anyone use a bass amp for a guitar??

[erogenousjones17]

Sorry Jerry. Everyone's got a right to an opinion, and I'm not usually one to argue, but I wholeheartedly disagree with your argument. Tone is subjective. I'm sure you love how you sound, but not everyone may feel the same way and vice-versa. In my opinion, "good tone" is what sounds right to your ears, not anyone else's. There's no benchmark, no universal "right" or "wrong" sound.

 

[Justinginn]

At a jam session two days ago one of our guitarists ran into a crap 60 watt fender SS bass amp. Ran though a DS-1 and he sounded pretty good. Not as good as with his all tube Carvin, but I liked his tone.

I sorta gotta agree that people disagree on what's a good tone. Some people love their tone while I absolutely hate it. And sometimes a "bad tone" sounds really good depending on your application. However, I do see how a cardboard guitar and one of those 3" speaker amps might be considered bad tone by almost everybody.

 

[Kostas]

Tone is NOT subjective. A guitar or amp that sounds  like ass just plain sucks, unless your an complete idiot.
Whats subjective is different sounds of GOOD tone.

I'm really sick of this idea that there is no benchmark for an absolute sound in guitar, and that anybodies sound is legitimate .
If there wasn't a paramter for good tone, I wouldn't be here. If you like some crazy butt suck-tone, then you either have no class, or your stupid as hell.

You can't change the fact that music/tone/art are:
subjective :redflag:

 

[erogenousjones17]

However, I do see how a cardboard guitar and one of those 3" speaker amps might be considered bad tone by almost everybody.

It depends on what you want to do with it. A really fuzzed-out, thin, clipped, mashed, broken, or otherwise "ugly" tone can be just what you need sometimes. I'm sure lots of people hated overdrive and distortion at first. But in music, like all art, sometimes ugly can be beautiful.

 

[Superlizard]

Tone is subjective... what "I" like for tone may be different from someone's idea of good tone.

However, if "you" ask me how "your" tone sounds, and I think it sounds like @$$, I'll definitely tell ya.   :toothy10:

For the record - I dig fat, lush, powert00b-saturated, touch-sensitive tone with chime-y highs and a warm midrange.

I hate over-compressed, thin, grainy, angry-bees-in-a-bottle tone.  BZZZ!

 

[MUYFUE]

Tone is NOT subjective.
If there wasn't a paramter for good tone, I wouldn't be here.

I trimmed the mental fat from this post. Apparently we all need his approval. :tard:  :toothy12: :tard:


Oh, just calm down and jam some tunes!  :cool01:

 

[jerryjg]

Tone is NOT subjective.
If there wasn't a paramter for good tone, I wouldn't be here.

I trimmed the mental fat from this post. Apparently we all need his approval. :tard:  :toothy12: :tard:


Oh, just calm down and jam some tunes!  :cool01:

Let me try and put this another way, instead of being so dog automatic.
Tone cannot be both bad and good. Someone somewhere, has discriminating tastes, even if you don't, and I'm not saying you don't , mind you.
Take for instance Jeffrey Dahmer. People say he was a nice enough guy at work..but was he *really nice?
..At the end of the day, I rather doubt it.

Another example. You walk into guitar Center and a legion of 15 year olds are jamming with cheap chinese squires through a solid state amp with treble set to 10 and bass set to zero, and everything else set to zero also. Now, just because those kids think they sound great, does that make their tone anything put pure crap? I don't *think so. NOT subjective..begin to understand?
Finally, I stress again, that it is Good tone thats subjective ( p90's or Humbucker...Warmoth Start or Les Paul?).
Bad tone isnt subjective.. it just is bad...but it takes someone with the wherewithall  to know the difference between good and bad  in the first place .
See?

