Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: jazzyvee on November 05, 2013, 03:41:28 AM
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Good news, I've managed to locate a used F1-x in europe so just sorting out how to get the payment to someone in another country. Anyway, my QSC PLX2404 amp has for a few months stopped working properly on one of it's channels. It hasn't been a problem because only use one channel for mono. When the new pre-amp comes I want to investigate going stereo with my series basses and I'd like some recommendations on a new power amp that is just as good but lighter in weight.
Jazzyvee
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The word on a Facebook tech group I'm on seems to indicate that QSC is one of your better bets for power amps these days, and that it's probably a good idea to steer clear of current Crown product.
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I like my QSC K-12 powered monitor.
The power amp that is enclosed in it is small, lightweight and powerful with clean head room.
If you go to the QSC website and search for K-12, it will show all of the specifications for that product and you might find a stand alone QSC power amp that matches those spec's.
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What type of speakers are you planning to drive with the amp?
If you do not need bridged or 2 ohm operation the QSC PLX1804 weighs 5.9Kg compared to the PLX2402 at 9.5Kg. If you need bridged or 2 ohm operation the PLX2502 replaces your model and is pretty solid. I use two bridged PLX2502's to drive the subs on my PA system.
Keith
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I switched to the PLX 1084 and it seems to work for me and it is very light in weight!
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I have the PLX 1804 and it's fan is a little too noisy for me. I will replace the fan for one that's a little less noisy soon. I am also looking for a 6U or 8U gator case to drop the weight down. When the IN-2 finally arrives I will be swapping out the DS-5R bringing up the overall weight of the rig. (Or so I imagine)
Slawie
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I'm driving Mesa Boogie Powerhouse cabs. 4x10, 2x10 and 1x 15. Not all at the same time I might add. but I will be trying the kit out initially with the 1x15 (neck) and 2x10 (bridge)
Jazzyvee
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Check out the Walter Woods power amp on sale in the 'For Sale & Trade' section. One of the few manufacturers that focuses on quality the way the Wickershams do
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I have an ADA B500B older bass amp that has two seperate power amps in one rack unit. It allows you to run 2 cabs with differant settings and it is great for a series bass, if you can find one.
Since they are pretty unknown, they usually do not sell for the big bucks either.
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If you speakers are the 8 ohm version I would think the PLX2502 would be a good match for the 1X15 and 2X10. It would also work for the 4X10 although the PLX1804 would be the best fit. If you have the 4 ohm versions either the PLX1104 or PLX1802 would work well with what you have.
As far as fan noise goes I agree that the PLX fans are louder than some. I attribute most of this to the fact that they blow out the front of amp as opposed to the back. It has never really bothered me and I use both the PLX and PLX2 series of amps. If your PLX2402 fan never bothered you I don't think any of the PLX2 line will either.
Slawie,
I split my rack to reduce weight. I used to keep everything in a 6 space SKB rack and now use a 3 space for the amp and voltage regulator and a 4 space for everything else. While it sometimes involves an extra trip to the car it is a lot easier to move things around.
Keith
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The QSC Powerlight amps are excellent. Crest makes some new lightweights that I'd love to try and since they are partnered with Peavey, that might be a brand to check out as well. I'd love to find a super light class D power amp to partner with various preamps. I have an Eden WXT500 which is really nice in terms of tone, but it runs out of steam way too early. Although I have to say that it has saved me a number of times when bigger rigs have died and it just pumps along, clip lights and compressor lights lighting up, with nary a complaint.
Apparently some of the Stewarts are really nice, too. WT 1.2 or something like that?
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The newly-introduced Demeter Minnie 800D might be just what you need. 3.5 lbs, 800 watt RMS @ 4 ohms, 500 watt RMS @ 8 ohms. I haven't heard one yet but I really want to. It gets rave reviews!
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I bet it's awesome and also not inexpensive.
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Great news,hopefully the F1-x and it should be shipped out to me sometime tomorrow to arrive next week. :-)
Hopefully i can get it all together for a gig I have later this month. Just depends on the power amp situation.
And......more toys to play with during the winter evenings. :-)
Jazzyvee
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For what it's worth, a friend of mine has a Demeter Minnie and he plays loud all the time. The amp has been overheating and experiencing enough thermal shutdowns that he called Demeter and they told him to send it back for a more powerful fan and some additional ventilation holes...
But my bud's a maniac; your mileage may vary and by no means am I trying to denigrate the product. If you are interested in this you might want to call Demeter and casually run this by them. It can't hurt.
When I was considering a Crest LT-1500 years ago I called them up because I'd heard horror stories of them literally catching fire and belching flames. The rep assured me the problem had since been corrected and gave me the serial number range of the modification. A closed mouth never gets fed.
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If you can find a Walter Woods with some oomph (more than 100 watts), I think you might like it.
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Is the walter woods a stereo amp? or two channel Mono amp?
All the ones I've seen on line look like a head rather than power amp only.
Jazzyvee
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While this is just my experience, I have found Walter Woods amps to be great for upright and some electric playing, but for funk and reggae they seem to run out of steam a little quicker than getting a good PA amp, especially when you factor in the cost.
If I were gigging in NYC and needed to take the subway or cabs to a lot of gigs, it would be the perfect amp.
YMMV.
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The one for sale is a stereo 800 watt model. VERY RARE!!!! I wish I could afford it as it would be mine as soon as I saw it. I have been looking for this very amp for 15 years. Figures.
Nick
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I've just been reading Dave's post on the out of phase situation using a single F1-x to bi amp and the need to reverse the polarity of one of the speakers.
http://club.alembic.com/Images/16271/16378.html?1107728217 (http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=307)
Is this likely to be an issue with using one F1-x per pickup if I'm using the full range out on both?
Jazzyvee
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I use the one F1-X per pickup setup and haven't found it to be a problem. I have used a phase reversing cable when using one F1-X and the internal crossover, but have not done so since going to the two F1-X setup.
Jon
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Great, the new F1-x arrived this afternoon so hopefully soon I will get to do some experimenting.
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Running opposite polarity for a sub is the typical way of running. My Bag End ELF system is the same. Some people can notice a gap in sound around the crossover frequency when they are run opposite polarities. Whether it is a problem or not is related to where you crossover, the cabinets and the notes you play. For those that are bothered by the loss the solution is to reverse polarity and run in phase. This however can cause frequencies around the crossover point to be reinforced or have interference.
Since I assume you are not using the crossover in either F1-X none of this will apply to you. In your case you will need to use the separate F1-X and amplifier controls to balance the speakers to the sound you want to hear. I would also think trying to run out of phase will make things sound worse since you really want both pickups to be in-phase.
Keith
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The new F1-x has a red light whereas my previous one has a green light. Does that give any indication to it's age. It's in excellent condition. I've not used it yet but when I turned it on with nothing but the mains connected I could hear a hum from the transformer. Not sure how significant that is though. I will most likely leave it turned on for a while tomorrow and see if it overheats before I start plugging anything into the audio side. Is there an easy way to get the valve out without it breaking and me getting glass into my fingers?
Jazzyvee