PA power amp as bass head?

[Electricblue]

Ok, another one of my annoying threads about amps....

After doing some research, I realised more power for money can be had in power amps than heads.

If I got the Samson SX2400, Would this work and sound ok with some bass cabs of choice? 2400w at 2 ohm doesnt sound too shabby

I would probably get a cheap mic preamp to go with it.

Thanks a TON for the patience.

[KramerBassFan]

2400w @ 2 ohms? Where does it say that?

And yes, that would work, but i'd just get a cheap bass pre amp instead of a cheap mic pre amp. You'll only want to upgrade it later...

[Electricblue]

Originally Posted by KramerBassFan

2400w @ 2 ohms? Where does it say that?

And yes, that would work, but i'd just get a cheap bass pre amp instead of a cheap mic pre amp. You'll only want to upgrade it later...

Directly from the GAK page:

SX 2400 Features:

Professional High Power Rail-switching Amplifier
550 Watts per side @ 8 Ohms
750 Watts per side @ 4 Ohms
1200 Watts per side @ 2 Ohms
2400 Watts bridged mono @ 4 Ohms
Dual Variable-speed Fan Cooling System
Signal, Peak, and Protection Circuit Indicators
5-way Binding Post and Speakon Speaker Outputs
XLR and TRS Input Connections
Dual Rack Space Design

[nysbob]

Power amps don't know whether they're powering a PA or a bass rig.

I'd guess that 30%-40% of the players on here use some sort of raw power amp with a pre.

[Bardley]

It would work.

I would also go with a bass preamp rather than just a mic pre but either would work.

Just remember that a bass head is a Preamp and a power amp section in the same unit. You still need both if you go with a separate unit setup.

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by KramerBassFan

i'd just get a cheap bass pre amp instead of a cheap mic pre amp. You'll only want to upgrade it later...

Actually, most mic preamps make great bass preamps. There's no issue about upgrading from "mic" to "bass", only a question of upgrading from one quality/feature set to another.

[steve_rolfeca]

PA power amps work great, lots of TB'ers doing it.

Hard to beat the latest Crown XLS series for price/performance ratio these days. Can't say the same about Samson.

If you just want the big wattage for clean headroom (or for bragging rights), that's fine. But you better have some serious cabs, if you're actually going to run a 2400 watt amp to its limits on a regular basis.

An XLS1500 is more than enough for most people.

[Electricblue]

So the power amp is a good idea then? Samson = Hartke so good quality?

[Downunderwonder]

Indeed, but mine is a very cheap, very old 300w per channel indigenous Jansen model. No opinion on Samson but be wary of cheap new amps.

Tech 21 VT pedals will drive power amps I'm told. Used one is 100 to 120 odd bucks US, plus shipping. I use their Sansamp RBI, very tasty tones.

[jacojbass]

It is a good move on many fronts. I got a light amp (8lbs) and a preamp, which allows 200x2, 350x2, 550x2 or 1100x1...really flexible to a given room. I have a couple different cabs to chooses from, but the power source is always the same. Oh and the amp and pre was like $500, get a bass amp with these features at that price....

[christw]

What speaker cabinet(s) are you using? If this is just another flight of fancy for you, forget it. Having more speakers does more for volume than having more power does by a long shot. Your limiting factor with a lot (or an excessive amount of) power is having speakers capable of handling it. I'd look to them first.

[Sliderbass]

...and a poweramp and you're all done!

Need a DI, get a modified VT from Putnam guitars.

Or the the newer VT delux.

[KramerBassFan]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Actually, most mic preamps make great bass preamps. There's no issue about upgrading from "mic" to "bass", only a question of upgrading from one quality/feature set to another.

I realize this.

My comment to the OP pertains to the latter half of your post. Who doesn't love an Alembic Fx-1 or 2? Or a Dual Showman Pre

[Electricblue]

Originally Posted by christw

What speaker cabinet(s) are you using? If this is just another flight of fancy for you, forget it. Having more speakers does more for volume than having more power does by a long shot. Your limiting factor with a lot (or an excessive amount of) power is having speakers capable of handling it. I'd look to them first.

