Guitar Amps

Read and learn more about bass guitar amplifier amp. For more, visit the Guitar Amp website GuitarAmpUniverse.com

Q: Is there a difference between a bass amplifier and a guitar amp?
If I buy a bass guitar, can I use a normal guitar amp for it?

A: It really depends on the guitar amp. The difference is that bass amps have much stronger, more powerful speakers to handle the low notes. I have an ampeg guitar amp from the 1960’s that cant handle bass at all without blowing it up, but a friend of mine uses a marshall for his bass and it works fine.

Q: Will a distortion pedal ruin a bass guitar amplifier?
I like the sound the Fender Stratocaster has through this bass guitar amp but I just need a little distortion for some classic rock.
Thank You!

A: Hey Katana:

Shouldn’t be a problem, provided its not a super low wattage practice amp. Speakers used in bass amps will usually take more of a beating than guitar speakers. By the way,……. the Fender Bassman 50 watt 4X10 combo amp became a HUGE favorite of many guitar players. Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Scott Holt of Buddy Guy are a couple of players who have used bassman amps for many years.

Heres a link for ya on the Bassman amps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Bassman

Hope this has helped, and keep playin!

Q: What are the disadvantages, if any, of playing a guitar through a bass amp or a bass through a guitar amp?
My friend has a habit of playing his guitar through a bass amplifier and I (before I got into playing music proper) used to play my bass through guitar amps. What, if anything, are the effects on the amp itself? I already know about what it will do for your sound; I just need to know if it is bad for the amplifier in any way.

A: Electrically, no harm will be done to the amps.

Playing a guitar through a bass amp…rock on. The Fender Bassman amp was originally intended as a bass amp. But, guitarists found out that it sounded great when you cranked it up. So now it’s more popular as a guitar amp than for it’s original intended purpose.

Bass through a guitar amp…as long as you’re not try a put a ton of bass through it at a high level, it’s fine. The thing you have to be careful with is the speaker itself. Guitar speakers and cabinets aren’t designed to handle a lot of low end (most roll off below about 80Hz, almost one octave above the low E on a bass).

If the speaker sounds like it grunting or you hear a rubbing noise come from the speaker, back off on the bass and/or the volume.

Greetings from Austin, TX

Ken

Q: Bass Guitar On A Guitar Amplifier?
I really want to buy a bass guitar but I’m not sure if I can pay for the bass amplifier yet. I’d really like to get the bass soon though. My question is if it really makes a diffeence if you have a bass amp or not. Could i use a my guitar amp for it? I don’t plan on playing live with the bass anytime soon, but I may film videos. How much would a guitar amp really change the sound is what I’m basicly getting at.

A: It never ceases to amaze me how many times this question comes up.

Chris Squire (Yes)
Jack Bruce (Cream)
John Entwistle (The Who)
Lemmy (Motorhead)
Robert Trujillo (Metallica)
dUg Pennick (King’s X)
Ken C (Rhythm Dawgs, Trias) <--- Shameless Self Plug

All bassists who have used or continue to use “guitar” amps in their rigs.

Electrically, you won’t do any damage to the amp. You do have to be careful with the speaker(s) though. Guitar speakers and cabinets weren’t necessarily designed to handle a lot of low frequency information. If the speaker sounds like it’s grunting or farting, then you’re trying to drive too much bass through it. Back off on the bass or turn down the volume.

Just go easy on the speaker, and you’ll be fine.

Greetings from Austin, TX

Ken

Q: Bass Guitar AMPLIFIER question?
What bass amp do you recommend for me? I just play at small things with my band (drummer, guitarist/singer) like at talent shows and other small “gigs”. What bass guitar amp do you recommend with great sound and at least 90 watts (unless you have a better i idea of how many watts I need, tell me) and cost at the most, $300.00? Thanks!

A: I play a Ampeg B-2 combo. 90 watts is good for a practice amp but thats about it. To get the presence and big low end, you need at least 200 watts. The low end sounds suck up tons more power than 6-string amp. 1000 watts doesn’t nessesarily mean super high volume, but gives you in your face fidelity.

Q: Does anyone know if Orange Amplifiers makes a bass guitar amp?
And do you know if Line 6 bass amps are good? My father has a line 6 guitar amp and loves it, so i’m guessing the bass amp will be pretty chill too.

A: Yes, Orange makes bass amps. I’m guessing they’re pretty expensive though!

