A couple of amp questions

[Pas]

It may seem odd being that I have been playing bass for almost 15 years now but I have some very basic amp questions. Up until recently I have never had more than a very basic amp (my practice amp is still a Fender 100B with a single 15" folded style cab). I have always prity much relied on the PA system for the few small gigs I did play and didnt need much more than a basic amp for monitoring and just let the PA do the work for me off of the preamp of choice at the time.

Anyhow I currently have a few basic preamps (TubeWorks RT-904 and a Roland SIP-301). I recently was given a Peavey 210txf and another friend is giving me a MesaBoogie powerhouse 1x15. I have an old Sampson Servo 260 power amp that I used to use for powering my monitors off of my old mixer which I no longer have sitting around. The problem comes that the Peavey cab is 175W at 4ohms while the MesaBoogie is (I believe I dont have the cab yet) 600W at 8ohms. The amp only pushes 130W at 4ohms and 100W at 8ohms.

So my questions are:
1) Will it cause a problem to run one side of the amp at 4ohms and the other at 8ohms?
2) Is there a difference between the power amps made specificaly for bass from brands like Fender and SWR compaired to general power amps from brands like QSC, Mackie, Samson, etc when it come to use in a bass guitar amp setup?

I plan on getting a matching MesaBoogie 2x10 down the road when I can afford it and plan on replacing the power amp with something a little more powerfull when I get money for that as well. But for the time being Im interested if the different speaker impedences will mess up the amp or speakers until I can afford a new amp...and then what type of amp I should get for the setup.

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

0. Welcome to TalkBass...hide your credit card!!!

1. You don't need to match loads on individual channels of a stereo power amp. 8 ohms on one channel and 4 ohms on the other would be just fine.

2. This topic came up last night at an Eden clinic that Lane Baldwin (Laneonbass) did at a local Sam Ash store. Lane's opinion was that every poweramp has it's own signature tone, even if it's slight. Most of those that use a separate preamp and poweramp are probably using a pro audio poweramp.

I've used both Crown and QSC amps with excellent results.

Personally, I'd choose a pro audio poweramp because it affords itself to other uses (like in the PA) if you're running a smaller rig or decide to go direct and let the PA do most of the work, etc.

Good luck!!!

 

[anderbass]

Your stereo power amp should basically be two separate amps housed in one box, so I think you'll be fine with uneven loading of each side.

Here's some info if you don't already have it:
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Some solid state bass-head (power amp sections) probably have various design and component differences to flavor the sound a little more specifically to the bass guitar but most are just regular power amps and they work fine.

 

[A9X]

1: You'll be fine with different loads on either side of a poweramp.
2: Any competently designed pro power amp will sound exactly the same as any other provided it's not clipping. Bass heads and other specific MI amplifiers may have some tonal shaping that gives them a signature.

 

[Shindig]

One advantge of "pro" type power amps is they're usually more reliable. Fewer problems or failures (ouch!).
Good luck!