question on preamps

[IntoTheAbyss]

i have a mesa triple rec and i have a sansamp psa-1...... if i plug my guitar into the sansamp and the output of the sansamp into the guitar input on the mesa with the mesa on the clean channel...it sounds alot heavier and more distortion that way..the question is do some ppl actually run setups like that or not? and could that damage the mesa at all??? thanks

 

[fadingessence]

well...the short version is that you CAN do that but there is more.

-It shouldn't hurt your amp unless you crank the gain the the PSA-1 too much. Because you are putting it straight into the input you can potentially try and shove too much power through the amp and blow out speakers. The amp itself would take quite a bit to fry, but it could be done.

-While it may sound pretty good having that through the input on clean you should keep in mind that the PSA-1 IS a preamp. Not a stompbox distortion pedal or anything. The way you have things situated you are putting a preamp into a preamp and then into the power amp. In other words the preamp of your mesa is coloring the sound and not giving you what the PSA-1 actually sounds like.

-Most people do not run a setup like that. What you might try instead is running your guitar into the PSA-1 and then the PSA-1 into the effects loop of the triple rec. That will bypass the preamp section and allow you to use the mesa as simply a very nice power amp. It still won't be as transparent as what I used with a psa-1, a Mosvalve power amp, but it will work.

I don't really see how you could need more gain then a triple rec can give you, and while the PSA-1 does have TONS of gain I don't think it is actually better. But really if it sounds good to you then go ahead and do it, just try the power amp route and see if it sounds better.

 

[Indiooo]

Do you crank the Triple Rec? Sometimes the openess and dynamics generated by saturated power tubes produce a somewhat bigger and "heavier" sound.

 

[Gestalt]

yeah make sure you are running the triple rec LOUD (its a 150 watt amp) and you have the gain set at or under 3/4s

make sure you dont scoop out all the mids, and leave the bass relatively low as well

 

[Indiooo]

Now that I think of it, cranking a 150w amp is somewhat impossible in "real life". Take it to a store and try it with an attenuator. Crank it, but cut the volume on the attenuator to the level you usually play. You won't believe the difference.

 

[inferior_devotee]

What is the difference between a preamp and a power amp? I am lacking alot of information on this subject?

 

[fadingessence]

a power amp is what you really think of when you think "amplifier" in that it is what actually projects the signal into lots of noise. A power amp by itself is the same thing that drives a PA, Sound System, Rack ect. It has no tone by itself, just amplifies sound.

A preamp, as the name implies, goes in front of a power amp and changes the signal that is being sent depending on how it is made and on a whole bunch of technical stuff i'd love to know but am too lazy to look into.

to make it as simple as I can think of, take a normal guitar amp. The part with the input, the gain control, the eq ect...that is the preamp. So the signal from your guitar goes into the input, through the preamp and then to the power amp (or through an effects loop) and out to the speaker.

 

[inferior_devotee]

thnx

 

[bobvex]

Preamp is your tone shaping mechanism, and the power amp drives yoru speakers. if you have a 4X12 cab and only a preamp, you will get little to no sound out of the cab, a power amp boosts the signal to hi wattage, thus driving the speakers, there are things you can put in between a preamp and a power amp, like effects, EQ, compressors, expanders, exciters, and what not, and there are also things you but in FRONT of the preamp, like a tuner or a wireless. wireless always comes first in signal flow.

 

[Darthlardo]

So does anyone play through a Guitar - Head - Cab? Or do you guys have extra things thrown in??

 

[fadingessence]

Right now my setup is basically guitar - amp - cab, i've got an eq in the effects loop because it just tightens up the sound so damn much. Same effect as an eq after a distortion pedal. For the most part everyone will have stuff thrown in, usally a full rack of effects for professional players. Even if the basic setup is a head and a cab there is always effects, noise suppressors, tuners ect.

I used to have a full rack setup though with a Mosvalve 962 and a Sansamp PSA-1, which is probably the best combination for that preamp.

I saw Hypocrisy the other night using PSA-1's into the effects loop of triple recs though, sounded killer.

 

[Darthlardo]

So what Eq are you using? Im always down for making my shit sound better.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

so yeah, what kind of things are you guys using to make your schtuff sound that much better??????

 

[Sunbane]

I always ran very simple setups - guitar to amp to cabs - but on occasion I would throw some extras on the effect loop, such as a wah or another distortion pedal, to tweak the sound in some odd way.

(Btw, I have this old "Omnifex" distortion pedal that can do the most insane sounds. It was pretty crappy originally, but something happened to it - and now it can produce insane amounts of distortion, plus it can also oversaturate the treble. It's really only useful for distorting vocals, but sometimes I blended it into my signal when I wanted a more crazy sound. I love it, it's my best effect box ever.) =)

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

well I dont use any effects. just straight up distortion. other than pedals is there anything to plug into my Marshall jcm 2000 head to really make it sound kickass! even though it already sounds kickass.

 

[97reb]

I'm looking for something a little different. For the most part, I like my sound, but I am thinking of adding EQ, Compression and Overdrive in different places. I run my guitbox thru two amps. I use distortion/gain through both amps (Crate and Marshall), Compression and Echo thru one and a bit of reverb thru both and a Wah thru both. I'm looking for the killer doom/stoner sound.

 

[bobvex]

well I dont use any effects. just straight up distortion. other than pedals is there anything to plug into my Marshall jcm 2000 head to really make it sound kickass! even though it already sounds kickass.

Maybe a compressor or a EQ, or both, if i can reccomend a good EQ, the dbx 231 eq is awesome, its got 2 31 band channels, and has lowcut button, bypass button, and a +/- 6 db to make the sliders that much more intense; and a good compressor would have to be the dbx 266

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

rock on bobby. now get your ass on aim!!