Power Amps - whaddya know?

[rlord1974]

And is it me? Or do people thus far reading this thread just have ZERO love for the Marshall power amps?

I love mine.....sounds fantastic.....and it has headroom for miles

This

 

[Doubleneck]

V,
If your thinking of getting the Mako when available, why not use your Bogner as a power amp in the meantime?

 

[Ventura]

V,
If your thinking of getting the Mako when available, why not use your Bogner as a power amp in the meantime?

Excellent question. The answer to this is pretty simple, I could indeed use my Bogner or Diezel as a poweramp, but by the time this unit comes around (the Mak 4), it'll be close to the new year. So it's not as though I need something 'today' to power it up - I don't have it, and thus far, it's a distant thought... But, when it DOES finally arrive, I'll want it to be an independent, autonomous adjunct to my other current rigs. Which means, it'll be easiest to have it powered on its own.

As most of you know, I LOVE my 20thA and I LOVE my VH4S - this latest acquistion (Mak 4) was not a result of GAS. The reason I jumped on buying it was I was pretty stoked on the sound of the Dorado and the Makoplex - both of them - and the reason I liked the Mako line up was they seemed simple, good, and not overly priced. The PURPOSE for the Mako or the Dorado was to ADD it to my 'sonic palette', I wanted something to add to my V's upfront sound, or my 20thA's upfront sound. The 20thA and the V don't mix well - just sayin'... So, I wanted something dry or saggy, but strong and deliberate. I found this with the Mako line up. I was pondering a Herbert, but it's too close for comfort, and honestly, too much coin to just have as an "added" sound. Know what I mean?

So - here we are, the Mak4's on order, and when it comes, it'll be independently powered, and in combination with both my other heavy hitters - the VH4S and the 20thA. I'm stoked. And in the meantime, I just wanna learn what there is to know about poweramps, and therefore, when the time is right - lay down for one when I know my Mak4's almost ready. Pretty straight up.

JTyson - what model of Marshall do you have? The 100 or the 50?

Thanks for EVERYTHING this thread has offered so far...

Peace,
V.

 

[stratotone]

All of the following is opinion only

I've owned Marshall, Mesa, Peavey, Randall, VHT poweramps.

It's hard to say one is 'the best' as many do some things better than others.

The RT2/50 Randall is the versatility king bar none. You can run damn near any octal power tube in the thing, bias it from the FRONT of the amp without taking it out of the rack, and it's midi controllable. On top of that, you can even put yellowjackets from THD on a channel if you want EL84 goodness. Some people have had reliability issues with these (I haven't) and part of that may have been pilot error - people not biasing tubes properly, etc. It is super cool to be able to channel switch poweramp channels via midi though!

VHT is the tone king imho. I have a 2/90/2 if you want a tone with giant balls, here it is. Thank me later.

Mesa poweramps never did much for me. Had a 295, a 50/50, checked out a 20/20 close up. They were ok, but nothing I'd go out of my way to get.

Peavey poweramps are surprising as hell. I had a Classic 60/60 and a 120/120. The 120 got to about 90% of the VHT tone for much much cheaper. The 60/60 I had at the same time as the mesa 50/50 and I dumped the mesa because the peavey kicked it's ass. However, the peaveys are ugly and yeah, they say peavey on the front. That matters to some folks.

I had a couple of marshall poweramps when I ran a JMP1 preamp, wasn't real impressed. The mesa 50/50 beat up the marshalls, then the peavey beat up the mesa.

Pete

 

[rlord1974]

I had a couple of marshall poweramps when I ran a JMP1 preamp, wasn't real impressed.

This doesn't surprise me. However, your problem was the JMP-1 (junk), not the poweramp.....

Well, OK, in all fairness, the JMP-1 isn't "junk". I would take it over quite a few popular preamps (e.g., ADA MP-1, Mesa Studio). It just isn't in the same league as so many other quality preamps (e.g., Fish, X88, X99, M4, CAE, etc.). However, it is the weakest link in a rig that consists of a JMP-1 and a Marshall 9100, 9200, EL34 50/50 or EL34 100/100.....

 

[stratotone]

I had a couple of marshall poweramps when I ran a JMP1 preamp, wasn't real impressed.

This doesn't surprise me. However, your problem was the JMP-1 (junk), not the poweramp.....

Bought the marshalls to match the JMP1, however I also had a kitty hawk quattro and a mesa studio. marshall poweramps weren't that hot, again, just my opinion.

pete

 

[JTyson]

V,
If your thinking of getting the Mako when available, why not use your Bogner as a power amp in the meantime?

