Preamp + ???

i have a mackie 1400 and i think its awesome... i'm using it with a 1200 watt cab and i've never had any problems with it.... i don't have experience with any poweramps other than the fact that i used to have a carvin R1000 bass head... so my opinion is pretty biased, but i'm sold on the Mackie.

if you can afford it, i'd say don't get carvin... but that's just me. A lot of people on this board swear by it..

As far as preamps go, it looks like you're looking for a more hi-fi sound... see if you can get your hands on a used swr grand prix to try out with the rest...

if you want grit.. i'd say try the SWR Interstellar overdrive, or my personal favorite, the Ampeg SVP-Pro..

goodluck and keep us updated.

oh, and you should be able to get a very decent solid state poweramp for well under $1000, under 800 even, my mackie was $600 i believe and its more than i need.

 

As much as I hate to say it, in my day job we have been encountering HUGE problems with Crown amps burning up. They're running a 30% failure rate over the last year or so. Ever since they were bought out by Harmon. It's to the point now where we take spares with us whenever we do an install just so we can be sure to get the system up and running. I love Crown, but I don't think I'd buy another right now.

 

Too bad about the Crowns, their K2 looks to be an interesting amp!

I've got both a Mackie 1400i and a QSC PLX3002. I don't think I've noticed a sonic difference, but the QSC is 21 lbs to the Mackie's 38 (I think), will put out double the power (bridged), and is dead quiet. If you don't mind carrying a little extra weight, and don't need overkill power then the Mackie is great, but the QSC PLX line is the winner in my book.

 

Minimum of a QSX 2402, preferably a 3002 or 3402 just to have the extra headroom. I have the lead-sled MX-3000a... love the power, hate the weight.

 

I'm another satisfied QSC PLX owner. Big pile O dough? Check this out.

www.luthiersaccessgroup.com

amp/cabinet builders

Glockenklang

 

I wouldn't worry at all about that. There are lots of smart folks operating here. Learning abounds everywhere, and free for the reading.

As another QSC happy camper, I doubt you will find many (if any) unhappy QSC owners. My only gripe with my lead-sled is the 69 pounds. Other than the weight, I plug it in, it makes my pants flap. Life is good.

The QSC for sale on eBay are awfully high priced (PLX models). You can get them brand new from Lord Valve and others for only a few bux more. I avoid used in-production gear that is priced higher than 66% of new discount price. Isn't worth it. There are exceptions like Kern and Demeter preamps, because there are so few being traded. But QSC amps are traded constantly. My spreadsheet in my signature tracks QSC amp prices on eBay.

 

Lord Valve is NBS Electronics, 230 South Broadway, a few doors down from Guitars on Broadway (formerly First Bass). NBS stands for No BullS***. Proprietor is Fat Willie. Great selection of pretested tubes, tube amps, and PA gear. Also repairs equipment, but like all the techs in Denver, has a significant backlog. Get on his email list for tube and QSC prices. A search for Lord Valve on deja.com should turn up a few million posts, all with his website.

I switched from a BGW Performance Series 3 to a QSC PLX1602. Half the weight, all the power, and no noticeable sound difference.

My favorite shop for used gear is Chris' Music Exchange at 6487 N Federal. However, I'm biased since the owner is a friend!

I know you didn't list it as one of your preamp choices, but I have an SWR Grand Prix that I'm selling. Since you're local you could try it out if you're interested.

Matt

 

oh people love all tube stuff.. and even more people love bass specific amps such as SWR or Eden or Ampeg... crest and crown don't do bass specific though.. but since you asked for PA type amps in a preamp-poweramp setup, you got answered by people who had what you were looking for.

 

Soon as a "big pile of money" falls into my hands ...

 

I too am running a QSC PLX2402 obtained from Lord Valve. However, if I had the $$$$, I'd go with the Aguilar, preferably the new 750!

I'm running a DB659 preamp, and love it! I got rid of an Eden Navigator to get the Aguilar, much smoother, more musical sounding.

Too bad you've gone with Eden, did you give Bergantino a try? I've got both the 310 and 212 (the 310's for sale at the moment cuz I don't use it ever)....

I'm down the road in the Springs...

 

Forget about the lightweight and check out the back pannel of the QSC and the Mackie for that matter. Multipal limiting and filter options for each channel, stereo/parallel inputs, bridged, balanced in's, Speakon out's, and gain control on the front panel.

When I first bought my 2402 I thought that there where a lot of needless bells and whistles. Since I'm running my 2-10" full gain, clip limited, 50Hz filter, and my sub at just over half gain, clip limited, 30Hz filter depending on the room, all balanced. I ended up using all the bells and most of the whistles.

So while this may not be a bass specific amp it certinly is bass user friendly.

 

Demeter makes great stuff.

Also, check out the Kern 777 preamp and Crown K2 amp. That's my set up and I love it.

 

Eden cabs are great. Don't let anyone else convince you otherwise.