Pedalboard sized power amps

[W.L.Weller]

Does anyone have any experience with this subset of the market? Specifically the Quilter Interblock 45, the Seymour Duncan PowerStages, the EHX 44...

The appeal of cutting setup down to a pedalboard and a speaker cabinet is growing on me. The amp I'm using with this setup now is a 94w solid state Fender M80, but I'm not diming it by any stretch.

My recollection of reading about the EHX is that people felt like it's a great backup but no one was excited at the concept of using it full-time.

I'd love to try those amps with my board & cabinets but I'm not big on the "mail order demo" model of modern retail.

Another option that occurred to me today is something like the Trace Elliot Elf bass amp. The 3-band EQ is voiced for bass, obviously, but it's not wildly different from the EQ of the PowerStage 170 (80Hz, 400Hz, 4.2kHz on the Elf, 87, 715, 6.6k on the PowerStage) And I only have one bass amp already, as opposed to...more than one guitar amp.

 

[loopfinding]

A friend of mine has a quilter superblock and loves it. It does sound reasonably good, but it's a little underpowered for my needs (25W, I already have a 15W tube amp and it's very compact). People seem to like the bluguitar AMP1 (100W) or the milkman amp (50W) for tube pre into class D SS power amp. I’ve been thinking about DIY'ing something similar for myself.

If you want to save money, look for an ICEpower module monoblock kit (a lot of guitar amp companies are starting to use ICE modules, namely the tone master series). I don’t think any soldering is involved, you just hook up the board (which ranges from 75-150 bucks) and hardware with connectors in the provided aluminum enclosure. Though you may have to change the speaker and jack connectors.

I don't think you should be necessarily worried about finding something that sounds good or miraculous itself. Just something that's well built, clean & neutral, and has the right power requirements. You can run whatever small preamp pedal you like (like a tech 21, wampler, or catalinbread amp-in-a-box, or like the two notes tube pres) in front of it to get a traditional amp sound. That flexibility of being able to swap preamps (i.e. "analog modeling") is one of the best features of using an SS power amp.

 

[W.L.Weller]

If the 200w ICEpower board were $50 instead of $130+tax+shipping I'd be more willing to figure out how to get it to do what I want. But that $130 doesn't even include a power switch. And the manufacturer recommends mounting the board vertically for heat dissipation purposes, which doesn't fit the pedalboard I'm trying to make "standalone". A used Interblock 45 is $150, the ELF is $200. And both come with a heck of a lot more features. Like speaker jacks. And enclosures.

I love homebrew, but primarily for the cost savings and customization. The ICEpower 200w board is objectively amazing, but almost nothing can beat the value of buying gently used music gear.

 

[J-bass&Tele]

There are some threads about using small bass amps as essentially power amps with eq. I've used my GK MB200 this way with good results by using a Tech 21 Blonde or ROG Tonemender as preamp/eq and pedals for dirt.

If you're looking to buy used;
Warwick Gnome, Tc Electronic BAM200, GK MB200 and the TE Elf uses the same ICE module.

Just remember to try some creative EQ settings on the bass amp, everything at noon isn't "flat" and I've ended up with weird looking but good sounding eq settings for use with guitar.

 

[PhredE]

If the 200w ICEpower board were $50 instead of $130+tax+shipping I'd be more willing to figure out how to get it to do what I want. But that $130 doesn't even include a power switch. And the manufacturer recommends mounting the board vertically for heat dissipation purposes, which doesn't fit the pedalboard I'm trying to make "standalone". A used Interblock 45 is $150, the ELF is $200. And both come with a heck of a lot more features. Like speaker jacks. And enclosures.

I love homebrew, but primarily for the cost savings and customization. The ICEpower 200w board is objectively amazing, but almost nothing can beat the value of buying gently used music gear.

Is the FX loop important to you (eg; a requirement)?

I have the MB45 and the BAM200 -- which, although different in their own ways, I have found to work reasonably well.

Since neither has onboard reverb, you'll have to cover that with a pedal of course. With the BAM200, the tone controls are not 'flat' when all set to 12:00 -- to get a flat response out of the amp, you'll need to dial TMB as follows: about (B) 10:00, (M) 3:00, (T) 10:00. With the amp set flat, you can shape your tone/EQ via amp emulator, an EQ pedal, etc. (I use a couple Joyos for that). Overall, the BAM is quiet and powerful. The MOSFET 10Meg ohm input/preamp can really pack a punch. The BAM uses a direct mains (no power brick) connection. Oh, and both of these seem to benefit (more than most tube, or even other amps) from careful selection of speaker. Try as many as you can to be sure.

The MB 45 is 45w into 4ohms, 33w into 8ohms and 17w into 16ohms. It has the Tri-Q for EQ/tone control. It does use an external power brick. I have found it 'likes' to stay pretty clean (as a basic power amp should) even with the gain dialed (along with volume) up.

Either one of those could be easily mounted on a pedal board (in fact, I mount the MB45 directly on the board). I leave the BAM200 separate 'just in case' -- for more flexibility.

Edit: the BAM200 is nominally rated as 200W RMS into 4 ohms and 130W RMS into 8 ohms.
I doubt those numbers, but for sure, that little thing can crank out some respectable power.

