question for rack dudes
- Thread starter BackCrack
- Start date
Racerxrated
Well-known member
I thought I read that Criss Oliva may have used a Yamaha SS power amp, with 2 SD1s stacked into it? But not sure.........
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
I believe Kurt Cobain ran a Mesa Studio Pre into solid state Crest 4801 poweramps live.
harddriver
Well-known member
Funny you would mention this topic today. 
For my W/D/W I ran a Peavey 50/50 for years, but I always wanted an H&H V800 but I would never pull the trigger for one reason or another parts availability and price mainly. I then picked up a Matrix GT1000FX and I was extremely happy with that but I always wondered if an old big wattage, big transformers, big capacitors FET/Mosfet in the wattage range of the H&H would thump more on the low end and percussive dynamics so I started looking at old school commercial power amps with 1/4" inputs and outputs.
I liked the looks of the Peavey CS800X's the best as they were the newest in this line but I think the older CS800 have the same 1/4" High Z jacks for the inputs as well. I found one on line for $200 bucks..... bought it and I got it yesterday with a 30 day warranty from the Music store I bought it from. The biggest plus is they are plentiful and still functional and I believe they can still be serviced if needed.
I hooked everything up today and I must say it does seem to provide more wallop at all volume levels driving two cabs stereo than my Matrix which is class D circuitry with smaller filtercaps versus the old school of the peavey which is like 40lbs versus featherweight of the Matrix.
I disabled the DDT and PL2 selectors and did not use the built in crossovers so it's in full range amp mode
Here are the specs....
100 W RMS into 16 ohms 200 W RMS into 8 ohms 400 W RMS into 4 ohms...600 W RMS into 2 ohms (Per Channel)
840 W RMS into 8 ohms...1200 W RMS into 4 ohms (Bridged)
DDT Compression with LED Indicators and defeat Switch ( defeat is not recommended except for Specific Amp Power and Spec tests for Quality Assurance.
DDT Is Cutting edge extra Speaker Safety by limiting output rather then sending Clipped (square) Signal to the Speakers which is one way to Destroy them Quickly.
Slew Rate : 40V/Microsecond. Stereo Mode, Each Channel
Power Bandwidth: 10Hz to 50KHz @ 4 ohms, rated Power
THD: Less then 0.03%, Rated Power (three onehundredth of a percent)
Hum and Noise: 100dB Below Rated Power, Unweighted
Right now I'm slaving my 5 watt jose Marshall into a THD hotplate set to load using a Suhr Iso line out into a Boss PS5 to split the signal to stereo ot the power amp input. Overall for the price I have to say I'm impressed, I'm not hearing any if at all coloration which is nice. I probably would have liked an H&H more but that is another story all together for the prices. I guess I'll have to see how long this amp stays together but DJ's and sound guys pushed these amps for years with no issues so I'll give it a go......
Good luck with your search!
For my W/D/W I ran a Peavey 50/50 for years, but I always wanted an H&H V800 but I would never pull the trigger for one reason or another parts availability and price mainly. I then picked up a Matrix GT1000FX and I was extremely happy with that but I always wondered if an old big wattage, big transformers, big capacitors FET/Mosfet in the wattage range of the H&H would thump more on the low end and percussive dynamics so I started looking at old school commercial power amps with 1/4" inputs and outputs.I liked the looks of the Peavey CS800X's the best as they were the newest in this line but I think the older CS800 have the same 1/4" High Z jacks for the inputs as well. I found one on line for $200 bucks..... bought it and I got it yesterday with a 30 day warranty from the Music store I bought it from. The biggest plus is they are plentiful and still functional and I believe they can still be serviced if needed.
I hooked everything up today and I must say it does seem to provide more wallop at all volume levels driving two cabs stereo than my Matrix which is class D circuitry with smaller filtercaps versus the old school of the peavey which is like 40lbs versus featherweight of the Matrix.
I disabled the DDT and PL2 selectors and did not use the built in crossovers so it's in full range amp mode
Here are the specs....
100 W RMS into 16 ohms 200 W RMS into 8 ohms 400 W RMS into 4 ohms...600 W RMS into 2 ohms (Per Channel)
840 W RMS into 8 ohms...1200 W RMS into 4 ohms (Bridged)
DDT Compression with LED Indicators and defeat Switch ( defeat is not recommended except for Specific Amp Power and Spec tests for Quality Assurance.
DDT Is Cutting edge extra Speaker Safety by limiting output rather then sending Clipped (square) Signal to the Speakers which is one way to Destroy them Quickly.
Slew Rate : 40V/Microsecond. Stereo Mode, Each Channel
Power Bandwidth: 10Hz to 50KHz @ 4 ohms, rated Power
THD: Less then 0.03%, Rated Power (three onehundredth of a percent)
Hum and Noise: 100dB Below Rated Power, Unweighted
Right now I'm slaving my 5 watt jose Marshall into a THD hotplate set to load using a Suhr Iso line out into a Boss PS5 to split the signal to stereo ot the power amp input. Overall for the price I have to say I'm impressed, I'm not hearing any if at all coloration which is nice. I probably would have liked an H&H more but that is another story all together for the prices. I guess I'll have to see how long this amp stays together but DJ's and sound guys pushed these amps for years with no issues so I'll give it a go......
Good luck with your search!
Last edited:
Stradazone
Well-known member
I have used Carver, Carvin and currently sometimes use a Peavey power amp 1 channel to power a small pa and the 2nd channel to power a 1x12 cab, pretty good results with all of them
BackCrack
Well-known member
I've been using a 1st-gen Mesa 295 mated to a Mesa Quad for guitar, and then mated to a Demeter VTB-201 for bass. That power amp is heavier than a dead preacher. I was thinking of going with something like a QSC PL/PLX and drop the rack's weight by about 70 lbs. I'll get to experimenting as soon I as find a local deal.