Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: warpipes on January 11, 2023, 09:15:56 AM
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Looking for an educated recommendation - what power amp to use with an Alembic F-2B? (and [sorry] a Sadowsky NYC bass guitar?)
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I use a Crown XLS1502 with mine.
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I use two channel Yamaha with two F-1X and an SF-2. Clear, reliable power.
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I use the 1U, four pound, stereo Carvin DCM200L with mine.
Bill, tgo
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I use a QSC-GX7 with my F-2B for bass, and the same Carvin set up as Bill for guitar. Works well for me.
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I use a Crest ProLite 3.0.
Isn't Carvin out of business now?
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Yes, l believe Carvin is no longer, at least not their amps. I got mine when they were liquidating, but you can find them used online as well.
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Yes, l believe Carvin is no longer, at least not their amps. I got mine when they were liquidating, but you can find them used online as well.
Carvin changed the name of their guitars to Keisel, and severely scaled back the product range that had carried their name - a massive line of guitar & bass amps, as well as sound reinforcement gear - but they do still make power amps: https://carvinaudio.com/collections/lt (https://carvinaudio.com/collections/lt).
But to get back to the original question, this is where I came in; I had been lurking for a while when this question came up for the hundredth time & I could hold my tongue no longer - so about 15.5 years ago I joined just to say (as I have said many times since) that the only power amp I would spend my own money on, and the only one I'd argue for you to spend your money on if a system I'm mixing on depends on it, is Yamaha.
Every other power amp I've used colors the sound some, and you have to choose which color you prefer; Yamaha takes what you put in and sends it back out unchanged (except, of course, way louder....).
And, as I have also said before, in my working days I used Crown, Crest, QSC, Peavey, Trayner, and probably a few I'm forgetting, and Yamaha is the only brand that never crapped out on me during a gig. Never. And I heard similar experiences related by my colleagues; never heard anyone say otherwise. They are the shizzle, period! (I will add the caveat that my experience predates the emergence of Class D amps - and my 4 back surgeries attest to that - so I don't know how they stack up.)
Yeah, they pack some poundage. But if you want the very best enough to hump the weight - or pay roadies (naturally, my preference 8) ), Yammie is the ticket.
Your turn, Wolf...........
Peter (who came for the amp pimping, but stayed for the great folks!)
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Peter, interest, is there a current lighter weight Yamaha two channel power amp model that you would recommend?
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Peter, ever worked with a McIntosh?
Bill, tgo
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I can second what Peter is saying, with regards to Yamaha amps. When I was a teenager, trying to put together my first rack system, I would stop by the warehouse of a pretty big sound reinforcement/power generation Co. located in my hometown. All the guys I got to know always told me to get Yamaha amps (P2200 to be exact). They called them the "Poor man's McIntosh". I still have that amp in the rack in my rehearsal space. Still works great. Never had a single issue, and it's seen some use!
Regards,
Pete
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Just looked up the P2200. 44 pounds! The "poor-man-with-a-bad-back's" McIntosh.
hehehehe
Bill, tgo
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The good news is that we're now well into all touring PA being self-powered (each cab has its own built in amp), the prices of 'traditional' rack mount stereo power amps have dropped dramatically, both the newer lightweight ones, much less used old school chassis with the big transformers.
Just down to you in terms of budget, weight targets, power, etc. In the old days, it was easy: Cheap? Peavey CS800. More better? Either Crest or Crown or Yamaha. There are terrrific deals out there on QSC, another good choice. These days there are more choices, and you also need to decide if you need the smart front ends newer ones feature with built-in speaker curves, compression, filters.
As several have mentioned above, for me the short answer would be Yamaha. IF you have time to educate a little and wait out a really good deal, that's even better. In general, I'd shoot for one road-tested by the traveling sound companies. If they can't break one, you're probably good.
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definitely not light, by any means, but a relative lightweight compared to some of the larger McIntosh amps! That's why it stays in the rehearsal space.
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I recall Pierre-Yves advising me to look at Yamaha when I was considering a power amp for my rig but they are quite expensive here in the UK compared to other models. If i need to change mine in the future i will certainly look at Yamaha again.
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I have a pair of Yamaha DBR15 powered speakers for my PA mains. Great speakers, and they came with a 7 year warranty, far longer than any of the competitors.
Bill, tgo
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I own several Yamaha P 2200s. I use one of them daily, with my studio monitor's playback system. Likewise, I have two more in my music room studio. I love that they utilize convection cooling with no fans. There are currently lighter choices if logistics are an issue.
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With the technology today I would think you could get comparable quality, power, tone, and durability in a light weight package.
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With the technology today I would think you could get comparable quality, power, tone, and durability in a light weight package.
I have owned my Yamaha P2200S for decades . They shalt remain as studio dwellers and not subject to my gigging logistics at venues :)
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Peter, ever worked with a McIntosh?
Bill, tgo
I have not. But I was just looking at some online a few days ago, and they boast of distortion as low as 5%; Yamaha, IIRC, is <0.01%.
Peter
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Just looked up the P2200. 44 pounds! The "poor-man-with-a-bad-back's" McIntosh.
hehehehe
Bill, tgo
And the P-2700 was more. Now fill a rack (or 2) with them. Add a bunch of 4' stages, and you begin to understand the 4 back surgeries..... (though I really blame that more on bouncing around in trucks - both musical and prosaic - for 3 decades; the hearing loss, too).
Peter
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Peter, ever worked with a McIntosh?
Bill, tgo
I've gigged with a McIntosh, but it's so heavy that I usually leave it at home. It's also a little underpowered at about 135 watts per channel. There's also the issue of the glass being quite delicate.
These days I use a Quilter Bass Block 800. Super light and a ridiculous amount of power. It can also be used on its own.
I recently got a Markbass cabinet (actually a combo amp without the amp part) that has a Faital 500 watt 12" in there for rehearsals. I added a Magellan 350 head (even lighter than the Quilter!) and the combination moves so much air that my wife and son could hear it booming in the car out in the street! There are some frequency issues that need to be EQ'd out, but for a combination that comes in at about 25lbs, I can't complain.
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Peter, ever worked with a McIntosh?
Bill, tgo
I've gigged with a McIntosh, but it's so heavy that I usually leave it at home. It's also a little underpowered at about 135 watts per channel. There's also the issue of the glass being quite delicate.
These days I use a Quilter Bass Block 800. Super light and a ridiculous amount of power. It can also be used on its own.
I recently got a Markbass cabinet (actually a combo amp without the amp part) that has a Faital 500 watt 12" in there for rehearsals. I added a Magellan 350 head (even lighter than the Quilter!) and the combination moves so much air that my wife and son could hear it booming in the car out in the street! There are some frequency issues that need to be EQ'd out, but for a combination that comes in at about 25lbs, I can't complain.
I will confess, Bill's Quilter stuff has made me question my faith in tube amps for guitars.
And I'm guessing the pictured rig sounds kinda alright.......
Peter (who will point out that if bottles make you nervous, McIntosh does make SS stuff, too)
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And I'm guessing the pictured rig sounds kinda alright.......
Peter (who will point out that if bottles make you nervous, McIntosh does make SS stuff, too)
It sounds quite nice! It's all solid state (except for the F-2B). A friend of mine is getting his MC2300 refurbished, so I'll probably get a chance to play through it, but I'm sure I won't be able to lift it.
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I just looked on the Mcintosh web site randomly and one of their amps is coming in at 114 lbs. I expect the vintage ones on the wall of sound weighted a tad more than that. Poor Roadies....