speakers for bass

[jeff]

I've always heard you shoul never play bass through guitar speakers. I have a few questions about that.

1) Will this damage the speakers, the amp, both, or just shouldn't be done because it'll sound bad?
2) If you have an unknown speaker is there any test to see if it can handle bass guitar?

 I have a pair from a old stereo system but I don't know what they are. I assume if it was from a stereo it played records with a bass on it and that that isn't any different than using them for playing bass guitar? I mean bass is bass, right? Weither it's a recording of a bass or an actual bass.

Thanks
  Jeff

[6G6]

Recorded music is compressed and limited.
Live bass is, well live and less tamed down.

Bass speakers will cost some money,
so be sure to define what you need them to do,
choose carefully and by all means, use a cabinet design
that is optomized for that speaker.

If you don't know what you are doing you can shread
a lot of speakers finding out. 

I am a bassist.

I am currently using a fEARful 15/6/1.
It is a 3 way cab that covers everything from the deepest low
to the highest harmonics.
It also lives with more power than most folks are going to put into it.
Many have happily survived 1KW.

I go the design for free, sourced the parts and built my own for around $600.
I drive it with a Carvin BX1500.
It's clean and can shake walls at the same time. 

[smackoj]

I have read a report that Dusty from ZZ Top uses guitar speakers in his cabs....I don't have a reason to doubt that report. It is also written that guitar speakers can make good sound for bass guitar, but nothing off of the 'vintage' shelf is gonna cut it.  They have to be well built with top materials and they have to have large magnets to keep everything from coming apart with the more intense energy and travel that bass requires. So, yes you can use the guitar speakers but, like others have said before, it may not be the sound you're looking for so try and get as much info before you plunk down the cash. I suppose Dusty can buy a gross of any type he wants and throw all but ten away without breaking his budget, but most of us don't live on that side of the street.

 

[6G6]

I have wondered about using a 'wall' of vintage guitar speakers for bass.
My rough theory on this is that you need to move x amount of air for x amount of output.

Maybe a single, long Xmax 15, moving a single cone a long way moves the same amount of air
as 3-4 dozen Jensen C10Ns that barely move at all.

I have also heard that Dusty's power amp of choice is as amny old MacIntosh tube amps as he can buy.
I'm not him and I bet none of you are either.

This might be practical,
IF
you have  lots of money for speakers and cabinets
AND
you don't need it to be portable.

I like my solution because I am pushing 900 watts through a ~50-55 pound speaker cabinet
that has no problem with low B and isn't straining to do what I ask of it.

[6G6]

Upright does have a much stronger fundamental.

Has anyone else noticed that Jeff started this thread
and never has checked back on it?

[jeff]

Sorry, Jeff checking in.
I guess my main concern is if a speaker is rated to 70Hz and you play a 40Hz note is that damaging the speaker or is it just that speaker can't reproduce the note well.

I don't have the dough to buy speakers but I do have some spare unknown speakers I pulled from a stereo. I'd like to try them out for bass, but not if I'm gonna kill em.

[6G6]

Bass speakers take a lot more abuse than anything else.
Asking something not made for it to do something it can't do
is just asking for trouble and wasting time and money.
Trust me on this, I have played bass nearly 50 years and
must have tried most of the things that can be tried.

Bottom line here is save your money and get something that can do the job.
It'll cost you, but only once.

[jeff]

OK cool