Read Purity pre setup w/ Stewart 2.1
 

I sold my Aguilar DB750 for this Read pre amp and Stewart 2.1 power amp. I have to say its got more balls and clarity than anything I've ever played. Everything i do wrong or right is in my face. The volume is stupid silly really, and apparently I have been "banging" on the strings for the past 7 years as this setup wont let me do that as you can hear the strings knock against the frets every time i hit the string, so Im trying to relax and play softer, which isnt a bad thing. BUT, my question is this: The Read manual says start with the Eq flat, the gain at 9 and the master at 12. If I do these settings I'll sterilize myself...........its ridiculously loud that way. I have the power amp bridged into a 4ohm load through to Eden 4x10 XST's (8ohm each daisy chained), and the volume on the 2.1 is cranked as I was told to do. Anyone else on here have experience with this setup? Im not complaining, it sounds incredible, but Im wondering if Im missing something or if this is the way its supposed to be? Even with the gain set barely even on, I cant get the master much past 9 and its crazyness. Any info on this topic would be greatly appreciated.:hyper:

Nobody??

There are different opinions about where to control the volume (on the preamp or on the poweramp) for optimum results.

You decided to go with using the master volume control on the preamp, which is fine.

But don't overthink any of this, just set the master volume controls to a level you like.
If that means adjusting both controls on the pre and power-amp, just do it. There is no reason to have it louder than you want or need. :)

A buddy in San Francisco had the same pre/power pair into a Bergantino HT322. He was playing an active Sadowsky P/J—and the band was a 9 piece R&B horn band. I think it was the best live bass tone I've ever heard.

He reported no problems with the gain structure. Are you using an active bass?

Don't run the amp bridged, and back off on the volume on the amp. Problem solved. Set the preamp gain to just shy of clipping, and then set the master on the preamp to wherever volume you need, and set the power amp volume around 50% (or at least less than 75%). In most situations, this will give you plenty of headroom, plenty of volume, and plenty of adjustment range (so that looking funny at the master on the pre doesn't result in huge volume changes).

Yes, all active basses. Thanks Jungleheat. I was told to bridge the amp and turn the volume all the way up. I'll try that and see where I end up. Do I just run it in stereo (power amp) or just run off chan 1 into a 4ohm load? Leave the switch on mono or stereo? Thanks again!!!!

Ok, I got home and put the switch on the 2.1 power amp back to "stereo" rather than bridged. It sounds better and still has tons of power......BUT the preamp only has one output, the Stewart needs two inputs to run "stereo" so do I get a 1/4" "Y" cable so it has input signal to both amps (amp is actually 2 in one). I can run one 4x10 now but want to run both. I guess I could use just one side and daisy chain the cabs so it would see a 4ohm load??

Get a high quality mono Y cable and run one to each input on the Stewart. Then run the amp in stereo and cable out from each side to your pair of cabinets. I have been doing this exact setup for years with my Stewart without any problem.

Lonnybass

Ok, Where do I get a high quality "Y" cable? Im in Montana sooooooooooo.....

Ok, I found what they call a Studiolink insert cable. Its 1/4" at all 3 ends, but the one end that would plug into the preamp looks different....has two black bands around it where the other 2 ends only have one band. Will this work? Its a Monster brand cable...

Steve, the short cable with the two same XLR ends that came with the amp should work. That comes out of the preamp into the Stewart and then you can use the two banana plug cables to come out of each side of the amp to your cabs. In the Stewart manual look at the Hookup Diagram 2 Input Connections. There is no need to buy another cable since this should get you to using both sides of the amp independently.

Wally

You can do this, but I don't see any advantage to it. I have a Read/Stewart 1.6 combo as well, and I often run it into 2 8 ohm cabs. I just use 1 side of the power amp, don't worry about stereo, you have a spare power amp on hand if you need one for anything.

IME, the advice you got earlier is right on the money: set the gain for the amount of drive you want, set the volume to where it sounds good, even if that's pretty low, and then adjust the power amp if needed. I rarely open the 1.6 more than halfway with the Read, no bridging, one channel into 4 ohms. Even then, I still have stupid headroom!

I would just run from one side of the amp and daisy chain the cabs if the amp only has one speaker output per side. If you go this route, it's good practice to alternate sides periodically, so each side gets used equally and regularly.

If you go the Y cable route, you need one with a single black band on the single end, and single black bands on the dual ends. That's a mono splitter cable, which is what you want. The one you described is a single stereo to dual mono cable. So you would probably still only be getting signal to one side of your power amp.

I know there is a way to use the XLR cable but it is not what I had posted above. When I first had this setup I used this cable to use both sides independently but can't remember how it was wired. Does anyone here know how that cable would be used to get the looked for end result?

Wally