Bass through Guitar V-Amp

JeffLancaster

JeffLancaster

New member
I currently have a V-amp pro (the guitar version, not the bass one) which I use for recording my guitars. I am planning to buy a bass soon and although I'd eventually like to buy either the bass version of the V-amp pro or some other di box, I won't be able to afford one immediately. In the meantime, I wondered if I might be able to play my bass through the guitar v-amp. It does have some amp models such as the one modeled after the Fender Bassman which seemingly would sound decent with a bass. However, I was told by a guy in a guitar store that the bass might fry the circuitry since my v-amp was designed for the guitar. Does this make sense? Has anyone ever tried playing bass through a guitar v-amp and if so did it sound ok?
 
Fry the circuitry. That's rich.

I do that with my POD and it's Bassman model. Works OK, not as satisfying as it is with my regular guitar, but it'll do in a pinch.
 
JeffLancaster said:
It does have some amp models such as the one modeled after the Fender Bassman which seemingly would sound decent with a bass. However, I was told by a guy in a guitar store that the bass might fry the circuitry since my v-amp was designed for the guitar. Does this make sense? Has anyone ever tried playing bass through a guitar v-amp and if so did it sound ok?
Click to expand...

Not surprised to see another idiot who has no idea what he's talking about trying to give advice.

I have a Pro and used that Bassman model on Bass quite a bit. But there are some other combinations that work well too, experiment. You can get a decent sound with it but never plan on using any presets.
 
I've run my bass through my DigiTech Genesis I plenty of times using the Blackface amp model and 2 x 12 cab model...sounds fairly decent, actually.
 
JeffLancaster said:
However, I was told by a guy in a guitar store that the bass might fry the circuitry since my v-amp was designed for the guitar
Click to expand...
I'll bet that guy's name is DICK. The V-amp will work just fine for bass. Use a clean patch with a compressor on it.
 
Thanks everyone - I thought that statement sounded suspicious but figured I'd check with others just in case... Sounds like some of you have even gotten some decent bass sounds through the guitar v-amp and similar boxes, so hopefully it'll work for me, at least at first. I'm looking forward to adding "playing the bass" to my list of things which keep me amused in my little studio!
 
Be careful if you're not running it direct. The Vamp can more or less handle bass, but guitar cabs don't do very well with it. If you can find a bass extension cab, try mic'ing it up. You might be surprised. Pod/Vamp > Power AMP > (appropriate) cab > mic > whatever you got.-Richie
 
shameless

It sounds to me like that guy at the music store was hoping to sell another piece of gear. I can't imagine that he really believed it would fry the circuit.

I wouldn't do business with that sales rep. anymore. He is either unethical and should not be trusted or he is too ignorant to be giving anyone advice about music gear!

Maybe you should "out" him so other unsuspecting musicians can avoid him.
IMHO
 
Electric bass and electric guitar have the same signal strength (more or less, depending on the pickup's output) so there isn't anyway a bass can fry you're V-AMP. The only difference between a bass and a guitar is the frequency of its outputted sound. Hence why running a bass through a guitar amp/cab is a bad idea but a guitar through a bass amp is fine.
 
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