A heap of poweramp questions

[The Unavoidable]

Are there different types of poweramps? Like some who are specifically made for guitar preamps, or some that are just for PA use etc? Or could one use any poweramp for running a preamp into a cab? And if so, is there any advantage to getting a poweramp by a guitar amp company like ENGL, Mesa, Marshall, etc?

Also, what type of wattage would one need?

 

[JonWormwood]

Well I don't think you can buy a tube power amp from crown or anything

Same rules apply as amp head power sections (wattage, tube type, etc)

btw, get a VHT.

 

[mick thompson]

they should all do the same job, only thing is the power amp adds a small bit of tone to your preamp sound so eg the marshall preamps would be more suited to adding some well loved marshall saturation to your tone.

wattage: well check the cab and see what it can take, match the wattage and ohms and you'll be good to go. generally you want to run your ohms as low as possible so if your cab can run 16, 8 & 4 try and run it at 4 to run it at its peak performance.

i wouldn't really recommend a guitar power amp to run a p.a. because usually they're not too powerful, just made for a stack etc, not a full on p.a. system.

 

[-Noodles-]

PA amps are basically the same as poweramps for guitars, but with lower wattage capabilities.

In a large scale PA, each box will have it's own amp.
In a small PA - maybe the tops will share an amp, and the subs will share an amp.

I'd stick with a proper guitar company amp since it will ensure you won't have too many problems.

 

[JonWormwood]

they should all do the same job, only thing is the power amp adds a small bit of tone to your preamp sound so eg the marshall preamps would be more suited to adding some well loved marshall saturation to your tone.

wattage: well check the cab and see what it can take, match the wattage and ohms and you'll be good to go. generally you want to run your ohms as low as possible so if your cab can run 16, 8 & 4 try and run it at 4 to run it at its peak performance.

i wouldn't really recommend a guitar power amp to run a p.a. because usually they're not too powerful, just made for a stack etc, not a full on p.a. system.

Fo rill.

And depending on what kinda pre you're running, SS ain't so bad.

For example, Axe-fx guys love some SS power up in that bitch.

 

[-Noodles-]

SS amps are probably better if you're getting all your gain from a pre-amp, actually. They're usually a lot cleaner until their clipping point.

 

[The Unavoidable]

Necro: I would check out VHT, if I could find someone who actually carries them! But they are probably way to much for a broke-ass like me.

Well, the deal is that I'm looking for a poweramp to go with my pre, and a search on thomann reveals dozens of them. The only ones that specifically states it is to be used for guitars are the ENGL, Mesa, etc. But then again they also cost about 10 times as much as the others.

So, something like this: http://www.thomann.de/se/tamp_s100.htm could be used for guitar, even though it doesn't specifically state so? Anything I should look out for in something like this?

 

[arkadin]

[shameless plug]
I'm actually looking to sell my Carvin TS100 poweramp. It's all-tube, 100 watts in mono, or 50-watts a side in stereo. Works great for guitar preamps. I was using it with an ADA MP-1 and it sounded killer. It's cheap as well. You would need to use a voltage converter (i'm assuming you use 220V in Sweden) so it might not be worth your while, depending on how much a converter would cost, but i figure i'd at least throw it out there.

It's also in excellent condition and comes with a SKB rack case, and has fresh tubes already in them
[/shameless plug]

 

[Metaltastic]

Back before I realized racks were more trouble than they were worth (for me), I was heavy into finding a good SS power amp, and the main thing to realize is that they're not all created equal in terms of the quality of sound. Apparently cheaper SS preamps can sound thin and harsh (ever heard a cranked Marshall MG100? ), the "best" (most full and musical) sounding ones are supposed to be the ones with a MosFET power section. The Tubeworks MV-962 MosValve and Hafler (or Digitech) G150 are the only two I know of, I had a Hafler for awhile that worked great with my Podxt! This is all ebay stuff though, none of the above are made anymore.