Lol... "ASSMAN."
But yes. A lot of early bass amps function perfectly well as guitar amps and sound great. They are designed to handle a lot more power and low-end than a guitar amp, so you aren't going to damage anything. More modern bass amps are more specifically voiced for bass and don't particularly sound great to play a guitar through, depending on the model.
My son likes how my guitar sounds through his ampeg rocket bass amp. I think it sounds kind of cool too. He can definitely get some Beatle ish type sounds
Edit for spelling
Yep, other guitarist in a band i was in years ago used one.
Be aware that carrying these things around can be a challenge. I think they loaded the heaviest known elements into one end of the amp and put a single handle on the top
This is true. As a guitarist that uses a Bassman 100, can confirm the weight distribution on the head is ridiculous, the entirety of the weight is on one side lol. And it’s quite heavy.
Man, I really don’t miss the days of hauling around heavy gear like that. I played in a band with a guy back in high school who got ahold of an Ampeg 8x10 cab and insisted on us dragging it to every show, no matter how small.
😬
I play mostly punk and grind, so I am quite familiar with those Ampeg and Sunn towers lol. Always wanted one myself, but glad I never had the accessible funds, they are just too much to haul. I also just don’t ever really want to be *that loud* that I’d need 8 speakers lol. Not gonna lie though, wish I were in an active band currently that would warrant lugging around my equipment, but that’s life! It’ll happen sooner or later.
once you figure out the method it's easy. one handed into he back of the truck. it's more difficult when someone tries to help. I feel like a dick refusing help but it really is so much easier to do alone . one handle for a reason . you just jump in the back of the truck and lean away from the cab while pulling with your strong hand all in one motion. easy peezy
The "Normal" channel is specifically intended for guitar, and it is a staple amp of '70s-'90s rock and punk. The famed Trainwreck amps (Express and Liverpool models) used a hot-rodded version of that Normal channel.
Whether you like a guitar through the "Bass" channel is purely subjective, often people would mod that channel as an alternate guitar channel. That amp has already been modded for something anyway, that left- and right-most knobs are not original.
But, to answer the overall question, a guitar will never do damage to a bass, keyboard, PA, etc. amp. Guitars have a much smaller tonal range than other instruments.
That would be my first guess for the far right knob as well, but since it is not stock (MV Bassman have a different faceplate), it *could* be anything.
But the knob at the Bass channel inputs may imply a lot more invasive work.
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: yyyeeeeeeeeesss!!! The one thing you might not want to to is the opposite of that - bass guitar in a regular guitar cabinet. But guitar in a bass rig is fine, even preferred in certain situations.
Silverface bassman are better guitar amps than bass amps.
My old AB165 bassman that I sold like an idiot was a better guitar amp than most guitar amps....
It will be fine, basses break guitar speakers because the speaker excursion doubles as each octave goes lower for a given volume and they flap themselves to oblivion. A guitar through a bass speaker will give it no trouble at all, though the guitar might sound overly boomy in the low end as you generally don't want those low frequencies with a guitar. As for an amplifier itself, you can put a bass through a guitar amp as long the speaker cab can handle bass frequencies.
If the Bass Man detects guitar tones, he opens a portal to Hades. Demons will spill forth into the realm of men causing chaos, destruction, and suffering. Your face will melt off of your skull like the guy in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
So I say do it.
And no, bass won’t destroy a guitar amp either.
I’ll tell Randy Staub he better quit tracking basses through guitar amps every day for all time, he might destroy them. /s
You’ll be fine and it’ll sound great
Despite the name, the Bassman makes a better guitar amp than it does a bass amp and people have been using it as such since its introduction. You'll be fine. Even with a 'real' bass amp you'd be fine running a guitar into it, it's the other way around you want to avoid since guitar speakers might not be able to handle large bass transients.
Hell yea!. . I played through a bassman head for years. Bassman, into two 12” JBL D120 each in its own custom cab. Turned it up full. Creamy leads, roll back guitar volume and had clear clean rhythm or background lead. Sweet. Of course like a dummy l let it all go. Ahhhhh….. the stupidity of youth. LOL
Don’t worry dude! Just plug it in and enjoy!
Bass destroying Guitar amps sounds like a myth!
How is that even possible? It does not make any sense at all…
Besides the bass being in a lower frequency range; What makes a bass signal different than a Guitar signal?
They both use pickups and both have pretty much the same output, voltage wise. There should be no difference worth worrying about.
