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Power Amp

mpayne86

mpayne86

Guest
Aug 14, 2012
138
13
Indiana
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#1
After having 2 cabs for a while now I figured out I am starving for power when I play a little on the heavy side. I was wondering what recommendations do people have for power amps?
I am running an Ampeg portaflex pf 500 which is a great amp and I like it. I however have 2 cabs and that amp does not like running both at the same time.
 
#2
mpayne86 said:
After having 2 cabs for a while now I figured out I am starving for power when I play a little on the heavy side. I was wondering what recommendations do people have for power amps?
I am running an Ampeg portaflex pf 500 which is a great amp and I like it. I however have 2 cabs and that amp does not like running both at the same time.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised your PF500 is starved for power. Are you using inefficient, power-hungry cabs or something?

While I don't have any direct experience with the PF500 (other than some lower volume jazz gigs at a wine bar), I have two other amps with similar power ratings: a Carvin BX500 and a GK 700RB-II. They both produce gobs of power through a pair of reasonably efficient 8-ohm cabs, way more than I have needed in a rock band setting. (Of course, I play in bands where the guitarists mainly play combo amps and not full stacks.)

If you think 500 watts at 4 ohms isn't loud enough, to get much more volume you'd need to significantly add more power due to the whole logarithmic nature of perceived volume. I've read that a GK MB800 produces significantly more power than most lightweight heads, or you could consider going to a bridged stereo PA amp, where you can get upwards of 1500 watts or so in bridged 4-ohm mode on a Crown DriveCore XLS series amp.
 
#4
+1 for the DriveCore XLS. When I switched from a head to a power amp this was the solution for me. Good power even in stereo mode running multiple cabs but, really starts to breathe well when bridged @ 4 ohm.
Of course, if you are putting your head on a shelf you may want to think about getting a good preamp . . . . and a dual EQ . . . . and a rack mount power supply. . . . and a rack to put it all in . . . and a rack mount tuner to take up that empty spot.:)
 

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