Power amps

[ambient]

I wanna get a nice tube stereo power amp to run with my vox tonelab and start morphing into a good rack setup.

 

About 50 watts each side should be fine.

 

There are a few on ebay australia at the moment:

 

mesa 20/20....AU$999 - less power than I would like, but maybe I don't need as much as I think.

 

Marshall 50/50...AU$999 - don't know anything about these really

 

Mesa Stereo 2:50 AU$1699 - I know these are nice, but it is out of my price range. However he has listed it a couple of times and still no bids, so maybe it will drop.

 

I have not tried any of the above, have you?

 

I have used a Peavy classic 50/50...I did like this but I didn't have any basis for comparison, these do go for cheaper but are as rare as hens teeth here in aussie.

 

I tried a carvin something or other once, seemed a bit 'loose', i don't quite know how to explain it. I liked the peavy better.

 

 

I want to end up with something that I can keep and not wish I had spent more money in the 1st place.

 

 

Gimmie any other suggestions or thought/experiences you have. I basically just want your $0.02 on this one.

 

Go!

[scottop1972]

if your using a modeller, sometimes a good SS poweramp works best because it wont color the sound as much.

 

there are a few SS poweramps you can try that wont set you back too much money and if you dont like them you can make your money back.

 

mosvalve 1160 (available used)

mosvalve mv-962 (available used)

rocktron velocity

crate SPA-?

ADA made a couple used market only

 

if you have access to a PA set up try running your tonelab direct and see what kind of results you get. this will give you an indicator if you will like this type of setup, although running through passive PA speakers is a bit different than a cab.

 

if you go tube expect to pay a bit.

 

VHT 2 90 2 gets great reviews here.

[ambient]

 

if your using a modeller, sometimes a good SS poweramp works best because it wont color the sound as much. there are a few SS poweramps you can try that wont set you back too much money and if you dont like them you can make your money back. mosvalve 1160 (available used) mosvalve mv-962 (available used) rocktron velocity crate SPA-? ADA made a couple used market only if you have access to a PA set up try running your tonelab direct and see what kind of results you get. this will give you an indicator if you will like this type of setup, although running through passive PA speakers is a bit different than a cab. if you go tube expect to pay a bit. VHT 2 90 2 gets great reviews here.

 

 

I'm not really after something that gives 'the true sound of the amp models' but something that just sounds good. And IMO, tube power amps sound better. I've thought about going solid state (I could pick one up for a couple of hundred $$) but it would kinda be taking a step backward as I'm running it into a tube head at the moment.

 

Plus I wanna phase out the tonelab and move to a rack pre-fx-power type rig.

I'll have a look and see if I can find a VHT in Australia.

[HaloJem]

My bit of coin: Try to find a Marshall EL34 50/50 Dual Monoblock used to defray cost (they are ALOT new). I used to rock the ADA single space solid state (has 2 qty 12ax7 tubes for "tone coloring) with my current rig - and let me tell you - my Marshall 9200 (100 watt per side unit) adds such clarity & headroom (esp. for clean sounds). Try playing your pre-amp through one.

 

On a side note, VHT 2150 was going to be my next choice - or its successor the unit the poster mentioned above. Happy hunting!

[ambient]

 

My bit of coin: Try to find a Marshall EL34 50/50 Dual Monoblock used to defray cost (they are ALOT new). I used to rock the ADA single space solid state (has 2 qty 12ax7 tubes for "tone coloring) with my current rig - and let me tell you - my Marshall 9200 (100 watt per side unit) adds such clarity & headroom (esp. for clean sounds). Try playing your pre-amp through one. On a side note, VHT 2150 was going to be my next choice - or its successor the unit the poster mentioned above. Happy hunting!

 

 

So the Marshall I mentioned above is a good choice?

 

What kinda of price would you expect to pay for one of these?

[HaloJem]

So the Marshall I mentioned above is a good choice? What kinda of price would you expect to pay for one of these?