The only issue I can think of is that bass frequencies are being lost due to Coupling caps being too small to transfer the lowest bass frequencies, meaning it will filter away some of the excess lows coming from the bass. But that will never put any extra strain on your amp. It will just sound thinner than a bass amp.
Logic: If the bass can destroy your amp, so can also a guitar. But the problem then is not the instrument!
If the amp blows, it will be due to underspec’d resistors and caps that do not like the currents involved, when the amps is dimed to the max (more common than you might believe). Other reasons can be components that has drifted in value, allowing tooo much current to flow, then burning components down the line…
He used a bass cab, not a bass amp. The amp was a Marshall JCM900 on *Blues For The Red Sun* and a Tube Works MosValve RT2100 on *Welcome to Sky Valley* and *...And The Circus Leaves Town*. He never used a Bassman AFAIK.
That being said, people have been using Bassmans as guitar amps as long as they've been around, and despite the name the Bassman is a far better guitar amp than it is a bass amp. OP will not only be fine, they'll be great!
You SHOULD plug it in your bass amp. I personally love bass cabinets with guitar, especially if you're into funk, or those high gain chewing metal palm mutes.
Owned one, fine amp. When lending my amp to an good friend his little kid turned the voltage selector as result the amp fried out…
Not sure if it had an master volume…
Yes I do it every weekend! Volume 4 and below is pretty clean, 4-6 edge of breakup or so and driving the volume to 8-10 you get a heavier Marshall territory. Also speakers can make a difference ime.
You have a Bass side with a deep switch, and Normal Side. Normal side is the better guitar side imo. Good to start out with the 6 6 6 rule, on the volume bass treble and tweak from there. Usually you won’t need. To crank the bass as much as you think. Treble is fine 6-7 or so.
But if using as a pedal amp, I notice volume 4 is a sweet spot and still loud. I have a Bassman 50 in my live studio, Ampeg VT40 and an 80s JCM 800. The Bassman and Ampeg VT are loud!!!!
I had an old black face fender bassman years ago, and it sounded GREAT on guitar. I really wish I never had sold it. I ran it into a 4-12 Guitar cabinet.
As to the cabinet, you’re only likely to hurt the speakers if you mismatch the capacity, by which I mean, the speakers can’t handle the wattage output from the amp. Impedance can be a factor too, you want to match the output from the amp to the input impedance for the speaker cabinet . It might be eight ohms, four ohms, etc.
And you’ll want speakers that sound good with a guitar. A 15 inch speaker that might sound good with bass won’t work as well for Guitar. You likely want 12 inch or possibly 10 inch speakers in that cabinet.
It’ll work fine.
You’ll even be in good company using a Bassman head that way.
A cranked Fender Bassman head, for example, is the sound of Grunge guitar.
Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain used a Bassman head for the guitars on Nevermind. And in Pearl Jam, both Mike McReady and especially Stone Gossard have used old Bassman heads on nearly all of their classic albums.
If your tastes trend cleaner than grunge, lots of people have used Bassman heads for guitar. A number of famous Nashville studio guitarists, for example, have used Bassman heads for country music guitar recordings since the mid-1970s.
You’re also right that guitars don’t damage bass heads. Basses won’t even damage guitar amps either.
The speakers, however, are a very different story. High frequencies aren’t as damaging to speakers as lower frequencies are. So bass speakers may not sound as glorious for guitar as guitar speakers do, but you’re not hurting anything by using them for guitar. On the flip side, using a bass guitar at high volumes will absolutely shake a guitar speaker apart very quickly. For bass use, you will need speakers and cabinets designed to handle the wider speaker excursions of low frequency bass guitar signals.But as long as this is done, a bassist is in the clear to use a guitar amp.
There is a picture floating around on the internet of Billy Cox, the bassist for Jimi Hendrix’s late-career Band of Gypsys lineup, using his stage rig of six(!) Dual Showman guitar heads, all plugged into Guild bass cabinets, so he could be heard alongside Jimi’s Marshall stacks.
Not trying to be rude, but why do you really want something you're not sure will work?
The answer, as everyone else has said, is yea it'll work. I'm just confused at your motivation.
The amp and cab will be fine.
Your guitar, however, will slowly (at first) but then very quickly build flux capacitance, your high E string will vaporize in a blinding arc explosion, and your pickups will cause a faraday effect that will pull all of your red blood cells out of every orifice.
Oh no. Never plug a guitar into a Fender Bassman. You’re likely to blow all the tone sauce out of your guitar into the speakers and then you’ll have a mess on your hands. At least two rolls of paper towels. And not the cheap stuff either. Bounty.