 

[Kostas]

Jeffrey Dahmer has nothing to do with tone... and yes he could be a very nice guy at work. Just because you commit murder at night (for example) it doesn't mean you can't be good in the morning! You can walk grannies on the other side of the street or do community work in the morning and you can murder people in night. Two completely different things.
15 year olds + cheap chinese squires + solid state amps can be tone heaven for some people. That's why we all sound different, that's why we have country music but also grindcore!

If art (music is included) was not subjective it would be boring and predictable :sign13:

 

[MUYFUE]

HAHAHHAHA! Awesome! Wow, you dug up 'ol Dahmer! What a maniac that guy was!  :evil4:
I get what you mean, but many folks can hear, "I'm smart. You're not."

There are some sounds out there that are just flat out terrible. By that I mean unusable.
Many folks out there just need to have the experience with their equipment to learn what works for their style and what don't.

To be fair to different genres (which I'm usually not)
If Dime took his rig to a Coldplay concert, everyone would HATE it.
If Tim Reynolds took his stuff to a Slayer show, he'd get fed to Dahmer!
Yet all four groups have music that is admired and emulated by thousands of people who consider the sound "good", even "great".
To me, the only thing they have in common is that you can tell what they are playing.

Since we've gotten WAY off topic, let's start 3 new threads, ok?
1. What is Art?
2. What is Music?
3. Who decides what is good and bad?
These questions are very old.

Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to return to the original subject of the thread.
BTW, Jerry. I partially agree. It's experience an knowledge that helps a player develop good ears and knob tweakery.

 

[dbw]

It's 100% subjective.  If tone were objective, someone would have figured out which gear sounds best years ago, and we'd all be playing that exact rig.

 

[MUYFUE]

You mean MY rig?
:headbang1:

 

[mayfly]

I subjectively think that Jerryjg's tone sucks ass.  :evil4:

Just kiddin' there Jerry - mostly since I haven't heard your tone.  :icon_jokercolor:

Oh - and I've got a buddy that plays pedal steel through a big old traynor bass amp.  Sounds great.

 

[erogenousjones17]

I subjectively think that Jerryjg's tone sucks ass.  :evil4:

Just kiddin' there Jerry - mostly since I haven't heard your tone.  :icon_jokercolor:

Oh - and I've got a buddy that plays pedal steel through a big old traynor bass amp.  Sounds great.

A Traynor eh? I've heard good things about their higher-end stuff, but a friend of mine has a smallish SS Traynor and, subjectively speaking of course, his amp sucks. Thin, muffled sound, sizzly overdrive, and hands down the worst chorus you will ever hear. He complained endlessly about his tone, and despite my repeated warnings of "it's not your guitar, it's your amp," went out and bought some ridiculous Schecter nu-metal guitar with his student loans. Guess what? His tone still sucks. Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me? On second thought, don't answer that.  :-\

Wait, what was the point of this thread again?

 

[blue313]

A Traynor eh? I've heard good things about their higher-end stuff, but a friend of mine has a smallish SS Traynor and, subjectively speaking of course, his amp sucks. Thin, muffled sound, sizzly overdrive, and hands down the worst chorus you will ever hear. He complained endlessly about his tone, and despite my repeated warnings of "it's not your guitar, it's your amp," went out and bought some ridiculous Schecter nu-metal guitar with his student loans. Guess what? His tone still sucks. Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me? On second thought, don't answer that.  :-\

Wait, what was the point of this thread again?

Those guys are the worlds easiest converts.  Ask him to help you shop for a new amp.  Of course the amps you'll be trying are ones that he'd sound better through (and some bad ones to complete the picture for him).  You'll need him to bring his guitar too.....so you can have a second point of reference.  :laughing7:

I cant remember who said it but, its one thing to tell a man the truth and another to present him with that truth.




Bassman heads are great, when played through guitar oriented speakers.  :cool01:

 

[jay4321]

I am familiar with a couple of old Bassman heads, a couple of local bar band guys up in Fairbanks had them. One of them used to come to these jam sessions at the university there, and his tone smoked through it using an off-the-shelf USA Tele. It was also popular with some of the grunge guys way back when if I recall.