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Combo amp for electric guitar & bass options


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Hey, I'm looking for a combo amp that I can run my electric guitar & electric bass through.  I've tried the Peavey Vypyr VIP 1-3 models and all have been major disappointments.  The one I bought & returned has a high pitch whine & static sound whenever the master volume is turned on.  The display models in a local music store all presented with the same issues.  I think it's no coincidence that that many models indicate some faulty problems straight from the factory.

The reason I'm looking to shoot two birds with one stone is to clean up clutter with my current amps and get down to a much simpler setup. Additionally my current amps Ampeg Ba-108 has a non-working aux input (I use this feature heavily) while my Kustom KG1 lacks sufficient tone controls.  I'm wondering if I should just get a decent 12" bass combo amp and run an electric guitar through it?  Or maybe a keyboard amp since it should cover a broader range of frequencies?

Edited by Jusca
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Bass amps and keyboard amps share much in common. Guitar amps, and particularly guitar speakers, have quite different characteristics as they colour the guitar's sound.

The all in one solution would be to have an effects unit such as a Kemper or Helix LT (or much cheaper) which has amp and cab modelling. These work best with a FRFR (full range, flat response) PA speaker, and you would choose a bass amp and cab or a guitar amp and cab within the software to get the desired sound.

Edited by Fretless
for clarity
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Jusca, have you looked at a Fender Bassman?  I have no idea what they cost these days nor what your budget is. 

" A growing number of musicians, however, were finding that the Bassman made a fine guitar and harmonica amp, too. "

I used one when I played Bass in high school.  I sure wish that I had kept it.  I wonder what it would be worth now? 

 

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Guitar and bass amps are very different. Why not get your Ampeg repaired? 

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It is great to see you back here Jusca, I hope you are feeling better.💐

Here is a discussion about the Yamaha THR

Yamaha THR for a bass amp?

Having one amp would definitely be a compromise. I have a small Vox Pathfinder for my bass and use the Yamaha THR for guitar. 

Edited by Nutty 1
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Have you considered a Modeller of some kind? If you are looking to really streamline your rig, you can get a modeller that has both guitar and bass amps within and then use an FRFR active wedge to play through.

Otherwise, there aren't any really good options out there.

Edited by Old Guy
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Thanks everyone for your advice.  I'm looking into all the options mentioned above.  I'm thinking of getting a modeler and either a tube amp or solid state or frfr.  I'll just run the bass through the guitar setup and play on a really low volume for practice.  It should be ok.

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On 3/26/2019 at 5:30 PM, Randy120 said:

Guitar and bass amps are very different. Why not get your Ampeg repaired? 

Probably cost ineffective repair for a cheap combo amp  and I don't know any electronic repairs in the area.

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The Fender Bassman has been, and still is, used by some players as a guitar amp though originally designed as a bass amp. It has significant headroom and is a superb Fender product. I have played through one and was very impressed. I also have both the the Kemper Profiler and a Fractal Ax8 and one of my favorite patches in each unit, is a Bassman. However the actual Bassman amps are fairly heavy, a big downside for me ever considering one for myself.

Greg

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