Power Amps..

M

Mip

New member
I've been thinking of getting the Tech21 PSA1 preamp and a power amp, instead of a head. Do you have to get a power amp made for guitar setups, or will a normal PA power amp do? I'm looking for around 200w-300w.
Would the Alesis RA300 be a good choice? Does anybody know how much these are worth?

thanks.
 
say what???

you want 200-300 watts for your guitar? have you thought about how loud that is? and uhm as to the do you need a guitar poweramp? no you don't. but if your serious about your sound you will after testing them. don't trust anybody, trust your ears.

guhlenn
 
The reason I wanted 200-300w for my guitar is:
I've heard it's better to have more watts than you need - something about higher headroom. I know 100 watts is loud, but i'd like to have the extra 100 or 200 watts there so i'm not peaking out.
 
That "headroom" is needed in studio applications, but is hardly a concern for guitar amps... a 100 watt amp is PLENTY for gigging even in larger clubs.........

Bruce
 
i know what you mean. you should get an amp with much more power then you need for audio apps. or so people say. it's so the amp doesn't has to be cranked and so wont distort. but before you buy anything i would start reading some info on the topic cuz obviously you are only guessing (no offense!). Make an educated guess
Here's what i can say; if your buying an amp and are only just starting (as it seems) DON"T buy the pre-power amp config. It takes a LOT of experience to buy a good system that truly has a good sound. Depending on what style you're heading for the Tech21 and alesis wont cut it and you'll find yourself in the store in half a year. Buy a good combo; besides the obvious price difference a combo will sound good cuz it is matched.
If you DO want to go the 19" way buy a decent poweramp like a marshall valvastate or something like that... and 50-100watts are MORE than enough, believe me.

greetz guhlenn;)
 
hey, no offense taken, guhlenn, you almost hit the nail right on the head. I've been playing guitar for a while, i've had a valvestate combo for 2 or 3 years, and i've just been recently looking into heads and the like. I know bugger all about different power amps, so it was just something I was thinking about.
Thanks.
 
ok. good thing you didn't take it too seriously. Now in that case; think about tubes, forget about any non guitar poweramp. your valvestate will sound better then an alesis. if you wanna throw in the cash i can advise you the mesa: costs hell but the sound is yummie!. look into the fifty/fifty by mesa they're good. and i owned a triaxis once... but for that price you can buy a very nice alltube head, which is what i did. think about it do you really need stereo and do you want the hassle of a 19" rig? cuz it IS a hassle... and a nice tube head is cheaper and just as good (at least) it only is not so flexible...

your choice ;)
 
Also....

..you may want to check out Mesa's Power Amps. They make them in stereo formats with 20, 50 and 90 watts per channel respectively. I've heard they're awesome, as well. Not had any personal experience with them, but I'm considering a rack set up as well, and if I can afford it, this will probably be what I use combined with a recto cab. Just another suggestion. Hope this helps in some, however adequate, if any, way. C-ya!!

Brandon
 
Mip, what kind of music are u playing....it may help determine what amp will better suit you....
 
I haven't seen em in a while, but, I used to have a Peavey Classic Tube 50/50 power amp. I ran a Digitech RP-Something or other into that, and ran two Marshall 1960A's off it. Sounded killer (minus the digitech, that just brought me down, but at the time I was playing some very progressive type stuff, so it worked). The PEavey was killer, all tube, and it was pretty cheap (like $300)
Jake
 
Gidge - I mainly play metal/industrial metal, but lately i've been getting into blues as well.


Thanks for the replies everybody.
 
If you do decide to at least check out mesa power amps, if you didn't have the mula to get a 50/50, you could check into a used 20/20. They're still kind of expensive, usually around $330 or so on ebay, but, according to 95% of the reviews at harmony central, they are still really loud. You may want to check out the reviews at harmony central. Go to http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Mesa_Boogie/. This will give you access to the 20/20 and 50/50 reviews. Good luck and happy tone finding in whatever you do!!

Brandon
 
VHT makes great sounding power amps. I haven't played through one myself, but there are a lot of folks who use them. I'm not sure if he still does, but Steve Lukather was using one last time I saw his rig. But you can't go wrong with the Boogie either...I'd love to have one.

I know you've changed your mind on this so I'll just brush by it. No need for super high wattage amps, you won't need it. I run a Cerwin Vega CV-700 into some Marshall 2x12" cabs. From what I can tell the amp is 350 a side. I don't need it, but if the town I live in ever needs an air raid siren they can come to me.

If you're wondering why I have this amp...I got it as part of an ADA MP-1 deal about 11 years or so ago. The guy didn't want it and threw it into the deal for free. Maybe that should go in the "Best Deals" thread!?

Good luck, I look forward to hearing your new amp in an MP3 in the "Clinic". Let us know what you do!
 
thanks for all the replies, but I've got yet another follow-up question.
I've been looking at the Roland VGA-7 amp and it's really caught my attention. It's a 65w+65w digital modelling amp, so will it still be too loud, or will it give a tube sound at a low volume because it isn't actually a tube amp?
Does anybody have any experience with this amp?
 
if it's digital you DONOT crank it cuz it 'll sound like shit.

so non tube amps should have about 50 watts per channel minimum. but modelling is just a term and it definatly isn't the same... determine what YOU like...

guhlenn;)
 
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