Members poomwah Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 or is it just the pre amp. all things being equal. If you were to hypothetically disassemble a hartke head and a GK head, and put the hartke preamp section in the head with the GK power amp section... would it sound like a hartke? would it sound like a GK? would it sound like something different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rippin' Robin Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 The main question is: Why in the name of all things fairy, fun and furry would you want to do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Navybass65 Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 There's alot that goes into making an amplifier. The components themselves can change the sound a bit. Depending on how the transistors were doped, resistors, capacitors...etc. Also, the power amp circuit is different between the companies. There are so many variables it would require a few pages to write it all out. Short answer, no it wouldn't sound exactly the same just by switching out preamp sections. While the preamp does most of the tone shaping, other factors (mentioned above) come in to play also. Granted, the perfect power amp would not change the tone at all, but we don't live in a perfect world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bleepo Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Granted, the perfect power amp would not change the tone at all, but we don't live in a perfect world. Good post. I do believe that the perfect poweramp does change the sound. I can't speak for my amp as it's solid state, but would you want a SVT poweramp that doesn't add to the sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bnyswonger Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Why would you want to graft two fairly anonymous sounding amps together? Are things that slow up there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rippin' Robin Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Actually, you can try the original question by taking a pre-amp out line from the Hartke and sticking in the effects return jack of the GK... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Navybass65 Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 would you want a SVT poweramp that doesn't add to the sound? Actually, yes. Granted, an SVT is tube and tubes themselves have a different tone, but you would have to keep this all in perspective. Going from a solid state power amp to a tube power amp is completely different and will inherently give you a different tone due to many things, but one of the biggest is the different way the amplification process takes place in a tube amp as compared to a solid state amp. The power amp's job is to boost the signal to an audible level. The preamp's job is 2 fold.... 1. Boost the signal to a level that's usable by the power amp.2. Tone shaping. Like I said before, once you get past the preamp section (where the tone shaping takes place), ideally the power amp wouldn't affect the tone at all. Now, with all that being said, in reality, the magic of amps is that everything comes into play, the preamp, power amp, speakers, cabinet. No one thing can take sole responsibility for the way an amp sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rippin' Robin Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Well, hifi and PA power amps are designed with transparency in mind. Bass amps needn't be transparent, they just need to sound 'good'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members countrybass Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Actually, yes. Granted, an SVT is tube and tubes themselves have a different tone, but you would have to keep this all in perspective. Going from a solid state power amp to a tube power amp is completely different and will inherently give you a different tone due to many things, but one of the biggest is the different way the amplification process takes place in a tube amp as compared to a solid state amp.The power amp's job is to boost the signal to an audible level. The preamp's job is 2 fold....1. Boost the signal to a level that's usable by the power amp.2. Tone shaping.Like I said before, once you get past the preamp section (where the tone shaping takes place), ideally the power amp wouldn't affect the tone at all.Now, with all that being said, in reality, the magic of amps is that everything comes into play, the preamp, power amp, speakers, cabinet. No one thing can take sole responsibility for the way an amp sounds. whoa nellie!! You're either really smart, or you copied that from some book!! J/K!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Navybass65 Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 whoa nellie!! You're either really smart, or you copied that from some book!! J/K!! Neither..., just some stuff I picked up from playing for 25 plus years, and also from being an Electronics Technician in the US Navy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members poomwah Posted January 2, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2009 I wasnt actually planning on grafting anything together. I just picked those two arbitrarily. In a more realistic setting, I am wondering if I bypassed the preamp on my carvin and used an ampeg preamp, if it would sound a lot like an ampeg, or if it would still sound like a carvin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members poomwah Posted January 3, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2009 could I get that svt tube like growl out of an overdrive pedal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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