Who here plays guitar through a bass amp?

[w3stie]

I'm primarily a bass player, and can't really justify two amps. Is there really anything wrong with using a bass amp for guitar?

[Hiker]

Check it out, lots of guys do it. The recommendation to avoid is bass through a guitar amp due to the low end of the instrument, and potential harm to the speaker(s) that were designed for higher frequency performance.

[jh45gun]

Works fine and add a reverb pedal even better if you like Reverb or if you want to add other effects most bass amps work well with them.

[Ragtime Dan]

back in the day, the Fender Bassman was a favorite of guitarists, and still is for those that can afford vintage tube. I use a Pignose Hog 30 bass amp for my guitar, I'm very happy with it and get complements on my tone. I would suggest a cheap tube pre-amp, such as the Art Tube MP. There is a little 60cycle hum introduced by them, but it can be adjusted out, and the additional first stage gain, and tube warmth works wonders.

[gypsymoth]

depending on the amp and more likely the speakers, you might find the highs lacking.
especially if they are more modern bass specific speakers with a severe high end roll off.

try it. my Sound City 200B is a great guitar amp, I use full range PA type speakers with a sufficient range to cover guitar and bass.
it does depend on what guitar sound you are after; some guys like lots of early speaker break up or a spike in the higher frequencies, which you are not likely to get from bass or PA speakers.

[rp1138]

Has anyone tried those newer Fender Bassman TV amps with a guitar?

[Piotr]

I use a Lab Series L2 bass head.

[scottymokan]

I have a bassman 50 silverface that sounds great with a guitar.

[ringodingo]

Er...I practice bass through my guitar amp. The amp buzzes a little when I play an A.

[Piotr]

Originally Posted by ringodingo

Er...I practice bass through my guitar amp. The amp buzzes a little when I play an A.

As far as I know, you could blow your speakers by doing that...

[El Hefe]

You can't justify two amps? Dood I've got 5 amps and I want about 500 more you can never ever have to many amps... Billie Joe played a fender bassman amp through a les Paul Jr on the warning album

[tjalla]

Perhaps use a bass amp with a defeatable tweater, and maybe a fx loop so you can patch in a guitar preamp of sorts eg Tech 21 Blonde into the return and bypass the bass preamp.

[losergeek]

Generally the 70s higher watt amps seem best for this - Ampeg V4s and the 100 Watt Traynors both seem to be able to keep up as bass amps (unlike some of the lower watt stuff from the same era) and actually sound really great as guitar amps. I'd also played through an older Yamaha bass amp at our old jamspace that wasn't bad even though it was solid state. If you're sticking with something newer though you're probably going to find it's tone is too sterile on it's own to really sound good with guitar (unless you're playing something really clean, like jazz) so you'll either want some really nice pedals, or more likely a amp simulator like a Line 6 Pod.

[StephaninMelb]

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For playing guitar through a bass amp:

At minimum swap to a guitar speaker cabinet or PA speaker or a bass amp will sound like a wet blanket. I play extended bass and bi-amp through high-end SS bass & tube guitar amps to cover full-range.

[JBennett]

One of the nicest amps I've ever played through on guitar was a cheap VOX T-25.

[CoolBlueGlow]

Not a problem I do it all the time.

I've had great success in the studio with a guitar through a 66 B-15 Ampeg, and I've played live through my early 73 model Marshall Bass/Lead at hundreds of gigs.

It sounds great with a tele and with channels I and II paralleled with a jumper cable.

[WireLine]

The only real difference is the way the EQ is voiced, anyway if you are using an external cabinet. There's a few tunes that have been recorded with a Bassman (grin), and a couple folk have mentioned B15s, early Marshalls, and so on. The only thing to watch out is the speaker enclosure design, but as far as the actual amp, no

Have a good time plugging into whatever amp gives you the tone you want. For a real thrill, plug into a vintage Hiwatt bass amp connected to a 2-12 open cab, and behold!

[markw51]

Sure it can be done but they are two different beasts. A guitar amp is voiced specifically for a guitar and I think sounds better.

[jefrs]

Well I'm a guitar player who practices bass through guitar amps. I do have a bass amp (or three) but I do find the big 165W pukka bass amp to be rather bland for guitar. It has a somewhat hi-fi response, wanted for bass but not desired for electric guitar, although it may suit acoustic.

If you look at pics of many early 60s groups, they inevitably have the bass plugged into some type of guitar amp. I actually like the sound of bass through a valve guitar amp.

You can play bass through a guitar amp, as used to be done, if you keep the power (volume) down because the way the speaker impedance v frequency works means you are effectively putting a dollop more power (hence heat) through the poor thing at lower frequencies.
The bass speaker started life as a guitar speaker and some guitar speakers started life as bass speakers, they are very similar mechanically.

If you do not suppress the urge to turn the volume up, then you may blow guitar speakers unless they are seriously over-rated for the amp.

[AJBaker]

I sometimes play guitar through a GK MB115 with a tech21 character pedal to make it sound more tube like. One of the best sounds I've gotten!