Excellent question. The answer to this is pretty simple, I could indeed use my Bogner or Diezel as a poweramp, but by the time this unit comes around (the Mak 4), it'll be close to the new year. So it's not as though I need something 'today' to power it up - I don't have it, and thus far, it's a distant thought... But, when it DOES finally arrive, I'll want it to be an independent, autonomous adjunct to my other current rigs. Which means, it'll be easiest to have it powered on its own.

As most of you know, I LOVE my 20thA and I LOVE my VH4S - this latest acquistion (Mak 4) was not a result of GAS. The reason I jumped on buying it was I was pretty stoked on the sound of the Dorado and the Makoplex - both of them - and the reason I liked the Mako line up was they seemed simple, good, and not overly priced. The PURPOSE for the Mako or the Dorado was to ADD it to my 'sonic palette', I wanted something to add to my V's upfront sound, or my 20thA's upfront sound. The 20thA and the V don't mix well - just sayin'... So, I wanted something dry or saggy, but strong and deliberate. I found this with the Mako line up. I was pondering a Herbert, but it's too close for comfort, and honestly, too much coin to just have as an "added" sound. Know what I mean?

So - here we are, the Mak4's on order, and when it comes, it'll be independently powered, and in combination with both my other heavy hitters - the VH4S and the 20thA. I'm stoked. And in the meantime, I just wanna learn what there is to know about poweramps, and therefore, when the time is right - lay down for one when I know my Mak4's almost ready. Pretty straight up.

JTyson - what model of Marshall do you have? The 100 or the 50?

Thanks for EVERYTHING this thread has offered so far...

Peace,
V.

100/100 Dual Monobloc

 

[Ventura]

V,
If your thinking of getting the Mako when available, why not use your Bogner as a power amp in the meantime?

Excellent question. The answer to this is pretty simple, I could indeed use my Bogner or Diezel as a poweramp, but by the time this unit comes around (the Mak 4), it'll be close to the new year. So it's not as though I need something 'today' to power it up - I don't have it, and thus far, it's a distant thought... But, when it DOES finally arrive, I'll want it to be an independent, autonomous adjunct to my other current rigs. Which means, it'll be easiest to have it powered on its own.

As most of you know, I LOVE my 20thA and I LOVE my VH4S - this latest acquistion (Mak 4) was not a result of GAS. The reason I jumped on buying it was I was pretty stoked on the sound of the Dorado and the Makoplex - both of them - and the reason I liked the Mako line up was they seemed simple, good, and not overly priced. The PURPOSE for the Mako or the Dorado was to ADD it to my 'sonic palette', I wanted something to add to my V's upfront sound, or my 20thA's upfront sound. The 20thA and the V don't mix well - just sayin'... So, I wanted something dry or saggy, but strong and deliberate. I found this with the Mako line up. I was pondering a Herbert, but it's too close for comfort, and honestly, too much coin to just have as an "added" sound. Know what I mean?

So - here we are, the Mak4's on order, and when it comes, it'll be independently powered, and in combination with both my other heavy hitters - the VH4S and the 20thA. I'm stoked. And in the meantime, I just wanna learn what there is to know about poweramps, and therefore, when the time is right - lay down for one when I know my Mak4's almost ready. Pretty straight up.

JTyson - what model of Marshall do you have? The 100 or the 50?

Thanks for EVERYTHING this thread has offered so far...

Peace,
V.

100/100 Dual Monobloc

How's the bass/low end and what's your pre that you're using?

Thanks,
V.

 

[Doubleneck]

V,
Try to get a hold of sreamindemon, I sold him my Marshall EL34 100/100 poweramp about 4 months ago and he's lovin it.
I'm surprised he hasn't chimed in yet.

