DANGER: speaker output to line-level???

[e-dog]

I know that directly connecting an amps speaker out to non-cab/speaker inputs will cause horrible death and destruction and fire and whatever else...

BUT, is there ANY possible way to do this??

Without causing personal or equipment injury or death.

Some kind of mega direct box with super voltage absorber or something...


Newb question, sorry.



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[mx_mx]

Why would you want to? Use the line out

[e-dog]

Yeah, no line out, though...

That's why I was asking.

I can always DI to a mic pre, I'm just curious if it's POSSIBLE.
Y'know, without all hell breaking loose.


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[Farview]

There are DI boxes that will do this, but you still need to have a speaker hooked up. If you don't have the speaker hooked up, you will blow the amp. You might as well mic it, it will sound a lot better.

[e-dog]

Which kinds of DI boxes? Brands/type?

I should have been more specific in this post.. the goal would be to use the amp for bass, as oppossed to straight direct injecting into a mic pre, for distortion...

I'm not a bass player (or really a guitar player, for that matter) but I have a cheap, lightly modified Epiphone Vavle Junior wich has good tone for guitar but, obviously won't work for bass (8" 4ohm speaker)...

But I wanted to see if there was a way to TRY the amp/head section without having to invest in an additional cab/speaker set-up, since I can't afford a dedicated bass amp, and don't play enough to really need one.

Plus, I like tubes and tube bass amps are ridiculously expensive...

compared to $99 made-in-china amps, i mean.

did i mention i'm poor?


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[mshilarious]

Lightly modified? Why not mod it some more, and tap into the circuit before the power tube for a line out?

[ermghoti]

There are some speaker-level line ins. I was never too interested, so the only one I can think of is the long since discontinued, and extraordinarilly difficult to find, ADA Microcab.

I think Behringer makes one now, but, on the down side, it's made by Behringer.

[Halion]

Common guys, there is totally a thing for this, and I can't belief you guys don't know it.

It's called a power-soak, or something along those lines. There are a bunch of these around, two of the more popular ones are the (top of my head) Marshall Power Brake and the THD Hot Plate. They are mainly meant for getting the sound of a cranked amp, and then turning down the volume using a power soak connected to a speaker. This just brings down the level going to the speaker, but it's still a high power level. These units commonly have a line-out aswell though (I know the THD does).

So there you have it, it is very possible. It's not a cheap way though.

[Farview]

Originally Posted by Halion

Common guys, there is totally a thing for this, and I can't belief you guys don't know it.

It's called a power-soak, or something along those lines. There are a bunch of these around, two of the more popular ones are the (top of my head) Marshall Power Brake and the THD Hot Plate. They are mainly meant for getting the sound of a cranked amp, and then turning down the volume using a power soak connected to a speaker. This just brings down the level going to the speaker, but it's still a high power level. These units commonly have a line-out aswell though (I know the THD does).

So there you have it, it is very possible. It's not a cheap way though.

A $400 solution for getting a $75 guitar amp to distort a bass? Good thinking.

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by Farview

A $400 solution for getting a $75 guitar amp to distort a bass? Good thinking.

Nevertheless, it's a way to get a line level signal from a speaker output, which answers the OP's question. I've seen these things a lot cheaper than $400 in pawn shops here in Austin.

[Light]

Most of the stuff on this page should do the trick.


And it's not too expensive.




Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[Outlaws]

Originally Posted by Farview

A $400 solution for getting a $75 guitar amp to distort a bass? Good thinking.

LMFAO

$250 if you shop around.

But that still is a lot of money for dicey experiment.

[Farview]

I wasn't trying to be mean, but once I saw that he was trying to turn a cheap guitar amp into a distortion pedal, a power soak just seemed like overkill.

I was in a hurry and forgot to suggest a distortion pedal, boss makes one for bass.