Power Amps

yes and no. If its a tube power amp yeah, but if its a solid state power amp then no.

 

A budget power amp, yes.

A quality power amp, very very minimally.


Any amp (or component, cable, bass, pickups, speaker wire, stage construction, tires on your gig vehicle...) will affect your tone in some way. You wanna find an amp that affects it the LEAST.

I know most "affordable" PA power amps do a good enough job. But if you're getting a power amp just for your bass rig, it's wise to spend the money and get a quality power amplifier. Yes, all power amps can reproduce those low frequencies, but not all of them do it well. That means, not all of them will get those 35hz frequencies out as loud as it could the 80hz frequencies. The really lower-range fidelity is in question when spending $300 on a power amp just for bass. So look into the QSC PLX series amps. Yes, a pretty penny. Yes, excellent quality and sound reproduction. No, no serious or annoying coloring of your tone.

 

This is one of those "holy war" topics. Some people swear there is a big difference, and specifically that modern, light equipment can't produce the lows--the argument seems to be that big, heavy transformers have the current reserve to produce big lows. Some swear they hear a difference. I remember a manufacturer who posts here swearing that digital switching amps could never get the tone of traditional power amps. Then about six months later he announced a line of digital amps. I was pretty amazed.

For years I gigged with a QSC PLX 1202, a very well made, rugged, dependable piece of gear. Then I switched to an Acoustic Image Focus SA, a digital switching, class D amp that produces 600 watts and weighs 3.5 lbs. I thought I noticed a slight difference--the lows seemed a little tighter, maybe, with the QSC. But I couldn't tell for sure, and the AI was so much more convenient that the QSC sits in my closet, unused.

 

ALL electronics can affect your guitar signal in different ways.

Find the amp that suits your needs for tone, cost, and weight.

and Bryan MAY be on to something??

 

Yes it ALWAYS does.
Every element which is part of your signal chain will have an effect.