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Every amp is letting me down. I just want an amp that is LOUD and CLEAN. That means no break up at all, and not "well, it only gets dirty when it's TOO loud." I poopoo at too loud. I need a simple ass amp to amplify my guitar. Doing the power amp thing seems to make the most sense to me at the moment, but I don't know much about them.

Can you help me, ILF? What are some good power amps that I should check out? Do I need a preamp to use one? The only criteria I have right now is no more than 500w @ 8 ohms, and cheap as possible (that isn't to say I won't save my pennies for the good stuff). Buying used don't bother me none. 2U rackspace would be nice, too, but not necessary.

i've rub premp -> poweramp foreverrrrrrr. love it.

yah. you're gonna need a pre. on bass i LOVE the Tronographic Rusty Box. i think they just put out a guitar specific od/preamp like the Rusty? i'd look into that. i don't really know poo about guitar pre's though.

if you're cool with a 2u space (they make micro poweramps like the SWR AmpLite that are a half 1u sized, but they're kinda bank), take a look at the Peavy IPR stuff. they're about the price of similar watt QSC, but the IPR's weigh 6 or 7 lbs. mines is AMAZING. i think the 2 space plastic rack case for it weighs more than the amp.

Super clean combo amp = Ampeg G-212, if you can find one, buy it. I have one. I`ve updated the preamp op-amps, and rebuilt the power amp section, and it simply kicks ass. Super clean, zero break up. Actually, I can`t dial it higher than 7, it`s too loud. I would be willing to buy another, in ANY condition. I know them inside out now, and would be willing to invest the cash to rebuild it. Loaded my with Texas Heat`s, but the original speakers were decent.

In my rack set up, I`m using a QSC1450. At 8 ohms, split in stereo mode, I`m good to 250 watts RMS. Clean from zero to 10.

Don`t forget, speaker break up count too. No matter how clean your amp is, it won`t help if your speakers are breaking up early.

find a carvin B1500.

you are welcome.

I have never done the power amp but I have done PA system amps (old Kustoms) and it is a great way to get massive clean headroom.
Even on guitar I used the MXR bass DI, it is flipping awesome as a preamp for anything

huh. interesting. i hated the MXR Bass DI for bass. it might sound awesome on treble stick though.

I did use it on bass a little but Mostly on guitar (errr treble stick)

worked awesome, even ran it direct to front of house a few times when in a pinch

NICE.

i mean, i'm not against good pre's. and if i was going all clean (as clean as that beautiful little grrL gets), i'd be fine with running a Rusty straight to house.

it's been forever, but i think i didn't dig the dirt on the MXR? i remember the clean being okay. murrrrrrr.

the dirt was not great, at all, not great at all, but you could set it up for mild breakup, the EQ hit perfect on guitar

now if I go direct I usually use a boss ME-30 or a first Act V-stack combo amp that has a sick DI

last time I went direct I really got punished for it, I was supposed to play 4 measures to bring the band in, and the sound guy fell asleep, then he panicked and cranked me, it was a mess so I started hiding an amp under the piano even when they want me direct

lol. take THAT Fancy Piano Man Feet.

RARRRRRRR.

I've been thinking about going the power amp route, as well.
To be able to have module pre-amps and not have to worry about other shit would be awesome (in theory).

This is totally the way I'm gonna go once I have a steady income again. Rackmount all the way

For power amps, carvin t100 all the fucking way. Used to own one, loved it. Takes 6l6s or el84s. Super crystal clean.

For an amp that just stays clean forever and gets loud as fuck, sovtek mig50.

Could I use a Boss EQ as a preamp?

Also, I was talking to a guy at Guitar Center about this and he was saying his guitarist tried it but it was super quiet. He went on saying power amp ratings are way different from instrument amps, blah, blah,.... I asked him if it was because the line level was too low, since he plugged straight in. Dude just kind of shrugged. I'm guessing the setup for his friend was quiet because he wasn't using a preamp?