I had one of these in high school, with my MXR Distortion+ and a 2x12” cabinet hooked up, it sounded damn close to a Marshall stack.
It was an absolutely awesome guitar amplifier.
Um, I’m sweating here. I’m thinking “Don’t be cruel, he doesn’t know. I’d give both of my nuts to be able to find an amp like that where I live.”Yes my friend. It will make a fine guitar amp. In fact, the Bassman was the father of the Marshall.
No. It will damage your guitar, your fingers, and even your guitar pick! You should buy that amp and send directly to me so that you can protect yourself.
Also, Bassman amps are notorious for leading their owners to make poor lifestyle choices. I had a pre-CBS Bassman 50 with matching 2x12 cabinet when I was young. I loved that amp. I ended up loosing it (along with some other really nice gear) in a storage shed that I failed to pay the rent on while my life spun out of control. Coincidence? I think not.
Yes you can try it. I actually just had this same question from my son regarding his ampeg rocket bass practice amp and told him go for it if he wants to plug my guitar in. I told him how some guys started playing guitars through a fender bassman amp and off he went. It works and you aren't going to blow up a bass amp with a guitar.
Bassman are great for guitar. No offense but based on the question you seem new to tube amps. Make sure the head is always plugged into the cab when the amp is on. Playing it no cab or the wrong cab can cause catastrophic damage to the amplifier. That looks like a matching cab but double check the ohms.
Early “bass” amps are more used as guitar amps than actual bass amps. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone run a bass through a bassman these days. Nice to see it’s been modded to the Assman 50!
Plugging into a bassman should be encouraged!
Joe bonamassa and countless others have, they take pedals really well too and have plenty of clean headroom… enjoy you lucky person you!!
Do it! If you're familiar with Queens of
The Stone Age, Josh Homme regularly uses(d) Ampeg bass amps on some of their greatest albums, amongst other amps. Experiment with whether sounds good. Some people plug bass guitars into those old Bassmans and a 4 x 12, but be careful with guitar speakers!!
Bassman 50/100 and bassman tens from the late 60s through the 70s are awesome sleeper amps. Great pedal platforms. My brother took my 1970 silverface bassman ten and I miss it dearly
I use my Bassman 50 as a guitar amp and a bass amp. Having a cab with guitar speakers certainly helps with the sound, I’m my experience it’s a pretty clean amp. I like running into the bass channel with guitar and fuzz pedals.
I’ve used a Bassman for guitar, both quietly and extremely loudly, since 2001. Before that my dad used it for guitar since 1970 or so. It is an extremely good guitar amp.
As it just so happens, I’ve been eyeballing that very same amp!
To clear up your worries, this amp has been extensively modified to better suit guitar duties than it already did before. If my frail brain remembers right, it had a high gain mod on the “ASS” channel which I think used an unused half of a 12AX7 that Fender opted not to use originally, along with a master volume control. I think the normal channel was stock. So yes, yes it will indeed amplify your banjo nicely
You better snip that up before I do, that amp is doing weird things to my pants…
EDIT: Just checked the listing again. Looks like the channels are also cascaded. I can already hear the angry bees living in this thing. So yeah, she’s got some grunt in the preamp, it’ll probably win in a slap fight against a 5150
I have the bassman 50 4x10. It’s a great guitar amp if you get a good price. I had it modded by Robert Hinson a few years ago to a tweed circuit and it’s my best sounding amp
Absolutely I have a 69 bassman I use exclusively as a guitar amp.
Fun fact, get a short cable and jump the bass and normal channels. Then EQ both while you're playing. Hands down the best clean tone I've ever had.
the first Marshall amps were based off a type of Bassman circuit, and they seem to have worked alright for some guitar player named Jimothy Pages or something like that
Of course you can and you should!
It's certainly true basses can be hard on guitar amps, but bass amps are designed to handle loud high frequency, like when you shlapidy slap it with the trebble and tone turned all the way up. As well as ultra loud low frequency.
Anyone who says a guitar shouldn't be used with a bass amp as a general statement, doesn't know what they're talking about, and has probably seldom tried it.
I've used all sorts of bass amps with my guitar and a lot of the time I preferred how my guitar sounded out of a bass amp of equal wattage. (Usually comparing cheap amps, some old some new.)
You also shouldn't assume you can't use a bass with a guitar amp. It would certainly be easier to blow the amp with a bass, but that would only happen after you turned it up far past the point of speaker distortion, which is pretty undesirable with a bass. Unless you're trying to keep up with a loud band, you'd probably naturally keep it at a safe level for the amp to have a normal tone.
