The brazilian dude Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Man it seems like my thirst for answers never ends! I was thinking last night ´bout the several rigs that I´ve seen around here, when something came into my mind, and I think it´s a interesting question... There are several of you who are adept of a separated pre/power amp. There are others who don´t. And (here´s the interesting part) there are also several of you who use a separated pre-amp with and all-together head. Witch brings me to my question: -What´s the advantage of using a pre-amp together with an amp? -Is it better for separated pre-amps to have separated power amps? -Is it good to have two power amps in the same equipament (GK head + power amp for instance) -What are the advantages in the options? I´m sorry to make these big questions, but you guys are the best source of information I have. Hope I´m not being a pain in the ass... Thanks Please, forgive my english, I don´t speak it very well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 I have both. The advantages of a preamp/poweramp setup is clearly the fact that you can have as much power as you want with whatever preamp you want. So, if I need 300-watts, I can get a 300-watt power amp. If I need 2,100-watts, I can get a 2,100-watt poweramp. I have a Demeter Preamp that goes into a Stewart World 2.1 that I love. The nice this about integrated heads (like a GK or SWR) is that you have everything in one package. These tend to be smaller and sometimes lighter. I have an Eden WT-330 which is a great little head, only 12" x 12" x 3.5" and weighs about 12 lbs. Perfect for a lot of situations. It's even nicer having both (sometimes in multiples, as is my case). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I'm not sure I understood part of your question, so this may not help. I've heard of people using a complete head as just a power amp. Heads that have certain input facilities (return, or preamp-in) can do this. I think this is less common, but may happen when someone has a perfectly fine amp, but needs a different sound. So you could use that old GK1001 for it's solid amplification characteristics, and put a fancy preamp (POD XT for example) in front of it. Some people also may love the sound from their preamp, but the power section isn't strong enough. They buy a power amp and use the "send" output to feed it. I suspect that this happens mostly when folks are short of cash and have a bit of gear they love. I would think that Getz's situation is more common - you buy a second rig. That way you have choices, backup (in case one fails), and more gear!! Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I think that when this coming Friday passes, I will have 5 "backups." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred TBP Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Originally posted by The guy from Brazil: -What´s the advantage of using a pre-amp together with an amp? -Is it better for separated pre-amps to have separated power amps? -Is it good to have two power amps in the same equipament (GK head + power amp for instance) -What are the advantages in the options? (a) the pre-amp will shape your sound the way you want it. the power amp will provide the decibel level you need. If it's integrated in the same package, it's usually simpler to carry around and plug in. (b) If I understand you correctly, yes. And they don't have to be from the same manufacturer. If they're rack-mounted equipment, usually (but not always) they have standardized-impedance inputs and outputs. © I'd keep the power amps in a separate rack to make them easier to carry around and to provide adequate cooling and air-flow. But yu shouldn't need two unless you want to carry a spare as a backup unit, which a lot of touring companies do. But I'd use only one at a time. (d) The advantages I think I mostly covered above: better tone control, mix-and-match, and a backup power amp for emergencies. The disadvantages are the added up-front expense plus the extra equipment you'd be carrying around. getz76 (Maury) has an excellent rack setup, in my humble opinion, AND he's a fellow Portugese. It doesn't get much better than that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The brazilian dude Posted December 2, 2004 Author Share Posted December 2, 2004 Thanks man... Please, forgive my english, I don´t speak it very well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Hopefully things have improved in the 5 years since I last used a (bass) head in anger but something I really noticed when moving up to separates is how much less noise there is. I really hate hiss, once it gets into your signal chain it's so hard to remove without dulling your tone. Considering there are so many preamps out there at low prices (not least of which are used SWR Grand Prix as I use) they're certainly worth considering almost regardless of budget. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Originally posted by Fred the bass player: getz76 (Maury) has an excellent rack setupThat will actually be "setups" tomorrow if all goes as planned. Oh, passing GAS is GREAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Originally posted by getz76: That will actually be "setups" tomorrow if all goes as planned. Grrrrr. spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wraub Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 What's wrong, Will? Kern't you stand it? Peace, wraub I'm a lot more like I am now than I was when I got here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Knife twisting by wraub: Kern't you stand it? No, I Kern't. In fact, I'm pretty Peav'd about it. About 1400 watts worth of Peav'd. Grrrrr. spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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