RACK MOUNT POWER
Question:
I’m rebuilding my system and plan to do all of my effects/ pre amp and power in a rack mount. Looking for opinions on a power head. Should I go with a tube amp, solid state or mosfet style and what are the pros and cons of each? Should I look for something new or used? How much power do I really need? I’m looking for someone /ANYONE!!!! who has had experience with this type of rig. Every music store that I’ve gone to all they want to do is sell you what they have on their shelf!!! They really don’t give a shit what your looking for. I feel like I never have really been given an honest answer from anybody at a store and I’ve been to a butt load of them. SO PLEASE HELP!!!! I’LL CONSIDER ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS!! Thanks in advance Steve
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I’m rebuilding my system and plan to do all of my effects/ pre amp > and power in a rack mount. Looking for opinions on a power head. > Should I go with a tube amp, solid state or mosfet style and what are > the pros and cons of each? Should I look for something new or used? > How much power do I really need? > I’m looking for someone /ANYONE!!!! who has had experience with > this type of rig. Every music store that I’ve gone to all they want to > do is sell you what they have on their shelf!!! > They really don’t give a shit what your looking for. > I feel like I never have really been given an honest answer > from anybody at a store and I’ve been to a butt load of them. > SO PLEASE HELP!!!! I’LL CONSIDER ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS!! > Thanks in advance > Steve
Steve- I currently use a Peavy Classic 50/50, loaded with about 12 tubes…happy with it because it sounds fine, has plenty of power for my applications, and was realatively cheap used. It’s much better that previous amps I have used–Marshall 8008 solid state and ADA Microtube (1 12ax tube). The Peavy seems to have a great price/tone ratio (especially if bought used–$200-300). I prefer tube tone, but that’s up to you. Other tube amp options are Mesa, Marshall, etc…all of which will cost you more…just depends on your budget limitations and taste. You can get heads that are rack mountable as well, such as Mesa Boogie, or the Rivera TBR-1, which sounds great (although heavy and 4 rack spaces.) Happy hunting! Greg ps -If you haven’t already, check out amp reviews on harmonycentral.com
Response:
> I’m rebuilding my system and plan to do all of my effects/ pre amp > and power in a rack mount. Looking for opinions on a power head. > Should I go with a tube amp, solid state or mosfet style and what are > the pros and cons of each? Should I look for something new or used?
Ok here it is in a few nutshells: TUBES Pros: nothing sounds like a tube. As you increase the amount of overdrive, the disparity between tubes and everything else increases even more. They have the best ability to transmit exactly what is happening on the strings, so that means the sound of the pick as it "swishes" by, the squeek of your fingers as you slide up and down the neck.. all that shit comes right through with an ALL TUBE setup. If you’ve got a hybrid, like a tube power amp and a ss preamp, it will be diminished, but not completely irradicated. Another plus is that, at least for low NFB tube amps (that overdrive very smoothly) you can get by with about HALF the power you would need if you were running a SS amp. Cons: hmm, where to begin? A tube amp is HEAVY–it’s got one big transformer (the output tranny) that is not necessary on SS amps. It’s got to be treated with respect, for a few reasons. The tubes themselves are most easily damaged by MECHANICAL upset, not electrical. That means every time you toss your amp in the back of the pickup for a gig it’s going to take some life out of the tubes. You COULD remove all the tubes and put them all back in, but that’s a pain in the ass. They’re more expensive than comparable SS amps, partly for the materials involved, and partly because there are very few of them truely mass produced. Peaveys are generally the "bang for the buck" approach. Decent tube sound (which IMHO beats some VERY GOOD SS sounds) at low price. Tubes need to be replaced. Depending on the tubes you use, and the amount of use they see, this could be as often as about once a year. (If you have to change your tubes more often than that, something is probably wrong!) If you’re talking big power, you’re talking big tube replacement money too. SS BJT/MOSFET The differences between BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistors) and MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) are fairly subtle, but they CAN have a very large effect on the sound. In my opinion it all depends on the circuit they are driven by. Generally, BJT’s are more efficient, since they can essentially "turn on" harder. The MOSFET by comparison has a higher internal impedance. The advantage of the MOSFET is primarily in its easy drive requirements. See, a BJT actually requires CURRENT flow on its BASE terminal in order to allow current to pass between its COLLECTOR and EMITTER terminals. This is in distinct contrast to MOSFET, and indeed TUBE, circuits, which are primarily VOLTAGE CONTROLLED, not CURRENT CONTROLLED devices. So a MOSFET is at least more "tubelike" in its drive requirements. Unfortunately you never get something for nothing and the power MOSFET has a quite high GATE capacitance. This means that the GATE resists voltage changes, and so must be driven by a decently low impedance driver. This is an interesting area, because if done right, you can drive a bunch of MOSFETs with TUBES, and retain much of the tube character. The New York Audio Labs MOSCODE amps are designed precisely along these lines, with a tube front end and a MOSFET output stage. The other characteristic of MOSFET amps is that they usually have higher output impedances than do BJT amps. That means the amp has less ability to supply whatever current is necessary to maintain the signal voltage at its output terminals. The sound is subjectively a bit "looser" but it may be "fuller" as well. A MOSFET power amp’s output is more like a tube amp’s output in this respect. > How much power do I really need?