 

I've not seen a used price for the 50 watt unit. I'd say do an advanced search for completed bids on it on eYouknowWhere.com ... I picked my 100 watt unit up for less than a grand, FYI.

[ambient]

I've not seen a used price for the 50 watt unit. I'd say do an advanced search for completed bids on it on eYouknowWhere.com ... I picked my 100 watt unit up for less than a grand, FYI.

 

Thanks man.

 

 

Anyone else?

[NyteOwl]

 

I wanna get a nice tube stereo power amp to run with my vox tonelab and start morphing into a good rack setup. About 50 watts each side should be fine. There are a few on ebay australia at the moment: mesa 20/20....AU$999 - less power than I would like, but maybe I don't need as much as I think.

Although this amp is 20 watts per side and not 50, if you are mic'ing your rig it will work quite nicely

 

As far as SS amps go, if you could get your hands on a RealTube 862 or 962, you'll be real happy...

[ambient]

 

Although this amp is 20 watts per side and not 50, if you are mic'ing your rig it will work quite nicely As far as SS amps go, if you could get your hands on a RealTube 862 or 962, you'll be real happy...

 

 

Always mic'd. But can it run mono/bridged also? Don't have a 2nd cab just yet.

[IsildursBane]

 

Always mic'd. But can it run mono/bridged also? Don't have a 2nd cab just yet.

 

 

Mono != Bridged.

 

Mono, yes (Just turn the output all the way down & the presence all the way up on the unused side). Bridged, no - not unless you custom wire the inputs & outputs yourself. There's absolutely no reason to run it bridged anyways; it's not rated to run in bridged mode and you could potentially screw up the amp.

 

-Dan.

[ambient]

 

Mono != Bridged. Mono, yes (Just turn down the output & presence on the unused side). Bridged, no - not unless you custom wire the inputs & outputs yourself. There's absolutely no reason to run it bridged anyways; it's not rated to run in bridged mode and you could potentially screw up the amp. -Dan.

 

 

So you don't need to load the unused side?

[IsildursBane]

 

So you don't need to load the unused side?

 

 

Nope, though I did misspeak earlier when I said that you turn down both knobs on the unused side (the presence knob should be all the way up). From the 20/20 manual:

 

 

NOTE: If only one speaker is to be used on one channel and no speaker load is present on the other, always turn the unused chan- nels VOLUME Control to zero. To prevent oscillation (motorboating like sound) turn the PRESENCE Control of that channel all the way up.

 

 

-Dan.

[ambient]

Thanks for that man, I know it would sound good.

But I don't know when I will get another cab and I don't know if 20watts is gonna be enough.

 

plus I'm a bit on the fence about using stereo FX live (2 guitarist) as I don't know if there would be much benefit when I don't always know (trust) the soundman. There's a lot of potential for it to be messed up and miss out on crucial delay repeats etc.

I may simply end up powering 2 different cabs and controlling the mix of them.

[IsildursBane]

 

Thanks for that man, I know it would sound good. But I don't know when I will get another cab and I don't know if 20watts is gonna be enough.

 

 

The difference between 20w and 50w is only a couple of dB when everything else is pushed to the max.

 

-Dan.

[ambient]

 

The difference between 20w and 50w is only a couple of dB when everything else is pushed to the max. -Dan.

 

 

Do you have one? Does it hold up for rehearsals/onstage?

 

Its always mic'd, but that doesn't always mean I can hear it the way I want.

[IsildursBane]

Do you have one?

 

Yeah, I'm the guy who's been trying to sell you one.

 

Honestly, it's sat in my bedroom under-used this whole time, which is why I'm selling it. I had it at the studio the other day though and it's plenty loud. We use a variety of lower wattage amps all the time and they can still get painfully loud. Just because of the way that amplifiers work, a doubling of power is only going to result in an output increase of 6dB - perceptible, but fairly insignificant if you're worried about getting over top of bandmates. And if you don't have everything jacked up to 10, you're not using all of the available power anyways.

 

-Dan.

[richard_icker]

so a SS power amp maybe better for processors like Rocktron stuff?