Anybody ever run an electric guitar through a bass amp?

[Tangled Wires]

I am looking to get a bigger sound (our band is one guitarist, singer and drummer) on the rare occasions when I play live, and recently invested in a Fender ABY pedal which will allow for the one guitar to be output to two separate amps.

I have a Roland Cube 80XL as my main amp and a small 15w bass amp for which I was going to run through via a bass effects pedal to assist in making the guitar sound more "bassy".

Have played around with this a bit, and the bass amp still sounds a bit tinny, even with the guitar going through the bass effect, and didn't know if anybody had any experience of experimenting with this sort of thing, and whether or not I am wasting my time due to the fact that an electric guitar could never emulate the bottom end of a real bass.

Perhaps the obvious solution is to find a real bass player!

[Pete C]

Going back a few years I bought a 1960's Selmer Treble n Bass tube/valve amp and cabinet from the bass player in my first band.  It was designed for either bass or guitar. I used it in a band a few years ago for guitar - from what I remember the bass channel just made it sound less bright.  I'm no expert on this but I don't think using any bass amp is going to make a guitar sound like a bass if that's what you're looking for.  In the band I played in in the late 1990's we had a couple of songs where the bass player used to do a harmonica solo and I used to 'cover' for the bass part during his solos by dropping an octave through a multi-effects unit although it never sounded as good as a real bass. So I suppose you could split your signal with the one going to the bass amp running through that type of effect. Only problem would be if you're playing chords, I'd imagine the bass sound is going to be mushy.  Suppose a bass player is the best solution!
Pete

[Farrell Jackson]

I used a 1966 Fender Bassman amp as my main gigging guitar amp for several years. I actually converted the Bassman head to a 2X10 combo amp. I still have it and it still rocks for bass or guitar. But I wasn't trying to cover the bass end as we had a bass player.  I just used it because it had a great natural crunch for guitar when it was cranked up.  As mentioned, I think some sort of octave pedal between the guitar and bass amp would get you closer to a bass sound.

Farrell

[fenderbender]

Interesting topic guys
A bass amp -kinda dead sound -if I remember from way back
for a nice big sound -you really need a 4x12 cab-

but only if you are playing chords -then that can make your teeth rattle and make the hair on the back of your neck stand up among other things --
what you should really do is some night on a gig -get someone to play your guitar using the gear that you have
(just strum a couple of chords) while you go down the back of the venue that you are playing in and listen
you will be really surprised at the sound --

[Blooby]

A Bassman definitely serves as a killer guitar amp.  I'm sure they're used more for guitars than basses these days.

Blooby

[AndyR]

Ritchie Blackmore used bass amps in the early-70s Deep Purple. It's one of the many things that went into making that wonderful sound he had...

But, sadly, like you're finding... it ain't gonna make a guitar sound like a bass.

In some cases, a bass amp'll give you a fab guitar tone (eg Bassman, like the chaps say), but most will be pretty much pants compared to what you were hoping for (I used to sneakily plug into the bassist's rig in the sound check sometimes to see what happened!).

[Tangled Wires]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I think you have convinced me that I will not be able to replicate a true bass sound with the guitar, although the Fender Bassman looks an interesting, albeit pricing, option for very occasional gigging.

As I have the option I could actually run it into two separate guitar amps, which at least could give me a bigger sound.

I think it is a good point raised about playing chords through the bass amp. The single note riffing sounds ok, but once you start hitting them chords it doesn't sound quite right through the bass amp. It probably doesn't help that my bass amp is a bit shitty, and even sounds slightly tinny when playing my bass through it.

Thanks again!

[Flash Harry]

What you need is a Chapman Stick and a couple of Fender amps, one the Twin reverb and the other the Bassman.

Then you're fixed.

Check out Tony Levin...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcbSjC9tAY8

[Speed Demon]

Most bass amps utilize speakers that are 12 inch up to 30 inches for the giant bins.
Running a guitar though these speakers consumes nearly all of the high frequencies, thus making a guitar sound muddy, with little to no high frequencies getting through. Great for bass, where upper end frequencies top out around 800 to 1000 cycles. Not good for guitars, unless you are actually trying to produce that muddy, undefined sound.

Get a bass player for your band.

[bruno]

There are solutions (depends on money). With no Bass player, a GR midi unit (GR-55) - you can split the guitar and midi/synth sound - guitar sound through the amp, and midi/synth through the PA. The synth can add the bassier sounds. I've done this with the GR-20, and it sounds amazing. A simpler way is to use a octaver (down), although that can be a little messy, and if the amp isn't that bassy, you don't get the full effect. My 10c worth anyway.