FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Used Bass Amp

Question:
I am a guitarist. I own several high-quality guitar amps. Pearce, Evans, Polytone, Roland, original tweed Fender, etc. I've been asked to play bass for my church services. I have a nice old full-scale Fender bass, but never got a bass amp because I only used the bass for direct recording at home. The services are relatively small, usually less than 50 people, so it's not real loud. Right now they only have a keyboard and amplified acoustic guitar, but I know the reverend wants to build it up, maybe even drums. Will I damage my guitar amps by using them for the bass, or should I just pick up a cheap small bass amp to leave at the church?

Answer:
Heads will be fine, but do not try to use a guitar combo for bass unless you want to damage the speakers (particularly open backed combos). I'd grab either: a used bass cab, Behringer's 2x10 paper coned cab, a new Behringer's combo bass amp, or picked up a used peavey or something. http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?form=prodsearch&q=behringer+bass You could very easily screw up the speakers by overdriving them. The actual amp portion should be fine. (I used a Musicman HD-130 guitar amp to run my rig for a few months. Worked fine. Sounded pretty cool, too. Of course, it was drving a real bass cabinet ...