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Old school Power amplifier for bass

#41
epoxyjazzbass said:
I would like to know what power amps can match some of my criterias :

- No Fan, passive radiator
- Class AB (if possible)
- accurate, neutral, musical.
- power about 600 to 1000w bridged mono (in 4ohms or 8 ohms not sure, didn' t have the cab yet).
- not too heavy... 32lbs/15kg max, the lighter the better

I don' t even know if such an animal exists... No problem if it's not in production.
Thanks for your advices.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, class A/B generates a lot of heat and I can't think of anything in your power range that won't have a fan, or weigh a lot. I have a Stewart Wold 2.1 that is fabulous for bass, but it's class H with a SMPS and still has a fan. My initial impression is that if you typically play so quiet that the fan will be an issue, you probably don't need that much power and might be better off looking for a different topology and class D may be the only thing that meets the no fan, or small fan requirement.

Have you ever checked out the Markbass LMII or LMIII amps? Class A/B with a SMPS, which I think does a pretty good job bridging the gap between lightweight and class A/B response. Less power than you are asking for, but probably more than enough to cover your gigs and I remember the fan in mine being fairly quiet.
 
#42
we will have to agree to disagree. .
Of course an amp doesn't care .. It is an inanimate object.. How could it care?

All amps have a sound to them. Put duplicate signals thru a Crown and a BGW.. if you cant tell the difference , then what can i say.??.
The best of the best Mastering engineers will tell you that they all sound different from each other. Its only wishful thinking that they sound and (FEEL) the same... The key is FEEL.... But don't pay attention to masters in their field.. I've debated with Eric johnson on his ability to tel l the difference in 9V batteries.. .. So far he is correct..

By your assumption all consoles should sound the same then . Since what they do is increase Gain by amplification. Be it a NEVE, API , SSL or mackie increase gain( amplify) signals. Its all FLAT.. right?
None of them sound the same! Even to the lay person... Not sure how many hours you have logged behind the big consoles. But maybe try it...
SSL and NEVE at are different sonic perspectives. The same goes for power amps if you, electrical engineers etc wish to understand or not..

To go to another extreme for normal people to experience amp difference... try plugging your FAVE bass preamp into a power section of a Hiwat 30 then do the same to a AC30..Both are modded for FX send receive.. . They are both 30 watts... .And they both sound very different from one another .That was a test we did back in the 90s for a record i was working on in vancouver...
Same for different amps, from different companies, with different components and different topologies.
I can argue all day . but there is no sense. since you already have your mind made up.. I just move on and allow the disinfo.



seamonkey said:
You're talking using a power amp for bass. The amp does not care where the signal it gets comes from. An amps job is to amplify.

On the EQ, or pre-amp - I'll say just the opposite. All the "tone" comes from from the signal processing, the EQ, compression, distortion. And neither one of those devices you mention are flat, and shouldn't be, they're all about coloring the tone.
Click to expand...
 
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#43
svtb15 said:
we will have to agree to disagree.
...
I just move on and allow the disinfo
Click to expand...

I don't. There's nothing in your anecdote I agree with. There's nothing there. It's imaginary.
Implying players should be looking for tone in a the class of a power amp is spreading disinformation.
No mastering engineer in the world is going to care about the class of an amp.
 
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#44
You don't get out much :).. Not sure how many Mastering Sessions that you have sat in on by majors.. Its a learning experience. .. Being a fly on the wall is great in those situations
Sad thing.. Use Google.. it is your friend.

seamonkey said:
I don't. There's nothing in your anecdote I agree with. There's nothing there. It's imaginary.
Implying players should be looking for tone in a the class of a power amp is spreading disinformation.
No mastering engineer in the world is going to care about the class of an amp.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
#45
svtb15 said:
You don't get out much :).. Not sure how many Mastering Sessions that you have sat in on by majors.. Its a learning experience. .. Being a fly on the wall is great in those situations
Sad thing.. Use Google.. it is your friend.
Click to expand...

Hark at you svt .... I'm sure the title of this thread is 'amplifier for bass' not 'power amplification for mastering' or 'how flats my desk'

Back on Topic..... OP , Give up class prejudice and get yourself a Crown XLS1500.
 
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#46
svtb15 said:
we will have to agree to disagree. .
Of course an amp doesn't care .. It is an inanimate object.. How could it care?

All amps have a sound to them. Put duplicate signals thru a Crown and a BGW.. if you cant tell the difference , then what can i say.??.
The best of the best Mastering engineers will tell you that they all sound different from each other. Its only wishful thinking that they sound and (FEEL) the same... The key is FEEL.... But don't pay attention to masters in their field.. I've debated with Eric johnson on his ability to tel l the difference in 9V batteries.. .. So far he is correct..

By your assumption all consoles should sound the same then . Since what they do is increase Gain by amplification. Be it a NEVE, API , SSL or mackie increase gain( amplify) signals. Its all FLAT.. right?
None of them sound the same! Even to the lay person... Not sure how many hours you have logged behind the big consoles. But maybe try it...
SSL and NEVE at are different sonic perspectives. The same goes for power amps if you, electrical engineers etc wish to understand or not..

