Questions about Series I Stereo set up through DS-5, F2-B

[TTC1]

Dear Club members,

First, thank you for all the amazing posts--in researching the above I was hugely impressed by the amount of expertise and information you have contributed on these and zillions of other topics!

Second, I would be very grateful for advice on the following: I'd like to try running my 1980s Series I stereo (I've always run it mono), but not sure I understand the specifics. 

I use a DS-5, and would like to try a new rig using an F2-B, power amp, and new cabs.  As I understand it from other posts on this in the Club, stereo means running from the bass using 5-pin to DS-5, stereo out of DS-5 to each channel on the F2-B, then each channel out from the F2-B to a separate power amp that powers its own cab.  Stereo is two channels--one for the neck pickup and one from the bridge pickup. 

Is the above correct? Do I need to have two power amps? If stereo is one channel for each pickup, does it make sense to run the bridge pickup through smaller speakers (10s or 12s) and the neck pickup through a 15 or bigger?

I would be very grateful for any advice!

Best,

Teige

[JimmyJ]

Hey Thomas,

Welcome to the club!

Yes, you’ve got the concept just fine. Most power amps are 2-channels so you would only need one of those unless you get into “bridging” mode.

As for the speakers, that’s totally up to you. There is more high-frequency information coming from the bridge pickup and more low-frequency energy from the bass pickup. I had a rig years ago that used a pair of 12” EVs for the bridge and a pair of 15” EVs from the neck. That worked well for me and was a kick to stand in front of. But even if you had a matching pair of speaker cabs you would still enjoy what happens in stereo. Summing the sound “in the air” makes for a clean and mighty tone. Plus, you’d still have separate tone controls for each channel with the F-2B.

Let us know how your experimenting goes.

Jimmy J

[TTC1]

Many thanks, Jimmy J!

A last few questions--is the amp's wattage governed by the speaker needs, or is there some other criterion I should be thinking about given the intended stereo use (i.e. extra wattage for headroom?)  Also, I've seen posts endorsing various makes of amp--QSC, Crown among others.  Is there any consensus among Alembic players about what might work best given the rig I've described?  Or any current opinions?

Very best,

Teige

[BeenDown139]

Or any current opinions?

OK i'll go first.  everybody does it differnt.  i'm 69, don't have roadies so i hafta tote my own gear.  we have a sound guy for our shows.  so... neck pickup to the 15" powered bottom,  bridge pickup to a separately powered 2x5 top fed by a DS-5 clone from the ebony amazon.   it's full stereo all the way thru.  i  give a mixed mono output to the FOH with a stereo-to-mono DI box.  it's 500 watts total so i got plently of series II goodness/volume/presence/overhead on stage without splitting my eardrums.

hope that helps

[TTC1]

Many thanks and great band name!  I had not thought of powered cabs.  The rig looks amazing (bass is over-the-top beautiful) and as you say, portable, which is a plus for me also.

Really appreciate your time and views.