Pre amp or all in one ?

[thumbsup]

my current 4-10 & 1-15 cabs are powered by a mesa 400. I'm considering going back to a pre amp and a plx qsc amp. I'm a little confused as to what Alembic pre amp to find/purchase. I want bi amp capabilities w/ line out. F 2B or F 1X ? Are there other Alembic pre amps ? All advice is appreciated.
Thanks

[sonicus]

You can Biamp with the Alembic F1-X as it has a crossover incorporated in it's circuit design. With a single F-1X you can biamp a MONO signal. If you want STEREO Biamp get two F1-X units.
 
        You can also use an F-2B ,  BUT it does not have a crossover built in, you will have to use a separate cross over in the signal path to the power amp ,  
 
       I have done both of the above with many variations of signal processing including an  SF-2,   various parametric and paragraphic equalizers   ,compressors  . etc... ... ...    
 
 
                     I love to experiment ! Designing sound systems is what I love to do ______

[ajdover]

I biamp my F1-X.  It is a mono signal, and I use both 2X10/4X10 and 1X15 cabs (Ampeg BXT series, no longer made).  I also have an SF-2 which complements the F1-X well, and makes any bass sound better IMHO.  I also use a QSC PLX 1804, and it works well for me.
 
Alan

[ajdover]

 
 
(Message edited by ajdover on January 12, 2011)

[thumbsup]

thanks, i just almost bought a F 2B which i now know is not what i'm looking for,
the F1 X sounds like what i do want.
 
what is an SF 2 ? from the sounds of your comment are you running the SF 2 in conjunction with the F1 X.
Steve

[thumbsup]

i haven't seen any F1 Xs for sale on the club lately.
I believe theres one on flea bay but its pricey!

[David Houck]

Steve; as Alan and Wolf stated, if you want a preamp with bi-amping and a line out, then the F-1X is the one you want.  The SF-2 is essentially two superfilters that can be run in stereo, in series, or in 3 channel mix mode.  While the SF-2 can be used as a preamp, it has no tubes and does not have the traditional low-mid-high tone stack.  Descriptions of all three can be found here.

[ajdover]

Steve,
 
    Right now, I'm running the SF-2 along with my F1-X.  There are a lot of different ways to use it, and ways to hook it up.  I can tell you that if you want to bi-amp, the F-1X is the way to go.  Some folks think bi-amping isn't necessary in the age of full range cabinets.  Speaking only for myself, I like being able to tweak the highs and the lows separately.  
 
     One day, I'm going to  get a stereo preamp so that I can fully utilize the stereo features of my Series II and my two Rickenbacker 4001s.  To me, there is nothing like being able to run different pickup signals to different channels/amps.  It really opens up a whole new world of tonal possibilities.
 
Alan