Power amp question

Extra power is NOT going to really get you any louder.

You need more speakers.

 

I disagree Bass_Pounder. the 4/10 size is not the problem. The 4/10 cab is probably an 8 ohm cabinet. The 400rb is only pushing out 180 watts. you probably should have at least double the wattage. I'm not familiar with that particular cabinet but you might want to add more low and high mid range and back off on the bass controls. That should help you cut through a little better. Usually the eq that sounds good by it self will get lost in the band setting. Might sound silly but change your battery for the preamp.
If you don't mind the tone of the 400rb and just want more power, the 1000 rb is a beast and can be found used at great prices because people want the micro amps.
I still think some of the small light weight amps are the most convenient like
Warwick Lwa 1000 http://www.warwickbass.com/en/Warwi...Serie-Ampheads--LWA-1000-Black--Pictures.html
TC BH800 http://www.tcelectronic.com/bh800/
GK MB800 http://www.gallien-krueger.com/products/mb-heads/

Some good power amp options are
Carvin dcm 1000 (bridged mono) http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/DCM1000L best bang for the buck!
Crest Pro light 3 (stereo mode)more expensive but you could use the other side for PA duties etc.
If you bridge the lower model Pro Light 2 it might be too much power! If your careful it could kick ass!
you can get the pro light 2 with dsp and set the limiter for safety for bridge mono operation.
http://www.peaveycommercialaudio.com/products.cfm/Power-Amplifiers/Pro-LITE-Series/Pro-LITE-3.0

some low cost preamp options
Sans amp rackmount like
VT rack http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/vtbassrack.html
RBI http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/rbi.html
BBE Bmax or even better used B Max-t http://www.bbesound.com/products/instrument-preamps/bmax.aspx
Basswitch Classic or Clean Boost http://www.rmi.lu/products

 

First if the old 400RB, not the III or IV it is 140 watts with one 8 ohm cab. Next if an older Rumble 410 they did not use wattage to sound judiciously (lower sensitivity per watt). Third If you are using the contour button or cutting the high mid control that is why you lose presence and definition in a band mix.
Revisit your EQ choices and get a second 8 ohm Rumble 410, your troubles will be greatly relieved.

 

Who wants to carry 2 4/10s to a gig? if that 4/10 is that low in sensitivity, replace it with a different cab or add more power. I agree with you about the eq/contour switch problem.

 

Fill the drummers drums with socks. That'll cure the problem...

All kidding aside, if your drummer has no volume control, that could be a REAL problem for you, and potentially the audience... Depends on the musical style you are going for...

If your 410 says Bassman, then it's a Fender Bassman cab... Different series than the Rumbles...

I am no pro, and not really sure what the impedance requirement of your amp is, but you might be playing through an 8 ohm cab with a head that performs best with a 4 ohm load. Check the docs on both the cab and the head, and see if you can reconfigure the cab to best match the head...

Failing that, see the socks suggestion... Maybe he'll get the hint...

 

How would you feel about a pair of 2x10's? If you have a pair of 2x10's you can stack them vertically so as to create a 1w x 4h speaker array (as opposed to the 2x2 the 410 provides) this puts a pair of speakers a lot closer to your ears, which should help with hearing yourself. In general more speakers=more volume, but sometimes you can get more *useful* volume by changing to a vertical array.

On the Sans Amps, the best answer is go out and A/B them, I could say the differences are in the amp emulations and the eq, but what does that really tell you? Let your ears make the decision, that's what you pay them for. And, before you decide that you have to choose one or the other, there is a thread here on TB discussing using two Sans Amp pres, one in the FX loop of the other. I ended up with the VT after A/Bing it with the RBI, but if I come across an RBI at the right price now, I'll grab it!

 

If you are going to go the power amp route, check out the Crest Prolite 2.0

It gets a lot of good reviews, and it is next on my shopping list.

However, you need to consider that if you get a power amp, you will need a preamp between the bass and amp.

 

Crest Prolite is a good amp, and the DSP model only costs a little more but adds a lot of features like interfacing to the bass or pre-amp, adding EQ for cabinets, Maxx processing. It does not have any "distortion" you'll still need a pre-amp for that. (Amplifiers jobs are not to distort )

 

There are just very few single channel amps like this.

You'll pay more than just buying a regular and lightweight 2-rack power amp. You can always just use one channel of a stereo amp. DIY isn't any better, it ends up costing more. Fanless designs cost more. Peavy IPR are essentially the same as Crest and have lighter aluminum construction.

 

might I suggest you look at what I just ordered, the Mesa Eight:88 ... TONS of headroom, and with 2 210 cabs is louder than any drummer can play, and distortion free until you get well above 75% gain ... I doubt you'd ever distort this amp intentionally.. I will never tap the full volume potential of this amp, but you would find the headroom very useful.

 

I'd put my money on tedious1's idea and I already did, I use 2x10 + 2x12 vertically.

Another issue I experience every day is you position relative to the cabs. When at short distances, the distance and angle between you and the cabs play a major role on what you hear, sometimes one step further might give you the definition that you need to play comfortably.

As far as Power+pre setup, most quality power-amps will do the trick (and some lower quality ones too) but my holy grail is getting a Matrix power amp. My preamp of choice right now is the EBS ValveDrive but I do fear that the lack of speaker simulation might be hurting my tone when I play DI only to FOH.

 

I wouldn't say Crest is a small name. The have been used in professional audio installations for decades.

Personally, I would prefer the non-DSP version, as I like to keep components separate where possible.

QSC also make excellent amps in my experience.