playing bass thru home stereo

[iconic]

This maybe in the wrong section..if so please shift:

I'm curious...whenever I read anything about playing a bass thru a home stereo, all I read is that it's a bad, bad idea.....but my stereo has a woofer the size of tea chest and can handle drum and bass with tone so low I can't hear it, but certainly feel it! Also, they have circuits that dish out the frequencies to the most suitable speaker.


..when I play this, I can feel my trouser legs fluttering....and a bass wont go this low?

....strangely, running a bass thru a home PC seems OK?

So why is it a bad idea...apart from pissing off the neighbours

[wotnwhy]

because music has been mastered, no nasty peaks.

that said, when without an amp i have used my stereo for bass. as long as you don't go silly with it you shouldn't have a problem.

[TomKent]

As long as you don't have the bass and/or pedal(s) up full, it'll be fine. I do it regularly. Just be careful!

[bartelby]

I no longer have a bass amp in the house. So if I want to practice it's either unplugged or running through my 12 channel mixer into a JVC mini hi-fi.
My computer's audio goes through the desk too, so practicing new songs for the band is simple.

[Mr. Foxen]

I broke my stereo speakers playing bass back in the day. I'd use a compressor now.

[Cat Burrito]

I wouldn't do it regularly or loudly but it can be done and can sound fine / good. Obviously the better the speakers the more chance you have of not blowing them.

[velvetkevorkian]

As long as you don't try and go too loud it'll be fine. All my 15" cab does these days is serve a a table for the rest of my hifi to sit on.

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='iconic' post='844423' date='May 21 2010, 05:34 PM']This maybe in the wrong section..if so please shift:

I'm curious...whenever I read anything about playing a bass thru a home stereo, all I read is that it's a bad, bad idea.....but my stereo has a woofer the size of tea chest and can handle drum and bass with tone so low I can't hear it, but certainly feel it! Also, they have circuits that dish out the frequencies to the most suitable speaker.


..when I play this, I can feel my trouser legs fluttering....and a bass wont go this low?

....strangely, running a bass thru a home PC seems OK?

So why is it a bad idea...apart from pissing off the neighbours [/quote]

I don't think it's a terrible idea w/s/e. I used to use a mini hifi system as a bass amp for a bit. I certainly think if your hifi is as you describe it, then it should be okay at handling the bass. Of course some hifis, especially older ones tended to have the thinner-guitar amp style speaker cones which can't handle the bass. but i think these days with the modern music and everything, the hifi manufacturers have had to beef up their systems a bit. And i use a hifi with my PC which is perfectly okay at running a markbass simulator. Of course hifis are generally tuned for dance and that so it's not going to be as tight sounding as you might want but otherwise it should be okay, certainly for practice purposes.

[Mottlefeeder]

One problem concerns the age of the speakers. Bass units with foam surrounds will stiffen up over the years. They still cope with general music, but a bass transient can split the surround. Roll rubber surrounds do not seem to have this problem.

David

[4 Strings]

The main reason why its not a great idea is that the output of your bass is very peaky compared with the compressed output from a cd or other recording. One of the reasons live music is so much better! Bass guitar amps and speakers are made to take those peaks, reproduce them well in fact, whereas you could easily overheat the amp and blow the speaker in an enthusiastic moment. Its not so much how low the frequencies but how large the peak.

As others have said, watch the volume and have fun!

[iconic]

thanks guys

[SteveK]

Probably not a good idea. And, If D&B is your thing, then, certainly not a good idea. You will almost certainly shorten the life of your speakers.

Try this simple experiment:
Get a bass sound (as best you can) similar to the clip you posted, without a compressor, turn it up to a good volume, and then turn it up a bit more (which you are bound to do... Right? ) And then accidentally/on purpose unplug your bass without muting your amp (which you are bound to do...Right? )

Nice noise, eh? Domestic hi-fi speakers love it...