OT Please help with preamp/amp question..?

[MarkDonMel]

Hey all,

I just bought a solid state bass amp.  After searching for a tube bass amp, or a solid/tube bass amp within my budget I finally decided to just buy a cheaper solid state amp and a rack tube pre.

When I brought the amp home, its 60w, I plugged my bass in and turned it up all the way... but I thought it was still kind of quiet.  I am comparing it to my 50w guitar amp, which I can't even turn up past 6 or it is just too loud.

Is there something to this?  Is 60w of bass amp just not as loud as the same of guitar amp?

Aside from that, I have a question about using the preamp with the bass amp.  When I hooked it up with the preamp between my guitar and bass amp it was a lot louder.  Can this boost the signal or whatever to a level the amplifier can't handle?  I mean do I have to be worried about turning the amp up too loud and like blowing the speaker or something worse?

Thanks a lot, Matt.

[MarkB]

typically, yes - bass amps have to be more powerful than guitar amps.

To reproduce the low frequencies properly (and move a large speaker) takes a little more power.

To give a good example - think about 50w running through a tweeter.. now thing about a typical subwoofer and the amp attached to it.
"-)

[downweverything]

Is there something to this? Is 60w of bass amp just not as loud as the same of guitar amp?

Aside from that, I have a question about using the preamp with the bass amp. When I hooked it up with the preamp between my guitar and bass amp it was a lot louder. Can this boost the signal or whatever to a level the amplifier can't handle? I mean do I have to be worried about turning the amp up too loud and like blowing the speaker or something worse?

yes to second that 60w of bass amp isnt close to what we perceive as loud as a 60w guitar amp.  that doesnt mean 60w isnt enough for what you need it for you just have to run your amp efficiently and not waste a watt.  a good idea is usually a comp or limiter to make it appear louder, also cut back on the super sub low frequencies like 40 and 50 Hz to get some more aparent loudness, these frequencies will usually be hard to hear on a 60w amp anyway with a drumkit in the room and you can save power by cutting them and boosting freq you can hear.

as far as blowing the speaker with a preamp, i guess yeah you have to be more careful if you are pushing the amp more but i wouldnt worry about it, just keep the amp within its limits and youll be fine, afterall its also possible to blow the speaker without the preamp.  with solid state amps its usually audible if you are clipping the amp to a harsh degree so if its clipping back it off or limit it.  hope this helps.

[Mark Hammer]

In general, the goal of bass amplification in rock music is *clean*, whereas the goal of guitar amplification  is general *dirty*, or at least not often deliberately clean.  As a consequence, the gain structure in bass amps is likely directed at maintaining as much headroom as possible, where the guitar amp is intended to eat up as much headroom as possible.  It wouldn't surprise me one bit that while the *capacity* of your amp to deliver 60W of power is accurate, it is not gain-structured so as to yield such power on anything more than small tidbits of the odd transient.

It is generally true, though, that most guitar amps can often tolerate hotter inputs - up to a point - and that the headroom of most instrument amps is generally conservatively rated, or rather, designed in such a way as to anticipate a very wide range of possible input levels (hence planned around the worst case scenario).

My guess is you can probably heat up the input from your bacss a bit with a clean booster and get more oomph from your bass amp than you are currently experiencing.