Amp Heads vs Components?

[5_4]

Who has put together a bass rig based on just components; i.e. somebody's amplifier i.e Crown, (or any body else, I only used Crown so I don;t know the names of any other brands), with a pre-amp either generic or high end, as opposed to just an amp head; regardless of the brand, which there are many, many good ones. The reason I ask is that I came across a couple of musicians who where 25 to 30 years old who were amazed that that I could put this type of rig together. Is the component rig a '70/'80's thing? No diss to the younger gents; just a curious question.

 

[WayneP]

I currently have both types (two separate systems). You can find pics of the component rig below, and this link for the cabinet / amp head rig (although the amp has changed).

AFAIK the component rigs were most popularity in the '90s, but there are those around who still use them. I assembled mine in the early 2000's.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

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this link

 

[darev]

I've been using an SVT 4 but also considering this option as well. I agree that these were more popular in the Nineties, along with 1U rack tuners.

 

[Michedelic]

I did up to 30 years ago. I still have a Yamaha PB-1, great unit for its time.
You do what works for you, however most players nowadays consider this kind of set-up awkward.

 

[agedhorse]

It's really no longer necessary, you can buy an "equal to or better" integrated preamp-power amp without much difficulty. There are only a very few exceptions to this rule, which is why there are not as many separate systems in use as there were say 20-30 years ago.

 

[darev]

Honestly, I juat looked up the cost of decent power amps on Sweetwater. Coupling that with the cost of a good preamp it seems that a better value these days may be an integrated amp.

I already have my old 1U tuner and rack space so I'm good there.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Honestly, I juat looked up the cost of decent power amps on Sweetwater. Coupling that with the cost of a good preamp it seems that a better value these days may be an integrated amp.

I already have my old 1U tuner and rack space so I'm good there.

Integrated and Racked with Tuner.
With wireless in back.

Power, speaker, one power switch from PDU in back.
Simplicity

 

[basscooker]

In my opinion, I like simple. Bass to head to cab. Fewer failure points, fewer (only 1) things to power, fewer cables (1 instrument, 1 or 2 speaker), less to keep track of.

All personal choice tho, admittedly.

 

[Redbrangus]

There's no reason not to, if you don't consider the form factor enough of an inconvenience. I recently helped a friend assemble a rig with an Ampeg SVP, a DBX 160A, and a new Crown Class D amp. One big plus of going that route is that it's easy to integrate studio grade outboard gear, like a good compressor or parametric EQ, into the signal path.

 

[agedhorse]

There's no reason not to, if you don't consider the form factor enough of an inconvenience. I recently helped a friend assemble a rig with an Ampeg SVP, a DBX 160A, and a new Crown Class D amp. One big plus of going that route is that it's easy to integrate studio grade outboard gear, like a good compressor or parametric EQ, into the signal path.

The form factor can be a real issue for many players, both size and weight. There's also the need to get a handle on all of the interface details (especially balanced-unbalanced conversions) to keep noise from becoming an issue.

 

[Zooberwerx]

I have an ancient BBE BMax and QSC 1602 in our rehearsal space. It moves about 4' when we throw a sheet of plywood on the pool table for Thanksgiving dinner.

Riis

 

[5_4]

I now use a Mesa M-pulse 360 that I will be buried with but back in the day I used Carvin then a Cerwin Vega head. Looking back, these heads were real noisy and I was looking for a more refined/silent on-stage presence. The amp/preamp satisfied that itch. But, it was more gear to carry and back in the 70's I was always chasing that SVT/8-10 sound. 'Can't remember why I did not just get an SVT; most likely stubborn and a good dose of "I can do it better" attitude. Ha!

 

[Balog]

Years ago I had a tube mic pre into a PA amp rig. It sounded good too. But it was a huge pain in the ass, and unless you were doing the special cable bridged mono thing it was no more powerful than a modern 800-900 watt head.

 

[gregbackstrom]

My main rigs are generally integrated amps: Mesa Engineering, Genz Benz, Trickfish, Eich, etc. But in my studio, I like using a Demeter power amp with various preamps (Demeter VTPB 201s, Caveman Audio, BP-1, and more recently, some of the presets from the Darkglass Anagram. The variety is more fun if you're not hauling a bunch of components from gig-to-gig.

 

[Wesley R]

Way back when, separated gained some footing in the bi-amp, tri-amp craze/fad/way of life.

 

[PlayTheBass]

Rack systems were the thing in the 80s into the early 2000s, then I think as micro amps and smaller cabs appeared and got better and better, a 20" wide rack seemed more and more unwieldy.

Racks were sure fun though! Swapping out components, adding power strips, lights, etc. You could also spray paint your band name on it and make believe you were touring.

 

[DWBass]

I have used both. I still have a PA/PA rig but I used it once in 2019 and another time around 2017. I use my regular bass heads.

 

[DWBass]

I have an ancient BBE BMax and QSC 1602 in our rehearsal space. It moves about 4' when we throw a sheet of plywood on the pool table for Thanksgiving dinner.

Riis

BBE BMax is my preamp as well.

 

[Wasnex]

I think "it" started in the 70s and became a "thing" (if you can call it that) in the 80s. To be honest, I don't remember coming across many bassist's with separates rigs. I have known several who used rack mounted bass amps though.

I have run Biamp rigs on a number of occasions. The first used an SVT and 810 for the lows and a blackface Fender Twin Reverb loaded with JBL E120s for the mids and highs. For the crossover and EQ I used an Orban 672A. The inspiration for the Orban was an article I read on Stanley Clarke, who was running a separates rig at the time. He said something like: The Orban is the heart of my live rig. I bought my Orban in the early 80s, so I assume SC was running separates in the late 70s.

In the 90s I built a biamp separates rig using a BBE 383 preamp and a Crown PowerBase 1. The BBE preamp sounds pretty marginal. I bought it because it was cheap. Pretty sure I paid $79 for it around 1993. The PB1 is also entry level, but I have no complaints, other than it is heavy.

In 1998 I racked a GK 800RB and used it to biamp a Bag End S15D and a Ramsa WS-A200. This was the clearest and most articulate bass rig I have ever used, but it did not have any fat down low. I shared it with another bass player on one gig and he hated it.

Next I ran a racked Eden WT800 for 6 months or so. I wasn't totally thrilled with the Eden voicing and this particular amp had failed a couple of times with the previous user. When it failed on me, I kept the Eden D-series cab but put together another separates rig that included an Ashley MX508 rack mixer and a QSC USA 900 power amp. I used the rack mixer because it allowed me to switch between three different basses. The mixer provided gain, EQ, and a mute switch for each bass. I won't so the Ashley was great, but thought it sounded a bit better than the Eden WT800.

I used to lust over a couple of preamps. My idea of tone was strongly influenced by the sound of a blackface Fender Twin Reverb loaded with JBLs. Since I also have enjoyed biamping on multiple occasions I considered the Alembic F1X which is based on a Fender Showman. I think the Kern IP 777 is also pretty Fendery, and various recording I have heard suggest it may sound even better than the Alembic.

For awhile I also considered what are called "straight wire with gain" style preamps from Millenia Media HV3 and Great River MP2. I have also lusted over the Midas XL42.

 

[agedhorse]

In the pro audio world, my life was nothing but racks... many, many racks!