How can I best equalize my guitar amp for my keyboard?

guitar amp image

Zach

It's a Vox Valvetronix with gain, volume, bass, mid, treble, and master volume controls. 30 watt.
I know that there's no way to get as clean a sound with a guitar amp as there is with a keyboard amp, but any suggestions for making it sound as good as possible? Thanks.

Answer
Keyboard amplifiers usually have a more wide frequency response so they have have horns/tweeters too, whereas guitar amps have not. So a guitar amplifier can not be forced too much to play higher frequencies. If you put an equalizer before the amp you could use more gain on the higher eq bands to make up for the rounded off guitar amp sound. About 3db at 4kHz, and 2-3db at 8 kHz but no gain above. Try some different settings if you can.

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What is the difference between a regular guitar amp and a bass amp?

What settings should I have on my guitar amp for bass?

guitar amp image

Derek Tins

I know I should get a bass amp, but all I have is a Peavey guitar amp to work with. I was just wondering how I should EQ everything like the lows, mids, and highs. I also have a decent size effects pedalboard with fuzz, delay, tremelo, and phase. I kind of want a crushing bass sound and don't want it to sound scooped.

Answer
I don't know what your definition of "crushing bass sound" is, but if it involves a lot of low end you're not going to get it from a guitar amp. The speakers are likely too small (if they're anything less than a 10"), and the cabinet design is probably wrong (especially if it's an open back cabinet).

Since you didn't specify what brand and model of bass you have, and what model of amp it's not really possible to give you any specific settings.

If you don't want your instrument to sound "scooped", then leave the mids up.

The best thing you can probably do is to start with all of the tone controls at 12:00 (halfway up). Start out at a reasonable volume, and start adjusting the controls until you get something you like.

If the speaker(s) start to sound like they are rubbing or "farting", then you're trying to push too much bass through them. Back off, or you'll likely damage them.

Get your basic sound dialed in before you start adding any effects. The problem with most guitar effect pedals is that they chop the low end of the signal off. That works well for a guitar...not so much for a bass.

That all said, Lemmy of Motorhead pretty much plays through what started out to be a guitar amp. There's not a lot of low end in his sound, but I consider it pretty "crushing". Then again, he's playing through eight 15" and eight 12" speakers spread over 4 cabinets.


Good luck.

Greetings from Austin, TX
Ken

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What settings should I have on my guitar amp for bass?

guitar amp image

Derek Tins

I know I should get a bass amp, but all I have is a Peavey guitar amp to work with. I was just wondering how I should EQ everything like the lows, mids, and highs. I also have a decent size effects pedalboard with fuzz, delay, tremelo, and phase. I kind of want a crushing bass sound and don't want it to sound scooped.

Answer
I don't know what your definition of "crushing bass sound" is, but if it involves a lot of low end you're not going to get it from a guitar amp. The speakers are likely too small (if they're anything less than a 10"), and the cabinet design is probably wrong (especially if it's an open back cabinet).

Since you didn't specify what brand and model of bass you have, and what model of amp it's not really possible to give you any specific settings.

If you don't want your instrument to sound "scooped", then leave the mids up.

The best thing you can probably do is to start with all of the tone controls at 12:00 (halfway up). Start out at a reasonable volume, and start adjusting the controls until you get something you like.

If the speaker(s) start to sound like they are rubbing or "farting", then you're trying to push too much bass through them. Back off, or you'll likely damage them.

Get your basic sound dialed in before you start adding any effects. The problem with most guitar effect pedals is that they chop the low end of the signal off. That works well for a guitar...not so much for a bass.

That all said, Lemmy of Motorhead pretty much plays through what started out to be a guitar amp. There's not a lot of low end in his sound, but I consider it pretty "crushing". Then again, he's playing through eight 15" and eight 12" speakers spread over 4 cabinets.


Good luck.

Greetings from Austin, TX
Ken

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Positioning of a guitar amp during practice and gigs?

guitar amp image

Ryan

Hey guys,

I was just wondering how do you position a guitar amp during practice and gigs?

Are you supposed to be standing infront of the amp or behind it or does it even matter? Also to avoid any ear damage, which placement would be best?

Thanks a lot!

Answer
you should place everything strategically. ill give you the basic set up for my band.

Drums in the back of the room.
PA system is parallel with the drumset, facing in the same direction, but slanted slightly towards the center of the room
guitar amp 1 is on one side of the room, pointed towards the other side
bass amp is on the other side of the room, pointed towards the drummer. the bass is the most likely to be heard by everyone given its frequency, and the most important to be heard by the drummer
guitar amp 2 is across from the drummer.
microphones are in the middle of the room, pointed away from the drummer and thus away from the PA monitors.
you should stand facing your band mates (in practice) so you can make eye contact and communicate, and all amps should face where you can hear them over the drums.

for ear protection, play at a quieter volume or do what many pros do and i myself do (a former pro), use good earplugs. good earplugs can actually make hearing easier, because the noise will be less muddy and you will be able to hear all the instruments clearly. i highly recomend them.

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Is it possible to use a guitar amp head with a bass amp?

guitar amp image

Donovan Mc

I want a new amp head for my guitar, but my guitar amp is kinda small and I don't really love it. I have a big bass amp though that I love and have used with my guitar many times. So is it ok to plug a guitar amp head into a bass amplifier?

Answer
Your terminology is unclear. An amp head is just the part into which you plug a guitar or bass; it uses wall power to produce a higher-power signal but does not have speakers. You plug an amp head into a speaker cabinet.

A speaker cabinet has one or more speakers and a jack on the back into which you plug the cable from the amp head. The cabinet doesn't use power from the wall or have any switches or controls.

A combo amp has both the amplifier and the speaker(s) in one box.

...

Bass cabinets do not produce the high-frequency sounds that most people want for guitar. Many bass amps are flatter than guitar amps and don't produce the same electric-guitar sound that you'll expect from a guitar amp.

You're less like to damage anything by using a guitar with a bass amp & speaker than by using a bass with a guitar amp & speaker, but still be careful if one component is much bigger than the other.

_

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What settings should I have on my guitar amp for bass?

guitar amp image

Derek Tins

I know I should get a bass amp, but all I have is a Peavey guitar amp to work with. I was just wondering how I should EQ everything like the lows, mids, and highs. I also have a decent size effects pedalboard with fuzz, delay, tremelo, and phase. I kind of want a crushing bass sound and don't want it to sound scooped.

Answer
I don't know what your definition of "crushing bass sound" is, but if it involves a lot of low end you're not going to get it from a guitar amp. The speakers are likely too small (if they're anything less than a 10"), and the cabinet design is probably wrong (especially if it's an open back cabinet).

Since you didn't specify what brand and model of bass you have, and what model of amp it's not really possible to give you any specific settings.

If you don't want your instrument to sound "scooped", then leave the mids up.

The best thing you can probably do is to start with all of the tone controls at 12:00 (halfway up). Start out at a reasonable volume, and start adjusting the controls until you get something you like.

If the speaker(s) start to sound like they are rubbing or "farting", then you're trying to push too much bass through them. Back off, or you'll likely damage them.

Get your basic sound dialed in before you start adding any effects. The problem with most guitar effect pedals is that they chop the low end of the signal off. That works well for a guitar...not so much for a bass.

That all said, Lemmy of Motorhead pretty much plays through what started out to be a guitar amp. There's not a lot of low end in his sound, but I consider it pretty "crushing". Then again, he's playing through eight 15" and eight 12" speakers spread over 4 cabinets.


Good luck.

Greetings from Austin, TX
Ken

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