New Mesa Owner (newb warning)

[s_pisco7084]

Hey Guys, Im the proud new owner of a Mesa Single Rectifier solo head and a 4x12 rectifier cab. I mainly play Guitar but sometime i enjoy plugin in a bass. I was wondering if it is safe for me to play my bass safely through my amp with out damaging speakers at decent volumes... Ive always been told never play a bass through a guitar amp, but i think Mesa can handle it, am i wrong ?

And also im new to the tubes in the amp... i think i read they last about 6-10 months... I play about 3 hours everyday should i buy some tubes just incase...

 

[Elpelotero]

Welcome aboard!

I have 5 string bass and I wouldn't do it. I did it once or twice and I could tell the amp/cab was not liking it too much. If you do it (which I don't recommend), play on the clean channel at very very low volumes. It takes 3-4 times the amount of power and wattage for a bassist to get volumes equivalent to a guitarist. So, a 100w guitar amp means the bassist needs a 300-400w amp. I have a 400w bass rig that gets me through. I would need double or triple the wattage easily to play big stages.

If you play loud, you WILL blow a speaker. When bassists use guitar cabs in the recording studio, they typically only use them to get a distorted sound out of their high frequencies. Their main bass sound goes through a bass rig.

Don't worry about the tubes for now. They can last a year.

 

[jaredrutledge]

i'm not sure it will hurt the amp, but the speakers, if voiced for certain frequencies, could be damaged. as far as i know amplifiers are not subject to frequency response, they just amplify whatever comes through. it's the physical tug of an 80hz bass note that can damage a guitar voiced speaker cone

 

[art_n_music]

I've seen live bands using a DR for amps but with bass cabs.

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

+1 to all above...wont hurt the amp, but you'll kill the speakers in short order.

Spare tubes...get some. Unless you're just torturing your amp, the stock tubes can last a couple years, but that said, any tube can fail at any time. You don't drive around without a spare tire do you

 

[mrd]

i'm not sure it will hurt the amp, but the speakers, if voiced for certain frequencies, could be damaged. as far as i know amplifiers are not subject to frequency response, they just amplify whatever comes through. it's the physical tug of an 80hz bass note that can damage a guitar voiced speaker cone

Low E of a guitar string is 82hz...

I play bass through my RoadKing all the time, just keep it reasonable. Turn down the bass knob, don't crank it too loud. You don't have to play it on clean channel, I usually play it with tons of distortion, sounds great. If you play high up on the neck, you can get a very similar tone to guitar, but much more meaty sounding, as the strings are 2-3x thicker.

 

[s_pisco7084]

i'm not sure it will hurt the amp, but the speakers, if voiced for certain frequencies, could be damaged. as far as i know amplifiers are not subject to frequency response, they just amplify whatever comes through. it's the physical tug of an 80hz bass note that can damage a guitar voiced speaker cone

Low E of a guitar string is 82hz...

I play bass through my RoadKing all the time, just keep it reasonable. Turn down the bass knob, don't crank it too loud. You don't have to play it on clean channel, I usually play it with tons of distortion, sounds great. If you play high up on the neck, you can get a very similar tone to guitar, but much more meaty sounding, as the strings are 2-3x thicker.

Alot of stuff i play is in drop B tuning and sometime A#. I also use tons of distortion.... thats not harming my amp is it ??

and isnt a RoadKing more bad @$$ then a rectifier ?

 

[mrd]

i'm not sure it will hurt the amp, but the speakers, if voiced for certain frequencies, could be damaged. as far as i know amplifiers are not subject to frequency response, they just amplify whatever comes through. it's the physical tug of an 80hz bass note that can damage a guitar voiced speaker cone

Low E of a guitar string is 82hz...

I play bass through my RoadKing all the time, just keep it reasonable. Turn down the bass knob, don't crank it too loud. You don't have to play it on clean channel, I usually play it with tons of distortion, sounds great. If you play high up on the neck, you can get a very similar tone to guitar, but much more meaty sounding, as the strings are 2-3x thicker.

Alot of stuff i play is in drop B tuning and sometime A#. I also use tons of distortion.... thats not harming my amp is it ??

and isnt a RoadKing more bad @$$ then a rectifier ?

Like already mentioned, the amp has nothing to do with it. The amp is just a bunch of wires and circuitry, it doesn't care what runs through it (in terms of what frequencies). The only thing you are gonna wreck is your speaker, which is why I said: turn the bass down, keep the volume reasonable. If you want to use a guitar amp to play bass in a band, it won't happen. If you wanna use a guitar amp to **** around and just see what kinda cool sounds you can make on your own whilst keeping the volume quiet, it's fine. PS - A RoadKing is a rectifier. What do you mean by bad ***?

 

[s_pisco7084]

Like already mentioned, the amp has nothing to do with it. The amp is just a bunch of wires and circuitry, it doesn't care what runs through it (in terms of what frequencies). The only thing you are gonna wreck is your speaker, which is why I said: turn the bass down, keep the volume reasonable. If you want to use a guitar amp to play bass in a band, it won't happen. If you wanna use a guitar amp to f%&# around and just see what kinda cool sounds you can make on your own whilst keeping the volume quiet, it's fine. PS - A RoadKing is a rectifier. What do you mean by bad ***?

I was wondering if playing at drop B and A# on my guitar would damage the speakers... i get that the amp doesnt care.

and i dont think a roadking is a rectifier. on the website the look like 2 different things... and by more bad *** i mean the roadking handles more power and has a couple other features the rectifier doesnt have.

 

[trem]

and i dont think a roadking is a rectifier. on the website the look like 2 different things... and by more bad *** i mean the roadking handles more power and has a couple other features the rectifier doesnt have.

As you said, you are a newb. :wink: Road King is part of the rectifier series. Yes, it has some improvements, notably progressive linkage. The basic sound is largerly the same. Even the faceplate says "Dual Rectifier Road King".

Welcome to the board.

~trem