Dedicated Bass Power Amp vs. QSC, Crown, etc?

I have personally found that you can get a lot more amp for the money going with a commercial power amp like QSC, Crest, Peavey, Crown etc. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with Bass Amplifier brand power amps, I just think you can do better for the money.

 

I believe (not going from personal experience, just how power amps are) that power amps should do just that, amplify it and do nothing else with the sound (maybe a volume knob is all) The QSC, Crown etc power amps you mentioned should be fine and they're all made to take live situations.

As Greybeard said, you can be but better wattage for your dollar with a QSC/Crown power amp over a 'dedicated' bass one.

 

You just have to look at the weight, size, price, and wattage of each and balance them against your needs. Then buy a QSC, Crest, or Carvin.

 

As others have stated, pay close attention to the weight. QSC's RMX series is inexpensive with great tone, but they're quite heavy. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably do one of their PLX2 series.

 

No.

 

I have one of those old Carver power amps running my Ampeg SVT-IIP,


WOW.
Its running some odd 700 watts i do believe at bridged mono,
and its loud enough. I never saw the point in a "bass" power amp. Go check out your local used music gear store, if you want a power amp thats, lets say, $400 brand new, imagine what goodies you can buy with the money you save.

One downside, in some of the "bass power amps" you see more extra connectors, but hey, you can buy all those adapters.

 

The only caveat is.....when they do clip it's suddenly and ugly. Not at all musical. When they clip is up to you since audio amps have high headroom.

 

as far as recommendations........I had a QSC 1151 that I ran without a single hiccup from 1980 to 2005. I finally retired it for a QSC RMX850 and still got a few $$ for the 1151 on ebay. Those things are indestructible.

 

+1

You'll thank yourself if you go for the lighter power amps. Saving that 15 or so pounds (sometimes more) in your rack will save your back and your disposition. I've had great experience with my QSC - a PLX 2402 - one of the original series. The PLX2's are nice, but I've never found anything wrong (or, if memory serves) heard anyone complain about the now-discontinued PLX's. The reason I mention it is that you can get a lot of power amp and save money by going used with an old series PLX.

 

+1

this is a big deal to some of us.

preamp overdrive sounds very different from power amp clipping, even with solid-state amps. how the amp deals with being pushed is going to govern its tone in that situation. for example, a MOSFET amp. i guess if you like squeeky-clean and have plkenty of power (so as to never push the amp) there wont be much difference in that regard. however, some (maybe many) bass amplifiers are also voiced in a particular way. a "pro" amp should have no "voicing"--- it should be as clean and uncolored as possible. unfortunately for the bassist, that "color" can be a big factor in his/her tone. in addition, the "bass" amp might "feel" different--- the little bit of squishiness one can get with a little soft clipping can go a long way. that aint happening with a pro amp, sansamp or not.

i am spoiled to a little growl and natural compression in my tone. again, YMMV.