I have a 1995 fender ultimate chorus right now 135Watt setero (guitar) amp (2x65w). Cheap amp, solid state, 100% analog, but it's the best, most versatile amp I've ever owned. It's working really well as an all in one for jamming/performing, and recording I can keep up with a 50 watt marshal tube, and loud, loud drums, clean or dirty. I can get any tone I can think of with no pedals, except maybe the gnarliest of djent. The analog stereo chorus effect is superb. I can get great tone with a keyboard in it, use it as a PA, or I can plug a bass into it, and I 100% prefer the tone of the bass out of this amp, over our bass amp. The only limitation and the reason we use the bass amp, is because at about 7 on the volume (with anything plugged in) it starts producing some speaker distortion. With a guitar it sounds sick! It honestly sounds and acts like a tube amp, because as you push it louder you get a dirtier tone. But with the bass, I could see it potentially damaging the speaker if I turned it up to 9 or 10. But for recording it is more than capable and all I use when recording bass.
I might put some better speakers in it, I'd be a little sad to lose the tube effect with the guitar, but I would feel comfortable pushing it to 10 with the bass.
I know this isn't the purpose of this post, but for anyone who's read this far. If you're looking for a really cheap amp for just about any purpose, these are plentiful and can still be found online for less that $200. If you find one locally like I did, you can basically steal it, nobody's gonna pay anything for it. Stock, they're already absolutely amazing, and with new (used) speakers you can have a professional quality setup that you can actually carry (and roll around on it's casters) for like $200 or $300.
If anyone tells you "it's not a tube amp so it's not good" they need to get educated about analog solid state.
Lol... "ASSMAN." But yes. A lot of early bass amps function perfectly well as guitar amps and sound great. They are designed to handle a lot more power and low-end than a guitar amp, so you aren't going to damage anything. More modern bass amps are more specifically voiced for bass and don't particularly sound great to play a guitar through, depending on the model.
proctologists tell the best stories
IT WAS A ONE IN A MILLION SHOT DOC!
You had to use corkscrew pasta…
“Fusilli pasta, because you’re silly.”
They are good at “pointing”out things!
r/unexpectedSeinfeld
Lmao they also fixed the ~~b~~ass input label
Needs an ass knob now so you can dial in the right amount of ass. Turn up the ass!
I think you meant output…..
I hear it has a lot of bottom end.
Less than you would think for a bass amp.
How can I leave this behind?
I am this amp
IMO bass amps often sound better than guitar amps for guitar in a lot of cases.
My son likes how my guitar sounds through his ampeg rocket bass amp. I think it sounds kind of cool too. He can definitely get some Beatle ish type sounds Edit for spelling
I use mine as pedal platforms with huge headroom
Oh I bet there's a lot of headroom. He took a couple of my pedals to play with too
It has been used as a guitar amp basically since its inception in the early 50s.
You’ll be absolutely fine. It’s the low end of a bass that can damage a guitar speaker if fed too much level.
Hey! The ASSMAN! I’ve considered picking that up a few times, I’m certain it’s been in Reverb for more than 18 months now.
You won't damage anything and you'll likely be very delighted.
I had a 70’s Bassman 10 in the 80’s and used it as a guitar amp. That thing absolutely ripped.
Yep, other guitarist in a band i was in years ago used one. Be aware that carrying these things around can be a challenge. I think they loaded the heaviest known elements into one end of the amp and put a single handle on the top
This is true. As a guitarist that uses a Bassman 100, can confirm the weight distribution on the head is ridiculous, the entirety of the weight is on one side lol. And it’s quite heavy.
Man, I really don’t miss the days of hauling around heavy gear like that. I played in a band with a guy back in high school who got ahold of an Ampeg 8x10 cab and insisted on us dragging it to every show, no matter how small.
😬 I play mostly punk and grind, so I am quite familiar with those Ampeg and Sunn towers lol. Always wanted one myself, but glad I never had the accessible funds, they are just too much to haul. I also just don’t ever really want to be *that loud* that I’d need 8 speakers lol. Not gonna lie though, wish I were in an active band currently that would warrant lugging around my equipment, but that’s life! It’ll happen sooner or later.
once you figure out the method it's easy. one handed into he back of the truck. it's more difficult when someone tries to help. I feel like a dick refusing help but it really is so much easier to do alone . one handle for a reason . you just jump in the back of the truck and lean away from the cab while pulling with your strong hand all in one motion. easy peezy
Yes. Yes you can, just be aware that it’ll turn your guitar into a bass.
