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New AMP?/Need Suggestions!!

Discussion in 'Amps and Cabs [BG]' started by WarwickFRK, Oct 14, 2001.

  1. Oct 14, 2001 #1
    WarwickFRK

    WarwickFRK Guest

    Oct 14, 2001
    Well I need some opinions guys! I own a Warwick Thumb 5 Bolt on.

    I need your help. I am looking at buying a SWR basic 350 head. I will be playing small bars/clubs. I play in a fusion band. Sometimes the guitarist is acoustic so its even softer. Is this amp ok???? Enough volume? And quality wise how is it? A lot of the salesmen are trying to sell me the Basic 750 but it just seems so outrageous because I do not play in a "death" metal band or any place that is the size of a civic center! Are there any differences between the 350 and 750 besides volume?

    Also I currently own an Ampeg "Classic" 4x10. I am wondering if I should buy an SWR JR Goliath (2x10) OR a SWR Son of Bertha (1x15). OR should I just stick with the Ampeg (It doesn't seem to give a lot of volume sometimes...) What would you use?

    Well any kind of comments will be greatly appreciated! I will be buying a head in the next few days and then maybe a SWR cab. THANKS IN ADVANCE ;)
     
  2. Oct 14, 2001 #2
    Mudbass

    Mudbass Guest

    Jul 25, 2001
    The Republik of Kalifornia
    The 350 will be fine for your purposes. I'm a big GK fan but SWR makes some fine amps and I think you'll be pleased with it. Since you're playing a five string, I suggest you add a 15" cab that gets down nice and low to compliment your 4x10 cab.

    The best news about the SWR 350 is that it's good clear down to a 2 ohm load, infact it puts out 450 watts into a 2 ohm load so adding another cab should be awsome.
     
  3. Oct 14, 2001 #3
    WarwickFRK

    WarwickFRK Guest

    Oct 14, 2001
    Actually the sales man suggested for me to order another AMPEG SVT-15 (1x15) "classic" cab to compliment my AMPEG SVT-410HEN (4x10) cab. He was also tryin to sell me an AMPEG head but I refused and wanted to go for the SWR 350. He didn't seem to like that idea. I don't know what the big deal is about matching EVERYTHING. I happen to dig the AMPEG "classic" cabs...

    I do not know much about ohms, RMS's, etc... but if I do get the SWR 350, will its full potential be brought out by me using the AMPEG 4x10 (which has a RMS 500w and a pwr handling of 1000/8ohms)? I would hope so...

    Also if I do decide to get the AMPEG 1x15, how would all of this madness come together. How much power will I have using a single 4x10 vs. adding another 1x15 (according to the ampeg page the RMS is 200w and pwr handling is 400w/8ohms)???? Please educate me on this power stuff! thanks! :confused:
     
  4. Oct 15, 2001 #4
    Mudbass

    Mudbass Guest

    Jul 25, 2001
    The Republik of Kalifornia
    Okay here we go. Your 4x10 cab is rated at 8 ohms. The wisest thing to do if you're going to add a 15 cab is to make sure it's also rated at 8 ohms. This puts a total load on the SWR 350 at 4 ohms and an output of 350 watts RMS. By keeping both cabs at 8 ohms, the 350 watt output will be divided equally between them at 175 watts per cab. You could add a 4 ohm 15" cab and drop the impedence down to 2 point something and the SWR head would put out more power....but! The 4 ohm cab would be a lot louder because it would be getting the lion's share of the power (electricity takes the path of least resistance).

    The optimum arrangement for a SWR 350 is a 2 ohm load, but since you have an 8 ohm cab in the equation, 2 ohms isn't possible. So, the best you can do with the gear you have is balancing two 8 ohm cabs for a total load of 4 ohms and an output of 350 watts RMS. Which ain't bad. 350 watts is not only loud...it's fu**ing loud and when you consider you'll have the output spread out over two separate speaker systems...you will not fail to impress people, I promise.
     
  5. Oct 15, 2001 #5
    boogiebass

    boogiebass

    Aug 16, 2000
    The 350 is a very good amp but the Bass 750 will give you considerably more headroom. It's not just about volume capacity, it's about being able to have enough reserve power to handle those transient peaks. The Bass 750 is also extremely versatile in terms of controls, EQ, etc. I've owned one for about 6 months and am very impressed with it. If you end up with a big outside gig where you need to get your sound out there on a large stage, the 750 is completely capable while the 350 may not have enough. All things to consider, I'd say. In general, I think you cannot have too much power. Of course, you need to keep it in perspective and within reason: you won't need an SVT for acoustic jazz gigs, for instance! Good luck with whatever you decide.
     
