bass amp through a guitar cab?

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Whoopysnorp

Whoopysnorp

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I have a strange question. What happens if you try to plug a bass head into a guitar cab (let's say a 4x12). The reason I ask is kind of a long story. A band with whom I am friends left a bunch of their equipment at my place while they were touring Europe. Among all this was an Ampeg SVT-III Pro head and a 4x12 cab with a metal grille (Sonic brand, I think). I was expecting one of those Ampeg 8x10 cabs, because I know the bass player owns one, but he must've been keeping it elsewhere. So I assumed cab went with head and I plugged them into each other. It sounded great, with lots of fat low end and everything. The bass player in my band has been using that setup at all of our practices for a couple of months. I just bought an SVT-II head, and the cab also sounds fine with that, and we gigged with it last night. But here's the thing: I ran into the bass player from said band on the street just now, and asked him when he wanted his 4x12 back. He was like, "It's not mine, man. I guess it's yours". So I'm wondering if it was actually a guitar cab that belongs to one of the guitarists in the band. I know it's not the cab he uses on stage. Does a bass signal shred guitar speakers, or what?
 
Turn it up really loud then you tell us. :D

I guess it would depend on the volume and amount of low end your pumping the speakers at.
 
We never pushed either the low-end content nor the volume to high levels. I suppose I ought to play my guitar head through it and see if it still sounds OK.
 
I tried my guitar head through it. Either it's a really shitty guitar cab, or it's actually a bass cab, because even with the high end cranked on the amp there is negligible high end coming out of the speakers. And it still sounds great on bass. So hopefully, I'm good.
 
Sounds like it's probably a bass cabinet although 4-12 bass cabs aren't that common.
Mainly you should back off if it starts sounding like you're breaking down the speakers. It's a pretty obvious sound....a crackling static sort of sound or even sometimes you'll hear a popping sound as the voice-coil bottoms out against the magnet.
If they're holding up ok.....then it doesn't matter if they're guitar or bass.
 
Bass Head

I have a strange question. What happens if you try to plug a bass head into a guitar cab (let's say a 4x12).

Hi guys,
my first post...but, I've been using a '66 Fender Bassman head on a 4x12 cab for years. I love it and it really kicks (sounds nice with lots of processors too). I don't play out, but used to jam regularly. About 6 - 10 years ago, one of the guitar mags talked about a mod to make the second channel on the amp into a pre and really beef up the sound. A friend of mine did it and loved it. I felt too guilty to make a change like that on a '66.

Bill L
 
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Good, these are the answers I wanted to hear. I still need to buy my own bass cab, and I didn't want to be responsible for paying for somebody else's guitar cab that I destroyed.
 
"If it sounds good, it is good" (Duke Ellington)


Herwig
 
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