quick bass recording question

[LAWL_im_so_EMO]

I just got a bass guitar.
I know that if you play a bass guitar through a guitar amp, you can blow out the speaker.
Would it damage my amp in anyway if i plugged in my bass into my guitar amp and used the direct output?

 

[Wack]

If it's a nice amp, I wouldent risk it. Bass sends a lot more wattage to the speakers than a guitar does. You should be able to just plug in direct depending on the program/mixer/interface. I would stick with that untill you get your hands on a bass amp.

 

[grimtraveller]

On the other hand........I have four fingers and a thumb .
I've recorded bass through guitar amps before without anything going wrong. I wasn't enthralled by the actual sound {I thought it would be more punchy} but it's certainly possible. Don't go nuts with the volume though.

 

[Wish]

Would it damage my amp in anyway if i plugged in my bass into my guitar amp and used the direct output?

If it's a nice amp, I wouldent risk it. Bass sends a lot more wattage to the speakers than a guitar does.

I've recorded bass through guitar amps before without anything going wrong. Don't go nuts with the volume though.

Reading comprehension skills would be a good thing in being able to provide a helpful answer to the OP.

He's asking about using the direct out from the amp....as he doesn't want to risk blowing the speaker.

So....I'll go ahead and answer the question that he is asking.....


You should be able to use a direct out of the amp without any problems....take that to your interface or mixer.....it should be fine in terms of not hurting anything. Will it sound good??!?!?!? That's a different question.

 

[Wish]

And I need to add that I was making an assumption on the direct out of the amp...the assumption was that the direct out was like a headphone out that kills the speaker in the combo amp when the headphone jack (direct out) is in use.

 

[moresound]

On the other hand........I have four fingers and a thumb .

LOL

I almost peed my pants

 

[misterbill]

Someone recently posted that for a bass plugging in direct to the recording unit seems to work very well. I gave up direct recording when I got my condensor mic, but giving it some thought(and a listen to some of my older recordings)I think he is right.

 

[Vinnydude]

Best way is to get a decent DI box.

At the end of the day, a guitar amp is for guitars and a bass amp is for bass.

 

[suprstar]

And I need to add that I was making an assumption on the direct out of the amp...the assumption was that the direct out was like a headphone out that kills the speaker in the combo amp when the headphone jack (direct out) is in use.

Yeah, I was gonna say it sounded like you assumed that, then I saw this post. In any case, that's not a safe assumption. For most amps I've used, a line-out doesn't kill the speaker, but a headphones jack does.

 

[grimtraveller]

And I need to add that I was making an assumption on the direct out of the amp

So was I. Actually I was covering it both ways.

Reading comprehension skills would be a good thing in being able to provide a helpful answer to the OP.

He's asking about using the direct out from the amp....as he doesn't want to risk blowing the speaker.

That's why I mentioned going nuts with volume.
But as a wider point, you're right. Sometimes I've done a lengthy reply, only to realize that I've not read the question fully or not caught the essence of what the OP is getting across or not noticed the thread is many years old and hasn't been posted on for yonks.
I'll take that detention, sir.

 

[LAWL_im_so_EMO]

i have not done any demos yet, but yes i know that it probably wouldnt be able to accentuate the sound as much as an actual bass.

Im planning on getting a bass POD when i can get enough money, but for now i just need something that can get me by.

 

[kcearl]

the v tone pedal/di from behringer is around $20 and produces a pretty decent tone...just remember to remove the batteries when not in use (it doesnt turn off) and dont plug a random wal-mart into it as it will never work again <whistle>

 

[rayc]

I agree with kceal - the Behri Vtone BDI21 is unreal for its price. It works as a virtual amp in that you can model things a bit & also as a straight DI box so that if you don't like it's tones you can just use it as a DI & it's still cheap!
No need to risk your amp, or recording.
If you want to suss out the results of the thing you can check out Sewer/Night OUt, Heart Shaped Bruise or Kennedy Avalon on my soundclick page as linked in my signature.
Some of my earliest recordings, (Rev Blues, So Long Shuffle, Mercedes #1) were direct into my MT100 4 track cassette using the built in preamps - they worked a treat too. in between those & the ones mentioned above I experimented with a blend of mic'd bass amp & DI - that's the optimal way to go but sometimes not practical for various reasons.
There's not too much point running a bass through a guitar amp in terms of bass tone shaping.

 

[kcearl]

I agree with kceal - the Behri Vtone BDI21 is unreal for its price. It works as a virtual amp in that you can model things a bit & also as a straight DI box so that if you don't like it's tones you can just use it as a DI & it's still cheap!
No need to risk your amp, or recording.
If you want to suss out the results of the thing you can check out Sewer/Night OUt, Heart Shaped Bruise or Kennedy Avalon on my soundclick page as linked in my signature.
Some of my earliest recordings, (Rev Blues, So Long Shuffle, Mercedes #1) were direct into my MT100 4 track cassette using the built in preamps - they worked a treat too. in between those & the ones mentioned above I experimented with a blend of mic'd bass amp & DI - that's the optimal way to go but sometimes not practical for various reasons.
There's not too much point running a bass through a guitar amp in terms of bass tone shaping.

i blew it before getting much use out of it...but at that price who cares...

I also got a Korg toneworks for around $40 used..Ive used that on a few recordings too...sounds great