Hybrid amps - general info?

[Spoek]

Hey guys,

Anyone got any general tips about hybrid amps - good/bad brand combinations etc?

Now my band is gigging more regularly I am thinking about buying an extra speaker cabinet for my Ashdown 100w combo in order to 'widen' the sound. I'm (unfortunately!) not really gonna need the extra volume yet but as I play in a fairly heavy three peice I'm hoping it will help fill out our sound.

Also, I'm interested in possible tonal variations. My Ashdown gets a nice deep, warm sound but I remember playing a Crate amp a little while ago that had a really cool growly bite to it. It would be nice to combine the two/have the option or whatever.

As you may have gathered I don't really know a lot about hybrid amps so any feedback would be welcome!

Cheers muchly.

 

[RickenBoogie]

Mesa makes what I consider to be the best hybrid bass amps. From the Walkabout, (300 watts), to the V12 Titan, (1200 watts). If that's what you mean, I'm not sure.

 

[Spoek]

Thanks for your reply mate,
I thought hybrid amps were amps made from a combination of products with different brands e.g. an ampeg head running an ashdown cabinet, or a trace elliot combo with an extra ampeg cab.
Are you referring to what I know as combo amps i.e an all in one unit that combines a head and a cabinet?
Maybe I'm wrong-it happens a lot

 

[boucassier]

My understanding of hybrid amps, is basically a tube pre-amp stage and a solid state power amp stage (and possibly vice versa), and doesn't have anything to do with the speaker cabinet.

Unfortunately I don't have any experience with your gear, so I can't really suggest anything helpful, sorry!

 

[bongomania]

Yeah, usually when people say "hybrid amp" they mean tube preamp with solid state power amp. But of course the word hybrid just means something that combines identifying qualities from two different systems or organisms. So it's easy to understand the confusion.

So that said, were you asking which brands of speaker combine well with other brands of amp, or which different brands of speaker work well side-by-side? That's a broad question, IMO too broad to answer. Anything can work well together if you know what you're doing with the power and impedance, and if you like the sound.

Are you just asking which extension speaker will sound good with your Ashdown 100W combo? Why not just ask that plainly? Maybe start a new thread titled "please suggest an extension cab for my Ashdown model XYZ combo amp." Be sure to specify your budget, as well as the impedance rating suggested by Ashdown for the extension cab, or the impedance rating of the speaker built into the combo.

 

[Marill]

Hartke 3500a?

It has 2 pre-amps in there - tube and solid state and you can mix the 2, and a solid state power amp.