Who's making lightweight half rack power amps?

[mysteryclock]

The Demeter Minnie 800D I'm sure would be lovely. Spendy, but based on my past experience with their products I'd expect it to sound magnificent.

 

[markjazzbassist]

The Demeter Minnie 800D I'm sure would be lovely. Spendy, but based on my past experience with their products I'd expect it to sound magnificent.

yeah that's way outta my price range. the stewart or used SWR amplite are as high as i'm willing to go unless something else has popped up.

 

[jnewmark]

Late to the game here, ( and I haven't read the entire thread), but , if I was interested in half space power amp, it would be horizontally half of a one space size, so you could put the pre, also a half size, one space, or something like a MB F1, F500, and the power amp side by side, like a one space head, so to speak, in a one space rack or rack bag. Anybody done something like that ?

 

[Passinwind]

Late to the game here, ( and I haven't read the entire thread), but , if I was interested in half space power amp, it would be horizontally half of a one space size, so you could put the pre, also a half size, one space, or something like a MB F1, F500, and the power amp side by side, like a one space head, so to speak, in a one space rack or rack bag. Anybody done something like that ?

My latest DIY rig is like that, but both pieces are 2RU high. I think that most people who want 1/2 rack rigs actually want to stack the pieces vertically though, and there are a few rack cases out there to accommodate that.

 

[Brad Johnson]

My search is over. That didn't take long... but there's a twist.

I just picked up a Quilter Bass Block 800. Half rack wide, 3.75 lbs., 800w at 4 ohms. The Mitre Box works great with the Quilter, which has an XLR input that bypasses the built-in preamp. But the Quilter also sounds great without it. So now I don't need it as a power amp. Didn't see that coming.

 

[engedi1]

My search is over. That didn't take long... but there's a twist.

I just picked up a Quilter Bass Block 800. Half rack wide, 3.75 lbs., 800w at 4 ohms. The Mitre Box works great with the Quilter, which has an XLR input that bypasses the built-in preamp. But the Quilter also sounds great without it. So now I don't need it as a power amp. Didn't see that coming.

Can you comment further on the Quilter? I am looking at getting one.

 

[Brad Johnson]

So far I couldn't be happier... I'd buy one again in a heartbeat.

Quilter Bass Block

 

[vokain]

Latest and greatest on this front? Preferably I can get some 2000w RMS power amp even smaller than a half-U. Are those Peavy's what I want?

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[bucephylus]

I wonder what happened with Brad. Hope he's ok.

 

[Passinwind]

Latest and greatest on this front? Preferably I can get some 2000w RMS power amp even smaller than a half-U. Are those Peavy's what I want?

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Nope, those are full 19" rack format in 2RU high.

 

[MarkA]

The IPR2 amps are full (19") rack width, though they are relatively shallow, front -to-back. "1U, 2U, etc " usually refers to height (rack spaces/units) in a rack, not width or depth. "Half rack" in this thread refers to amps that might fit in a half-width rack.

I'd love a good, half-width, mono power amp and a selection of half-width bass preamps to go with it in a compact, half-width rack -- that'd fit great on my cabs, satisfy (well, start to ) my urge to tweak my rig, and offer the amp and pre the protection that a rack affords - but, alas, those seem to be rarer than hens' teeth.

There are, however, a decent number of compact, stand-alone power amps.

GSS (Guitar Sound Systems) in (I think) France has made some high powered versions of their compact Sumo amp. You might contact them, to start.

I hope your speakers are up for 2000 watts!

Good luck.
-Mark

EDIT: I forgot the Jad Freer Coda - depending on where you are, that could be a good option, though not 2KW: Coda – High performance Class G Power Amp | Jad Freer Audio

There are some amps marketed at hifi use based on Hypex power modules (though, again, I think 2 KW will be rare). Seymour Duncan makes a compact Power Stage amp (though well short of 2 KW). I'm sure there are some others.

Latest and greatest on this front? Preferably I can get some 2000w RMS power amp even smaller than a half-U. Are those Peavy's what I want?

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[vokain]

Nope, those are full 19" rack format in 2RU high.

How do they have bass amp heads that are tiny with a pre-amp built in, but I am having a hard time finding just a power amp that I can feed with a preamp like a TwoNotes Bass Revolt? Thanks

The IPR2 amps are full (19") rack width, though they are relatively shallow, front -to-back. "1U, 2U, etc " usually refers to height (rack spaces/units) in a rack, not width or depth. "Half rack" in this thread refers to amps that might fit in a half-width rack.