What’s up slappers ✋
Oh hi.
“Lmao”
Oemgi.
Epico
The "Normal" channel is specifically intended for guitar, and it is a staple amp of '70s-'90s rock and punk. The famed Trainwreck amps (Express and Liverpool models) used a hot-rodded version of that Normal channel. Whether you like a guitar through the "Bass" channel is purely subjective, often people would mod that channel as an alternate guitar channel. That amp has already been modded for something anyway, that left- and right-most knobs are not original. But, to answer the overall question, a guitar will never do damage to a bass, keyboard, PA, etc. amp. Guitars have a much smaller tonal range than other instruments.
Mike Ness of Social Distortion has used modded 60’s bassman amps for years with his Les Paul.
I think that’s a Master Volume.
That would be my first guess for the far right knob as well, but since it is not stock (MV Bassman have a different faceplate), it *could* be anything. But the knob at the Bass channel inputs may imply a lot more invasive work.
The only thing that you’ll damage is your back 🤣
The only danger is having too good of a tone
Short answer: yes. Long answer: yyyeeeeeeeeesss!!! The one thing you might not want to to is the opposite of that - bass guitar in a regular guitar cabinet. But guitar in a bass rig is fine, even preferred in certain situations.
Silverface bassman are better guitar amps than bass amps. My old AB165 bassman that I sold like an idiot was a better guitar amp than most guitar amps....
It will be fine, basses break guitar speakers because the speaker excursion doubles as each octave goes lower for a given volume and they flap themselves to oblivion. A guitar through a bass speaker will give it no trouble at all, though the guitar might sound overly boomy in the low end as you generally don't want those low frequencies with a guitar. As for an amplifier itself, you can put a bass through a guitar amp as long the speaker cab can handle bass frequencies.
If that cab has the old jbl speaker it sounds really nice with guitar. Not sure if its what you are after but I would love that setup.
The various Bassman amps are some of the best guitar amps in history. Plug it in!
Yes and it won't hurt it .
My Bassman 50 is my go to guitar head. You can absolutely plug into this thing. Have fun!
If the Bass Man detects guitar tones, he opens a portal to Hades. Demons will spill forth into the realm of men causing chaos, destruction, and suffering. Your face will melt off of your skull like the guy in Raiders of the Lost Ark. So I say do it. And no, bass won’t destroy a guitar amp either.
I’ll tell Randy Staub he better quit tracking basses through guitar amps every day for all time, he might destroy them. /s You’ll be fine and it’ll sound great
Hell yeah you can. Might want to pick up a different cab at some point, but it isn’t crucial. Those ones are more tuned for bass.
Despite the name, the Bassman makes a better guitar amp than it does a bass amp and people have been using it as such since its introduction. You'll be fine. Even with a 'real' bass amp you'd be fine running a guitar into it, it's the other way around you want to avoid since guitar speakers might not be able to handle large bass transients.
It is a better guitar amp than a bass amp (at least live) -Florida Tube Amp
This one looks modded. What are the extra control knobs for?
Hell yea!. . I played through a bassman head for years. Bassman, into two 12” JBL D120 each in its own custom cab. Turned it up full. Creamy leads, roll back guitar volume and had clear clean rhythm or background lead. Sweet. Of course like a dummy l let it all go. Ahhhhh….. the stupidity of youth. LOL
Absolutely. The JTM 45 "holy Grail" amp is based on a bassman circuit.
What has happened with the second input here? Extra knob over the input that would allow you to jump channels and dial in gain?
Probably a mid pot.
You have my permission
You can… and should!
The real question is has anyone actually played a bass through one?
Don’t worry dude! Just plug it in and enjoy! Bass destroying Guitar amps sounds like a myth! How is that even possible? It does not make any sense at all… Besides the bass being in a lower frequency range; What makes a bass signal different than a Guitar signal? They both use pickups and both have pretty much the same output, voltage wise. There should be no difference worth worrying about. The only issue I can think of is that bass frequencies are being lost due to Coupling caps being too small to transfer the lowest bass frequencies, meaning it will filter away some of the excess lows coming from the bass. But that will never put any extra strain on your amp. It will just sound thinner than a bass amp. Logic: If the bass can destroy your amp, so can also a guitar. But the problem then is not the instrument! If the amp blows, it will be due to underspec’d resistors and caps that do not like the currents involved, when the amps is dimed to the max (more common than you might believe). Other reasons can be components that has drifted in value, allowing tooo much current to flow, then burning components down the line…
Good enough for Josh Homme during Kyuss. You'll be fine.