  6. Oct 15, 2001 #6
    WarwickFRK

    WarwickFRK Guest

    Oct 14, 2001
    Well I bought the 350. The 750 of course would be nice but man, no $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ not rich like the rest of you cats! haha. I am very happy with what this thing can do, but you are right, more power is always better. Oh well, hopfully I won't run into that situation with my project. We got an acoustic guitarist, drummer, and myself. Sometimes he'll break out the Les Paul and do some electric work but for now, we're like an acoustic style fusion/jazz band.

    Now for a new question.

    I also got a SWR GoliathIII 4x10 with the head as a package deal. At the store I tried out the cab. And D A M N :p does this cab rock! I couldn't believe the tone out of this cab. Soooooo, my question is this, Should I run both the SWR and the AMPEG together to maybe get some more volume out? They are both 8ohms yet the SWR can handle 700w (which i do not have) and the AMPEG can handle 500w. The salesman is agaist running the ampeg with the SWR cab. he says just buy another SWR in the future instead. He doesn't think the two will be compatible. Well what u think???? :eek:
     
  7. Oct 15, 2001 #7
    boogiebass

    boogiebass

    Aug 16, 2000
    No prob running both cabs if you want the full pop outa the 350, dude. The salesman is either a liar or an idiot, possibly both.
     
  8. Oct 15, 2001 #8
    martininpv

    martininpv Guest

    Oct 1, 2001
    Pflugerville, TX
    Try it and see how it sounds. There is not problem running the 2 cabinets together. It really is a matter of what you like (and how much you're willing to carry). If you get the sound you want from the single 4X10 then that's good. If connecting the other 4X10 sounds even better, then that's good. I wouldn't worry about one being Ampeg and the other being SWR.

    It all depends on what your goal is. Your original post made it sound like volume was not much of an issue. I wouldn't carry around more equipment than I needed to get the job done. Some people like to have large, showy bass stacks. That's a personal preference, also. Hooking both cabs up will give you more volume.
     
  9. Oct 15, 2001 #9
    WarwickFRK

    WarwickFRK Guest

    Oct 14, 2001
    Well volume is not really an issue (yet, until I start playing with this nu-metal band that just recently hired me) but I'd like to have enough volume to compete with the "metal" head bands that I session with. I could not afford the 750, let alone the Mo'Bass head. So the salesman (Which is probably just being a salesman, lying to me and trying to get me to buy as much as possible for his commision) gave me a package deal. The 350 with the goliath 4x10 for $1,200. I traded a TON of stuff in I mean tons and the rest went on that EVIL credit card :rolleyes: I got it back home yesterday and played on it all day. It is incredible sounding.

    Today I went shopping for a 1x15. Luck would be on my side :D as I found a used SWR Son of Bertha 1x15 at a small music shop. $200. I swear I thought these things go for $600 brand new! I had to have it but I have no more money :( so I traded in my AMPEG 4x10 for it. Even trade. I rushed home with this thing and made sure that it worked. Yes, it does. I think I got a damn steal!!!! I must have. The only thing I can tell that is wrong is that the grill is all scratched up and there is a tear in the carpet on the back. I turned it almost full volume and no distortion, speakers are fine.

    Yet another question. How shall I hook up this rig? (Remember I'm new to the stacks, I use to use a Combo before all this) Shall I put two speaker cables from the amp into each cab? Or shall i daisy chain the cabs? What's the difference?

    OH, and what the heck is that LOUD pop :mad: that can't be good for the speakers or the amp!!!!!!!

    Thanks in advance guys, your comments are greatly appreciated!
     
  10. Oct 16, 2001 #10
    martininpv

    martininpv Guest

    Oct 1, 2001
    Pflugerville, TX
    Technically speaking, it is best to run 2 cables of identical length from the 2 speaker jacks on the amp to each speaker cabinet individually.

    Practically speaking, unless the cables you use are very long (100 ft), it makes no difference. The speaker outs on the amp are parallel so the impedence will be the same either way.

    Make sure to use speaker cables, not shielded instrument cables. The shorter, the better. A couple of 6 to 10 ft 16 ga. speaker cables would be ideal.

    BTW, it sounds like a great setup. I hope the "POP" wasn't anything serious.