Which poweramp?

[kylendm]

So I'm kinda new to the rack thing. I've had a Randall Preamp for a while but I've never owned a poweramp. I'm looking around and I see the Matrix 1000 or there's also the Fryette PS-2. I can't really drop $1000 on the 2/90/2 or the Mesas but how do these stack up? I like the natural tube feel and I plan on playing live. What would you guys go for?

 

[Mattfig]

Used RT2/50 is my choice.

 

[kylendm]

I thought about that since it has all the tone shaping options. With the PS-2 or Matrix It'll also be a lot lighter. Hmm

 

[Racerxrated]

There's a Mesa Strategy 400 at GC online for 700 or so. It's been sitting there a while, you could offer less and they might take it. Between that and the VHT 2150, they are the top tube power amps according to many. I have a Strategy 400 and its amazing.

 

[kylendm]

I understand they are beast but I can only have a 2U max.

 

[rsm]

Have a look at Engl power amps, they have dual 20W, 50W, and 100W. I have the E850/100 in my Engl rig, I use an Engl E530 with it.

 

[NinjaRaf]

There are good budget tube power amps out there, too.

The Peavey ones are always loud, reliable, and sound great. Carvin TS100 is a good option, too...or even better, the old T100 or whatever it was.

 

[kylendm]

Just bought a vht 2/50/2 for a nice price. I hope it's loud enough for my band haha. I have a feeling it won't be a problem though.

 

[rottingcorpse]

You are gonna love that VHT power amp! Congrats.

 

[paulyc]

I bought a Mesa 295 Stereo Simul Class pwr amp for $200 on CL, one side didn't work...$20 bucks for a tech to look at it and find ONE shorted orange drop cap and replace it and it was mine... great amp.

 

[Snave]

You should like the 2502. It's a great power amp (best I played out of 6 or so, including three Mesas). Word of advice: keep the voicing switches off. They're fizz generators.

I compared my old VHT 2502 to a Fryette Power Station and there was absolutely no contest. I don't know if it was the small power transformer or circuit design hurting it, but the Power Station sounded lifeless and had no body/punch as a power amp. Worse than the Rocktron Velocity 150.

 

[kylendm]

I was really dead set on getting the power station because it was compact and a little lighter but I found this guy for even cheaper. I've only heard good things so I'm gonna take a shot.
This is all going in a rack/212 cab combo so I shed a little weight off but also buying some Celestion century Vintages. Hope they sound good as well.

Quick question, does the class A and class a/b switch really make much of a difference?

 

[Snave]

Yeah, class A warms the tone up and makes it sound sweeter all-around. Spongier response, fattens up the mids and softens lows/highs. It's also louder than A/B mode. Drawbacks are louder fan speed and slightly reduced tube life.

The best sounding mode is class A with the voicing switch off, but I ran A/B instead since the drawbacks above outweighed the tone difference in my experience. Class A probably wouldn't sound all that great with a darkly voiced preamp either.

As far as weight goes, I think the 2502 is the lightest great sounding tube power amp around (33 lbs). The Mesa 2:50 is a whole 10 lbs lighter, but doesn't sound particularly good, and the Mesa 2:90 is 35 lbs (same as the VHT 2902).

 

[ghosty999]

If you want best bang for buck in a small U1 config then I'd recommend the EL84 20/20 Marshall unit. Has a presence knob and "deep" setting. I use one as my main live tube power amp with a Valve State as backup.

 

[NinjaRaf]

Well, that worked out nicely!

The power station would have been a great choice, too. Thing worked really well with my Mark V25.