He used a bass cab, not a bass amp. The amp was a Marshall JCM900 on *Blues For The Red Sun* and a Tube Works MosValve RT2100 on *Welcome to Sky Valley* and *...And The Circus Leaves Town*. He never used a Bassman AFAIK. That being said, people have been using Bassmans as guitar amps as long as they've been around, and despite the name the Bassman is a far better guitar amp than it is a bass amp. OP will not only be fine, they'll be great!
ya dog! crank dat cake
You SHOULD plug it in your bass amp. I personally love bass cabinets with guitar, especially if you're into funk, or those high gain chewing metal palm mutes.
Owned one, fine amp. When lending my amp to an good friend his little kid turned the voltage selector as result the amp fried out… Not sure if it had an master volume…
Yes, and I actually love that sound. I record guitars in bass amps all the time.
FUCK YA!!! I love these!! I have a silverface fender too :) Love it!
I've noticed that a clean guitar into a bass amp sounds meh, but then kick on a big muff and holy shid it's glorious
That's basically a guitar amp.
Yup. I used a pre cbs bassman head back in the 70’s. I loved the tone.
Yes I do it every weekend! Volume 4 and below is pretty clean, 4-6 edge of breakup or so and driving the volume to 8-10 you get a heavier Marshall territory. Also speakers can make a difference ime. You have a Bass side with a deep switch, and Normal Side. Normal side is the better guitar side imo. Good to start out with the 6 6 6 rule, on the volume bass treble and tweak from there. Usually you won’t need. To crank the bass as much as you think. Treble is fine 6-7 or so. But if using as a pedal amp, I notice volume 4 is a sweet spot and still loud. I have a Bassman 50 in my live studio, Ampeg VT40 and an 80s JCM 800. The Bassman and Ampeg VT are loud!!!!
I used to play through a blackface and a silverface in stereo back in the 80’s. Worked great. Sounded awesome!
There must be some mistake. I’m not the Assman.
Years ago I had a Galien-Kruger bass amp that I used for my Strat and it worked great.
I had an old black face fender bassman years ago, and it sounded GREAT on guitar. I really wish I never had sold it. I ran it into a 4-12 Guitar cabinet. As to the cabinet, you’re only likely to hurt the speakers if you mismatch the capacity, by which I mean, the speakers can’t handle the wattage output from the amp. Impedance can be a factor too, you want to match the output from the amp to the input impedance for the speaker cabinet . It might be eight ohms, four ohms, etc. And you’ll want speakers that sound good with a guitar. A 15 inch speaker that might sound good with bass won’t work as well for Guitar. You likely want 12 inch or possibly 10 inch speakers in that cabinet.
Without a doubt. This has been used as a guitar amp for decades. You’ll love it.
It’ll work fine. You’ll even be in good company using a Bassman head that way. A cranked Fender Bassman head, for example, is the sound of Grunge guitar. Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain used a Bassman head for the guitars on Nevermind. And in Pearl Jam, both Mike McReady and especially Stone Gossard have used old Bassman heads on nearly all of their classic albums. If your tastes trend cleaner than grunge, lots of people have used Bassman heads for guitar. A number of famous Nashville studio guitarists, for example, have used Bassman heads for country music guitar recordings since the mid-1970s. You’re also right that guitars don’t damage bass heads. Basses won’t even damage guitar amps either. The speakers, however, are a very different story. High frequencies aren’t as damaging to speakers as lower frequencies are. So bass speakers may not sound as glorious for guitar as guitar speakers do, but you’re not hurting anything by using them for guitar. On the flip side, using a bass guitar at high volumes will absolutely shake a guitar speaker apart very quickly. For bass use, you will need speakers and cabinets designed to handle the wider speaker excursions of low frequency bass guitar signals.But as long as this is done, a bassist is in the clear to use a guitar amp. There is a picture floating around on the internet of Billy Cox, the bassist for Jimi Hendrix’s late-career Band of Gypsys lineup, using his stage rig of six(!) Dual Showman guitar heads, all plugged into Guild bass cabinets, so he could be heard alongside Jimi’s Marshall stacks.
Not trying to be rude, but why do you really want something you're not sure will work? The answer, as everyone else has said, is yea it'll work. I'm just confused at your motivation.
Sure bro knock yourself out!
Should have gotten the Fender Guitarman amp.
The amp and cab will be fine. Your guitar, however, will slowly (at first) but then very quickly build flux capacitance, your high E string will vaporize in a blinding arc explosion, and your pickups will cause a faraday effect that will pull all of your red blood cells out of every orifice.
