Power Amp Guitar Rig

[Professor Riffs]

So, I'm going to build a rig using a tube power amp & cabinets. I have the Pod xt Live, and want to get as little tonal color as possible, which is why I'm not planning to use a regular guitar amp.

That said, anybody ever done anything like this? Any particular brands or units or anything particularly rock? I've been looking at a Peavey Classic 50/50 or 60/60 for the power amp, what do you think of this?

What do you think of this?

[mikegee]

good question! yea, i'm interested too... i having a variax guitar, a pa system would be more ideal than an amplifier. anybody have any idea?

[DreamwaveMusic]

wela mesa and marshall make great power amps.. a tube preamp and qsc poweramp will go a long way with a pod

[Whoopysnorp]

Originally Posted by DreamwaveMusic

wela mesa and marshall make great power amps.. a tube preamp and qsc poweramp will go a long way with a pod

I dunno, it kinda seems to me like the POD would handle the preamp side of things, where as putting a tube preamp in there after the POD would color things in an undesirable way. Better to put the tubes in the power amp--I think that would be the key to making the POD slice through a full band mix like a hot knife through butter.

[DreamwaveMusic]

Originally Posted by Whoopysnorp

I dunno, it kinda seems to me like the POD would handle the preamp side of things, where as putting a tube preamp in there after the POD would color things in an undesirable way. Better to put the tubes in the power amp--I think that would be the key to making the POD slice through a full band mix like a hot knife through butter.

i agree to an extent, but it seems to me that a tube power amp section would color the sound in the same way. i think the tube would improve the somewhat sterile sounds in a pod. some tube pres are designed to be just as transparent as solid state gear.

[Whoopysnorp]

My personal feeling is that since a tube preamp is going to have an EQ section, a drive channel, possibly an effects loop, and all that sort of thing, that's something to avoid in this case. The POD already has all that stuff, and it's a pain to have to worry about two different EQs and how they're affecting each other. On a power amp, since all you have is a volume knob, it's a no-brainer--just turn on and turn up.

[DreamwaveMusic]

understood whoopysnorp, and i do agree! my mind just naturally focused on studio preamps, which typically dont have those features.

[dagosto]

If you could get your hands on an old Acoustic PA I would say that would be the way to go. I hade one (model number escapes me)on loan for a while and used it as an extra amp along with my original POD once when I needed an extra guitar amp. It wasn't tube but it sounded great and was loud as hell. I was playing it through some Galien-Kruger bass speakers.

If you are going for really clean possibly a low wattage Crown amp would be a good solution.

[lukedavo]

I second a low wattage power amp, QSC, crown, peavey, yamaha. That will work fine and very minimally color the signal you are feeding through it. I would probably avoid tubes if you do not want any coloration, so if loud and sterile is what your after, there ya go. I do not recommend this sound, if 100% positive thats how you want it make sure that pod eq is beefed up cause its gunna be thin, real thin.

[Whoopysnorp]

Originally Posted by lukedavo

I second a low wattage power amp, QSC, crown, peavey, yamaha. That will work fine and very minimally color the signal you are feeding through it. I would probably avoid tubes if you do not want any coloration, so if loud and sterile is what your after, there ya go. I do not recommend this sound, if 100% positive thats how you want it make sure that pod eq is beefed up cause its gunna be thin, real thin.

That's why I think tubes would be good--it's true that they would be coloring the sound, but I think Professor Riffs should embrace that coloration rather than be afraid of it, because it will really fatten up those POD tones. Every time I see somebody playing a POD through a solid state amp, they have problems cutting through the mix. Tubes will usually help with those kinds of problems, in my experience.