Putting a Bass Speaker into a Guitar Combo

[Rena Rune]

I'm considering a Peavey Bandit at the moment, since they're cheap, reliable, and the new ones honestly sound better to me than some tube amps close to twice their price.

But I'm also getting interested in playing Bass, so a bass combo has been a consideration.

I was considering the option, however, of getting the Bandit and putting in a Bass speaker. I'm guessing one of the "clean" settings is based off a Fender Bassman, and likely I can just put an EQ in the FX loop too.

I was looking at the "Basslite" speaker from Eminence - as the Bandit is still relatively heavy, using a Lite speaker would help(plus it's the only 12" they make at the moment)?

I was comparing the EQ curves of that and the Tonkerlite - the other speaker I'd consider swapping.

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/basslite-s2012.pdf

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/tonkerlite.pdf

Amazingly, the EQ curves seem to be quite similar. The Basslite offers no more bass than the Tonker. I they're both 12" speakers, but still. I'd imagine they trade off volume for a little more bass.

Why is this exactly? Also, the Tonkerlite seems to take a dip in the higher mids, whereas the basslite doesn't. So even if I was using it for just guitar, this would be my preference, as the Tonkerlite is meant to be "British" voiced(I would like to make the Bandit more Marshally if I got one).

What other Bass speakers could I consider, or is this a bass idea? The thing I'm worried about is that Bass speakers are often more full range. However the Tonkerlite also goes up to 25khz. Generally with SS amps and and modelers(and amps in general really) it's better to filter the high end to get rid of some of the fizz. That can sound a bit artificial sometimes, but I've had good experience with my Lunchbox for both cleans and dirt, and that cuts off most of what's above about 3khz.

[Jon Silberman]

I can't answer your specific question but I can say this: published speaker response curves have never told me anything worthwhile. Maybe others can glean from them what an individual speaker will sound like in practice but it's never worked for me.

[Billm]

The frequency response chart is meaningless because both are measured in an infinite baffle (essentially an open-backed cab the size of a room). The Tonkerlite is designed to operate this way, open backed, while the Basslite is designed to be in a sealed or vented/tuned enclosure. Putting a bass speaker into an open-backed cab makes it sound like a guitar speaker when you play guitar through it. But it is expecting to have the support of an air mass behind it to control cone excursion and keep it from flopping around when you play bass. Putting the Basslite in a bass cab greatly extends the bottom end performance beyond what the free-air curve shows you. The Basslite also has much greater cone excursion, so it's capable of moving three times as much air as the Tonkerlite. That's mostly felt on the low notes and mostly wasted if it's not in a tuned cab.

You can seal up the Bandit and put a tuned port in it and it'll be an OK bass combo, but guitar won't sound very guitar-ish through it.

The best bet if you want one amp to do bass and guitar duty is to get or build a little bass box and plug it into the Bandit when you want to play bass. If it's just for practice, you can get by with a single 10-inch speaker, like the Eminence BP-102. It's pretty easy, using a freeware program like WinISD, to calculate the correct port size for a given speaker and a given box size.

[Rena Rune]

Billm; I'm strongly considering getting a Korg PX4D. If I can run the bass models into the effects loop return, how would that work out?

Do you think there would be a guitar speaker that would be particularly receptive to a Bass guitar, while still sounding like a guitar, or is it a lost cause?

I don't mind if it doesn't sound like a traditional bass. Building a cab could be awkward, I don't have much space for both a new guitar amp and cab.

[Billm]

Since the Korg has both amp and cab modeling, all you need is a generic solid-state amp. Roland Cube 30, Tech21 Power Engine, used Fender Princeton Chorus, etc., would all be good choices.

Perhaps you should take a look at the new Fender G-DEC 3-30. It has some very cool features, especially for a guitar practice amp, and it's all integrated into one unit. It just came out and some of the early adopters are raving about it. You'd want to see how it handles bass, but its other capabilities are pretty impressive.

[Rena Rune]

The new G-DEC looks great but if I was getting a new amp I'd really want a giggable one! 30 Watts SS isn't much.

[Billm]

If you want to play out and have it both ways, go old school: Fender Bassman.

And yes, you can play bass through it. It doesn't sound like today's tuned and ported bass combos; it really rolls off the lowest octave.

[Rena Rune]

Is there a decent affordable Fender Bassman clone? I think there was an SS version but I don't know if it was any good.

[Billm]

Let's press the reset button here.

You're a guitarist, interested in bass. You like inexpensive SS combos like the Bandit. There's no inexpensive do-it-all bass and guitar combo. So concentrate on guitar, learn bass through a practice amp or bass fx box, and worry about a bass rig later.

Or go shopping for a bass rig and a multi-fx box. The 75W Line 6 bass combo has some great tones, but it's heavy as hell. Try the Roland Bass Cube or some of the other rigs.