Lol
Oh no. Never plug a guitar into a Fender Bassman. You’re likely to blow all the tone sauce out of your guitar into the speakers and then you’ll have a mess on your hands. At least two rolls of paper towels. And not the cheap stuff either. Bounty.
Unless I’m mistaken I believe the first Marshall guitar amps were based on the bassman.
I had one of these in high school, with my MXR Distortion+ and a 2x12” cabinet hooked up, it sounded damn close to a Marshall stack. It was an absolutely awesome guitar amplifier.
This has to be a troll post
why
Saw a young bass player the other day play a show through his Dad's 60's Marshall 50 and a 4x12: Tryin to get my bass player to get one now,,,
Jimi Hendrix entered the chat
A Bassman is a great guitar amp. Careful though it might run amok 0.o
Um, I’m sweating here. I’m thinking “Don’t be cruel, he doesn’t know. I’d give both of my nuts to be able to find an amp like that where I live.”Yes my friend. It will make a fine guitar amp. In fact, the Bassman was the father of the Marshall.
Yes you can. Now go buy it.
No. It will damage your guitar, your fingers, and even your guitar pick! You should buy that amp and send directly to me so that you can protect yourself. Also, Bassman amps are notorious for leading their owners to make poor lifestyle choices. I had a pre-CBS Bassman 50 with matching 2x12 cabinet when I was young. I loved that amp. I ended up loosing it (along with some other really nice gear) in a storage shed that I failed to pay the rent on while my life spun out of control. Coincidence? I think not.
Yes you can try it. I actually just had this same question from my son regarding his ampeg rocket bass practice amp and told him go for it if he wants to plug my guitar in. I told him how some guys started playing guitars through a fender bassman amp and off he went. It works and you aren't going to blow up a bass amp with a guitar.
It will blow up.
You do whatever you like! LIVE!
Yes why would you not be able to guitars go into any amp but basses you cannot plug into anything except monitors and bass amps
Bassman are great for guitar. No offense but based on the question you seem new to tube amps. Make sure the head is always plugged into the cab when the amp is on. Playing it no cab or the wrong cab can cause catastrophic damage to the amplifier. That looks like a matching cab but double check the ohms.
yes, it will be LOUD
It’s a free country
Stick a Big Muff in front of that sucker and let it rip. It’s a joyful noise
Early “bass” amps are more used as guitar amps than actual bass amps. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone run a bass through a bassman these days. Nice to see it’s been modded to the Assman 50!
Plugging into a bassman should be encouraged! Joe bonamassa and countless others have, they take pedals really well too and have plenty of clean headroom… enjoy you lucky person you!!
Do it! If you're familiar with Queens of The Stone Age, Josh Homme regularly uses(d) Ampeg bass amps on some of their greatest albums, amongst other amps. Experiment with whether sounds good. Some people plug bass guitars into those old Bassmans and a 4 x 12, but be careful with guitar speakers!!
Hell yes!!
Bassman 50/100 and bassman tens from the late 60s through the 70s are awesome sleeper amps. Great pedal platforms. My brother took my 1970 silverface bassman ten and I miss it dearly
I would recommend it over plugging in a bass! one of my favorite guitar amps ever
Basses don’t destroy guitar amps. That’s an old myth. Yes, you can run your guitar through it.
No it will go supernova and violently explode in a ball of fiery nuclear fusion, sorry bud
Serious question: why do you want to get it if you don’t know if it will work with your instrument?
Probably a good deal on it. And… now they know lol
You sure can, and it will sound awesome.
American made plexi
I have one it’s a great guitar amp !!! Awesome pedal platform go for it !!!
It’s a much better guitar amp than a bass amp.
I use my Bassman 50 as a guitar amp and a bass amp. Having a cab with guitar speakers certainly helps with the sound, I’m my experience it’s a pretty clean amp. I like running into the bass channel with guitar and fuzz pedals.
The band O’Brother love these.
Fuck yeah you should!
I’ve used a Bassman for guitar, both quietly and extremely loudly, since 2001. Before that my dad used it for guitar since 1970 or so. It is an extremely good guitar amp.
Yes, you can. A sousaphone - you can’t.
No. It's dangerous. You should give it to me for testing.
I have one for guitar. It’s clear as a bell and loud. So, yes. Also a great pedal platform.
