To those that have moved on from a Tube amp to a SS/modeling rig.

[budda]

if the powerstage is enough to keep up with a drummer on its own, the rectifier player could, you know, turn down? gasp, i know... but it is an option

Dial in tones so the band sounds like a unit? In this economy?

 

[sleewell]

lately i have been using my helix and setting up my normal 5153 and orange half stack on one side of drums and then my quilter tone block 200 with my other 4x12 on the other side of drums.

its interesting to stand in front of the tube amp play a riff and then move and do the same thing in front of the ss power section.

tube power section still wins hahahaha.

 

[budda]

lately i have been using my helix and setting up my normal 5153 and orange half stack on one side of drums and then my quilter tone block 200 with my other 4x12 on the other side of drums.

its interesting to stand in front of the tube amp play a riff and then move and do the same thing in front of the ss power section.

tube power section still wins hahahaha.

Are both 412s the same model? Or at least v30/240wv

 

[JSKrev]

I still have one of my five former tube amps, but I normally play through an AMT SS-20 into a Power Stage 700. I'm no longer in a band as of last week, but it sounded fine at high volume. It was much clearer than the other guitarist's Marshall.

 

[Shask]

@Shask what is this mighty-sounding 200w KT88 power amp you keep refering to?

It's not well known, which I why I don't say it. It is a modified Seymour Duncan KTG 2100.

It is basically thier take on a VHT 2/90/2, but it has volume, negative feedback, presence, and depth controls. 2 x 12ax7, 2 x 12au7, 4 x kt88.

It is about 18" mounting depth and 40+ pounds.

 

[Shask]

I actually bounced back and forth with the Power Amp Modeling on/off, I can see where some amps it’d probably be a benefit to turn it off, but removing Fletcher Munson and the volume drop from turning it off, everything sounded much better with the PA modeling on.

I did notice the Mesa’s tend to build up low end really fast that requires some non-standard EQ settings, but it’s so fucking worth it.

I think as the volume goes up, you would have to reduce the low resonance, and high resonance, but that is always the case of low volume vs high volume.

 

[Deadpool_25]

Are there some tube power amps that are known to be more neutral or flat? Plus I assume anything 100W or more would have ample headroom.

I'm sure there are some that are more neutral than others but I'm not sure outside of the stuff @Shask mentioned. I just know some of the tube amps I've tried have worked significantly better with the Fractal gear than others.

And I'm actually a little curious about how headroom works when using a modeler through a loop. I suppose the power section should start distorting at about the same volume as if you were just using the amp's onboard preamp but I guess I haven't been able to get things to that volume because even the 50w evh power amps seem to stay clean at stupidly high volumes. But that's at home. I might change my tune at true gig volume. Maybe. I've had this shit up to like 115db. Loud enough to be painful and to think I should really put on some earplugs.

 

[Guamskyy]

Anyone using the ISP Stealth? 180 watts mono @ 8ohms or 2 x 80w stereo. That should be enough power no? Also a tiny lightweight unit: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...-180-watt-pedalboard-power-amp-with-rack-ears

I’ve been using it since 2016 and it’s plenty loud. I will say you do get an annoying pop when the unit powers on, as well as no actual power switch on the unit (you plugging/unplugging it IS the power switch.)

Is it the best, most transparent/sweet sounding power amp? Nah, not really. But at its price point and size, nothing else imo can beat it. The SD powerstage 200 is only 200w at 4 ohms, while this is 180w at 8 ohms on the mono bridged output. Next thing up would be the 700w and that is a decent leap ahead when it comes to power and price.

 

[CanserDYI]

if the powerstage is enough to keep up with a drummer on its own, the rectifier player could, you know, turn down? gasp, i know... but it is an option

By the time you turn it down to where my licks and leads cut through, it just doesn't feel right and unbalanced, but honestly at the end of the day, it's fine, lol.

 

[budda]

By the time you turn it down to where my licks and leads cut through, it just doesn't feel right and unbalanced, but honestly at the end of the day, it's fine, lol.

(Probably because it needs to be re-eq’d for the lower volume)

Honestly its worth it spending an hour or two dialling in both rigs together, with all instruments present. Playing live is fun, playing live sounding locked in is that extra bit lol. Unless of course thats not the type of band you’re in, at which point disregard

 

[Rev2010]

I’ve been using it since 2016 and it’s plenty loud. I will say you do get an annoying pop when the unit powers on, as well as no actual power switch on the unit (you plugging/unplugging it IS the power switch.)