Line 6 bass amps aren’t very good; they’re modeling amps. This means you don’t get much of your bass’s actual tone, but the amp’s internal processors trying to sound like a different amp. Sometimes they almost get it right, other times not really. There are a lot of way better brands out there for the price. If you’re looking for a really small practice amp, check out a Peavey MAX 126 or 158. If you want something a bit more powerful, check out Ashdown or Acoustic.

Hope you find what you’re looking for =)
Cheers!

Q: what’s the difference between a guitar and bass amp?
I was looking online and I found an AWESOME deal for a high powered bass amp to replace my lowly current guitar amp.

I play electric guitar, and I was wondering, what’s the sound difference between a guitar amplifier and a bass amp?

I usually play with my amp with treble at 0, mid at 8, and bass at 10.

Would there be noticeable difference between the sound of teh bass amp versus a guitar amplifier?

Also, my current amp has some distortion control, whereas the bass has alot of settings, I’m getting a distortion pedal as well, so will the bass amplifier sound seriously different on distortion as well?
We’re talking about a 300W amp for under 300 dollars.

I can’t find a 50W for guitar at that.

Also, as I said, I don’t use treble at all, and my playing is pretty bass heavy.

My biggest question is as to distortion.

A: There would be a huge difference. The bass amps are made for the low freq sounds. Guitar amps are made for the range of sounds much higher.

My guitar will not function with my son’s bass amps.

Look at the Line 6 Spider series. Some good amps for not a lot of money.

Q: What’s the difference between a guitar and bass amp?
I was looking online and I found an AWESOME deal for a high powered bass amp to replace my lowly current guitar amp.

I play electric guitar, and I was wondering, what’s the sound difference between a guitar amplifier and a bass amp?

I usually play with my amp with treble at 0, mid at 8, and bass at 10.

Would there be noticeable difference between the sound of teh bass amp versus a guitar amplifier?

Also, my current amp has some distortion control, whereas the bass has alot of settings, I’m getting a distortion pedal as well, so will the bass amplifier sound seriously different on distortion as well?
We’re talking about a 300W amp for under 300 dollars.

I can’t find a 50W for guitar at that.

Also, as I said, I don’t use treble at all, and my playing is pretty bass heavy.

My biggest question is as to distortion.

A: I have bass and guitar amps, and at one time I thought about using a bass amp instead of upgrading my guitar rig, so I can give you some input on my experiences with that:

Bass amps can make good guitar amps. The Fender Bassman(original model) handled both guitar and bass for example. Bass amps tend to just bring out the lows in a mix, the big problem with this is when you want to record guitar through a bass amp, it tends to just come out as mush. Just jamming through a bass amp works great though. I got a kind of My Bloody Valentine tone out of a Metal Zone in front of my bass rig. It works best for metal, or heavy alt rock basically. It also gives you a great clean sound, very thick and clear, but thumpy lol. I eventually bought a Mesa MkIV, and that was the best way to go for me. If your looking for some inspiration, Josh Homme from QOTSA and KYUSS plays his guitar through bass amps as I’m sure others do.

(EDIT) Believe it or not, you could go your whole career without needing more than 50-100 watts. Nowadays amps get miked up so buying half stacks is almost a waste of money. You just need something powerful enough to survive in the mix of all the intruments. I mean, with distortion a bass amp will just sound like a really bassy guitar amp…thats the best way to put it. And the reason the bass amp is easy to find cheap is because they are rated higher, Bass needs more watts to cut through a mix. I have a 300 watt Sunn guitar amp that I can’t even put past 1 without blowing out some ears. Its more important to be able to drive a guitar amp with its own power section, so smaller wattage works for guitars.

(Another edit lol) Bass amps hit much lower than your guitar amp can even set the way you have it…it might be good for you since you like it deep. The only downside might be if you change your style later it will be hard to adjust using a bass amp. That and my problems with recording guitar through bass amps, but im sure that can be over come. If anything, you should get out to a store and experiment for yourself before you shell out any money.

Q: Guitar/Bass Amp Difference?
Mmk… I want to get an amplifier for my electric guitar, but I really can’t tell a difference between a guitar amplifier and a bass amplifier. I checked the amplifiers at the local music store, and only one of them actually stated which instrument it was for. Is there any way to tell the difference between a bass amp and a guitar amp? If so, I’d like to know what the differences are.

