Amp for Bass & Guitar ?

In my "mini" scale studio I have two value packs. A strat with G amp and the Washburn bass with B amp. Both are probably less than 20 Watts each but are more than I need for home use.

I've played my guitar through the bass amp and it's alright. Not the brightness you would want but it suffices. On the other hand I wouldn't think the speaker in the guitar amp would tolerate the low frequencies of the bass guitar for very long.

Definitely a bass amp would survive playing both instruments much easier than trying to do both with a guitar amp.

JMHO. :)

I've found that my bass amp is very bright and clear for the guitar. My guitar amp is actually less so, but it doesn't have enough power to make the bass sound decent. I don't even expect much low end from it, but even the highs aren't loud enough. It's just too small at 15W to sound decent.

I have a 30 watt crate bass amp that has great tone for bass, butt not enough thump. It works well for guitar, but I have to turn down the bass frequency to about 4. I am looking at getting a Fender Bassman or something with higher volume and wattage, at least 100 watts - maybe up to 200 watts. That will make the bass thump more and surely I can use it for guitar also, but surely will still have to lower the bass frequency some.

Bak in the 70s there was a company named A.I.M.S., tht made a 'convertable' amp for bass and guitr but the company vanished almost overnight. It was a combo...i dont remembr much aobut how it worked though.

and didn't the Stones use Ampg SVTs as guitar ampss at one point?

I think I read that somewhere too. Can you imagine playing a guitar through a big Ampeg like that. That would bleed your ears if you weren't careful.

I couldn't find any info on that amp you were talking about; just a couple of reviews on HC. All tube though. I do remember the 'Acoustic invasion' of the 70s though. Those powder blue boxes were just everywhere - bass amps, guitar amps, PA stacks. The only models that gained any real significance was the 360/370 bass amps, and that was only because of Jaco. I don't know about playing a guitar through a solid state amp with a horn in it though. Lots of guys were doing it back then because that was 'the' amp to have.

I did play my bass through a friend's Marshall JCM800 with a 4x12 cab and it was pretty loud and pretty clean too. The Marshall cab was closed back, so that helped. But it got me to thinking that I could get a good 100 watt tube guitar head - something with a good clean channel - and have a 4x12 guitar cab for playing guitar through, and then use the same head with a 4x10 bass cab. The tone controls wouldn't necessarily be contoured for bass, but...I think it would sound acceptable especially if I ran it through the bass cab. I think the 'purists' would scream, but then again, I've never been a purist when it comes down to gear.

Any combo bass amp with 1-4 10 or 12 inch speakers will work well.

I've heard and read that a lot of players use a fender bassman with their guitars. But I've also heard overdrive effects will damage bass amps. Is that true? and if so does distortion and or other effects have the same potential?

I think the risk of damage is mostly to bass amps that have a tweeter of some kind. Any that just have large cone-type drivers should be fine.

i play my strat thru a 67' 50watt fender bassman amp on the normal side. it works very well

If you can afford $380.00 then i recommend the Carvin Pro Bass 200 with the horn. I use it for bass and guitar, with overdrive, and it works perfect. It has 160Watts and a 15" speaker with a horn. With my bass, I turn the horn to half-way, and with guitar, I turn the horn all the way up. It has not been damaged at all. If you want bright guitar tone, just play with the equalizer. When I play bass, I use this, and it gets just as loud as a Marshall half stack with a 100W tube head. It shakes my drummer's ENTIRE house. I use this at gigs with 1500 or less, and everybody hears me! Check it out at
http://www.carvin.com/products/single.php?ItemNumber=PB200-15&CID=BA

That last post really makes me wonder, because I have a Bassman 60 watt and a Fender Jazz Bass. I can turn the amp all the way up and it's barely loud enough to be heard clearly over the drums. I have a 5 watt guitar amp that is much louder, and I 40 watt guitar amp that is WAY!!!! louder. I know the frequencies are very different between guitar and bass, but I really expected the 60 watt bass amp to pump more. It has a 12" speaker and a horn. Does it sound like something may be wrong with the amp? There's no audible defect, it just doesn't seem as loud as what I expected a 60 watt amp to be. BTW - I ordered it off zzounds and it was a deal way to good to pass up.

I have always known Carvin to make great stuff. My drummer hits REALLY HARD, and was dissapointed that even a 100W amp with a 12" speaker wouldn't cut it. But when I bought that 160W amp, I was amazed. I am unbiased and don't work for Carvin. This amp just works. Every other brand sells the same type of amp for twice as much! BTW guitar amps are louder than bass amps with a guitar plugged into them. Here's an example Bass 160W solid state = Guitar 100W Tube
Bass just needs more power. ALOT more.

Brandon Pace

Question... I've got a Hot Rod Deluxe, would this be suitable for use with a bass? I've been a guitarist for over two years and bass has caught my eye. I'm looking to maybe get a Squier J-Bass or something similarly cheap, would this work well or not?

Pleeaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssse don't plug a bass into that amp. I beseech you.....