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beating a dead horse- cheap powerful amp recommendations?

#22
runmikeyrun said:
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.
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sansamp pedal DI into a used QSC RMX 1450 bridged=900w into 8Ω "bass amp" for probably less than $500. i can't think of a single bass amp that will do that kind of power at 8Ω that's not a big expensive 3-rack space beast.
runmikeyrun said:
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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there's enough PA to mic up the whole drum kit and they still won't run your bass in? if this PA has subs, your bass should be in them! i think you're getting screwed here :mad:

your rig needs to be as loud onstage as the drums, but why would it need to be any louder?
 
#23
Ummm... A Hartke Model 7000 doesn't have enough power??? I had one and people who stood in front of my 2x15" cab would be struck immobile by having their body vibrated so violently. And I think I was only using one of the outputs at the time!

You, sir, are an animal!

Maybe rewire your cab to have like 2@ 2x12's 8 Ohms each - one for each power amp on the 7000?
 
#24
dukeisdog said:
I'd suggest looking into the Peavey Tour series. I own a Tour 700, and it's got lots of power, graphic EQ and the DDT. Might be worth looking into. I'm trying to sell mine locally, but only because I upgraded to a Mesa amp. The Peavey was great and did everything I wanted and needed.
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+1

The tour series amps are great. I had a tour 450 for a while; it was loud, cheap, and sounded wonderful.
 
#26
t77mackie said:
Ummm... A Hartke Model 7000 doesn't have enough power??? I had one and people who stood in front of my 2x15" cab would be struck immobile by having their body vibrated so violently. And I think I was only using one of the outputs at the time!

You, sir, are an animal!

Maybe rewire your cab to have like 2@ 2x12's 8 Ohms each - one for each power amp on the 7000?
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I wish they had a 7000... it was a 4000. I could rewire it at 2 ohms, but then when I use both cabs with my tube head it would screw everything up. Maybe I can figure out a way to select different impedances with a switch. Hmmmm....
 
#28
runmikeyrun said:
It doesn't need to be louder, it just needs to keep up, which I did with about 500w. Trust me, it sounds ridiculous, but it's not. I recorded the audio with a high quality setup about 30 ft from the stage and it was perfectly balanced.
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"Keep up" with the kit on stage or keep up with the kit through a PA with subs and all? One makes perfect sense, the other leads to skull-crushing stage volume.

(not to say that lots of power is unwarranted; I'm running 750w into 2 15s, and hitting it fairly hard.)
 
#31
BAbaracus said:
None at all. They are very well built and sturdy. It is peavey after all. :bassist: But seriously, I never had any problems with mine. It was a powerful, clean sounding amp.
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Thanks BA. That's good to know.

OP, you should be able to rewire your gear any which way you want. 2 ohm - 16 ohm. I wouldn't drive a Hartke at 2 ohms. Not sure it's rated for that.

I understand the massive power thing. It's all in the EQ so as to not crystallize people's ear drums yet do vibrate their innards. Good times...
 
#32
Brad Johnson said:
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:
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I was all set to spend $550 from RMC on a GK MB800 but I decided to take a chance on a Kustom KXB500 used. I figured I had 30 days to return it so what the heck. Man I'm glad I did that. It's Powerful, transparent, small, light, and a great price at $200 used. Thanks for the heads up Brad.
 
#33
Got a chance to A/B this today w/ GK MB800 identical cabs in real time. I was really surprised about how well it held up against it.

The only difference in sound was a little head room and some high end that I would never use. I love me some sizzle but the GK can get real stupid crazy and my Kustom just a little crazy. Room to spare for a good slap tone, I would never dial that much in anyway. Kustom KXB500 is a steal, highly recommended and is the best value in the micro amp market period.
 
#34
dukeisdog said:
I think you'll be very happy! I drove mine through an 8 Ohm Avatar Neo 212 for most of its life and the two we're a great match for each other.
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+1

When I run a Max 700 thru a single 8 ohm Avatar B212 it is uber loud and punchy. Running it thru the 4 ohm B212 (I have one of each) it's really not that big of a difference. Maybe a touch less 'knob' on the master volume required at 4 ohms. The Tour 700 will likely be similar. They are bulletproof, inexpensive, and running the pre gain at 3:00 there are some pretty decent rock and new country tones hiding there.
 

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