Safe to play bass through guitar amp ?

[d l x r e v e r b]

Hello ,


Is it possible to hurt a guitar amp's electronics or speakers by playing bass through it ?

Is it safe to play a bass through a guitar amp at bedroom volume ? At high volume ?

Are 10 and 12 inch speakers used by bass amps any different from the 10 and 12 inch speakers used in guitar amps ?

[d l x r e v e r b]

An addition to the original questions :

Would the answers be any different for a solid state guitar amp than a tube guitar amp ?

[kbphx]

It's fine if you use some common sense. If the amp sounds like you're overworking it, you probably are. Don't melt it down just to see what it'll do.

[The Golden Boy]

I've never heard of an amplifier frying from running bass through it. Your speakers- that's another issue. And if you fry your speakers, I'm sure you could fry your amp. So, directly- you won't fry the amp- indirectly you could fry the amp.

As far as the speakers- yes, they are different- usually handle lower frequencies and often more power.

As far as SS/Tube- if you fry the speakers to the point of changing the impedance load the amp sees it'll fry the amp, Tube or SS.

[GreaserMatt]

Don't do it.

[tkozal]

heh...I used an old Fender Deluxe 112 plus as a practice amp for years, at apt dweller low volumes, with no issues what so ever. Its now back to full g**tar duty, and a SWR 12 inch combo is the practice amp....

[John Phillips]

At low volume and/or for a clean sound it will be fine. If you hear distortion of any kind from the speaker, stop.

You can't damage the amp unless the speaker blows, as The Golden Boy said, but you can certainly damage the speaker, especially in an open-back cabinet (which allows more cone movement in the low frequencies) and with a lower-rated speaker or one not much over the amp's power rating (eg 20W amp into 30W speaker).

But if it's something like a closed 4x12" rated for 120W and you're only driving it with a 30W amp (for example), you're pretty much safe even if you do overdrive it - it won't blow the speakers because even fully distorted and an octave lower, the amp simply can't deliver enough power.