I drew a thing-- would anybody buy it?

[calypsocoral302]

I'm sure lots of people thought it was a cool idea, they just didn't want to pay the extra it costs to build over the conventional alternatives with the limitation that your preamps can only be used in the chassis.
This is the same problem as your idea will face. It will cost just as much as a conventional bass amp but do less.
Virtually all the class D heads can already be used as a power amp if desired but they also include a preamp if you don't want to take an external one.

Yeah, dude-- you stated that before, and I acknowledged it.

 

[definenredefine]

This is way above my pay grade, but it's neat to see this level of thought. So I thank you for that.

 

[two fingers]

I would post this same question in the effects forum. If anyone will give you helpful feedback for an amp designed to use with a preamp, those guys will.

 

[Turnaround]

What is that power amp you're using? That's the only part of your setup that this unit would hypothetically replace...

Demeter Minnie 800. Has on/off switch and a volume control. That's all.

 

[Killing Floor]

There's no best amp or rig. Why don't you mock a prototype and prove concept. Then beta half dozen units and get some players or YouTubers to try it out. I know that's not free but neither is any production endeavor. Good luck.

 

[calypsocoral302]

Demeter Minnie 800. Has on/off switch and a volume control. That's all.

Right-- this would effectively be a two-channel version of that. Don't let the number of knobs & connectors distract you, the idea behind this concept was to fulfill a similar role, just with a little added flexibility. That's really all there is to it!

 

[S-Bigbottom]

I'm sure lots of people thought it was a cool idea, they just didn't want to pay the extra it costs to build over the conventional alternatives with the limitation that your preamps can only be used in the chassis.
This is the same problem as your idea will face. It will cost just as much as a conventional bass amp but do less.
Virtually all the class D heads can already be used as a power amp if desired but they also include a preamp if you don't want to take an external one.

Mr. Agedhorse had a good post when this topic came up a few weeks ago.

Its less expensive to build and sell a single product with full functionality that can be bypassed than a neutered product IME.

You can read his whole post on this topic here. Is there much difference in the Power section of the popular Class D Amps-Post #43

What the heck... Here it is.

Because that requires a new model name/number, sheet metal, internal mounting hardware, BOM, safety and EMC certification, regulatory technical file, and then there's the building, inventorying, minimum order and production requirements, etc.

For the few that want this kind of product, it's going to be limited to small builders who do not have the overhead and generally do not have safety and EMC regulatory compliance.

Ots less expensive to build and sell a single product with full functionality that can be bypassed than a neutered product IME.

 

[calypsocoral302]

There's no best amp or rig. Why don't you mock a prototype and prove concept. Then beta half dozen units and get some players or YouTubers to try it out. I know that's not free but neither is any production endeavor. Good luck.

I get what you're saying-- the intent behind this thread was to gauge demand, and it looks like it just ain't there.

BUT-- like cars & houses, bass gear is seldom ever a truly rational purchase, but an emotional one. Much of it starts with some unique intangible "gotta-have-it" factor, or an overwhelming feeling of "I want that!" after first seeing & hearing the product after it has been brought to market. As often as not, the "rational" part only enters the equation in order to JUSTIFY the emotionally-driven purchase. This goes doubly-so if a musician you like & respect praises it!

Thus is the danger inherent to the design-by-focus-group approach to product design & development-- people in the focus group give the answers they think they're *supposed* to give, but act completely differently when it's time to actually purchase!

At a bare minimum, I think I'll at least attempt to design the prototype, but as to anything beyond that-- well, this thread has definitely been educational for me, as there were quite a few usage scenarios I didn't think of when mulling-over this concept, some products already on the market that I wasn't aware of that compete with it, and capabilities of existing mainstream products I either didn't consider, or didn't realize, that overlap with this concept.

In the end, I got what I wanted out of the responses!

 

[agedhorse]

I get what you're saying-- the intent behind this thread was to gauge demand, and it looks like it just ain't there.

BUT-- like cars & houses, bass gear is seldom ever a truly rational purchase, but an emotional one. Much of it starts with some unique intangible "gotta-have-it" factor, or an overwhelming feeling of "I want that!" after first seeing & hearing the product after it has been brought to market. As often as not, the "rational" part only enters the equation in order to JUSTIFY the emotionally-driven purchase. This goes doubly-so if a musician you like & respect praises it!

Thus is the danger inherent to the design-by-focus-group approach to product design & development-- people in the focus group give the answers they think they're *supposed* to give, but act completely differently when it's time to actually purchase!

At a bare minimum, I think I'll at least attempt to design the prototype, but as to anything beyond that-- well, this thread has definitely been educational for me, as there were quite a few usage scenarios I didn't think of when mulling-over this concept, some products already on the market that I wasn't aware of that compete with it, and capabilities of existing mainstream products I either didn't consider, or didn't realize, that overlap with this concept.

In the end, I got what I wanted out of the responses!

I go through this process 10-12 times a year. Learning what not to do can be more useful than what to do.

 

[calypsocoral302]

I go through this process 10-12 times a year. Learning what not to do can be more useful than what to do.

Thanks for that!

I'll admit I was a bit bummed by the response at first, as it took me a good 7 hours to draw that all up in CAD, since I drew every component from scratch! I'm sure someone has a CAD block of industry-standard audio parts out there somewhere, but I didn't know where to look, and I was really itching to finally get something down on paper. But I learned quite a bit in the process, so not a wasted effort, when all is said & done.

As a last-ditch effort, I think I'm going to take up @two fingers suggestion of posting this idea in the Effects forum, as that definitely looks, from my limited experience, to be a different demographical makeup and pedal enthusiasts are absolutely the target audience for this concept. I just messaged the mods to clear it with them before doing so, as I don't want to look like a spammer.

I have a sneaking suspicion the reception there will likely be similar, when all is said & done, but I'd like to see for myself. Nothing ventured...

 

[agedhorse]

Absolutely not wasted time, provided you learned something.

 

[el murdoque]

I would just back off the Level on the pedal, or roll back the volume on an active bass.

Rolling back on the bass does not seem like a feasible idea.