Boosting a slave amp?

[BassDaddySky]

Setting up a wall of DOOM

The miniMega 1000 is driving the 2 4x10 headliners @ 4ohms.
TRS out to the CS800x stereo in.
Left channel drives the 2 4x10 TV and TVX @4ohms.
Right chanel drives the headliner 12 @ 8ohms.
Not getting the full wattage from the slaved CVX, it is good down to 2ohms.
MiniMega eq is set flat with a 32 band EQ in the FX loop.
Only way I can get the volume balanced between the two 8x10 stacks is to put a boost pedal in the TRS line out to the slave.
Left channel at full for the second 8x10 stack, right 3/4 for the 12".
No clip lights.
Boost pedal gain at about 1/4 seems to do the trick.
My question is, will this do damage? Or is there a better way to accomplish volume balance here?

 

[BassDaddySky]

The boost pedal is an EHX LPB-1 Nano BTW.
"Linear Power Booster"

 

[Kaa]

You play smoove jazz, I see.

 

[Redbrangus]

What happens if you use a standard (Tip-sleeve) cable instead of a TRS?

 

[NKBassman]

Setting up a wall of DOOM
...
Only way I can get the volume balanced between the two 8x10 stacks is to put a boost pedal in the TRS line out to the slave.

I suppose turning down the volume on the first rig to match volume to the slave rig is not an option? lol

I don't know anything about any of those amps, but you might want to confirm if the CVX is good to 2 ohms when used in stereo... might be 2 ohms only for bridged mono? I dunno just thinking out loud.

You could try putting the graphic EQ after the line out on the Minimega and using that to boost the level into the line input on the CVX (instead of using the worlds cheapest and most simple boost pedal that almost certainly was never intended to operate at line level and doesn't sound great on bass to begin with). This would be better suited for the signal path, and as a bonus it would also give you independent tone control for both rigs.

Would also love to hear your thoughts about those Lace Alumatone PJ pickups.

 

[BassDaddySky]

NkBassman said
"I suppose turning down the volume on the first rig to match volume to the slave rig is not an option? lol "

LOL! Definitely not an option

Redbrangus said
"What happens if you use a standard (Tip-sleeve) cable instead of a TRS?"

I tried both Di outs the 1/4 jaand with a mono cable and the XLR to TRS into the High Z input as I dont have the cable on hand for the Low Z in. Maybe the High Z in is padded?

NKBassman said
"but you might want to confirm if the CVX is good to 2 ohms when used in stereo"

I'll attach some pics of the jacks available and how they are labled
That's out on the MM

This is channel A

And This is channel B

 

[BassDaddySky]

The Channel B pic didn't load

 

[Mike Caldwell]

The Peavey CS800 needs about 1.5 volts input to hit full power, if your coming out the DI out on the head I doubt it's close that.
Make sure the pad on the DI out is off. The specs for the Mega1000 did not list what the average output of the DI is. Try the TRS out on the head to the XLR input on the amp, try the XLR on the head to the XLR input on the amp.
Try using the XLR output of the ART EQ to feed the CS800 power amp, the EQ 1/4 inch output can still be used for the amp head FX loop input. The EQ could be used as a gain stage.
Not sure if you compensate for the extra gain from the EQ on the return to the amp head though.

 

[SpyderX]

Many here are going to disagree..... thats cool as **** brother. Keep the old skool alive. Add the amps in the background Down vote me all y'all want. Love it

 

[BassDaddySky]

Thanks Mike, thats good info too. Gotta dig up some more cables.

Thanks Spyder, i should just daisy chain 'em all!

And NKB, the Alumatones are clean, clear, but not as hot as advertised. After double checking for phase issues and such, I ended up adding an on-board boost module.
I'm comparing output to several other basses. All through the same rig(s). One Bass with passive EMGs, another with a passive horseshoe. And two with onboard EQs.
They do sound awesome, but tech help was minimal. I had specific questions, and they just kept referring me to the already available wiring diagrams and jumbo jumbo ad copy.
Pretty happy with the outcome, but I wouldn't buy them again.

 

[Redbrangus]

@Mike Caldwell is right -- it's likely the DI out on your head just doesn't have enough level to drive the power amp to full output. You need some sort of gain stage in the signal path; there's no reason not to use that boost pedal as you've done -- it won't hurt anything.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

Good lawd

 

[Tim Skaggs]

My question is, will this do damage?

Yes, to your hearing, and probably permanent damage in less than 5 minutes. You could likely get over 120 db with what you have set up. It’s fun to have this much headroom and ability to move that much air. It’s no fun to be able to still hear the effect of it 30 years from now…

 

[Ostie]

My cats would claw their way through the wall if I lit that thing up.

 

[DaveParker39]

I have no idea but I bet this rig is fun. Reminds me of Ian Hill's SWR rig.

 

[DigitalMan]

The boost pedal is a good idea because there is no such thing as a one-channel line mixer.

 

[gtirard]

Yes, to your hearing, and probably permanent damage in less than 5 minutes. You could likely get over 120 db with what you have set up. It’s fun to have this much headroom and ability to move that much air. It’s no fun to be able to still hear the effect of it 30 years from now…View attachment 7469718

Agree.

When I was young, I used to play much too loud with my band. At the time, I had "just" a Mesa 400+ and its companion cab (15+10+6). The sound engineers in our rehearsal studio were in panic. They warned us to play at lower volume. We didn't care, it was so fun. Now I have tinnitus, it's not so fun. And there's no undo. And I'm lucky it's not a severe ear loss, it could have been worse. Think about the high-pitched note you hear after a loud gig during a couple of hours. Imagine you keep that noise for the rest of your life. And/or ear loss. No undo. Wear ear protection.

 

[JamesGrant]

Damage to your plasterwork - probably. Damage to your hearing - maybe, take care.
Is it awesome? Yep - that looks awesome!

 

[Kaa]

Good loud

FTFY

 

[NKBassman]

You could try putting the graphic EQ after the line out on the Minimega and using that to boost the level into the line input on the CVX (instead of using the worlds cheapest and most simple boost pedal that almost certainly was never intended to operate at line level and doesn't sound great on bass to begin with). This would be better suited for the signal path, and as a bonus it would also give you independent tone control for both rigs.

Try going (Minimega FX Send) > (Graphic EQ) > (CVX Stereo Input).
Does the Minimega still work if you don't plug anything back into the FX Return? Or does it interrupt the signal? I skimmed the webpage but it doesn't specify if it's series or parallel FX loop.