OK, so we have several good bass amp heads out there. But what about using a pure power head (like a Crown, etc)for unadulterated power. Is it worth it with then getting a good EQ box to combo up with it (like a Furman or something)? What do you think? Any pros/cons anyone wants to share?
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Power Amp vs Regular Bass Amp
- Thread starter MEKer
- Start date
- Jun 19, 2004
- 4,782
- 83
- 42
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist, Schroeder Cabinets
I use a Line6 Bass POD xt Live and a Crown K2 as one of my rigs (into Schroeder 21012L).
Pros of preamp/poweramp rigs versus heads:
- Tons of headroom
- Can swap out different preamps to get different tones
- More versatile (I often use 1 channel of my Crown to power my Buttkicker, feeding signal from a mic on the drummer's kick drum, and the other channel for my bass rig). I've also used it as a PA amp on occasion, in a pinch
Cons:
- Can be more expensive
- Can be heavier
- More cables to hook up, longer set-up & tear-down, more to carry/less portable, unless you rack-mount it & leave it hooked up inside
- Sometimes need adaptors (my Crown, for example, only has banana-plug outputs, so I can't just plug in any old 1/4"-to-1/4" or Speakon speaker cable)
- Most power amps are designed to be permanently installed or rackmounted, and so have very short, and often attached, power cables. My Crown has a 12" permanently attached power cable, so I have to use either an extension cord, or a rack-mounted power conditioner/strip, to get it to reach an outlet
Both have their uses. I love my Markbass LMII for its portability, but there's nothing quite like 2500 watts at 4 ohms!
Don't use an EQ by itself, though. You still need a preamp. Most preamps have an EQ section built in, or you can use a separate one, if your bass doesn't have one on-board, or you want more flexibility. An EQ by itself doesn't have enough "juice" to drive a power amp; that's what preamps are for. Using just an EQ would be like plugging an active-EQ bass straight into a power amp... you wouldn't really get any signal doing that, without a preamp in between.
Hope this helps!
Pros of preamp/poweramp rigs versus heads:
- Tons of headroom
- Can swap out different preamps to get different tones
- More versatile (I often use 1 channel of my Crown to power my Buttkicker, feeding signal from a mic on the drummer's kick drum, and the other channel for my bass rig). I've also used it as a PA amp on occasion, in a pinch
Cons:
- Can be more expensive
- Can be heavier
- More cables to hook up, longer set-up & tear-down, more to carry/less portable, unless you rack-mount it & leave it hooked up inside
- Sometimes need adaptors (my Crown, for example, only has banana-plug outputs, so I can't just plug in any old 1/4"-to-1/4" or Speakon speaker cable)
- Most power amps are designed to be permanently installed or rackmounted, and so have very short, and often attached, power cables. My Crown has a 12" permanently attached power cable, so I have to use either an extension cord, or a rack-mounted power conditioner/strip, to get it to reach an outlet
Both have their uses. I love my Markbass LMII for its portability, but there's nothing quite like 2500 watts at 4 ohms!
Don't use an EQ by itself, though. You still need a preamp. Most preamps have an EQ section built in, or you can use a separate one, if your bass doesn't have one on-board, or you want more flexibility. An EQ by itself doesn't have enough "juice" to drive a power amp; that's what preamps are for. Using just an EQ would be like plugging an active-EQ bass straight into a power amp... you wouldn't really get any signal doing that, without a preamp in between.
Hope this helps!
DI out of my shuttle into the QSC. The shuttle and 112 NeoX is my stage volume, the QSC powers the house volume on 15's and 18's
bongomania
Commercial User
Yep, lots and lots of us use PA-type power amps in our rigs for those times when more power is desired. Check the "preamps" link in my sig for a bit of info about what kind of device you need to drive the power amp.
Hey All: Thanks for the excellent input and Bongomania---your preamp article is just superb! Question answered and I can see it will definitely require homework to make sure you get the right combination of Pre/EQ/Amp and then make sure the bottoms match up.
I think it boils down to two schools of thought as far as amplification, basically; rigs that actually produce sound or rigs that just reproduce sound. In an integrated amp the preamp and power amp stages work in concert to produce a sound (probably most obvious with all tube amps), while preamp/power amp configuration generally uses the power amp to reproduce what the preamp outputs with the most minimal tone coloration possible, kind of like a mini PA for the bass. Both are good in my book, but for all out head room and power, the pre/power combo is more practical and/or economical than trying to build a 2000 watt wall of integrated amplifier rigs.
While I have and use pre/power rigs, I prefer to use integrated amps. I think of the entire rig; bass guitar, amp, speakers, cables, effects, etc., as the instrument rather than just the axe itself.
Different integrated amps have specific sounds that cant really be duplicated by modeling. To me modeling sounds canned, and artificial, not big and natural like a traditional integrated amp rig.
Of course, a rig in a box is far more practical from a budget standpoint. Having Ampeg, Reeves, Sunn, Marshall, GK, Hartke, Ashdown, etc. rigs around to capture the specific nuances of their tone is a luxury that few amateur bass players can afford, and unless you are fortunate enough to have roadies are also very cumbersome to gig with. Nothing can duplicate the sound of a full Sunn 2000S rig, or a SVT with a couple of fridges, but dragging around a rig that weighs 300 lbs gets old (and costly) fast. I think a versatile preamp and some sort of modeling effect with a stout power amp and compact speaker cab is far more practical for the average bass player trying to emulate a wide tonal variety of sounds.
While I have and use pre/power rigs, I prefer to use integrated amps. I think of the entire rig; bass guitar, amp, speakers, cables, effects, etc., as the instrument rather than just the axe itself.
Different integrated amps have specific sounds that cant really be duplicated by modeling. To me modeling sounds canned, and artificial, not big and natural like a traditional integrated amp rig.
Of course, a rig in a box is far more practical from a budget standpoint. Having Ampeg, Reeves, Sunn, Marshall, GK, Hartke, Ashdown, etc. rigs around to capture the specific nuances of their tone is a luxury that few amateur bass players can afford, and unless you are fortunate enough to have roadies are also very cumbersome to gig with. Nothing can duplicate the sound of a full Sunn 2000S rig, or a SVT with a couple of fridges, but dragging around a rig that weighs 300 lbs gets old (and costly) fast. I think a versatile preamp and some sort of modeling effect with a stout power amp and compact speaker cab is far more practical for the average bass player trying to emulate a wide tonal variety of sounds.