Well, that depends. I for one use about 400WRMS of tube power. The amp is capable of more, but that’s all I regularly need. Before I went tube, however, I would drive a 900WRMS SS amp to it’s limits constantly. I’m in a loud band, and I like a bassy sound, and that takes WATTS. What kind of music do you play? How loud is the rest of the band? What kind of speaker cabinets do you have? What kind of places do you play in? These all factor into the amount of power you need. > I’m looking for someone /ANYONE!!!! who has had experience with > this type of rig. Every music store that I’ve gone to all they want to > do is sell you what they have on their shelf!!! > They really don’t give a shit what your looking for.
Rack mount tube power amps cost bucks. For the same money you can get a good deal of SS power, which will probably work flawlessly for many years. The SS amp I used to use (a Crest Vs900) is getting used now for a vocal monitor amp. The tube power amp will be more colored, but it will probably convey more feel. I have yet to gig regularly with my ONE HUNDRED POUND TUBE POWER AMPLIFIER.. it may get very old very fast, in which case I’ll switch back to the lighter, less prone to mechanical shocks, SS amp. Hope this helped. Ken Gilbert Tube Guitar Amp Design/Repair Technician The Guitarist’s Choice http://www.tgcguitar.com http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Garage/5701
Response:
>I’m rebuilding my system and plan to do all of my effects/ pre amp >and power in a rack mount. Looking for opinions on a power head. >Should I go with a tube amp, solid state or mosfet style and what are >the pros and cons of each? Should I look for something new or used? >How much power do I really need?
What are you going to do with it? What’s your budget? Those are very important to a final answer. What preamp do you want to use with it? If you’ve got a large budget and play out at decent size places, I’d got for a 50 W/channel tube power amp (Mesa Boogie, Marshall, or VHT would be my first choices). I personally prefer to buy used. I can find most things I want easily enough, and I don’t mind some physical wear-n-tear on my equipment. If you go this way, budget for a tube replacement on the used amp and consider this when purchasing. Many people get along fine with the 20/20 Marshalls and Mesa/Boogies, so check those out too. If your budget is tighter, a used solid-state amp can be a major bargain (btw, I’ve got one that I’ve replaced with a tube amp, contact me if you’re interested). In this case, I’d look for at least 100 W a channel. You might also look at some of the all tube Peavey power amps. They go decent cheap and I’ve heard good things about them. >I’m looking for someone /ANYONE!!!! who has had experience with >this type of rig. Every music store that I’ve gone to all they want to >do is sell you what they have on their shelf!!! >They really don’t give a shit what your looking for. >I feel like I never have really been given an honest answer >from anybody at a store and I’ve been to a butt load of them. >SO PLEASE HELP!!!! I’LL CONSIDER ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS!!
I know the feeling. I get most of my help from news groups – ie. other players. I’m lucky enough to have a couple of good salesmen to work with, who don’t push stuff on me that they know I won’t like, but that’s rare. Ross
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I’m rebuilding my system and plan to do all of my effects/ pre amp > and power in a rack mount. Looking for opinions on a power head. > Should I go with a tube amp, solid state or mosfet style and what are > the pros and cons of each? Should I look for something new or used? > How much power do I really need? > I’m looking for someone /ANYONE!!!! who has had experience with > this type of rig. Every music store that I’ve gone to all they want to > do is sell you what they have on their shelf!!! > They really don’t give a shit what your looking for. > I feel like I never have really been given an honest answer > from anybody at a store and I’ve been to a butt load of them. > SO PLEASE HELP!!!! I’LL CONSIDER ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS!! > Thanks in advance > Steve
I just maxed my credit card out buying the greatest guitar power amp I’ve ever used: VHT 2150. All tube 100W/CH, 4 rack spaces high and weighs a ton. It KILLS. This amp is super tight (no low end flub or "buzz") and is warm. You can’t really overdrive it cuase its got lots of headroom. List is something like $2249. They also make a 2-50-2 which can use either 6l6 or EL34s, and costs under $1000. The 2150 uses 6550s. Their stuff is the LAST word in guitar power amps.
Response:
Related Posts