Beginners looking for their first amp are well served with a guitar/bass combo amp, offering various features designed to help practice. These amplifiers make great practice partners.
Bass amplifiers require considerable power in order to reproduce low frequencies accurately, as well as larger speaker cabinets than guitar amplifiers and different EQ controls.
Getting Started
First step to creating an excellent sound from your bass and guitar amp combo is removing built-in effects and setting your master volume low, so as to get full range of frequencies from your speaker without it sounding strangled. After doing this, experiment with various EQ knobs: bass can help squeeze more low frequency sounds out, mid can modify overall tone shape without sounding boxy while treble controls affect higher frequencies that you should lower in order to focus on lower notes.
Wattage of an amp is also crucial when it comes to producing sound. Small practice amps that offer 10-40 watts are great for beginners who wish to practice solo. But for larger venues or performances with other people involved, more power may be required; medium-sized amplifiers with 50 to 100 watts provide sufficient volume when necessary.
Some bassists prefer tube-based amplifiers, which amplify sound using glass vacuum tubes. Although not as technically advanced as solid-state amps, tube amps tend to be cheaper and less fragile compared to solid state models – often producing a more natural overdrive sound according to guitar enthusiasts. On the other hand, solid state amplifiers amplify sound using transistors and semiconductors instead of glass tubes for greater light weight maintenance and higher wattage output levels than their tube-based counterparts but lack natural compression and harmonically rich distortion that tube amps provide.
Safety Concerns
One of the main disadvantages of using a guitar amp as a bass amplifier is that its speakers weren’t designed to handle the lower frequency range produced by bass instruments. Even if they could, however, doing so would put significant strain on an already under-performing amplifier and could potentially result in damage to one or both speakers.
Many musicians opt for separate bass head and speaker cabinets instead of combined amps because a separate head/cab usually boasts higher power handling capacities than its combination counterpart. Plus, purchasing them separately offers several other advantages; most notably allowing for swapping out components if one doesn’t work well without incurring additional expenses for different setups.
Recall that bass preamps are designed with specific tonal characteristics in mind. A preamp may alter the bass signal in various ways that could drastically change its sound; these modifications could make your instrument seem brighter or muddier than it should.
Problematic, since bass guitars are designed to cut through a mix in low frequencies where other instruments exist. Unfortunately, guitar preamps’ frequency response tends to focus more heavily on high-frequency tone rather than bass guitar’s specific needs; as a result, using one may produce aggressive or unpleasant tones; not ideal for practicing bass.
Better Sound
Bass and guitar frequencies occupy distinct spaces within the soundscape, and their amps are tailored to amplify them. A bass amplifier was specifically created to accentuate its low frequencies to produce a rich and deep tone.
A bass amp typically includes an equalizer (EQ) section tailored to the lower frequencies of bass guitar, featuring controls such as low cut/high cut, parametric EQ or bass boost. Furthermore, quality models typically feature master volume controls as well as onboard effects like reverb/delay/distortion or even vocal effects for added musical nuances.
Though it’s technically possible to play bass guitar through a guitar amp, its tone will likely suffer and require significantly more power than playing guitar through it. Furthermore, low frequencies required by a bass require much greater amounts of wattage in order to produce an authentic sound; overdriving such an amplifier while playing guitar through it could damage its speakers irreparably.
Purchase of a separate bass amp is the ideal way to guarantee it works with both bass and guitar; however, with such an array of amps varying by brand, circuitry, and decade it may prove challenging to locate one suitable to your needs.
Sweetwater provides filters to help narrow your options, including brands, specs, style, and price point filters. For instance, tube and solid-state amps can be selected based on desired wattage output and input specifications – perfect for home studio or practice spaces! Narrow down your search options quickly for an amp combo perfect for you at Sweetwater today.
Modifying the EQ
A bass guitar produces very low frequencies that move a great deal of air. To do this, large speakers and plenty of power are necessary, while amps designed specifically to support this need usually contain bass, mids, and treble controls to customize its tone accordingly. By increasing bass production you can produce heavier sounds; adding mids gives greater depth; while increasing treble will add clarity.
Utilizing the same amp for both guitar and bass can be problematic as each instrument utilizes different frequencies that need amplifying differently. Bass amps, in general, tend to feature lower gain settings to respond better to playing dynamics without distorting as easily; their EQ settings also differ; guitar amps on the other hand often come equipped with multiple tones from clean through high gain distortion allowing users to customize the settings to achieve specific tones.
Many new players may be tempted to use a guitar amp as their bass amp since both utilize standard instrument cable inputs and appear similar in tonality. Unfortunately, this is not recommended: amp manufacturers spend many hours tweaking their designs in order to achieve specific sounds whether that be clean guitar tones or room-shaking bass tones.
At times, bass can be connected to an amp with a tube-based preamp that simulates its tone before it is routed via audio interface or direct box into a PA system. Unfortunately, this practice is far from ideal, as any reflected frequencies could interfere with subsequent waves of sound from the amp and create unwanted feedback loops that alter your desired bass tone into unusable static noise.
Getting Stuck in a Jam
Bass amps are specifically designed to reproduce the lower frequencies necessary for playing bass guitar, making them distinct from guitar amps and rendering any attempt at using one to play bass fraught with danger of either overdriving its circuit or ruining its speakers. If you’re just getting started playing bass and don’t yet want to invest in an amp specifically designed for it, smaller guitar amps might do the trick provided you practice at reasonable volumes.
If you plan on using a small guitar amp for bass playing, make sure that it can handle full volume bass playing. Also ensure your speaker is properly aligned; if sound bounces off of the floor and hits you in the back of legs or lower back then check its angle of attack.
Option Two is to invest in a hybrid amplifier capable of handling both bass and guitar inputs. There are various sizes available and this would work great for home practice; if performing live however, a bass-specific amp should be purchased instead.
Playing bass without owning an amp can also be done using computer programs that emulate bass amps, such as AmpliTube, Guitar Rig or Positive Grid’s BIAS FX 2. Such programs often provide similar tones as would come from owning an expensive tube or solid state amp. This makes them great choices for those who have limited space or cannot afford an amplifier of their own.