Recommend me a power amp to go with my preamp and cab

mouthmw · #1 02-21-2011, 04:33 PM

I have an Aguilar Tone Hammer preamp and Ampeg SVT 810E cab.
We mostly play indoor clubs, but sometimes bikers meetings and on outside stages. We're a loud band. Probably very loud.

I currently use a Kustom Bass III amp, and without tone hammer, I wouldn't be able to cut through the mix as nice. I think it's 130 Watts solid state.

I'm thinking it'd be better to just get a poweramp since I always use the tone hammer anyways. Yea, best would be probably to get a classic tube ampeg amp, but I can't afford it.

So which poweramp would you guys recommend for this combination?

Kael · #2 02-21-2011, 04:37 PM

Since you are already lugging an 810, you might as well get an old school lead sled power amp like a Crest CA-9 or Crown Macrotech. Those are both brutes that sound more authoritative than the lighter weight amps.

newbold · #3 02-21-2011, 05:08 PM

You're driving an 810 with 130 watts?

You certainly need power.

RickenBoogie · #4 02-21-2011, 05:16 PM

Poweramps generally all do the same thing, and have little influence on your tone. So, bassically, ANY good poweramp will work. Just find one with enough power, and in your price range.

Growly Lytes · #5 02-21-2011, 05:46 PM

Your gonna get the same ol`answers....
Quest.....Crown......QSC.....
I dont think anybody on TB uses anything else.

suraci · #6 02-21-2011, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Poweramps generally all do the same thing, and have little influence on your tone. So, bassically, ANY good poweramp will work. Just find one with enough power, and in your price range.

I guess it's matter of degree, but to MY ears, I have to say, if people are eg. talking about CABLES making a difference, how much more so would a power amp be a major factor?
In my experience, power amps vary more than originally assumed, until I tried different ones. I have no recommendation though.

BartmanPDX · #7 02-21-2011, 05:56 PM

People who think cables make a difference are too far gone to help.

Any power amp that colors your tone significantly is not well designed. Just look for reliability and having enough power.

mouthmw · #8 02-21-2011, 05:59 PM

How much power would you guys recommend?

RickenBoogie · #9 02-21-2011, 06:20 PM

As many watts as you can afford.

Mingo Sanders · #10 02-21-2011, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mouthmw

How much power would you guys recommend?

I would recommend an amp with 1000 watts per channel at 8 ohms. Crown xti 6000 or 6002 would do it.

Bassmec · #11 02-21-2011, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mouthmw

I have an Aguilar Tone Hammer preamp and Ampeg SVT 810E cab.
We mostly play indoor clubs, but sometimes bikers meetings and on outside stages. We're a loud band. Probably very loud.

I currently use a Kustom Bass III amp, and without tone hammer, I wouldn't be able to cut through the mix as nice. I think it's 130 Watts solid state.

I'm thinking it'd be better to just get a poweramp since I always use the tone hammer anyways. Yea, best would be probably to get a classic tube ampeg amp, but I can't afford it.

So which poweramp would you guys recommend for this combination?

Reintroduce the Slave Trade?

mouthmw · #12 02-22-2011, 01:37 AM

What about Mackie m1400? They seem reasonably priced used.

**mikeddd** · #13 02-22-2011, 01:52 AM

The Ampeg fridge is a 4-ohm cab as far as I know. Look for an amp that does at least 500-600 watts at bridged 4-ohm and you're golden. What kind of budget are you looking at? You can buy a new QSC GX5 for $400. Has a 6-year warranty and does 700wpc @ 4 ohms. It's not a mono-bridgable amp, but with 700watts per side, you will only need one channel anyway.

mouthmw · #14 02-22-2011, 02:07 AM

Would I get a bridged value of the amp when connecting to Ampeg cabinet, or would I get the stereo value?
Mackie has 1400 Watts @ 4 ohms bridged.
It has 2 x 500 Watts @ 4 ohms stereo.

**mikeddd** · #15 02-22-2011, 04:41 AM

You would get the bridged value of the amp for whatever ohm load you're using. If the Mackie is rated 1400 @ 4 ohms mono bridged and you connected a bridged load of 4 ohms, you would get the 1400 watts.

mouthmw · #16 02-22-2011, 05:05 AM

Ampeg's site specifications say that the RMS Power Handling of my 810 cab is 800 Watts in mono. Would I not fry the speakers with a 1400 Watt amp?

**mikeddd** · #17 02-22-2011, 05:15 AM

Nope. Not unless you cranked it way the heck up for an extended period of time. Believe me that unless you're playing in a football stadium, you will turn down the volume long before you come close to blowing a driver in an Ampeg fridge. Judicious use of your ears comes into play here. If you start to hear the drivers bottoming out, back off the volume a little bit. But your ears will bleed before that happens. Assuming you go w/the Mackie amp, set the gain on it to about 50% and start from there.

Having an amp rated for more than the cab gives you lots of clean headroom to play with and makes life easier on the amp. If your car can do 100mph top speed, but you need to drive at 95mph constantly, you could do that, but you'd be straining the engine. On the other hand if the car's top speed is 140mph and you have to drive at 95mph constantly, you're putting considerably less strain on the engine.

mouthmw · #18 02-22-2011, 05:50 AM

Thanks a lot for your help mikeddd!
All makes sense to me.
I just hope that Tone Hammer is good enough to run a Mackie power amp.

runmikeyrun · #19 02-22-2011, 08:14 AM

I've run a QSC RMX 2450 with both an MXR M-80 and (currently) ART Tube MP. It should work fine. I use a rack mount eq in between though, i find it gives me much better tonal control. Something to consider if you can't get the exact sound you want from the tone hammer. I got a cheap eq for $85 new from GC.

I prefer QSC because it's what I use, but i have used the Mackie 1400i and it's a good amp. Should be PLENTY of power for you.

BassmanPaul · #20 02-22-2011, 09:47 AM

You have not supplied your location in your profile. If you are in North America you could do worse than look at Carvin's DCM series of power amps.

You have a 4Ω load so if you want to bridge you'll need a power amp that can handle 2Ω loads per channel. I'd look at the DCM1000 That should match up with your needs nicely.
You also can just use one channel and have the other to run something like monitors should you need to.