’m already all setup using my bass amp and feeling lazy, at home I’ll occasionally run an electric guitar through it clean - but it’s definitely not ideal (thin, lifeless, sterile).
My basses sound pretty good through my Tone Kong 1x12 combo guitar amp at low volume, though they’re noticeably more mid-rangey than through a bass amp/cab.
I’d love to have a small full-tube bass amp like an Ampeg flip top for my little home studio setup, and you guys talking about running a guitar through such has me even more intrigued
For electric guitar though, as RJC1811 said above, it sounds lifeless and sterile. When I’m already all setup using my bass amp and feeling lazy, at home I’ll occasionally run an electric guitar through it clean - but it’s definitely not ideal (thin, lifeless, sterile).
My basses sound pretty good through my Tone Kong 1x12 combo guitar amp at low volume, though they’re noticeably more mid-rangey than through a bass amp/cab.
I’d love to have a small full-tube bass amp like an Ampeg flip top for my little home studio setup, and you guys talking about running a guitar through such has me even more intrigued
Thanks, I had forgotten about those, when I hear Super Bassman I automatically think about the new ones.
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Hi All, after all such great responses I could not hold myself and I bought a Godin Progression Plus (transparent cream with tortoise shell pick guard) and then I started to build a guitar rig. I ended up with a Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister Deluxe 20, Orange PPC112, Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Mini Wah, origin effects cali76 stacked edition, origin effects revival drive and Seymour Duncan vapor trails analog delay. Superb combinations for clean sparkling, jazzy clean and both vintage and modern overdriven sounds. This has been a life saver during the quarantine.
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My 400PS is a fantastic guitar amp if you like Fender clean. I'd love to hear a well played (i.e. not by me) Strat or Tele on it. B15 is pretty good too, cranked through an EVM15L cabinet instead of its own. I always try every amp I can with guitar and bass, sometimes the results are surprising. Had a late 70's Peavey amp labelled "Bass" that sounded very good when cranked. Sold my old Alphabass to a blues guitarist. Conversely, Mesa Rocket 440 sounds great with bass, if utilized very carefully.
Years ago when I lived in a one-room cabin with my wife and child I kept my 100 watt Ampeg V4B in a friend's shed. Once in a while I'd go plug in my Japanese Les Paul copy and let 'er rip until my ears bled. That thing could fill a high school auditorium with noise through the 2x15 cab. I know because I used to do it with my Rickenbacker bass in the dance band I played in at the time.