To go to another extreme for normal people to experience amp difference... try plugging your FAVE bass preamp into a power section of a Hiwat 30 then do the same to a AC30..Both are modded for FX send receive.. . They are both 30 watts... .And they both sound very different from one another .That was a test we did back in the 90s for a record i was working on in vancouver...
Same for different amps, from different companies, with different components and different topologies.
I can argue all day . but there is no sense. since you already have your mind made up.. I just move on and allow the disinfo.
Click to expand...

spot on kirk. completely agree.

the stewart mentioned above is really the only option i can think of. Class AB and no fan, but it doesn't have the watts you want.

best of luck, i enjoy AB amps as well :)
 
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#47
epoxyjazzbass said:
I would like to know what power amps can match some of my criterias :

- No Fan, passive radiator
- Class AB (if possible)
- accurate, neutral, musical.
- power about 600 to 1000w bridged mono (in 4ohms or 8 ohms not sure, didn' t have the cab yet).
- not too heavy... 32lbs/15kg max, the lighter the better

I don' t even know if such an animal exists... No problem if it's not in production.
Thanks for your advices.
Click to expand...


I don't have the energy to read this whole thread. In the event this was not mentioned, the Stewart PR and PA 1000 meets your requests. These are great, studio quality, amps. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#48
svtb15 said:
we will have to agree to disagree. .
Of course an amp doesn't care .. It is an inanimate object.. How could it care?

All amps have a sound to them. Put duplicate signals thru a Crown and a BGW.. if you cant tell the difference , then what can i say.??.
The best of the best Mastering engineers will tell you that they all sound different from each other. Its only wishful thinking that they sound and (FEEL) the same... The key is FEEL.... But don't pay attention to masters in their field.. I've debated with Eric johnson on his ability to tel l the difference in 9V batteries.. .. So far he is correct..

By your assumption all consoles should sound the same then . Since what they do is increase Gain by amplification. Be it a NEVE, API , SSL or mackie increase gain( amplify) signals. Its all FLAT.. right?
None of them sound the same! Even to the lay person... Not sure how many hours you have logged behind the big consoles. But maybe try it...
SSL and NEVE at are different sonic perspectives. The same goes for power amps if you, electrical engineers etc wish to understand or not..

To go to another extreme for normal people to experience amp difference... try plugging your FAVE bass preamp into a power section of a Hiwat 30 then do the same to a AC30..Both are modded for FX send receive.. . They are both 30 watts... .And they both sound very different from one another .That was a test we did back in the 90s for a record i was working on in vancouver...
Same for different amps, from different companies, with different components and different topologies.
I can argue all day . but there is no sense. since you already have your mind made up.. I just move on and allow the disinfo.
Click to expand...

While I agree with you as a principle, each slight difference in design will have an effect on the eventual sound, there is a lot less difference between the outputs of average consumer level solid state power amps than there is between hiwatt and vox valve amps.

For my personal purposes of amplifying bass, I can't tell a significant difference between my washburn, yamaha and ZPE power amps and use them interchangeably.
 
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#49
mick46 said:
Hark at you Mr Big Shot .... I'm sure the title of this thread is 'amplifier for bass' not 'power amplification for mastering' or 'how flats my desk'

Back on Topic..... OP , Give up class prejudice and get yourself a Crown XLS1500.
Click to expand...

Mr One-Post-Only (I feel for you bro - best of intentions...) says he can hear the difference and he has some friends who can also. You say he can't. Even if he can, we don't know if the OP can, or thinks he can. I know I sure as hell can't. But even if the OP could hear a difference, we don't know if he cares or if he cares which one he would prefer.

Note how many "ifs" and "don't knows" are in the preceding paragraph.

So...where are we going with this?

How many of us relate to this: A/B testing two whatevers (amps, pre's, speakers, doesn't matter) using an A/B footswitch, eyes closed, play a bit, hit the switch, "Yeah! Wow! that one totally has more presence/thump/clarity/whatever!". Open eyes, look down - misclicked the switch, still listening to the same one. Conclusions? a) my ears aren't driving my brain, my brain is driving my ears; b) I should never be allowed to master anything; c) as has been said many times, using specs as a substitute for listening only gets you so far, but d) sometimes even listening doesn't get you much further. :)
 
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#50
Arguably it doesn't get much better than a Glock (got one here) So just rock that!

Other suggestions: remove your fan from the amp put it the next room and pipe the air in remotely.

OR

How about a remote based (the next room also) thinking literally outside the box, they make cooling systems for computers that are freon cooling. Like a radiator and a pump to cycle cold freon through tubes around the components to cool them. Viola! Problem solved........

Or maybe liquid nitrogen..........or

Or just rock the Glock!
 
Last edited:
#53
If you ever check out a CA9 you will know right away why they are the best power amp ever made for bass guitar. Crest on the CA9 according to people in the know say that Crest did something a little different in the design of the feedback loop if memory serve's me correct to enhance bass response, anyhow whatever it was it worked.
 
#55
Here's your amp..... Here's your cooling systems!
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#59
Kirk Bryant said:
I know Charlie, boy did I kick myself for missing that GTG. Damn!!


Edited my first post...I knew it was freon. Don't know why I said water, guess I was thinking of a car radiator. Haha
Click to expand...

There are plenty of water cooled competition car rigs, actually.
 
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