Author Topic: Stewart amplfiers (Read 380 times)

dnburgess · « **on:** April 15, 2003, 08:42:10 PM »

What experience do fellow Alembicians have with Stewart power amplifiers?

There are scattered references in other threads that appear to be generally fairly positive. They appear to have great power to weight ratios. The absence of speakon connectors is a bit of a drawback though.

stoney · « **Reply #1 on:** April 16, 2003, 05:47:54 AM »

I have a Stewart 1.2 (one rack space) So far I really like it. I'm driving an Acme Low B-2 with it. I don't so much mind the lack of Speakon connectors. I just made myself some speaker cables with banana plugs, they work fine. I did, however, drill some holes in the SIDE of my rack box to get better ventilation. I haven't had any problems with it but had heard that, in the past they were unreliable and made funny sounds when they got hot. But I now understand that Stewart has fixed the problems. BTW, Stewart is very responsive via e-mail if you have any questions for them.

David Houck · « **Reply #2 on:** April 16, 2003, 06:34:19 AM »

I ran across this testimonial earlier today:
http://www.jeffnet.org/~addicott/gear/stewart12.html

alemboid · « **Reply #3 on:** May 15, 2003, 07:35:47 AM »

Hello Gang, I have a Stewart 1.2 and have had bad results. One day while playing my Orion 5 fretless, through my F1X into the 1.2, at low volume, my amp blew up. Not with a mushroom cloud, but with a deafening BOOM! -through my speaker- an Acme B-2, 4 ohms. The tweeter protection bulb lit up the inside of the speaker box as if it was on fire- the woofer surrounds are somewhat transparent, so it was visible through there. The amp would no longer operate, fuse was intact. I tried a different amp, and the speaker was fine (tough stuff!). I called Stewart, and THEY told me that the 1.2 isn't suited for bass rigs, especially low b string basses, as the low frequency over taxes their output ability. I would suggest calling or writing them to get it straight from the horses mouth. They recommend the 1.6 or 2.1 for bass. Yes they make great stuff, keep in mind the 1.2 may eventually bite back- my system was fine for 3 years of playing, never too loud, never dropped.
I just bought a Mackie 1400i. Anyone have experience with these?

dnburgess · « **Reply #4 on:** May 15, 2003, 04:04:56 PM »

Thanks for the post - I was attracted by the relatively low weight of the Stewart amps - but unsure about taking the risk of freighting one to Australia - i.e. no after sales support.

yggdrasil · « **Reply #5 on:** May 21, 2003, 03:09:29 PM »

I contacted Stewart about this, since I intend to set up a rig consisting of F1-X + Stewart 1.2 + EA CXL-112. Here is a selection from their answer:

We have a lot of very satisfied customers that are playing 1.2's . Sure the 1.6 or 2.1 will give you more Power (volume) but if you don't need to blow the doors down the 1.2 is just fine.
ALL Stewart amps are rated flat down to below 20 HZ so there is no problem reproducing B which is 61.735 Hz.
There are no customer accessible fuses! We use a circuit breaker on the rear panel.

The Alembic preamp works well with our amplifiers...Enjoy!

Regards,

Frank.

dnburgess · « **Reply #6 on:** May 21, 2003, 04:05:37 PM »

Got the wrong B - the fundamental frequency of a low B on a bass is an octave lower at approx 31 Hz.

bob · « **Reply #7 on:** May 21, 2003, 10:32:50 PM »

Yeah, I was struck by the wrong B frequency myself - my fingers started moving towards the keyboard before I finished reading the post, let alone seeing your response.

Fortunately, you almost have to go out of your way to build an amp these days that won't be flat to at least 20 Hz... but assuming the quote is accurate in the first place, I'd sure be reluctant to buy a speaker cabinet from these guys.

bigredbass · « **Reply #8 on:** May 23, 2003, 12:32:09 AM »

It never fails to amaze me . . . sure the 1.6 or 2.1 will give you more power (volume). Of course this nitwit also thought low B was 60-something hz . . . sigh. . .

OK: Let's get this straight:

Take your bass rig (or home hi-fi, or car stereo, or ANYTHING audio) and change ONLY the amplifier and DOUBLE the rated output. You are now 3db louder. And I thought only guitar players believed that using two Twin Reverbs instead of one would boost their output from a 100db to 200db!

I've always believed that when it comes to power amps, I'd let Clair Brothers or the other touring sound companies torture-test them for me. And they always come back with the same three answers: Crest, Crown, and QSC.

J o e y

mikedm · « **Reply #9 on:** May 23, 2003, 05:32:15 AM »

alemboid,
I've used the Mackie 1400i (3 of them) in a PA set up, never directly for a instrument. The 1400is were very quiet, never got hot. Used one to power 18 subs in the bridged mode, never had a problem. I still have two of them and if they didn't weigh a ton, I'd almost consider using one. Okay maybe not a ton, but what is it, close to 40 lbs? If you can't talk a friend into roadie-ing your gear for free beer, the wieght is something to consider. Great gear, just heavy.
There is another thread around here regarding power amps you might find useful. Joey mentioned the The Three C's, they happen to be the choice of a number of the club's players. Your rig is as personal as your choice in instrument, but for me this is clearly an area where advice from more experienced players is invaluable. Currently I'm fishing around for a QSC to replace my SWR 350.

Mike

alemboid · « **Reply #10 on:** May 23, 2003, 06:54:25 PM »

Hi Guys,
Sorry, I erred by writing fuse when yes, indeed, there is a circuit breaker in the back of the 1.2. I was discouraged by the people at Stewart Electronics to use the 1.2 for basses with a low B string. What can I say? I did, it worked great for a couple of years, and then KABOOM!!! Keeping in mind it was with an Acme Low B2, 4 ohm box, with the amp running bridged at up to 1200 watts (2 ohms a side), never being driven to its limits in power (keeping in mind the Acme's thirst for power) plus using the PA for blowing back the audience's hair-after all, what are PA's for? I think the 1.2 is a great amp. I just know it ain't fun when yer amp rig dies when you're on stage in front of a bunch of major label A&R folks. You may not have this experience with the 1.2.

Alemboid