Bass Questions?

I know that playing a bass through a guitar amp can be bad for the amp, but what if I keep the volume down low? Is there a way a can play it without blowing up the amp?

Is there anything bad about using guitar effects pedals on a bass?

If I want to get a new bass, what should I look for? People always tell me to check out the bridge, pickups, neck, wood, but what does this all mean?

Answers:

Yes, you can play a bass through a guitar amp. You can blow the speaker pretty easy, so keep it low and turn the bass down on the amp. I%26#39;m assuming you%26#39;re asking this because you have a guitar amp available and you%26#39;re not looking to spend the money right now on a bass amp. That%26#39;s fine, but the sooner you can get the cash for a bass amp, the better. A few hundred should be able to buy you a decent combo amp (amp %26 speaker all in one) that you%26#39;ll not have to worry about damaging.

As for using guitar effects, there%26#39;s really not use reason to use them. Bass is different than guitar for sound needs. The key to a good bass sound is a smooth sound with clarity. What I mean by that is the notes throughout the range of the bass are at similar volumes, so a low E isn%26#39;t much louder than an octave or two about it, and each note can be heard clearly around the other instruments in the band without being too loud. If you start throwing distortion, delay, reverb, etc on that, your sound will just become one muddy mess and you can%26#39;t tell what the bass is doing.