Does it still pop even with the level turned all the way down when powering it on?

 

[Shask]

I’ve been using it since 2016 and it’s plenty loud. I will say you do get an annoying pop when the unit powers on, as well as no actual power switch on the unit (you plugging/unplugging it IS the power switch.)

Is it the best, most transparent/sweet sounding power amp? Nah, not really. But at its price point and size, nothing else imo can beat it. The SD powerstage 200 is only 200w at 4 ohms, while this is 180w at 8 ohms on the mono bridged output. Next thing up would be the 700w and that is a decent leap ahead when it comes to power and price.

I have always thought about buying a Ghent Audio box and ICE modules and building my own 'Powerstage' type unit. There are a lot of options, and it is much cheaper.

 

[TedEH]

I have always thought about buying a Ghent Audio box and ICE modules and building my own 'Powerstage' type unit.

I did this with a generic project box instead of the ghent kits, and it seemed to work out fine. You end up with something a little different than the Powerstage though, because it lacks the extra preamp - the input levels are not the same, you don't have any attenuation so it always runs wide open, and it expects a balanced input - I'm not sure what happens if you plug in something unbalanced. Other than that, it works great though. If I could figure it out without accidentally electrocuting myself, most folks here would probably have an easy time with it.

 

[Shask]

I did this with a generic project box instead of the ghent kits, and it seemed to work out fine. You end up with something a little different than the Powerstage though, because it lacks the extra preamp - the input levels are not the same, you don't have any attenuation so it always runs wide open, and it expects a balanced input - I'm not sure what happens if you plug in something unbalanced. Other than that, it works great though. If I could figure it out without accidentally electrocuting myself, most folks here would probably have an easy time with it.

I was looking at using it with my FM3, which is a preamp with balanced outputs, so I figured that would take care of those issues.

 

[Guamskyy]

Does it still pop even with the level turned all the way down when powering it on?

Unfortunately yes it still does

 

[TedEH]

I was looking at using it with my FM3, which is a preamp with balanced outputs, so I figured that would take care of those issues.

Yup. Exactly my use case. Works just fine.

 

[CanserDYI]

(Probably because it needs to be re-eq’d for the lower volume)

Honestly its worth it spending an hour or two dialling in both rigs together, with all instruments present. Playing live is fun, playing live sounding locked in is that extra bit lol. Unless of course thats not the type of band you’re in, at which point disregard

Yeah we're having a lot of fun EQing at higher volumes, any tips on leveling two loud ass amps at full volume?

 

[budda]

Yeah we're having a lot of fun EQing at higher volumes, any tips on leveling two loud ass amps at full volume?

Do it at speaker level, and dont be down there for extended periods lol.

Same amps or different amps? Decide whos taking lower and higher frequencies and tweak with that in mind. Probably gonna want the bass going to since that will determine how the tones sound to the audience. I vaguely remember dialling in bass dirt and we would all play to make sure it was the right sound for the parts.

Also re bass dirt: fuzzrocious heliotropic and go.

 

[ATRguitar91]

I have always thought about buying a Ghent Audio box and ICE modules and building my own 'Powerstage' type unit. There are a lot of options, and it is much cheaper.

You can try this out for like $30 by buying a mono subwoofer amp and some adapters. They have little 100w class D chips and sound awesome with a modeller. There are also more powerful ones you can get.

I did a thread on it here. I've been really happy with it. Tone wise it's on par with Crown XLS.

 

[Shask]

You can try this out for like $30 by buying a mono subwoofer amp and some adapters. They have little 100w class D chips and sound awesome with a modeller. There are also more powerful ones you can get.

I did a thread on it here. I've been really happy with it. Tone wise it's on par with Crown XLS.

I know for a lot of the small cheap ones you need a laptop style power supply, which kind of defeats the purpose of a small unit, lol.

I know the ICE modules are well regarded, and one thing I liked about the Ghent Audio approach was you got a unit that just plugged into the wall. No fancy power supply. I kept thinking about doing a stereo one, like 250+250 or something.