Also, if I get a bass amplifier, I’ve heard it’s fine to play a guitar that’s hooked to one… and I want to confirm if that’s true, and if it will make the guitar sound awkward.

A: If you are playing a guitar and not a bass I absolutely recommend a guitar amp for many reasons. For one your tone of your guitar will be more true to it’s intended/preferred sound. The bass amps Speaker(s) are larger and produce a more low end sound. If you run your guitar through effects into the bass amp it will also sound different than if run through a guitar amp. It just don’t sound right like when the guitar is run straight to the PA and not through an amp first…it just kind of sounds dull. If you play guitar you may as well get the equipment that’s made for it. A guitar amp, but look around at different ones there are many options 1,2 & 3 channells, built in effects. Be more specific when you go to the music store and ask the guitar tech at the store a lot of questions and I bet you he also recommends a guitar amp. good luck

Q: Electric Guitar on Bass Amp?
Will plugging an electric guitar into a bass guitar amplifier mess up either the guitar or amp? Or is it ok to do?

A: Yes, you can plug it into the bass amp and not cause damage. However, the bass amp is crossed over for a low frequency. That means you will not get all the highs and high harmonics the guitar is producing. So you guitar is going to sound very midrangey or lower. If that’s all you have or all you can afford right now, go ahead and do it. You should be OK.

Q: Need help with bass guitar amp Can you help.?
I have a Behringer BX4410A bass guitar amplifier, I need to know if I can add exspansion cabinets and still run the main speakers in the factory cabinet. It has a speakon jack on the back but I want to know if I hook that connection up will it cut off the four tens from use.

A: If you don’t already have it, download the manual for your amp from the Behringer website:

http://www.behringerdownload.de/BX4410_BX4410A/BX4410_BX4410A_ENG_Rev_B.pdf

From what I gather from the manual, adding external speakers to the amp will not disconnect the internal speakers. Neutric Speakon connectors do not have a “disconnect” function built into them, so you should be safe using that. Just make sure that the external cabinet you’re going to hook up is not less than 4 ohms impedance.

Good luck.

Greetings from Austin, TX

Ken

Q: Can I use a power amplifier and a loudspeaker instead of a bass amp head, for playing my bass guitar? ?
Can I plug my bass right into the power amp? Or do I have to use bass heads or bass amp combos? Or can I plug it into a powered mixer? Is that okay? Thanks.

A: A powered mixer possibly, but not power amp. Well, I mean you could, it’s not going to hurt anything, it’ll just sould like crap. You would want a preamp to boost the signal and provide EQ capabilities. If you get like a Tech 21 SansAmp, Line 6 Bass POD, a Behringer Bass V-AMP or some such, you can run it into what ever you want and it’ll sound fine.

Q: Could i use a bass amplifier for my guitar on stage?
I dont have a very powerful amplifier but i have seen a Laney 100 watt Bass Guitar amplifier thats very cheap.

I have a large pedal board that i can hook up to the amp. Would that be safe and suitable for gigging?

if not? any suggestions

thanks
i play electric guitar NOT bass

A: You shouldn’t have a problem hooking it up. You probably won’t get a great tone from it. I have a digitech whammy pedal that makes my guitar sound like a bass and it has great tone. It’s around $250 and you can find it at Guitar Center. It sounds like a lot of money for a pedal. but it’s totally worth it.

Q: Can you use a First Act Pocket Guitar Amplifier for a bass guitar?
My moms boyfriend just gave me his Ibanez bass, and I have one of those amps. I dont have the money to buy a bass amp right now, and I just wondering if it would work for the bass for a while.

A: you CAN

its just not a good idea.

Think of it this way. Girls cant sing bass cause their vocal chords cant handle the low notes.

same with a guitar amp playing Bass notes.

itll work, but you risk ruining it, especially since its FirstAct

Q: if you connect a bass 2 a guitar amp will the guitar amp get damaged in any way?
I have a fender frontman guitar amp what will happen if i connect a bass and a guitar to the guitar amplifier will it damage it?

A: Not at all.

Original had a large keyboard amp that I used for my bass for several years. Was pretty good, but not made for bass guitar.

However………I had a nice little guitar amp that I used for practising with as my big amp is awefully heavy & bulky. My 13 year old tried it out, cranked it up and blew the speaker.

So…..It’s OK to plug in and use, but if it’s so loud that it starts to distort, you are at risk of blowing it.

B )