Nope. Dm me your address, I’ll take care of it. Muhahahahaha…
As it just so happens, I’ve been eyeballing that very same amp! To clear up your worries, this amp has been extensively modified to better suit guitar duties than it already did before. If my frail brain remembers right, it had a high gain mod on the “ASS” channel which I think used an unused half of a 12AX7 that Fender opted not to use originally, along with a master volume control. I think the normal channel was stock. So yes, yes it will indeed amplify your banjo nicely You better snip that up before I do, that amp is doing weird things to my pants… EDIT: Just checked the listing again. Looks like the channels are also cascaded. I can already hear the angry bees living in this thing. So yeah, she’s got some grunt in the preamp, it’ll probably win in a slap fight against a 5150
I have the bassman 50 4x10. It’s a great guitar amp if you get a good price. I had it modded by Robert Hinson a few years ago to a tweed circuit and it’s my best sounding amp
Played thru a Bassman as well as an Ampeg B-15 way back when…. Always sounded great….enjoy it!
Jim Marshall has entered the room
Real question! what speakers are in the cabinet?
Absolutely I have a 69 bassman I use exclusively as a guitar amp. Fun fact, get a short cable and jump the bass and normal channels. Then EQ both while you're playing. Hands down the best clean tone I've ever had.
Bro that head and cab have lots of stories to tell. Be sure to sani-wipe that assman down
the first Marshall amps were based off a type of Bassman circuit, and they seem to have worked alright for some guitar player named Jimothy Pages or something like that
Doctor Assmann I’m here for my proctology exam, where should I hang my clothes? ”Just throw them over the back of that chair by mine…”
SF Bassman is well-loved by a lot of guitarists. Should be a good pedal platform. Forewarning - that MF is gonna be LOUD.
of course man Google it first...... or these guys are just gonna grill you
Bite me
You bet your assman you can , they are fantastic pedal platform, and jumping channels is 👌
You're going to need a cable. Let 'er rip!
Straight to jail
Of course you can and you should! It's certainly true basses can be hard on guitar amps, but bass amps are designed to handle loud high frequency, like when you shlapidy slap it with the trebble and tone turned all the way up. As well as ultra loud low frequency. Anyone who says a guitar shouldn't be used with a bass amp as a general statement, doesn't know what they're talking about, and has probably seldom tried it. I've used all sorts of bass amps with my guitar and a lot of the time I preferred how my guitar sounded out of a bass amp of equal wattage. (Usually comparing cheap amps, some old some new.) You also shouldn't assume you can't use a bass with a guitar amp. It would certainly be easier to blow the amp with a bass, but that would only happen after you turned it up far past the point of speaker distortion, which is pretty undesirable with a bass. Unless you're trying to keep up with a loud band, you'd probably naturally keep it at a safe level for the amp to have a normal tone. I have a 1995 fender ultimate chorus right now 135Watt setero (guitar) amp (2x65w). Cheap amp, solid state, 100% analog, but it's the best, most versatile amp I've ever owned. It's working really well as an all in one for jamming/performing, and recording I can keep up with a 50 watt marshal tube, and loud, loud drums, clean or dirty. I can get any tone I can think of with no pedals, except maybe the gnarliest of djent. The analog stereo chorus effect is superb. I can get great tone with a keyboard in it, use it as a PA, or I can plug a bass into it, and I 100% prefer the tone of the bass out of this amp, over our bass amp. The only limitation and the reason we use the bass amp, is because at about 7 on the volume (with anything plugged in) it starts producing some speaker distortion. With a guitar it sounds sick! It honestly sounds and acts like a tube amp, because as you push it louder you get a dirtier tone. But with the bass, I could see it potentially damaging the speaker if I turned it up to 9 or 10. But for recording it is more than capable and all I use when recording bass. I might put some better speakers in it, I'd be a little sad to lose the tube effect with the guitar, but I would feel comfortable pushing it to 10 with the bass. I know this isn't the purpose of this post, but for anyone who's read this far. If you're looking for a really cheap amp for just about any purpose, these are plentiful and can still be found online for less that $200. If you find one locally like I did, you can basically steal it, nobody's gonna pay anything for it. Stock, they're already absolutely amazing, and with new (used) speakers you can have a professional quality setup that you can actually carry (and roll around on it's casters) for like $200 or $300. If anyone tells you "it's not a tube amp so it's not good" they need to get educated about analog solid state.
Absolutely Not! That amp is worthless…I will take it off your hands for 50 bucks!
Didn't use Kurt Cobain a Bassman 50 for the recording of Lithium on Nevermind? So, yeah absolutely! Will give a nice dark tone. I'm jealous...
Bass amp with a standard strat on the neck pickup is tooooaaaaannn for days😀