surfguy13 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Howdy folks Need some advice please. I'm a guitarist who plays bass....not particularly well I might add. I currently have an old '73 Gibson EB3 which I'm running through an old '72 WEM Dominator Mk1. I'm not gigging it at all (needless to say) I use it mainly at home for writing and putting stuff together on an 8-track. I love the WEM but it does rattle a bit when wound up and I'm not convinced that valve amps are ideal for basses......mind you, I really am no expert. All my guitar amps are valve and I used to use the WEM for guitar but and just got adopted for the bass. I'd like a change and have two possible options - I have a '64 Vox AC30 Bass model and a '65 Selmer Treble and Bass head. Can I use the AC30 for bass? I was a little worried about blowing the 12" blues. Also, could I run a bass through the Selmer head? My other question is re cabs - I have a 2x12 loaded with a pair of mid '70s Celestion G12Hs - could I run the Selmer T&B through this without damaging the speakers? I wasn't sure if I would have to use 10" or 15"/18" speakers that were specifically designed for use with a bass. Sorry for the long post and the loaded questions - any help would be much appreciated. Cheers Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Selmer T&B heads can sound good for bass if you like an old-school sound, so I'd go with that option. Guitar speakers (or even older "bass" speakers) for bass can be risky, especially in an open-backed cab, but if your G12H cab is sealed then you might get away with running bass through it at home volumes if you don't crank it to the point where the speakers start to complain. The safest option would be to get hold of a dedicated bass cabinet and run it with the Selmer, or even from the amp section of the Vox. It needn't be a big cab for home recording, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Yeah in general the heads will be just fine but you'll really want a dedicated bass cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Properly serviced heads are fine for bass, can uprate the power filtering for a bit more headroom too, ones with old caps tend to struggle more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfguy13 Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1345023627' post='1772359'] Selmer T&B heads can sound good for bass if you like an old-school sound, so I'd go with that option. Guitar speakers (or even older "bass" speakers) for bass can be risky, especially in an open-backed cab, but if your G12H cab is sealed then you might get away with running bass through it at home volumes if you don't crank it to the point where the speakers start to complain. The safest option would be to get hold of a dedicated bass cabinet and run it with the Selmer, or even from the amp section of the Vox. It needn't be a big cab for home recording, either. [/quote] Great advice, thanks! It is as I expected - a bit risky to use guitar speakers. The 2x12 with the G12Hs in is sealed but sounds like it's a bit risky. I am in the process of converting a garage to rehearsal room spec (in terms of soundproofing anyway) so will be running both guitars and bass at higher volumes so maybe I need to get a dedicated bass cab. In fact I DO need to get one!! I'm delighted to hear the T&B sounds good with a bass through it - I love both channels for guitar but the bass channel is maybe EQd a bit low for guitar. I have a spare 12x12 cab into which I can load a couple of bass speakers and convert the baffle for 10s or 15s. As a guide will 10s give me enough bottom end or do I need 15s if I want a bit more thump? I'm used to using a single 15 in the WEM but like the idea of having something a bit punchier but still with a bit of grunt. Thanks also Jack and Mr Foxen....your input is mucho appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 [quote name='surfguy13' timestamp='1345054300' post='1772990']I have a spare 12x12 cab into which I can load a couple of bass speakers and convert the baffle for 10s or 15s. As a guide will 10s give me enough bottom end or do I need 15s if I want a bit more thump? [/quote] Assuming you meant a 2 x 12 and you don't have a 12 speaker cab lying around I would say generally not. It's normal for bass cabs to be bigger/deeper; though there are exceptions (Hiwatt for eg). Many years ago I experimented on whether I could find another exception by putting bass speakers in a designated guitar cab (it was a Vamp) and it sounded awful. So I took them back out & sold the cab on. It's almost a mantra on here btw that speaker size doesn't necessarily reflect "thump". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfguy13 Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 [quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1345054997' post='1773006'] Assuming you meant a 2 x 12 and you don't have a 12 speaker cab lying around I would say generally not. It's normal for bass cabs to be bigger/deeper; though there are exceptions (Hiwatt for eg). Many years ago I experimented on whether I could find another exception by putting bass speakers in a designated guitar cab (it was a Vamp) and it sounded awful. So I took them back out & sold the cab on. It's almost a mantra on here btw that speaker size doesn't necessarily reflect "thump". [/quote] That's really helpful - I did wonder about using a guitar cab. I've been a guitarist for over 40 years but only ever used a bass at home and my old WEM has been pretty damn good. I guess I need to buy a loaded bass cab to be on the safe side. Likewise re the thump thing - I did wonder if the speakers made a great deal of difference and clearly that's not the key. Maybe I'll go for a 2x10 cab for starters and go from there. The EB3 is a thump machine anyway, particularly the neck p/up, so that's still going to give me a fair amount of bottom end (I assume) irrespective of what speaker configuration I go for. Appreciate the advice...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) No problem; though stick around, there'll be others who can offer better guidance. also touring a few stores to try cabs out is all part of the fun. I do love the EB3, I had a '69 as my first bass in '79. FWIW Jimmy Lea of Slade used a Selmer T&B and an EB3 when he first turned pro & stuck with the EB3 until it was stolen. [quote name='surfguy13' timestamp='1345066077' post='1773227'] The EB3 is a thump machine anyway, particularly the neck p/up, so that's still going to give me a fair amount of bottom end (I assume) irrespective of what speaker configuration I go for.[/quote] When I had that 1st EB3 I was told by a few shops that the "mudbucker" (neck pickup) had a reputation for blowing speakers. I don't know if that was true or advertising - or more a statement on the quality of bass drivers at the time. My first cab was a TVM ported cab, made in Manchester with 1 x 18" McKenzie speaker. It did the job well, but no top end. Edited August 15, 2012 by Big_Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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