I will be using 2 8ohm cabs on one side of the amp, a 410 and a 115. This will give me the equivelent of a standard 750w head at 4ohms.

I want the extra power so I can run as many speakers as I will need to. THat would probably be a couple of 410's and a couple of 115's.

Most people will say that 1500w is definitely enough. Certaintly a better deal IMO than the 500w head I was looking at for 300 bean.

Im tripling my power for the same price. Sans pre-amp.

[blackba]

Originally Posted by Electricblue

Directly from the GAK page:

SX 2400 Features:

Professional High Power Rail-switching Amplifier
550 Watts per side @ 8 Ohms
750 Watts per side @ 4 Ohms
1200 Watts per side @ 2 Ohms
2400 Watts bridged mono @ 4 Ohms
Dual Variable-speed Fan Cooling System
Signal, Peak, and Protection Circuit Indicators
5-way Binding Post and Speakon Speaker Outputs
XLR and TRS Input Connections
Dual Rack Space Design

No many 2 ohm cabs. If you are running 2 4ohm cabs, I would assume you would run one on each side and thus get 750Watts into each 4ohm cab. Seeing as you have 2 8ohm cabs, I would run one into each side for 550Watts per side, that way you can tweak the output to each cab and balance them the way you want.

I use a Crown K1 in my rig. I use the preamp from the Ampeg SVTIIIpro and run it into the Crown K1, then into an ampeg 4ohm 410 and an ampeg 4ohm 210. Since the Ampeg SVTIIIpro has a SS power amp, it does not need a speaker load. The rig works great, plenty of power. Since the 210 cab is a little more efficient, I can adjust for that on the power amp channels.

If I go down to one cab, I ditch the power amp and use the internal power amp in the Ampeg SVTIIIpro.

[Electricblue]

Originally Posted by blackba

No many 2 ohm cabs. If you are running 2 4ohm cabs, I would assume you would run one on each side and thus get 750Watts into each 4ohm cab. Seeing as you have 2 8ohm cabs, I would run one into each side for 550Watts per side, that way you can tweak the output to each cab and balance them the way you want.

I use a Crown K1 in my rig. I use the preamp from the Ampeg SVTIIIpro and run it into the Crown K1, then into an ampeg 4ohm 410 and an ampeg 4ohm 210. Since the Ampeg SVTIIIpro has a SS power amp, it does not need a speaker load. The rig works great, plenty of power. Since the 210 cab is a little more efficient, I can adjust for that on the power amp channels.

If I go down to one cab, I ditch the power amp and use the internal power amp in the Ampeg SVTIIIpro.

I think that was GAK's error on that. Samson's specs for the amp are:


Professional High Power, Class H, Rail-switching Amplifier
550 Watts per side @ 8 Ohms
750 Watts per side @ 4 Ohms
1500 watts @ 8 ohms in bridged mono
Dual Variable-speed Fan Cooling System
Signal, Peak, and Protection Circuit Indicators
5-way Binding Post and Speakon Speaker Outputs
XLR and TRS Input Connections
Dual Rack Space Design

[BurningSkies]

Its only good if you want lots of clean power on tap. Or flexibility when it comes to what and how you're powering things on stage. I don't know why anyone would want that.

[Electricblue]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Its only good if you want lots of clean power on tap. Or flexibility when it comes to what and how you're powering things on stage. I don't know why anyone would want that.

Excuse to post your rig?

Pretty nice setup, man.

When the power amp says "750 Watts per side @ 4 Ohms", does that mean 4 ohm total or 4 ohm each side?

Can I run just one "side" of the amp at a time, with nothing connected on the other? At 4 or 8 ohm.

[gnjpowell]

Came to the same conclusion. I use a QSC PLX1804 ($400 on ebay , 900W/Ch x 2 into 4 ohms with a Yamaha PB-1 bass pre-amp (an AWESOME unit!) with built-in crossover if you want to bi-amp it, works great with the 2 ch PLX1804 amp. 1800w seems enough for most gigs.....

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by steve_rolfeca

PA power amps work great, lots of TB'ers doing it.

Yup, Ive been doing it for years. It was great the day I realized i know longer needed to haul that 70lb+ 410 with the broken caster.