Any use a bass cab for guitar?

[Richardjordan]

Hi,

I am wondering about using a Peavey 4x10 tvx bass cab and wondering what the pros and cons are for guitar?

I know about the Fender bassman series etc and some people rave about the bass cab thing but I might be pointing a friend into buying one so wanted to be sure first.

Any comments welcome

My friends band are pretty heavy rock/riffy music and a 3 piece/uses something simular to a metalzone pedal and has an orange tiny terror.

 

[Blacque Jacque]

I don't know about the Peavey cab, but I ran a 1935B with my 900 Mk.III for years, then with the JMP1+20/20.

Apart from the obvious issue of it being a bottom cab, it sounded fine.

 

[zenfly]

If it sounds good for your purposes why not ? I'm sure there have been millions that have played guitar through a bass cab..

 

[metromutt]

Why the peavey? I've just looked at the specs and it makes no sense to play an amp with guitar frequencies through that cab?

350 Watts continuous, 700 Watts program.
Four 10'' (254mm) Sheffield® speakers.
One phenolic dome tweeter with L-pad and protection circuitry.
Frequency response: 30Hz to 15kHz.
Front ported.

Old marshall bass cabs (1935's etc.) were deceiving as cabs as they used 55hz speakers which were great for guitars too and were housed in the same cabs the lead 75hz speakers came in anyway ...but nowadays with the bespoke development of gear for specific purposes some cabs really don't fit the bill, rigid cones, reflex tunnels, bass traps, tweeters, horns etc.

 

[chuckelator]

The other guitarist in my band runs a Tweed fender into 60s Sunn cab...it sounds awesome.

 

[Micky]

So have you tried it?
Sometimes things like this look like a bad idea, but in the real world can be a much different outcome.

Example - I have an old Peavey PA cab with a 15" and a horn, rated for an ungodly amount of power. Should sound like crap with an amp made for guitar...
But I put my open-back Fender Princeton Reverb on top of it and connect it up and it is like sweet crunch nirvana! The low end punch of the PA cab and the brilliance of the combo are a match made in heaven.

 

[Blacque Jacque]

Why the peavey? I've just looked at the specs and it makes no sense to play an amp with guitar frequencies through that cab?

350 Watts continuous, 700 Watts program.
Four 10'' (254mm) Sheffield® speakers.
One phenolic dome tweeter with L-pad and protection circuitry.
Frequency response: 30Hz to 15kHz.
Front ported.

Old marshall bass cabs (1935's etc.) were deceiving as cabs as they used 55hz speakers which were great for guitars too and were housed in the same cabs the lead 75hz speakers came in anyway ...but nowadays with the bespoke development of gear for specific purposes some cabs really don't fit the bill, rigid cones, reflex tunnels, bass traps, tweeters, horns etc.

Try it. It *might* work, but looking at that spec I'd expect it to sound awful.

 

[Stonemole]

I ran a Vs100 into a Peavy 4x10 cab once , it hurt a lot. if the cabs got a tweeter you will get a mess of white noise outta it.

i also have done this with a 1x15 and a 4x10 Bass stack when i played in a 2 piece band (drums and guitar) i HAD to remove the tweeters when i was sending the bass stack guitar signal. white noise death terror.

 

[metromutt]

Try it. It *might* work, but looking at that spec I'd expect it to sound awful.

Yep I'm with you, I try anything with my set ups, you never know
The one thing that always bothers me on forums is to read the OP question carefully and while a couple of bits loose me regarding what type of music will go through this it looks like a Tiny Terror amp!!! which imo will always sound 'tiny' even when it's dead loud! (if that makes sense?)
I think the thing that bothers me most is the line "I might be pointing a friend into buying one" I wouldn't be doing that if it were me, in fact I'd always urge anyone to try before you buy with your own kit, and ears!

 

[alhayesmusic]

In my opinion, as a bass player and guitarist, you COULD use a bass cab, but it would work best only in a few situations. A bass cab (modern) is basically a PA cab in design, only with less focus on the highs. If you wanted spectacular cleans, or were using a total modeling system (Axe FX, etc), then a bass cab would be a cool option. The other area where it would be particularly useful would be as a bottom, in combination with a guitar cab for drop tuned stuff.

As for those who point out vintage cabs/amps like the bassman, back then there was little or no distinction between bass and guitar amps. Most were just "instrument" amplifiers. Since the speakers on radios were mono, and crappy, no one recorded a lot of bass. Even kick drums were not allowed to be recorded until Gene Krupa because engineers were worried about the fragile carbon mics, and the speakers of the music systems.....which I ALMOST referred to as "stereos."

Just my 2 Lincolns, but, unless used for very specific purposes, using a bass cab for guitar is like using a Honda Civic to haul dirt. You COULD, but why?

 

[Ken]

Both my 1982 cabs are "bass" cabs as they have 55 Hz speakers and 444 bass cones, but they were sold with guitar amps (the 2000 and then later the JCM 800's) so I'm not sure that counts. They sure sound great to me!

Ken

 

[Richardjordan]

Cheers for the informative feedback, I wanted to know pros and cons and now I do!

 

[MartyStrat54]

It all boils down to the frequency response of the bass cab. Most 410 bass cabs have a top end of around 3500Hz. Not too great for a guitar. It will sound like shit and won't be heard in a band situation.

Something tells me that the Peavey cabinet has similar speakers as I described, but they use a cheesy phenolic tweeter. The only thing cheaper then these are piezo's.

If you look at the frequency response of the better guitar speakers, they all have dips and peaks at the same places. Usually a peak at 1KHz and a dip at 1.5KHz, then a big peak at 2 to 4KHz. You are not going to get this with "real" bass speakers and a phenolic tweeter.

 

[soundboy57]

I have a couple of vintage Peavey stage monitors with piezo horn tweeters
in them....and they sound better than my checkerboard cabs with G12M's....

....for recorded chain saws....

Ya just never know in real life....

 

[MartyStrat54]

Wanna sell those Piezo's? I want to make some of those high frequency devices that cause bugs to leave your house...and a Piezo will make you want to leave your house.

 

[Dogs of Doom]

I'd say no...

The bottom end will be boomy for guitar & you will want to disconnect the tweeter. Those speakers will not break up like a guitar speaker. It will break up at a different frequency than a speaker designed for guitar.

If you play clean only, then you might try it. You won't have to disconnect the tweeter.

 

[GIBSON67]

Sometimes when I am feally froggy, I run my 425A and 2 separated 1x15 cabs modeled after EV specs...wow do those 15's add bass to you sound, especially at full volume when the GBs are getting pushed too much! I point them at the walls so just a little of the highs and mids comes through, but all the bass.

 

[soundboy57]

Sometimes when I am feally froggy, I run my 425A and 2 separated 1x15 cabs modeled after EV specs...wow do those 15's add bass to you sound, especially at full volume when the GBs are getting pushed too much! I point them at the walls so just a little of the highs and mids comes through, but all the bass.

I don't remember what the quote is....but your Avatar is killing me

 

[diesect20022000]

I have yeah. if i tune down to B or lower then i use bass cabs. i prefer 15's and tens and the tens to be aluminum cones. the 15's are for the low end girth and the alum/ten's are for mids and focused punch/clarity.


i wouldn't recomend it if you tune to C or higher though personaly.