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Just wondering?

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(@nexion)
Honorable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 525
Topic starter  

I know that playing bass that a guitar amp with lead to nasty things, but what about the other way around? Can playing guitar through a bass amp cause damage to the amp?

"That’s what takes place when a song is written: You see something that isn’t there. Then you use your instrument to find it."
- John Frusciante


   
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(@misanthrope)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 2261
 

Does it? Or maybe just at stage volumes? Or maybe just 'proper' amps and not the lightweight ones I use?

I play bass through my guitar practice amp all the time, and other people's (bigger) amps too. I've never given it a second thought. I've also played guitar through a bass amp before (sounded awful that way around, but everything still worked at the end of the day) :wink:

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(@twistedlefty)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 4113
 

My Strat sounds great through my 67 Fender Bassman, but this is not news :wink:

#4491....


   
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(@ricochet)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 7833
 

Shouldn't hurt a thing. A possible exception would be if your bass amp has a tweeter (some do) and you drive it into heavy distortion, overloading the tweeter with more high harmonics than it can handle.

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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(@nexion)
Honorable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 525
Topic starter  

Shouldn't hurt a thing. A possible exception would be if your bass amp has a tweeter (some do) and you drive it into heavy distortion, overloading the tweeter with more high harmonics than it can handle.
But is it any easier to overload the tweeter with a guitar than it is with a bass?

"That’s what takes place when a song is written: You see something that isn’t there. Then you use your instrument to find it."
- John Frusciante


   
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(@jtb226)
Estimable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 106
 

it'd be a lot easier to overload the tweeter with a guitar because it produces a lot higher notes (at least, that is my thinking...correct me if i'm wrong)

"Heavy decibels are playing on my guitar
We got vibrations comin' up from the floor
We're just listenin' to the rock
That's givin' too much noise....
Rock and roll ain't noise pollution"
~AC/DC


   
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(@ricochet)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 7833
 

That's what I'd think at first glance, but there are other variables involved such as tone controls.

Generally it's a bad idea to run any amp with a crossover and tweeter(s) into clipping distortion. You can smoke that tweeter while being well under the rated total power for the whole speaker system.

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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(@lunchmeat)
Estimable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 153
 

I thought you could damage a sub with very high frequencies, since the cones are too big to move that fast. Perhaps it's only at high volumes, which would make sense...but can't you burn out the coils or something like that?

This could only apply to systems without crossovers.

-lunchmeat


   
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(@ricochet)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 7833
 

I've not heard that. The only damage to speakers I know of from applying the "wrong" frequency to them is the risk of excessive cone travel with lower frequencies than the speaker's designed for. At any rate the usual full-range guitar amp speakers aren't going to be damaged by applying high frequencies, and really they're unlikely to be harmed by giving them low bass, either.

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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