I'd love a good, half-width, mono power amp and a selection of half-width bass preamps to go with it in a compact, half-width rack -- that'd fit great on my cabs, satisfy (well, start to ) my urge to tweak my rig, and offer the amp and pre the protection that a rack affords - but, alas, those seem to be rarer than hens' teeth.

There are, however, a decent number of compact, stand-alone power amps.

GSS (Guitar Sound Systems) in (I think) France has made some high powered versions of their compact Sumo amp. You might contact them, to start.

I hope your speakers are up for 2000 watts!

Good luck.
-Mark

I'm not sure how good their distribution is in the US
Although this is definitely more in line of what I'm looking for. The smaller the better.


If 2000W is at 4Ohm then I think the cab I'm probably getting (barefaced 410-1000W at 8Ohm) can handle that!!!!

 

[Passinwind]

How do they have bass amp heads that are tiny with a pre-amp built in, but I am having a hard time finding just a power amp that I can feed with a preamp like a TwoNotes Bass Revolt? Thanks

That question comes up every few weeks, and has for many years. The market for integrated small amps is like literally over 1000 times greater, and the majority of those little amps already work great as power amps by just using the EFX or Aux return jacks. And you can't just take the preamp out and have a certified product ready to go, you have to jump through all the regulatory hoops from scratch again.

 

[vokain]

That question comes up every few weeks, and has for many years. The market for integrated small amps is like literally over 1000 times greater, and the majority of those little amps already work great as power amps by just using the EFX or Aux return jacks. And you can't just take the preamp out and have a certified product ready to go, you have to jump through all the regulatory hoops from scratch again.

sooooo check Aliexpress? lol

 

[Passinwind]

sooooo check Aliexpress? lol

If you don't mind buying something that's not legal in the US there are a few things out there, for sure. I built my own, and quickly realized that it was actually way less convenient than just buying or building an integrated one for my usage cases, but I don't use pedals with bass much at all, so...

 

[vokain]

If you don't mind buying something that's not legal in the US there are a few things out there, for sure. I built my own, and quickly realized that it was actually way less convenient than just buying or building an integrated one for my usage cases, but I don't use pedals with bass much at all, so...

I was just thinking a dedicated power amp might be a better value or something, and maybe "purer" than a combined pre-amp+amp, sort of along the same reasoning people would use an head+cab instead of a combo?

 

[Auer]

That question comes up every few weeks, and has for many years. The market for integrated small amps is like literally over 1000 times greater, and the majority of those little amps already work great as power amps by just using the EFX or Aux return jacks. And you can't just take the preamp out and have a certified product ready to go, you have to jump through all the regulatory hoops from scratch again.

I came to the same conclusion and decided to give a small Class D Darkglass amp a go.
Even tho I'm really a A/B dyed in the wool kinda dude.

 

[Passinwind]

I was just thinking a dedicated power amp might be a better value or something, and maybe "purer" than a combined pre-amp+amp, sort of along the same reasoning people would use an head+cab instead of a combo?

Neither one of those things is actually true in practice though, IMO and IME. And a "spare" preamp for the same or probably less money seems like a much better value to me.

 

[vokain]

Neither one of those things is actually true in practice though, IMO and IME. And a "spare" preamp for the same or probably less money seems like a much better value to me.

I don't know.

A Mesa/Boogie D800 is around $700-800 used and outputs 800W at 4Ohm

A 7.1lb Behringer A800 is brand new at $369, outputs 2 x 400W at 4Ohm, or 800W at 8Ohm bridged so that's like $300 for a nice preamp
An 8.6lb Crown XLS 1502 is like $555 MSRP and can output 1050 watts at 8 ohms in bridged mode.

A 6.5lb GK Legacy 1200 is like $900 used and outputs 800W at 8Ohm

I follow your point though

 

[Auer]

I don't know.

A Mesa/Boogie D800 is around $700-800 used and outputs 800W at 4Ohm

A 7.1lb Behringer A800 is brand new at $369, outputs 2 x 400W at 4Ohm, or 800W at 8Ohm bridged so that's like $300 for a nice preamp
An 8.6lb Crown XLS 1502 is like $555 MSRP and can output 1050 watts at 8 ohms in bridged mode.

A 6.5lb GK Legacy 1200 is like $900 used and outputs 800W at 8Ohm

I follow your point though

Mesa's are all over the classifieds here so easy to find if you dig that vibe.
Some are very affordable. In the price range of a quality Pre actually.