sinister Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 hey there, just wondering if anybody out there can tell me what the difference between power amps and pre amps are? im think of getting rid of my marshall head and buying rack mount stuff instead. is there rackmount stuff that you would suggest? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy McFeely Posted December 4, 2003 Report Share Posted December 4, 2003 the pre amp is for the gain and eq. the power amp is for volume. so if you get a rack preamp, you'll need a rack power amp also. i have a mesa tri-axis pre and a peavey classic 50 tube power amp. the mesa is a single rack space, and the peavey is a triple rack space. i want to get a pod pro, and run that thru the power amp, that would rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the third eye Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 rack = tubey goodness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 as far as im concerned, for tubey goodness one of these would do me http://www.aikenamps.com/Sabre_MKII.html thats the amp i would kill for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 http://www.aikenamps.com/Sabre_MKII.html Heh! "Red tolex sounds best." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbkim Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Everyone'll have an opinion.... Some things to consider when deciding between a tube vs. solid state POWER amp. It is my opinion that tube sounds best but it matters much less in a power amp vs. the pre-amp. If you crank a tube power amp to overdrive (in addition to the tube pre-amp) than that is sweetness itself... but how often will you play that loud? You lose some of the tonal advantages that tubes have vs. SS (for the power amp) at lower volumes. Also consider replacement costs for tubes. Pre-amp tubes will last 2+ years but power amp tubes can last as short as 6 months. Check prices for replacement tubes and you'll see what I mean. Tube pre-amp + solid-state power amp = happy ears (and wallet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Kim, you do have a very good point about the pro's and cons of tube amps however one of the features of all the aiken amps is thatthey have attenuators which means you can get a cranked up tube amp sound at realativlly low volumes ido haveto agree on tube prices tho, it can be bloody expensive espescially if the amp uses hard to get tubes the hybrid amps that use tube preamps and solid state power amps are a particularlly good way ofgoing about things. but i still want a piece of all tube goodness eventually i plan to get around to building one tho that may be a few years down the line when im at university lol (electronics is actually my thing and building guitars is just something imtryingto get into) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Get an Egnater ie4 and a Mesa Boogie 20/20 or 50/50 [homer voice] mmmmmmm Egnater[/homer voice] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted December 5, 2003 Report Share Posted December 5, 2003 Digitech 2120 VGS: tube preamp + all effects ever needed (including whammy ) and a mesa boogie 50/50 tube poweramp... that's my rig... I haven;t found anything that could beat it to my taste Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushead Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 Triaxis & 2:90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the third eye Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 i second the egnater IE4!! such tubey goodness.... as for tubes only being ok when loud... i can definitely hear a difference between when it turns on and after 5 minutes of the tubes being warmed up, even at low volumes, and it sounds good the whole time....but gets better tubes sound lush at high volumes....doesn't mean they don't sound any good at low volumes i still prefer it to solid state nomatter the volume my 1.6cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsera Posted December 6, 2003 Report Share Posted December 6, 2003 I have a ada mp1 and a pdo pro and run it through a marshall(combo),I also have a 2x 20 tube power amp but cant run it(I need 2 1x12 speakers for it) I would like to upgrade to a Triaxis but the prices here in germany are ridiculous even for a used one.IMHO tube sounds the best but podpro is not that bad either for what it is.Ya tube burnout is a factor but in the end its all about the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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