Instrument-amp compatability

I have heard that if you play a bass through a guitar amp you will blow it. Is this true? Also, can you play a guitar through a bass amp with no harmful effects? I want to try these things but I don't want to destroy my equipment. I don't exactly have the cash rolling in.

*grunts*

depends on what settings u put amp on. bass guitars are generally to much bass for a guitar amp to handle. however if the amp is turned down low enough it will work to a degree meaning it will sound terrible but ull get sound (why dont u sell the amp and get a proper one?!) over all i would not advise it , it can damage the speaker and yess even blow it if its too loud.

later! :D

I have a proper amp. I was just curious. And I was more wondering about the guitar into a bass amp side of it.

A guitar won't hurt a bass amp in any way. Back in the day, more Fender Bassman amps were bought by guitar players than bassists. The first 'real' amp I gigged with was a Traynor Bass Master. Those are still much sought-after these days because they sound like a ballsy Marshall plexi.

A bass will cause problems for the speakers in a guitar amp if they aren't designed to work at those lower frequencies. A guitar head can happily drive a bass cab. Just be aware that you need about 4 times as much power get similar sound levels at bass frequencies. That's why there are lots of 1000 Watt bass amps, but guitar amps usually top out at 100 or 200 watts.

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsA guitar won't hurt a bass amp in any way. Back in the day, more Fender Bassman amps were bought by guitar players than bassists. The first 'real' amp I gigged with was a Traynor Bass Master. Those are still much sought-after these days because they sound like a ballsy Marshall plexi.

Since I started playing my electric guitar through my bass amp, the amp seems to buzz and distort a little bit when I play my bass with it. I don't know whether it's just my imagination, but could it be possible that playing an electric guitar through a bass amp and using lots of compression and gain mucks about with the amp a little bit?

I don't see how. People have been using bass amps for guitar for as long as there have been electric guitars, and bass amps to plug them into. The Ampeg SVT was originally designed as a 300 Watt bass amp. The Rolling Stones weren't having any of that, of course. They used them for guitar as well as bass when they debuted the amp on their '71 tour. So, in general, no - playing guitar through a bass amp will not harm the amp.

Down to your individual case, there may be something going on that you didn't notice before, or that has been hastened along by the different settings you use while playing guitar instead of bass. Unlikely, but in a universe where anything is possible, you gotta consider that yours is the one situation that came out different.

From an electronics point of view, an audio signal is an audio signal, and an amp works with audio signals. The frequecy content may be different, and the levels may be diferent, but the amp either passes or doesn't pass the frequencies, and no off-the-shelf pedal should be putting out voltage levels capable of causing physical damage to the input. The sound would simply be more distorted if it was too strong for the amp to reproduce cleanly. So if there's distortion now that wasn't there before, your amp has a problem that would have been there regardless of whether you were using it with a bass, a guitar, an electric piano, or a microphone. OK?

Mechanically, the vibration from the speakers working at higher frequencies than 'normal' may have caused something to come loose. So if its a tube amp, make sure all of the tubes are seated properly in their sockets. Check all of your controls to see if any of the pots are 'scratchy'. Check your cables for loose connections. Check your cab for loose panels, connectors or grilles. Try relocating the cab. Point it in a slightly different direction. I remember when one of my bands set up for rehearsals in our bass player's basement, there was a small crack in the concrete at one corner of the window. Six months later, that crack ran all the way down the wall to the floor. So if you've had the amp and speakers in the same position while you've been playing it for however long, you may have shaken something loose in the room. Really.

Thanks, LATS :) . But trust me, my amplifier is nowhere near big enough to shake anything loose!

Thanks a lot for everything, LaTS. You're amazing.