Preamp/Poweramp...

[LiquidSky]

The other guitarist in my band has been talking a lot about getting a preamp/poweramp set-up as opposed to the standard head and cab option. I've never heard much about this type of set-up and most concerts I've seen the players usually run heads WITH rack type systems. What are the pros/cons of running a preamp and poweramp with a cab as opposed to running a head and cab. Also how much would a setup like that cost and is it worth it? What are some companies to check out for these types of things?

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Preamp/Poweramp...

Well everybody uses a pre amp and a power amp. With a "head" it's just all in the same box. With seperate units you can mix and match but I don't think it's inherently better than a standard head. Find the right sound. That's what matters.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Preamp/Poweramp...

I do it for versatility and sound quality. I run a Boss GT-8 as a preamp/fx unit into a Mesa 50:50 power section. I can get ano tone under the sun at bone crushing volumes.

If you guys cover a lot of sonic territory, it might be something to look at.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Preamp/Poweramp...

Unless your friend has need of stereo power (ie, stereo effects), or needs the features that can be found on a particular preamp, there's no real advantage to using a rack.

The nice thing about a rack in the above cases are the ability to use stereo effects without dragging two heads around and having to run all kinds of cabling at every setup, and the ability to use the midi features available on quite a number of preamps.

 

[marvar]

Re: Preamp/Poweramp...

Way back in the 80's, it was hip to run a rack system, with really elaborate switching systems-and all kinds of mostly analog based rack effects. But these days, compact digital processors can do all of those things out of one box. THis was also before the day of the boutique and modelling amp craze.