I've been using a qsc rmx 850 for bass for the last year. Owned the amp for 13-14 years and have used it for vocal PA in various projects as well. I play in loud bands and the qsc gets plenty loud. Even though the rmx-850 is the base model it has enough power and goes to 2 ohm. I would imagine you can find a used one for a great price.
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qsc power amp for head
- Thread starter tweety
- Start date
This is one of the benifits of the power amp angle is bridging if the cab can take the load or allowing you to run two 4 ohm cabs. Many heads are not going to allow you to go to 2 ohms in this price range. Yes I know there are many options out there but there is nothing wrong with having options.
23 skidoo
A good power amp with two channels that go down to 2 ohms is the flexibility I desire.
Feed tone (ANY pre amp; be it from: stand alone heads, combos, pre pedals etc.), into power amp, into cabs of choice!
it's a no brainer
fnord!
works for me!
PLX 3002, one side drives the two 8Ω cabs for 900w at 4Ω.
i have a little pedaltrain mini board with a sansamp BDDI as the last box, it'll drive the QSC perfectly from the 1/4" output, with the XLR out going to the PA. i really like the filter controls on the back of the amp, which i can set for clip limiting, 50Hz/30Hz/no HPF low end rolloff, etc.
for me the 30Hz filter on and the clip limiter off is the ticket for big, ballsy bass guitar (i never get loud enough to hit the clip light though, that would be insane
)
PLX 3002, one side drives the two 8Ω cabs for 900w at 4Ω.
i have a little pedaltrain mini board with a sansamp BDDI as the last box, it'll drive the QSC perfectly from the 1/4" output, with the XLR out going to the PA. i really like the filter controls on the back of the amp, which i can set for clip limiting, 50Hz/30Hz/no HPF low end rolloff, etc.
for me the 30Hz filter on and the clip limiter off is the ticket for big, ballsy bass guitar (i never get loud enough to hit the clip light though, that would be insane
)
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that would be an RMX 1450? these are powerful and bulletproof-reliable (and you can get 'em cheap), but they're old-school, which means heavy. the RMXs also have an annoying problem where the pots on the front go south and get really noisy when you turn them. not a big deal for PA where they usually get the knobs dimed and forgotten, but you'll need to use those controls to adjust your stage volume without changing what the PA gets by adjusting the preamp's controls.
I run a PLX3102, driven by either a UA 710 or an old Demeter 201. It's in a Gator powered rack with the wheels and handle that retracts so you can roll it. I had power and patch cables made to length by Guitarcables.com, it's clean and easy and can power just about anything and everything I can throw at it. I don't always use it, as the little class D works fine for a lot of my gigs, but it is a kick@$$ rig when I need it.
I've used QSC PLX2402 with an Alembic F1-x valve pre-amp for about 8 years and I've loved the clean and powerful sound that I get from that rig. I don't use any effects at all on bass. I have been advised the best way to run with a P.A. type amplifier for the cleanest sound and maximum headroom for your bass is to have the amplifier gain turned full on and control the overall volume using the pre-amp and master volume on the bass. The only downside is the weight.
I worm around to find cheap gear that sounds good. You can get good tone cheap because older musicians discount old gear (they made money with it) and fall into GAS like any bassist-- and of course the weight issue.
If you have commandeered the qsc power amp, may I suggest a $30 investment in the JOYO Ultimate Drive (NEW!)? Also, a cheap used tube pre from Presonus
. (got one for $50) I'm beginning to think small pre amps set into heads of combos considered worthless because of cab sound can be nice cheap additions. I even got a nice clean twanger head out of a thrown away guitar practice combo amp!
fnord!
no, that's totally unnecessary.
set your preamp for a good middle of the road level, enough to get a good signal into the house PA, then use the volume knob on the power amp to control your stage volume. (also, you usually want to run the volume on the bass itself all the way up.)
I've been running QSC RMX 1450 power amps with Ampeg preamps since 2005 or so. Best sounding bass rigs I've owned in 38 years of playing. Lots of headroom, clean, punchy sounding. A little weighty though, but worth it.
Which Ampeg pre amps, may I ask? I've got the rmx 1450… would like to punch the ampeg head sound in there for a test run as I am new and experimenting.
thanks,
fnord!
I'm using an SVP Pro as well. Really like it. It does hiss at certain settings but not unmanageably- also keeping in mind my gain is set at 100%, drive around 70% and master around 50%, definitely not clean settings. I've read that some of these preamps have problems with hum and mine has that too but only when the master volume is below 25% oddly. I will get it to a tech one of these days.
In conclusion: great preamp- classic ampeg clean and distortion tones but try before you buy.
In conclusion: great preamp- classic ampeg clean and distortion tones but try before you buy.
Love qsc power... In my fOH. Vastly prefer integrated heads. GK MB fusion or MB500 in my case. Onlything that peals to me that is Ampeg'ish is the original SVT. After that it is a very short list...
I can'ts stands no stinking bass amp.
With the exception of a GK RB1001 II, I have always done the preamp/PA amp setup. It's the most versatile with plenty of power. I have several pre's. My pre currently in use is a Tech21 RPM. No extraneous noise. I always use QSC power.I just ordered an upgrade over my PLX 3002 power amp. A QSC PLD 4.3. Now, talk about versatile.
I see the like for SVP Pro's on this thread. I've owned three Ampeg SVP-PRO's. They are old and noisy and don't have the power to drive modern PA amps. I sold them all.
With the exception of a GK RB1001 II, I have always done the preamp/PA amp setup. It's the most versatile with plenty of power. I have several pre's. My pre currently in use is a Tech21 RPM. No extraneous noise. I always use QSC power.I just ordered an upgrade over my PLX 3002 power amp. A QSC PLD 4.3. Now, talk about versatile.
I see the like for SVP Pro's on this thread. I've owned three Ampeg SVP-PRO's. They are old and noisy and don't have the power to drive modern PA amps. I sold them all.
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OP might well have found himself a pre by now, but out of curiosity, when these 7pros fry does the preamp still work?
The power supply and power amp are on the same board in a lot of these smps/class D amps, but when a guys pf500 here fried, the pre still worked.
OP might've still been able to use the front end of his amp to drive the qsc...if it pushes enough juice.
The power supply and power amp are on the same board in a lot of these smps/class D amps, but when a guys pf500 here fried, the pre still worked.
OP might've still been able to use the front end of his amp to drive the qsc...if it pushes enough juice.
That's my rig too! I used to have a BBE BMax pre-amp (and liked the Sonic Maximizer), but I prefer the EQ and dual channel (tube/solid-state) of the Peavey.
