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Adding second amp head to rig? (Slaving?)

Mrd34d

Mrd34d

Guest
Aug 28, 2015
83
20
Windsor
#1
Hello all. I've come through here many times (via Google) to find answers, and this site has been great.
For my current situation however, I've found the info on this subject....too educated for me.

My current rig is a Dean metalman V into a B-52 stealth series LG100a amp head, and from there to a Hughes & Kettner BC210 cab, and from there to the 4x12 b-52 straight cab.

Well today I picked up a rather odd 150w bass amp head called "Prince FET solid-state PS-150B. I know nothing about this head,nor does the previous owner. It has Low, High, and Bright inputs, with speaker & preamp jacks on the back.

My question is: how do I go about incorporating this into my setup?

I'd like to plug my bass into this, and then have all the controls + volume of the b-52 head.

I'm open to all suggestions. Pics below.

Thanks

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#3
That could work. I was hoping to go into the prince first, and from there to the b-52. Basically I'm looking to get the intended tone of the bass head, and feed it into the b-52 so that I have the volume and added tone control of the b-52.
I'm just not sure which jacks go to which jacks. Obviously I don't want to inadvertently fry something while experimenting.
 
#4
I've read somewhere on here that I could go from the pre out on the bass head to the return on the b-52, but that there needs to be a speaker load on the bass head? Could I just go from the bass speaker jack to the b-52 return instead?
 
#6
The Prince head looks to be solid state, so you shouldn't need to have a load on it. If it's a tube head, then you'd need to have a load connected at all times.

As for hooking the two together, you can run from the preamp out of the bass head into the effects return of the B52. That does bypass the B52's preamp and tone controls.

How many watts is the B52? I figured it was around 100W, if that's the case then you might be better off just running the 150W bass head on its own.
 
#7
The bass head is a 150w, and the B-52 100w. I wanna keep the b-52 involved, as I used the gain on it. I play a lot of heavy stuff (stoner/doom/sludge/desert/etc).

I just opened the bass head, and noticed that it's transformer is printed with "PT-1500 Princeton Japan"

I've been trying to get some info on it, and this is all I have next to the "Prince PT-150B" on the front.
 
#10
These kinds of frankenrigs rarely make things better, especially if you don't have a clear idea of what you're going for (which you don't seem to).

There are any number of ways you could hook up this motley assortment of gear and get sound out of it. What are the wattage and impedence ratings of the 2 cabs? What are the relative tones like of the 2 amps? The transformer of the Prince looks pretty tiny, leading me to believe it might have the most authoritative low end output.

I would probably just plug the bass into the B52 guitar head, the preamp out into the input of the Prince head, and the speaker outputs of both into their own cabs. I would just try each amp into each cab to figure out what sounds better because with random stuff like this it's too hard to say which would be best.
 
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#15
Mrd34d said:
I already put the whole thing back together, but I can open her up again if you really need.

There's a preamp out & speaker out.
Click to expand...

The inside of the back panel is needed. I know this is all geek-speak and the inside of an amp is smoke and mirrors to most. It is not my need but yours if you want an idea of what you have? Little black things bolted to the inside of a back panel speaks volumes to me, probably not on your radar as important. ;)
 
#16
B-string said:
The inside of the back panel is needed. I know this is all geek-speak and the inside of an amp is smoke and mirrors to most. It is not my need but yours if you want an idea of what you have? Little black things bolted to the inside of a back panel speaks volumes to me, probably not on your radar as important. ;)
Click to expand...
you mean the two marked "T D234 Y 61"
 

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#18
B-string said:
Yes those two little guys are what "drive" the speakers. Looking at the spec sheet for them and the size of your power transformer, your B-52 will have much more output power. Don't expect much output power from that head, it is not a 150 watt rms amp. Sorry?
Click to expand...

Heh I'm cool with it. At least now I know. I didn't pay much, so I'm not all butthurt about it.

And ya the B-52 alone with the 2x10 & 4x12 can be heard clearly three floors up with chan Vol at 1, and MV at 0.75...it's ridiculous.

Guess I can keep the prince head for a spare jam & recording amp.

Thanks for the info & help guys!
 
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#20
Here's a "Princeton" PS-150B combo amp on some japanese garage sale site. The combo has a tiny "bass" speaker with an open back cabinet. No way it's 150 watts.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

ETA: looks like a solid state copy of the old Fender Princeton amp. That was 15 watts with a 10" speaker. The "Prince / Princeton" badge looks like the Fender one. Perhaps it was marketed as Princeton but Fender might of stepped it and they shortened it to Prince.
 
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