It is very tempting to use a guitar amp for your electronic drums especially when you are on a low budget and happen to have a guitar amp lying idle in your room. Guitar amps are usually designed to handle a specific range of sound frequencies, which are not typically produced by electronic drums. Their design frequencies are high because of the higher notes or frequencies that are usually played on guitars.
Can you Use a guitar amp for an electronic drum?. Since the settings on amps are adjustable, guitar amps can be tuned to match the range of audio frequencies that electronic drums produce. If you have a guitar amp and electronic drums, you can use the guitar amp for the electronic drums. However, you must ensure that you set the volume and pitch range right on the guitar amp in order not to damage the amp and speakers. The bass guitar amp is the most suitable option because its frequency range can accommodate the sounds from drums.
If you do not set the correct frequency range on your guitar amp before you use the electronic drums on them, you will be hearing weird sounds or notes on speakers and this will mess up your music. Since you’ve been looking forward to using the electronic drums on your guitar amp, continue reading this article to the end because I’ll share with you some tips to help you stay in range when you use the guitar amp for the electronic drums. These tips will also save you from damaging your amps and speakers.
What is the Best Way to Amplify Electronic Drums?
Electronic drums work quite differently from the traditional drums that we know. Unlike the traditional drums, you may not hear the unique sound of the drum when you listen to it with your natural ears.
When you use electronic drums, you need to amplify their sounds one way or the other via some electronic devices before you can hear the sounds properly.
You can use either a headset or a drum amplifier with speakers to amplify your electronic drums.
Depending on where and when you play the electronic drums, the drum amplifier or headset may not be suitable.
For example, if you are practicing some drum sessions in your room, putting on the headset may be the better option.
On the other hand, if you’re playing electronic at a public event, you may want to amplify the drums’ sounds to the hearing of your audience. In this case, the drum amplifier will be the best option.
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What Drum Amplifier Can I Use for My Electronic Drums?
A drum amplifier is an ideal amplifier for your electronic drums. Drum amplifiers are designed to fit perfectly in the range of audio frequencies that will be coming from your electronic drums.
There are several drum amplifiers on the market. Some common ones are Roland PM 200, Roland PM 100, KAT Percussion KA1, Alesis Strike 12, and Ddrum DDA50.
Which Guitar Amp Should I Use for My Electronic Drums?
As I said earlier, you can use a guitar amp for your electronic drums if you do not have any of the drum amplifiers that I have mentioned above.
However, not all guitar amps are suitable for this improvisation. Among the guitar amps, the bass guitar amp seems to be the one that provides the best sounds with the electronic drums.
So if you are planning on using a guitar amp on your electronic drums, you should consider using the bass guitar amp.
Why You Should Use Bass Guitar Amp For Electronic Drums
Bass guitar amps and electronic drums share some similarities in the range of audio frequencies that they produce. A bass guitar amp, just as the name suggests, is usually for low notes. Similarly, the electronic drums also produce low audio frequencies which fall within the range of notes that the bass guitar was used for.
If you’ve ever tried to play drums on an electronic piano or keyboard, you’ll realize that the lower notes on your left side often produce better drum sounds. You can use the same idea for your electronic drums and a guitar amp.
When you use the electronic drums on a bass guitar amp that has a lower pitch range like the bass section on your electronic piano, you should have no problems with your sound quality.
With the correct volume adjustment, the bass guitar amp will produce the correct tones for your electronic drums and your music will be fine.
How to Set Up Guitar Amp for Electronic Drums
Before you use the bass guitar amp, you should first of all set it up so that you don’t damage the amp or your speakers.
When you use the amp for the electronic drums, you should always try to keep the sound levels within the permissible range of the bass guitar. When you exceed the frequency threshold of the amp, the sounds of the drum on the amp will be distorted and you will end up damaging the guitar amp.
You should be mindful of the volume level of the guitar amp when you use it for electronic drums. An important tip here is to lower the bass volume on your amp.
Lowering the volume of your guitar amp will keep the drum sounds within the range of the guitar amp. This can also put the high sounds that the electronic drums produce in check and prevent the sounds from being distorted.
So, always monitor and regulate the volume on your guitar amp when you use it for electronic drums. Turn it down when you realize that the guitar can’t handle the sound anymore.
You can easily detect that the bass guitar amp is under stress from higher volume by checking your speaker’s cone. The speaker’s cone will vibrate moderately if the volume on the guitar amp is okay and can be handled by the amp.
However, when the volume on the amp is too high to be handled by the amp, the vibrations on the speaker’s cone will be abnormal, excessively strong, and will displace a lot of objects around the speaker.
When you notice such strong vibrations on your speaker, you should turn down the volume on the amp so that you do not damage the speaker and guitar amp.
Can I Use Pedals When Playing Electronic Drums With Guitar Amp?
It is advisable not to use pedals when you use the guitar amp for your electronic drum. However, if you want to use the pedals you should be careful not to use them as much as you would when using a drum amp for your sessions.
You should also be cautious with how hard you step on the pedals. Step on them gently and only at times when it’s necessary.
Guitar amps are typically not designed to accommodate the sounds of the pedals so you should pay particular attention to the guitar amp when you use the pedals.
To make things easier for yourself and safer for the amp, you should keep an eye on the volume of the amp and reduce it when you hear distortions in the sound or detect strong vibrations in your speakers. This way, you will save the guitar amp and the speaker from being damaged.
Conclusion
Although guitar amps are not designed for electronic amps, nothing should stop you from using one for your electronic drums. If you want to use a guitar amp for your electronic drum, you should consider using a bass guitar amp.
However, you should be careful with the volume on the amp and reduce it whenever you notice distortions in the sound or the speaker cones vibrate strongly.
When it comes to the guitar amp and electronic drums, the trick is to keep the amp volume at a low level and you can enjoy your music on your speakers without distortions.
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