guitar through bass amp

[antichef]

I got my first bass amp ever yesterday - I'm a guitar player normally, but picked up a bass a few years ago to record with - I've been going direct and totally happy with the sound, but I found myself playing unplugged around the house more and more, and thought it would be nice to have a small amp around. It's an old Rickenbacker 1x15 combo. It's got two instrument inputs and a preamp out and a line input. It's pretty cool lookin', and the bass sounds good through it.

So, my question: I've heard it's bad to play a bass through a guitar amp, but is the reverse true? (and while we're at it, is the forward really true?) I know a Fender Bassman makes a good guitar amp, so maybe it's no big deal.

I did try it already and nothing bad seemed to happen - didn't sound all that great, but what the hell - I was thinking it would be convenient for really small gigs (e.g., coffee house or just to someone's house to jam) to just take just this amp, the bass, a guitar, and maybe a modeler - I could go in through the instrument input or the line in with the modeler I guess.

edit: I guess some pics are in order:

 

[grimtraveller]

Well, I have the Fender bassman and it makes a good guitar amp. I used to have a 90 watt Carlsbro bass amp and I used the guitar through it for 17 years. It was cool. The vice is also versa, depending on how hard you push it I guess. I've done both and never blown anything yet. Musically speaking, that is .

 

[Zaphod B]

You won't hurt a thing playing a guitar through that amp.

 

[joeym]

I've got my hybrid VOX conected to a cheap chinese 65 watt bass amp with a 12" Celestion. NIce bright thick sound, love it!

 

[Jouni]

I think that playing a bass through a guitar amp is bad has something to do with the speakers.... Guitar speakers aren't built to withstand the lows...
I've got a Novik mk-120 tube lead that I've been wanting to try with bass, as it has too much lows for guitar anyways. Just gonna put it into a bass cab, should be fine.

The other way around is fine, a guitar merely tickles the bass equipment, won't be pushing anything to it's limits. I've got a Sovtek bassov blues midget lined up for purchase, and since it's only 50watts, I'm gonna play guitar through it. As a bass-amp originally, it should do wonders with my baritone LP.

 

[antichef]

I think that playing a bass through a guitar amp is bad has something to do with the speakers.... Guitar speakers aren't built to withstand the lows...

ah.. that makes sense - somebody probably told me that at some point, but I forgot. That'd be interesting to hear the baritone LP through the sovtek bass amp - hope you can post samples

 

[Jouni]

ah.. that makes sense - somebody probably told me that at some point, but I forgot. That'd be interesting to hear the baritone LP through the sovtek bass amp - hope you can post samples

Yeah, I could. But I'm getting the amp halfway next month, and have probably forgotten all about this conversation, my head is weird that way.