questions on speakers for Bass

[kidsmoke*]

I'm not the most knowledgeable guy when it comes to electronics and sound etc. you'd think withthe extent of my exposure over the years,thatd be different...ahh well.

so I'm considering a bass purchase. Mostly so that I can noodle around, add it to loops as home to make them more interesting, have it around when friends are over and want to play, mostly just cuz. I'm not compelled to run out and get some killer amp for it, no plans to gig, for sure. But If I could have a decent amp, that'd be cool.

I've seen a could old solid state bass heads on CL from time to time, and wonder wether my old, built like a tank Peavey 212 cab with scorpions would work. certainly for home playing levels just about anything would do, but knowing me I'd push it at some point. Could that cab work? Could it work well? What's the deal with bass cab requirements?

[Bookkeeper's Son]

I'm no expert or anything, but I do know that lots of guys use regular guitar amps for home-level bass use. I can't see why that would be a problem.

[NWBasser]

Where to start?

Bass cabs are significantly different from guitar cabs. A guitar cab is basically a box to keep the speakers from rolling around on the floor.

Bass cabs have to be at least somewhat engineered for the application.

Bass moves the cones in and out (excursion) significantly more than a guitar. This is why you can easily shred a guitar speaker with a bass if you push it. You're not melting the voice coil, but sending the cone farther in and out than its design parameters allow and tearing up the surround material. It's also why guitar speakers do a relatively poor job reproducing bass frequencies - they hit that wall and won't move any more. This also why bass uses much more power than guitar - it takes more mechanical energy to move the cone back and forth so far. A bass amp will usually need around three times the watts for a comparable guitar amp.

The resonant frequencies of bass are much more difficult to control too. This is why you don't really see any open-back bass cabs.

A good bass cab will have "long-travel" speakers, carefully engineered and tuned sound ports, stiff internal bracing, and inside damping material.

Now, what does all this mean to you?

Your Peavey will work at low volumes; however you won't be getting very good tone as the lows will be rather attenuated. Don't even think about using it in a band situation.

You can get used bass speaker cabs for pretty cheap these days that will work a whole lot better. Also, provided the impedance works out, you can certainly use a guitar amp head with a bass cab with good results. However, bass-specific heads usually have more power and a bass-specific EQ section.

The other option, which is a pretty good one, is to find a used Peavey bass combo amp on Craigslist. They are cheap and extremely durable. They are heavy though.

When you say "push it", what sort of playing situation are you describing?

[kidsmoke*]

cool NWbasser, what I was looking for. I know that for bedroom level stuff, pretty much anything will do. I just wanted to know the details when actual power becomes involved. By pushjing it I simply mean that by nature if it sounds good, than louder will sound better. if now something is good, then more makes it better. I'm likely to keep tuning up til I hear something ugly. I just know myself.

There are lots of little SS bass combo's that come up. The Line 6 110 lowdown looks like a versatile little bugger. I'll probably just do something like that.

[NWBasser]

if now something is good, then more makes it better. I'm likely to keep tuning up til I hear something ugly. I just know myself.

There are lots of little SS bass combo's that come up. The Line 6 110 lowdown looks like a versatile little bugger. I'll probably just do something like that.

Get a bass amp then. Turning up until it gets ugly can also get expensive - as in a speaker re-cone.

The LD110 would be pretty fun with all the models and effects, but the overall volume will be very limited.