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cmaccall · November 22nd, 2003, 08:30 PM

I have a dumb question...

I've been thinking about getting a cheap bass for jamming with friends (too many guitars). Would it be possible to use my Reverend Hellhound guitar amp(1x12) as a bass amp? Nearly everyone else would be acoustic so this bass and amp would not be at high volumes...

Would it be bad for the speaker in any way or would it just sound poor? ...Or is this just a bad idea in general? Thanks for your help!

Bob Rogers · November 22nd, 2003, 08:45 PM

You can really damage the amp. I guess you could keep it low enough to stay away from damage, but someone bumps the volume knob and you are toast. I hope someone will chime in with the technical specs of exactly what gets fried. Anyway, get yourself something cheap and small to use with acoustics or as a practice amp if you move up to a "real" unit. I have a tiny Peavey unit that is great for this. A nice clean solid state will be fine.

Bob Rogers · November 22nd, 2003, 08:47 PM

Another amp idea is a powered PA speaker. More money than a cheap bass amp, but it might have other uses for you.

cmaccall · November 22nd, 2003, 08:52 PM

Thankee, good to know!

Tim Armstrong · November 22nd, 2003, 10:57 PM

It's your Hellhound's speaker that's at risk if you play bass through it at any significant volume. If you keep it fairly quiet (like acoustic jamming in the living room), you're probably not taking a big risk. However, if you do use it this way, keep it quiet enough that you don't hear any speaker distortion!

A friend of mine has a little Gorilla solid-state bass practice amp. Simple, cheap, lightweight, has a single 10" speaker. Sounds amazingly good when he plays along with a couple of acoustic guitars.

Cheers, Tim

4mal · November 22nd, 2003, 11:16 PM

Tim is right on! You can do it, just play low. If it were me, I'd look for a used el cheappo bass cab. Hey - that hell hound is a nice amp, let's keep it that way! I'll bet that amp would make a real nice sounding bass amp given the right cab.

I do something similar at the moment. Sold my SF Bassman a while back so when I want to record a nice tube sounding bass amp, I use my Pro Reverb to drive a Sonic 1x15 cab. It's 18x21x15 with a slot port. $75 used at a GC with a generic 15. I had an extra JBL so it's in there now and that little cab sounds killer.

Now for an old Showman!

Dr. Jones · December 6th, 2003, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmaccall

I have a dumb question...

I've been thinking about getting a cheap bass for jamming with friends (too many guitars). Would it be possible to use my Reverend Hellhound guitar amp(1x12) as a bass amp? Nearly everyone else would be acoustic so this bass and amp would not be at high volumes...

Would it be bad for the speaker in any way or would it just sound poor? ...Or is this just a bad idea in general? Thanks for your help!

You can use a guitar amp as a bass amp with no ill effects to the amp HOWEVER lower frequencies cause extended Xmax to speakers and guitar speakers will not react well to this at all. If you keep the volume low so you notice no distortion you will be alright. At that volume though you will barley be loud enough to be heard. NOTE* The Ampeg V4B which is one of the best bass amps ever made is IDENTICAL to the V4, which is the guitar version...except for reverb.

brock29609 · December 8th, 2003, 03:37 PM

Get a cheap pawn shop bass amp and don't risk messing up that nice guitar amp.

November 22nd, 2003, 08:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
cmaccall TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 52	Dumb question: Using guitar amp for a bass? I have a dumb question... I've been thinking about getting a cheap bass for jamming with friends (too many guitars). Would it be possible to use my Reverend Hellhound guitar amp(1x12) as a bass amp? Nearly everyone else would be acoustic so this bass and amp would not be at high volumes... Would it be bad for the speaker in any way or would it just sound poor? ...Or is this just a bad idea in general? Thanks for your help!

November 22nd, 2003, 08:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
Bob Rogers Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Blacksburg, VA Posts: 1,710	Bad idea You can really damage the amp. I guess you could keep it low enough to stay away from damage, but someone bumps the volume knob and you are toast. I hope someone will chime in with the technical specs of exactly what gets fried. Anyway, get yourself something cheap and small to use with acoustics or as a practice amp if you move up to a "real" unit. I have a tiny Peavey unit that is great for this. A nice clean solid state will be fine.

November 22nd, 2003, 08:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
cmaccall TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 52	Sounds good... Thankee, good to know!

November 22nd, 2003, 08:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
Bob Rogers Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Blacksburg, VA Posts: 1,710	Another amp idea is a powered PA speaker. More money than a cheap bass amp, but it might have other uses for you.

November 22nd, 2003, 10:57 PM	#5 (permalink)
Tim Armstrong Moderator Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ocean Pines, Maryland, USA Age: 50 Posts: 13,148	It's your Hellhound's speaker that's at risk if you play bass through it at any significant volume. If you keep it fairly quiet (like acoustic jamming in the living room), you're probably not taking a big risk. However, if you do use it this way, keep it quiet enough that you don't hear any speaker distortion! A friend of mine has a little Gorilla solid-state bass practice amp. Simple, cheap, lightweight, has a single 10" speaker. Sounds amazingly good when he plays along with a couple of acoustic guitars. Cheers, Tim

November 22nd, 2003, 11:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
4mal Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The Gorge Posts: 2,510	Tim is right on! You can do it, just play low. If it were me, I'd look for a used el cheappo bass cab. Hey - that hell hound is a nice amp, let's keep it that way! I'll bet that amp would make a real nice sounding bass amp given the right cab. I do something similar at the moment. Sold my SF Bassman a while back so when I want to record a nice tube sounding bass amp, I use my Pro Reverb to drive a Sonic 1x15 cab. It's 18x21x15 with a slot port. $75 used at a GC with a generic 15. I had an extra JBL so it's in there now and that little cab sounds killer. Now for an old Showman!

December 8th, 2003, 03:37 PM	#8 (permalink)
brock29609 Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 106	Get a cheap pawn shop bass amp and don't risk messing up that nice guitar amp.

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