I've got an old Fender Frontman 15G amp that I used for electric guitar back in the day, and I just picked up a bass. Would it damage the amp if I plugged my bass into it, or is it just not ideal for the sound? I'm trying to avoid buying new gear if I don't have to.
How loud do you actually need to play? A 15-watt guitar amp can technically handle bass without immediately blowing up, but the previous answer's concern about speaker stress is overstated - the real issue is that your amp's speaker just isn't designed to reproduce low frequencies cleanly, so you'll get a muddy, flabby tone at best and potential speaker damage if you crank it. You could use it as a practice amp at bedroom volumes without major risk, but if you're planning to gig or rehearse with others, you'd notice pretty quick that it's not cutting it. Honestly, a used bass amp isn't expensive these days, and it'll save your Fender in the long run.
Bass frequencies will stress a guitar amp's speaker and can damage it over time since it's not built to handle those low-end demands. You'd be better off borrowing or finding a used bass amp rather than risking that Fender.
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