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Pre+Power vs. head
- Thread starter Taxt
- Start date
Ive thought about doing a seperate pre and power amp setup for a while now.
Obviously, its got flexibility. One of the main draws to me, is the amount of power you're able to get with this setup. Someone on TB once said that you get the sound of the tube preamp, only louder. Any good poweramp won't color your tone like the power section in an regular amp might.
Of course, a lot of us love the sound of a power amp with giant power tubes.
As to wether you'll have more control over your tone... it depends. If you got a pre-amp with a graphic EQ vs. a regular EQ, you're gonna have more control. It's the same way with any amp really.
Also, theres about a trillion threads out there asking this exact question, do a search to find better answers.
Obviously, its got flexibility. One of the main draws to me, is the amount of power you're able to get with this setup. Someone on TB once said that you get the sound of the tube preamp, only louder. Any good poweramp won't color your tone like the power section in an regular amp might.
Of course, a lot of us love the sound of a power amp with giant power tubes.
As to wether you'll have more control over your tone... it depends. If you got a pre-amp with a graphic EQ vs. a regular EQ, you're gonna have more control. It's the same way with any amp really.
Also, theres about a trillion threads out there asking this exact question, do a search to find better answers.
In theory. But so many people report differences with different power amps that it has to make a difference.
Me, I like heads. One unit, no rack, no muss, no fuss.
Same here. Less size, less weight, less things to break.
And with 1,000-watt+ heads available now, the whole "power" argument for a pre+power rig doesn't really wash anymore.
I've been wondering this, and now seems like agood time to ask. Is it possible to run a power amp w/out a pre? Just go bass-->power amp or bass--->DI (or Sansamp BDDI or something)--->power amp?
With the newer gen of lighter power amps (DCML, PLX, IPR, XTI) I am a big fan of pre/power again. Particularly since the DCM-L especially sounds just like a bass head's power. I am super pleased. 
My rig weighs about what a GK 1001 RB II weighs in the rack and has twice the wattage, and I can just swap preamps at will. Pretty slick.
My previous power amp experience was that the cheaper power amps seem to sound different - something was always a little off with the XLS602D especially.
Edit: Total cost of my pre/power rack: 589.00
My rig weighs about what a GK 1001 RB II weighs in the rack and has twice the wattage, and I can just swap preamps at will. Pretty slick.
My previous power amp experience was that the cheaper power amps seem to sound different - something was always a little off with the XLS602D especially.
Edit: Total cost of my pre/power rack: 589.00
I think the BDDI --> power amp thing has been done successfully... by a TB'er or two IIRC... but would want to hear from them directly before I tried it. It seems like it should work. Not sure I'd run a bass straight into the power amp though. Even if everything was electronically correct, it would sound awfully "sterile" I think.
Not according to Johnny April of Staind, although he does use an Avalon 737 in his rig. Isn't my thing, but nobody accuses Johnny of having a sterile tone. Certainly can't be any more sterile than running a DI into a PA.
With the newer gen of lighter power amps (DCML, PLX, IPR, XTI) I am a big fan of pre/power again. Particularly since the DCM-L especially sounds just like a bass head's power. I am super pleased.
My rig weighs about what a GK 1001 RB II weighs in the rack and has twice the wattage, and I can just swap preamps at will. Pretty slick.
My previous power amp experience was that the cheaper power amps seem to sound different - something was always a little off with the XLS602D especially.
Edit: Total cost of my pre/power rack: 589.00
I'm surely no expert on this, but it seems like it would be pretty difficult to pick up an all-in-1 head with just 75% of that power for $589.00.
With the new shallow and light power amps available, going the pre-power route is really tempting. A shallow 3u rack, pre, and power amp with 1KW+ that all weighs in under 25lbs and costs under $600-$700...
From someone who just went to an amp... I have to tell you I love it. I have a Backline 600 that the fan was not coming on. So I picked up a CROWN XLS which has 600 w. @ 8 ohms. I am using the Backline as a pre and I can run it pre/post eq. I run 410, but in the future if I needed the extra watts I can plug in an extension to the Backline 175 w at 8 ohms....
775 is plenty of watts. w. the VT bass too. It sounds amazing. It does take up 5U w. my furman, and it is heavy but I think I paid $400 for everything ($80 Furman Used, $100 Backline Used, $200 Crown XLS New)
775 is plenty of watts. w. the VT bass too. It sounds amazing. It does take up 5U w. my furman, and it is heavy but I think I paid $400 for everything ($80 Furman Used, $100 Backline Used, $200 Crown XLS New)
I prefer rack gear. Reasons:
1) I have a lightweight power amp that gives me all the power I need... so, I have no worries about finding a head that has the tone I want but not enough power. (Note: one of my bands can be really loud and doesn't put bass thru the PA, so I need big watts).
2) I have a number of preamps, and can swap them in and out of my rack. I usually put two preamps in my gig rack, and have the option of running them in parallel, in series, or use just one and have the other as backup. Plus, I like being able to swap preamps around from gig to gig: the Read here, the Ampeg there, whatever.
3) A dual-monaural power amp plus two preamps gives redundancy: if a failure happens, I can easily patch around it and the gig will continue. In the years I've been gigging, I've had to do this on two occasions. If a head goes dead, you're out of luck unless you have a backup.
The main downsides for me is that a rack is usually bulkier and occasionally heavier than a head. But my Stewart 2.1 amp has tons of power and weighs only 17 pounds, so my gig rack is *much* lighter than the all-tube amps it's configured to emulate.
1) I have a lightweight power amp that gives me all the power I need... so, I have no worries about finding a head that has the tone I want but not enough power. (Note: one of my bands can be really loud and doesn't put bass thru the PA, so I need big watts).
2) I have a number of preamps, and can swap them in and out of my rack. I usually put two preamps in my gig rack, and have the option of running them in parallel, in series, or use just one and have the other as backup. Plus, I like being able to swap preamps around from gig to gig: the Read here, the Ampeg there, whatever.
3) A dual-monaural power amp plus two preamps gives redundancy: if a failure happens, I can easily patch around it and the gig will continue. In the years I've been gigging, I've had to do this on two occasions. If a head goes dead, you're out of luck unless you have a backup.
The main downsides for me is that a rack is usually bulkier and occasionally heavier than a head. But my Stewart 2.1 amp has tons of power and weighs only 17 pounds, so my gig rack is *much* lighter than the all-tube amps it's configured to emulate.
I agree on the pre/power rig being cheaper with more power than an integrated bass head. Although I run a Markbass LMII now and love it the last 5 or 6 years I ran a RBI/Crown rig. The pre was $200 scratch and dent from American Music and the Crown CE 1000 was about $500 new. $700 and I had a 1000 watt rig that would cover any gig. Later I changed to a Crown XTI1000 that saved me 10 pounds and had more power. I bought it used from Quadzilla and got it for $400 and it worked great. If I was to go pre/power again I would just buy a new RBI and a Carvin poweramp like rpsands has ,one of the DCM-L amps and have about $700 in the rig and be able to knock down wall with it.
