amp search, suggestions?

[beerten]

Hi there,

I'm looking for an amp. I build myself a 2x12 basscabinet with 2 300 Watt Celestioon drivers. No top off the bill, just wanted to try building one in a not that common configuration.
At the moment I'm using a Warwick Profet 3.3 300 Watt amp. Considering the fact I'm not a cabinet pro, it's not quiet what I'm looking for when it comes to sound.
Main reason is that the amp hasn't got the power the cabinet could handle. Just 300 instead of 600.

I could look for the 500Watt version. But that would be more of the same I guess.

What I want: a non-tube amp. Tube-amps are great, but I hate to be gentle, I'm not that patient...
19" mountable
I do not like a big grumbling sound with deep low's Very crisp highs aren't my thing as well.
I'd prefer I headphone-jack, DI-out
Effects send-return would be nice, but I do not use them at the moment.

Any suggestions? What and what not to look for?

Kind regards,

Joris

[waleross]

Post pictures of what you have built (or building) . This will give forum members a better idea of what will work best for your situation..................

[beerten]

Originally Posted by waleross

Post pictures of what you have built (or building) . This will give forum members a better idea of what will work best for your situation..................

I'll start a thread with pic's and comments this evening.

[scottfeldstein]

You think a 2x12 cab is really going to take more than 300w? Plugging a 500w amp into it may make it no louder.

[beerten]

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

You think a 2x12 cab is really going to take more than 300w? Plugging a 500w amp into it may make it no louder.

That's not my goal. It's loud enough. In fact, it's to loud. It sounds pretty good, when the volume is up.

I'd like to try another amp/brand just to hear the effect of something else. Plus I'd like to test my cabinet when it's pushed to it's limits. In the current situation I'd hear an amp at it's limit when I completely open the volume. I'd like a matching combination of Amp and cabinet. So, when I wan't more volume it's a clean sound, not an overloaded grumbling amp.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by beerten

Hi there,

I'm looking for an amp. I build myself a 2x12 basscabinet with 2 300 Watt Celestioon drivers. No top off the bill, just wanted to try building one in a not that common configuration.
At the moment I'm using a Warwick Profet 3.3 300 Watt amp. Considering the fact I'm not a cabinet pro, it's not quiet what I'm looking for when it comes to sound.
Main reason is that the amp hasn't got the power the cabinet could handle. Just 300 instead of 600.

Your cab won't handle near 600w. 300w is the wattage that will cause your voice coils to blow, but in real world performance, you can count roughly half of that to be your real world power handling due to cab design and displacement limitations inherent in all cabs. Nothing wrong with your cab that I know of, it's just the way it is with cabs. You could get a higher power head to have more clean headroom, but no way it'll take 600w without farting out.

What I want: a non-tube amp. Tube-amps are great, but I hate to be gentle, I'm not that patient...

A complete myth. Tube amps are no less prone to damage from mishandling than SS amps. Many of them are even tougher than your basic SS amp.

19" mountable
I do not like a big grumbling sound with deep low's Very crisp highs aren't my thing as well.
I'd prefer I headphone-jack, DI-out
Effects send-return would be nice, but I do not use them at the moment.

Any suggestions? What and what not to look for?

Just play a bunch of different amps, then buy the one that hits you the right way.

[beerten]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Your cab won't handle near 600w. 300w is the wattage that will cause your voice coils to blow, but in real world performance, you can count roughly half of that to be your real world power handling due to cab design and displacement limitations inherent in all cabs. Nothing wrong with your cab that I know of, it's just the way it is with cabs. You could get a higher power head to have more clean headroom, but no way it'll take 600w without farting out.


A complete myth. Tube amps are no less prone to damage from mishandling than SS amps. Many of them are even tougher than your basic SS amp.


Just play a bunch of different amps, then buy the one that hits you the right way.

OK thanx! It makes sence...

[Windreaper]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

A complete myth. Tube amps are no less prone to damage from mishandling than SS amps. Many of them are even tougher than your basic SS amp.

The amps themselves are durable but I've lost a few tubes in transit when touring. Nothing bringing a few spare tubes won't fix, but just saying.

[staindbass]

i think you should always buy speakers that handle more wattage than you plan on putting into them, the risk of them blowing will be very low. but i still think a 600w amp running at 300w sounds much more effortless and solid than a 300w amp running at 300w. you said its loud enough already, so maybe you are just kinda bored with the amp, and desire the DI. look for something with more tone controls. i like parametric eq, you can get any flavor you want, normal bass mid treble controls only cut or boost the one frequency. nice cab by the way !

[beerten]

As promised some pics of the build of the cabinet.

If you don't mind, I'll talk metric. I'm dutch...

Started with 18mm (3/4") birch plywood.
Braced the cabinet in the center. Baffle to back, side to side. Made the braces a little bit larger then required. About 1mm (1/25 of an inch) So there's some tension on the panels. Should help reducing virbrations.

I thought 110mm(4") PVC drainage pipe would be a smart choice for the ports. With an extra supportpanel on the inside glued to the baffle. Bad idea. Lots of work, result isn't great. Standard 4" tube ports are available for less then $2 each. Looks better, can easily be adjust and gives the cabinet better looks.

I used 2 Celestion Q12 2550 8ohm 12" 300W BASS Speakers. I send Celestion an email asking for some support. Worked out great, thumbs up for their support. Fast and answered my questions.
They suggested 4 ports, cylindrical, 4"x4" to start with.
Volume of the cab is appr. 140liters (4.94cubic feet if I'm correct)

Finished it with Penn Elcom dishes, handles, corners etc. Speakergrill, speakercarpet etc. All it needs now is a logo...

The sound: great if volume is turned up. No sparklin high's. A little dampened. As I'm no native english speaker, don' no the exact words to descripe. And if I would be, it still would be hard
Low end sounds great, not a big fat sound like a 15" would do. Just as I wanted.

I'm pleased with the result.

Pictures by jojobeerten - Photobucket