best headphone bass amp image
Kevin
The only bass amp in my possession is a 30W amp, and I'm looking to connect it to a jack on my computer with a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter cable run from the amp's output jack. I have the option of borrowing a 150W amp, but it will be a pretty big hassle. Will the 30W be sufficient? How does the power of the amp affect the sound quality?
Answer
Whatever you do, don't, under any account, connect the speaker out/extension cabinet jack to your P.C. - or you could really damage your soundcard.
The power of the amp has zero effect on sound quality, it's just that low wattage amps are only really loud enough for bedroom practice. Because of this, almost no-one needs professional quality at this level, and amp companies make their low-wattage amps as cheap as possible. So most low wattage amps aren't very good for recording.
But your 30w amp might still be an old Watkins or Fender valve amp, for all I know, and might be better in sound quality than many 150w amps.
The reason that bassists prefer high-wattage amps is that it takes a significant amount of power to amplify bass frequencies at a gig. So a high wattage amp will sound better at a gig (where it has to compete with a drumkit and guitar amp), but not necessarily on its own, or in recording where the levels can be altered by an engineer to make a whisper louder than a drumkit.
In any case, if you are taking the direct-out (or pre-amp out, or line-out, or headphone-out, or effects-loop out) from your amp, you are only using the pre-amp section (and therefore the power-amp, whether 30 or 150 watts isn't used). For this reason, the wattage will make absolutely no difference, but the quality of the pre-amp will.
This is perfectly normal for recording, and has the advantages of avoiding the use of a microphone (which acts as a sort of filter) and ensuring that there is no background noise.
Even if you used a microphone on the speaker, the power-amp wattage would be irrelevant - just set the level on the channel when you record. But in this instance, you'd have to worry about the quality of the power-amp and the speaker, as well as the microphone and background noise!
If you decide not to use a microphone, be sure to add a speaker simulator effect to the sound on the record.
If your amp is a valve amp, and you are using this method, make sure that you keep the speaker (or a resistor of the same value) plugged in - otherwise you will get a lot of smoke and a cooked power-amp.
If you don't know whether your amp uses valves or not, then the chances are that it doesn't - but look for the little glass tubes at the back, and check the manufacturer's description online.
Whatever you do, don't, under any account, connect the speaker out/extension cabinet jack to your P.C. - or you could really damage your soundcard.
The power of the amp has zero effect on sound quality, it's just that low wattage amps are only really loud enough for bedroom practice. Because of this, almost no-one needs professional quality at this level, and amp companies make their low-wattage amps as cheap as possible. So most low wattage amps aren't very good for recording.
But your 30w amp might still be an old Watkins or Fender valve amp, for all I know, and might be better in sound quality than many 150w amps.
The reason that bassists prefer high-wattage amps is that it takes a significant amount of power to amplify bass frequencies at a gig. So a high wattage amp will sound better at a gig (where it has to compete with a drumkit and guitar amp), but not necessarily on its own, or in recording where the levels can be altered by an engineer to make a whisper louder than a drumkit.
In any case, if you are taking the direct-out (or pre-amp out, or line-out, or headphone-out, or effects-loop out) from your amp, you are only using the pre-amp section (and therefore the power-amp, whether 30 or 150 watts isn't used). For this reason, the wattage will make absolutely no difference, but the quality of the pre-amp will.
This is perfectly normal for recording, and has the advantages of avoiding the use of a microphone (which acts as a sort of filter) and ensuring that there is no background noise.
Even if you used a microphone on the speaker, the power-amp wattage would be irrelevant - just set the level on the channel when you record. But in this instance, you'd have to worry about the quality of the power-amp and the speaker, as well as the microphone and background noise!
If you decide not to use a microphone, be sure to add a speaker simulator effect to the sound on the record.
If your amp is a valve amp, and you are using this method, make sure that you keep the speaker (or a resistor of the same value) plugged in - otherwise you will get a lot of smoke and a cooked power-amp.
If you don't know whether your amp uses valves or not, then the chances are that it doesn't - but look for the little glass tubes at the back, and check the manufacturer's description online.
How can I fix my bass guitar amp?
bili9bass
I have a Peavey Max 115 bass amp.Its about 3 years old,I use the send/cd input to play my ipod through the amp as a backing track.The thing is i plugged my ipod in the headphone input instead by mistake and now the amp doesn't work.The amp turns on but I get no sound from my bass and there is a loud pop every 2-4 seconds.Is this something that can be repaired or should I just but another amp?
Answer
Here you go /
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/99311-troubleshooting-bass-amp.html
Here you go /
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/99311-troubleshooting-bass-amp.html
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