 

[JTyson]

I'm running a Langner DCP1 preamp >Yamaha REV7 >Marshall, the Langner bass control is at 1o clock, and the lo contour is at 2o clock,
it has really good, solid tight bottom. I have access to way more bottom if I need it, but I dont. I understand the logic of having a depth control, but if your thinking the Marshall lacks bottom, it dosent. Its pure EL34 juicy goodness. Killer mids (might be the Langner) and the "B" voicing setting is much more aggressive than the normal "A" setting for heavy stuff
The Yamaha I use for a live reference patch that opens it up, but dosent sound like reverb at all, it sounds like its dry with some room to breath if that makes any sense. I have the mix down to about 20%
The Langner is unbelievable one side goes straight into the Marshall, the other side is into the REV7, then to the Marshall, so it has its own wet/dry thing going, but the wet side is effected very little. You cant tell its on till you bypass it
In the end, I dont think you can go wrong with many that were mentioned, but its a killer amp and its a lot less than some others. I lucked out and found one from Psychodave that was like brand new. Its really a very simple setup, but sounds killer
Happy hunting, enjoy the ride

 

[petejt]

You could give the Mesa/Boogie Stereo 50/50 poweramp a go. Yep- 50/50, not 2:50. I've got one, pretty good I reckon.

 

[Ventura]

Looking for 100 a side, scalable to 50 or 60 per side as a low power option. Presence and depth preferred. Clean, neutral, monoblock design. EL34's preferred, but quite honestly, unless anyone here says not to, I'm going to look into the Fryette 2:90:2 and call it a day.

http://www.sfdamp.com/poweramps_features.html

Let me know folks, this will probably be the direction I'm taking... Quad of KT88's, depth, presence, and scalable. Unless someone out there has reason to think this is the wrong direction, I'll more than likely start sourcing some prices.

Thanks again to everyone who've helped educate and elucidate me on this matter - and new direction!

Peace,
V.

 

[stratotone]

I don't think you can go wrong with the 2/90/2, but buy used just in case - that way you can flip it with minimal loss if it's not exactly what you're looking for. I love mine though!

pete

 

[Ventura]

I don't think you can go wrong with the 2/90/2, but buy used just in case - that way you can flip it with minimal loss if it's not exactly what you're looking for. I love mine though!

pete

Thanks Pete... I have some connections through distributors for stuff at next to cost on a lot of different manufacturer brands, so it'll be new, but no biggy if I don't like it. Often, the way I approach situations like this is "alright, this is all pretty top drawer gear, there are many people world wide who make this type of stuff sing, it's on tours around the planet, being used by top musicians - there should be very little I 'could' be disappointed with". There are better players, professional musicians making a living with gear mch less than this - so ya, I'll make it work!!

Peace,
V.

PS - now of course, it's the "2 cabs, 2x12 and by who?" or "1 cab, 4x12 stereo wired". I'm leaning towards 2 Mills Acoustics for this new set up

 

[rlord1974]

I have some connections through distributors for stuff at next to cost on a lot of different manufacturer brands.....

Wow! This is great news, V! Let me pull together my "want list" and send it to you. You could save us all a few bucks!!!

 

[Jimmie]

I have some connections through distributors for stuff at next to cost on a lot of different manufacturer brands.....

Wow! This is great news, V! Let me pull together my "want list" and send it to you. You could save us all a few bucks!!!

And a new distributor is born

 

[Ventura]

I have some connections through distributors for stuff at next to cost on a lot of different manufacturer brands.....

Wow! This is great news, V! Let me pull together my "want list" and send it to you. You could save us all a few bucks!!!

And a new distributor is born

Something told me as those words were being typed that maybe, juuuuuuuuuust maybe, I should be a bit more 'selective' in the information I render, ahem. I see this 'feeling' was quite correct - sorry guys, you know how it goes...it's a 'relationship' I can't really abuse. I'm fortunate enough to have it, don't know when it'll change, and don't wanna rock any boats - if ya getz mee driff...

Yo,
V.

PS - but if it weren't for my current vocation being as 'all consuming' as it is, I'd definitely consider getting into the biz. And I would automatically offer 15% off to all long time RT'ers, cuz I luvs y'all

 

[rlord1974]

it's a 'relationship' I can't really abuse. I'm fortunate enough to have it, don't know when it'll change, and don't wanna rock any boats - if ya getz mee driff...

Mee gets, mee gets!

 

[Ventura]

Bottom line?

I am officially stoked about this upcoming rig...!! I've just been sorting out the cab scenario, but overall, I think this new Mak 4 with the Fryette 2:90:2, a decent power conditioner/distributor and a solid cab (or two) is gonna melt some faces!! Don't get me wrong, I'm still horndoggin' in love with my Diezel and my Bogner, but this recent 'acquisition' that 'just happened' has actually got me pretty pumped

I'm imagining a whole new soundscape with the rig - should be awesome as a standalone or as an added texture to recordings!! Just squaring away the cabinet details and man, I think Christmas is gonna literally ROCK this year

Peace Y'All..
V.