Jenny_Innie Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 Basically, can I do it? Can I use a 100 watt all valve guitar head to gig with? It has switchable 4 ohm, 8 ohm and 16 Ohm outs - and I have a couple of Barefaced cabs? Should be alright shouldn't it? Someone I know has a spare one that I can have and I think it looks cool. I can give it a try at a low key gig in a couple of weeks. Would there be a downside? Quote
discreet Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 Short answer, yes. Downside is carrying it. Make sure your cabs are connected before you switch it on. Quote
Freddy Le Cragg Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 I recorded bass with a 50watt Laney valve head. Sounded like thunder! I doubt whether it would cut it live in a decent sized venue, mind. Quote
Beer of the Bass Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 It'll work and it shouldn't break anything as long as the impedance isn't grossly mismatched, though some guitar amps will sound better for bass than others. Some guitar amps use small output transformers which limit the headroom at bass frequencies, and higher gain preamps often have a lot of low-end roll-off built in to stop the overdrive from sounding mushy. I'd say give it a go, and you'll either like it or not. Quote
Bassassin Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 Way, way back, I had an HH VS bass combo & after a bit the amp part packed up. I borrowed an old Marshall 100w head, which I ran into the 1x15 cab of the HH for a few gigs. It sounded a whole lot better than the original amp did! Jon. Quote
taunton-hobbit Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 Depends on the make of amp (I'm not commenting at this point) - you need something with a bloody great big output tranny and it should sound like Thor on a good day........... Quote
3below Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1424636878' post='2698648'] Short answer, yes. Downside is carrying it. Make sure your cabs are connected before you switch it on. [/quote] Listen to live recordings of Free, The Who, Deep Purple, Cream, Mountain but to name a few. Seem to have a reasonable bass tone Quote
discreet Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Freddy Le Cragg' timestamp='1424637023' post='2698650'] I recorded bass with a 50watt Laney valve head. Sounded like thunder! I doubt whether it would cut it live in a decent sized venue, mind. [/quote] Well I don't know... I had a 100W all-valve and I could never get the master above 9 o'clock - this in a rock band with the usual racket-makers. Edited February 22, 2015 by discreet Quote
Dad3353 Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 [quote name='3below' timestamp='1424638885' post='2698674'] Listen to live recordings of Free, The Who, Deep Purple, Cream, Mountain but to name a few. Seem to have a reasonable bass tone [/quote] Yeah, but they're all pensioners, aren't they..? What would [i]they [/i]know..? Quote
RockfordStone Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 nickelback use guitar heads for bass too... not sure if that is a ringing endorsement tho Quote
Jenny_Innie Posted February 22, 2015 Author Posted February 22, 2015 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1424643328' post='2698758'] Yeah, but they're all pensioners, aren't they..? What would [i]they [/i]know..? [/quote] Word. Quote
3below Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) At the very start of my bass playing - Vox AC50. More than adequate against the Marshall 100W and 4 x 12 guitarists in the early 70s. The days of the 100W pa in pub, club bands. In my later youth my Hiwatt Dr103 seemed pretty damned good. Then I got the Hiwatt 200W model, more goodness. In a more recent (older, not wiser) incarnation I dabbled with the Marshall VBA 400 into a Barefaced Dubster. I used this in my workplace (school hall) for rehearsals. It was possible to get the walls and concrete floor to move, feeling the concrete slab move with bass was an odd sensation. Edited February 22, 2015 by 3below Quote
3below Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1424643328' post='2698758'] Yeah, but they're all pensioners, aren't they..? What would [i]they [/i]know..? [/quote] Me too, I got my pension last year. I was 55 ! result. Next I will realise my youth ambition to be a RnR star lol. The Mywatt 200 for sale on here looks mighty tempting. But what would a pensioner know Edited February 22, 2015 by 3below Quote
Donnyboy Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 [quote name='Jenny_Innie' timestamp='1424636617' post='2698641'] Basically, can I do it? Can I use a 100 watt all valve guitar head to gig with? It has switchable 4 ohm, 8 ohm and 16 Ohm outs - and I have a couple of Barefaced cabs? Should be alright shouldn't it? Someone I know has a spare one that I can have and I think it looks cool. I can give it a try at a low key gig in a couple of weeks. Would there be a downside? [/quote] . Yes, I've been told that the guts are pretty much the same for valve amps. Quote
KingBollock Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 My first proper amp was a Laney Klipp. From what I can gather, they were more popular among bass players than guitarists. I did eventually destroy it but I suspect that has more to do with me not knowing anything about valve amps at the time and not being very careful with what I plugged it into. Quote
chriswareham Posted February 22, 2015 Posted February 22, 2015 If it's an old valve head from the 1970s, then chances are it was designed for use as either a lead guitar or bass guitar amp. I use a Sound City 120, which can be used as either. The only differences between different models was the occasional inclusion of a spring reverb or an effects loop. When I was student my amp was a Simms Watts AP120 - the AP stood for "all purpose", since it could handle everything including keyboards. The Simms Watts PA100 only differed in that it had more inputs. Quote
Dad3353 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 This is our bass amp, a Hiwatt DR205, 200w PA head. 'Old school', but then again, I'm old. Most valve amps are fine for bass (except the Peavey Windsor we tested. No good, at least for us...). Quote
lojo Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 I used to use a valve fender 210 , it sounded great but was heavy and picked up radio stations Quote
Donnyboy Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1424659145' post='2698896'] This is our bass amp, a Hiwatt DR205, 200w PA head. 'Old school', but then again, I'm old. Most valve amps are fine for bass (except the Peavey Windsor we tested. No good, at least for us...). [/quote] Here's my bass amp - Quote
JTUK Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 When I first started, I used a Marshall gtr amp... and that was awful awful awful but I think it taught me a lot. Quote
Skybone Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 I posted something similar in the Amps section, and everyone there said that it was a bad idea, don't do it, it'll sound awful etc, etc, etc. Quote
chris_b Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 There are no downsides, as long as you connect the cab correctly before you switch on, ensure the ohms of your cab match the selector on the back and let the valves warm up at the beginning before you play and cool down at the end before you move the amp. All standard valve amp stuff. Back in the day, clutching a cheque from the management company, I had the run of the Marshall shop in Ealing Broadway. I walked away with the Super 100 Lead guitar amp. IMO it sounded punchier through my Marshall 412 cab. Cabs back then weren't the best so the amp had to provide all the definition for them. Quote
taunton-hobbit Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 (edited) 1) Check your impedances are ok for the amp - if in doubt email Barefaced, they are very good. 2)Some valve amps aren't designed for bass, the preamp (tone control front end) is the key to this, any competent amptech should be able to tell you/do a mod - it's usually only a couple of cheap bits to add/remove..... 3)Do it ! Edited February 23, 2015 by taunton-hobbit Quote
.jpg.518c69c2d9e1581799f3c11301dc2da5.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.