2x12 Mesa Boogie Powerhouse

[sayso]

Hello There Everyone. Id like your advice. I just had my amp head stolen. I also have just ordered a new cabinet which I was planning on using the head with. It is a 2x12 mesa boogie powerhouse. The only backup that I have at the moment is an old Peavey PA XR500 mixer amp.

The Peavey is 4ohms , 23Vrms , 130 watts.

The Mesa Boogie is 8ohms , 600 watts rms

Will this work, or should I buy a new head? Dont have much money at the moment so it would be great if I could get by on this for sec. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

[paganjack]

Well first off, sorry to hear that. Having gear stolen is the WORST.

And assuming that peavey is solid state, you can use it OK but it may not have a whole ton of volume for your needs. It's probably fine as a short-term solution but I would recommend getting a proper bass head when you can. The Mesa cab should have fairly high sensitivity (basically needs less power to get loud) so unless you are playing in a super loud band you're probably OK for the moment.

[4001]

Sucks that your amp was stolen. I dont have the knowledge to answer your question but after reading your post I stumbled on a great idea. Maybe...

Good luck with your situation. I hope you get that thing back.

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by sayso

The Peavey is 4ohms , 23Vrms , 130 watts.

The Mesa Boogie is 8ohms , 600 watts rms

Will this work, or should I buy a new head?

I doubt it will work very well, if at all...

A mixer amp isn't designed to be used as a bass head. For one thing, it doesn't have a preamp - or at least doesn't have a preamp that's truly compatible with the requirements of bass EQ, signal processing & signal boosting.

Secondly, if your Peavey puts out only 130 watts @ 4 ohms, that means it will put out considerably less than that @ 8 ohms - which is not very much power to begin with. That's a crucial factor, since your cab is rated @ 8 ohms.

The bottom line is that you won't have nearly enough power or enough preamp functionality to do any justice to that cab - and maybe not enough to use it at all.

The Mesa Powerhouse 2x12 is reputed to be an excellent rock cab. It deserves a high-powered Mesa head to go with it.

Start saving...

MM

P.S. My condolences for your loss.

[zachreh]

here is how mine sounds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvZ4k...RG6hLA&index=1

[chaosMK]

It's a badass cab, I'll say that much.

The Peavey seems a little light for stage use if you play typical rock/metal gigs and probably wont add much signature flavor. I'd save for a head.

[sayso]

Ok. Since my head was stolen, I need a new head to power my 600 watt 8 ohm mesa boogie 2x12 cabinet. My money is low at the moment so I have to go the used route to get something powerful enough. Ive narrowed it down to two choices. Let me know what you guys think.

a used Hartke LH500 500watts at 4 ohms for $200

or

a used Acoustic B600HB 600watts at 4 ohms for $250

any ideas how reliable either of these are, or if they are a good pairing for my new cab? Thanks yall.

[Downunderwonder]

Slow down. Try the mixer thing first, while the mixing preamp isn't ideal it's still going to make a bass noise. 130W won't break windows but might keep you going.

[Hobobob]

Of those two, I'd go Hartke. The modern Acoustic stuff is a house brand for Guitar Center, and IMO just isn't on par with some of the better options out there. The Hartke, however, might not float your boat tonally through your cab - the last time I tried an LH500, it had a very clanky low-treble goosed tone, and the Mesa 2x12 (I have a 4 ohm one) emphasizes some of those frequencies too. Definitely try that head through your cab before putting any money down.