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beating a dead horse- cheap powerful amp recommendations?

runmikeyrun

runmikeyrun

Jan 10, 2001
1,248
55
northeast Ohio
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#1
I hate to beat a dead horse but I'm going to...

I would like a good, punchy amp on the cheap. I'd like to use it as a primary amp with a 4x12 most of the time, but also as a slave with another head and additional 4x12. Gotta have good low end for reach with a 5 string. A graphic eq would be nice, but a power amp input is necessary. A built in compressor or limiter would also be nice to have.

My only issue is this- I would be driving a single 8 ohm cab. Amps like the firebass and ha7000 don't deliver much power at 8 ohms.

I'm drawing a blank here... any ideas? The cheaper the better, I actually prefer to buy used. I don't mind something used if the brand is reliable.

Thanks,
Mike
 
#2
hard to wrong with GK for loud, punchy and affordable. They don't really have much in the way of built in compressors though AFAIK.

what is your idea of cheap? that would be helpful. I know a guy who thinks cheap is 100 dollars and another who thinks cheap is 1000 dollars.
 
#6
Most power amp inputs are after the compressors, so i'm not sure how much good it would be for you. Does the amp have to be new? More amp for less money if used. What do you need ask those speakers for anyways? Sounds heavy duty.
 
#7
For cheap and powerful (read "loud") you can't beat Peavy gear. Seriously; I am 45 years old, and I used to dog their stuff relentlessly (as we all did back in the 80's), but it's cheap as hell, very loud, and from my experience extremely reliable. If all you want is cheap watts, you can't beat it.
 
#9
Just bought a Kustom KXB500 amp after seeing it in the Hot Deals section. It's no longer on sale but I've seen it on ebay for as low as $350 and IMO based on recent ownership and gigging it's a steal even at that price. It's class D with a Bang & Olufsen power section, is extremely well appointed and very powerful (500w@4 ohms). I've let a couple of my friends check mine out and they're kicking themselves for not jumping on it when I told them about it at $190 delivered. This amp is at the top of my list for recommendations.
:cool:
 
#10
custom built 4x12s by a local builder who has built cabs for Black Eyed Peas among others. Has (4) 250w Eminence Beta 12As and when I run my pre/power amp through it it destroys. The problem is, I hate lugging it around because it weighs a ton and is normally used to power our PA at the practice spot, so I have to disconnect everything and its a PITA.

Before everyone jumps on me about only needing a 2x10 (stood vertically of course) we play a lot of places with no bass guitar sound reinforcement and I need that to fill the room. I'm usually competing with a Carvin V3, Splawn, or Orange 100w heads (either half or full stack) so I need the to bring the rock.

I don't want to buy new, and I'm not above a Peavey (in fact, that's my other main head, just not enough power for this application). I really wanted a Hartke head as I had one of those in the past, but they just don't have enough guts. Maybe I need a power amp I can bridge into 500w and an old ART preamp or something on the cheap?
 
#17
runmikeyrun said:
custom built 4x12s by a local builder who has built cabs for Black Eyed Peas among others. Has (4) 250w Eminence Beta 12As and when I run my pre/power amp through it it destroys. The problem is, I hate lugging it around because it weighs a ton and is normally used to power our PA at the practice spot, so I have to disconnect everything and its a PITA.

[snip]
Click to expand...

If you like the sound of your current preamp, why not spring for one of those new-fangled lightweight power amps that fall within your budget? Keep your existing power amp for the practice spot PA and skip the dual duty logistics.

Crown, Peavey, Carvin, Crest, and QSC models come to mind, most of them under ten pounds.

=wr=
 
#18
runmikeyrun said:
...we play a lot of places with no bass guitar sound reinforcement and I need that to fill the room. I'm usually competing with a Carvin V3, Splawn, or Orange 100w heads (either half or full stack) so I need the to bring the rock.
Click to expand...
full guitar stacks and not enough PA to carry the bass?
so i guess nobody gets to hear the kick drum or the singer either? :rolleyes:

anyway, if you want cheap and kick-butt (especially into 8Ω loads) skip the bass amps and get yourself a real PA power amp.

even a low-end power amp like the QSC RMX1450 will slam almost 1000w bridged into an 8Ω load. you can find them used for dirt, and they're quite reliable except for noisy pots (which don't usually get moved anyway). they're just heavy is all.
 
#19
As long as your purchasing over there in Ohio & not in Australia 'sheal be right matey'.
The price on anything in the U.S is o.k. with Aussies, believe us !
Just have a look on a website within Australia & see how much more we pay for the same thing. Please dont give me the shipping crap it doesnt cost that much when you can get a Sansamp shipped to Australia for $20 at $329 brand new.
I asked my local store about odering a Sansamp RBI they quoted me something like $500 & bit less with cash, i just laughed !!
 
#20
walterw said:
full guitar stacks and not enough PA to carry the bass?
so i guess nobody gets to hear the kick drum or the singer either? :rolleyes:

anyway, if you want cheap and kick-butt (especially into 8Ω loads) skip the bass amps and get yourself a real PA power amp.

even a low-end power amp like the QSC RMX1450 will slam almost 1000w bridged into an 8Ω load. you can find them used for dirt, and they're quite reliable except for noisy pots (which don't usually get moved anyway). they're just heavy is all.
Click to expand...

I thought hard about another pre/power setup, but it's a bit out of my price range. The power amp isn't an issue, or the preamp, but when you add them together and figure in the price of another rack then i'm over budget.

As for the pa/volume thing- I don't provide/bring the PA. They run plenty of kick and the rest of the kit through it, and the vocals are very audible. There's just not enough headroom to run bass guitar. Trust me, everything is where it needs to be, but if I ran a small rig no one would hear me, hence the reason for volume.
 

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