Here's a look at the most minimal configuration (output into my 125W JBL/Selemium 8" 8PW3 PA Woofer housed in my home built custom pine box):

 

[J-bass&Tele]

FX loop with any of the bass amps is a non-issue, you're essentially plugging into a power amp, like the "return" in a FX loop.
With my GK MB200 there's no way I could get that to break up with a guitar plugged straight in. Not if I had to be in the same room as the speaker.

 

[J-bass&Tele]

Regarding power. Even if the bass amps mentioned uses the same ICE module, differences in output can still be affected by different limiters etc.
Over at Talkbass, the GK MB200 have been measured to have quite a bit more output than the stated 200W @4Ω. I don't doubt that. I used it for a lot of gigs on bass for years and then the bass player in my current band used it for a couple of years. It's been on backline duty for other bands etc. We've never hit any sort of limiter or lack of volume.

 

[northernguitar]

Orange Terror Stamp is another option. Seems to be a two-channel Micro Terror in a pedal format.

 

[PhredE]

FYI for W.L. Weller and anyone interested..

(No endorsement, etc -- just wanted to pass along some potentially useful info)
Sweetwater has the BAM200 in stock and selling for $179.

TC Electronic BAM200 200-watt Compact Bass Head

Compact 200W Class D Bass Head with MOSFET Preamp Stage, Class D Output Stage, DI/Headphone Output, and Ground-lift Switch

www.sweetwater.com

If you're curious and want to dig a little deeper, both JazzGuitar.be and TGP have some extensive threads about it there.

 

[Peegoo]

I have the Interblock 45; it's bone-simple, but it is the perfect device to pair with a pedalboard and a speaker cab. It's plenty loud for bar gigs.

If you need the security of a guitar amp behind you sporting a logo on the grill, you won't like this setup. But if you're a geezer like me with several back surgeries in the past, it's ideal. Only guitar freaks have a problem with this, and nobody else in the crowd cares.

 

[W.L.Weller]

Lack of reverb and an effects loop are non-issues, this pedalboard features fuzz, octave fuzz, ring mod and audio-rate tremolo. Looks like the TC is clean and maybe a little quieter, and the ELF has some OD in the top half of the gain knob.

Cabinet-wise I have closed-back 212, 410, 810 and 115; they're all 4Ω except the 115.

I can't imagine feeling like I'm missing a guitar amp with the 212 or 410 behind me, I also can't imagine caring what anyone thinks of my gear. They'll hate what I'm playing enough not to even notice what I'm playing with.

And having 2 bass cabinets only one bass amp, well that just doesn't add up!

 

[Killing Floor]

Jay Ganz Straight Ahead. Or Baby Sumo if you want something higher end.

 

[PhredE]

Lack of reverb and an effects loop are non-issues, this pedalboard features fuzz, octave fuzz, ring mod and audio-rate tremolo. Looks like the TC is clean and maybe a little quieter, and the ELF has some OD in the top half of the gain knob.

Cabinet-wise I have closed-back 212, 410, 810 and 115; they're all 4Ω except the 115. And having 2 bass cabinets only one bass amp, well that just doesn't add up!

The nice thing about such an arrangement, is that you can use your favorite low-efficiency speaker if you want and just turn it up when needed. A high power rating is definitely a consideration though. The BAM200 does have a small cooling fan -- which *I believe* is thermostatically activated. Probably not a concern for live performing, but maybe if using to record.

 

[cousinpaul]

I'm a long-time user of the Quilter 101 mini. The InterBlock 45 has a lot to like with it's TMB tone stack and various ins and outs. I like the used price as well. My biggest concern with a pedalboard mount would be the possibility of someone stepping on the power supply or speaker cable. My 101 resides on top of the cab.

 

[TheCheapGuitarist]

I used one of these at a gig earlier this year to power my FRFR cab (I sent one output of my Zoom G5n to the P.A., the other to the cab to use as a monitor). It's FREAKIN' LOUD. Far louder than something this size should be.

 

[bsman]

I have a Vox MV50 AC that is, essentially a pedal-sized 50W (into 4ohms) power amp in a footboard-sized form factor. I would feel comfortable with it as a backup for gigs.

 

[bgmacaw]

I've been considering the Hughes & Kettner AmpMan, most likely the Modern version to get a variety of tones.

AmpMan Modern

Technology of Tone

hughes-and-kettner.com

 

[bendercaster]

My Vox MV50 clean sounds a lot like my Deluxe Reverb (without the reverb) and gives me just as much volume, but fits in the palm of my hand. They go on super sale from time to time if cost is an issue. I have not gigged with it yet because the only cab I have is tiny, but if I had a bigger cab, I would definitely consider it. I always bring it as a backup to my Deluxe Reverb--the speaker jack on the back of the deluxe would make it easy to swap out in a pinch.

 

[W.L.Weller]

My bandmate uses the MV50 AC into a 4Ω cabinet, it's absolutely loud enough for what we do. In fact he has a spare I could use but I'm trying to stake out a different EQ zone.

The fact that I've been playing more baritone lately has me thinking hard about the TC and Trace Elliot bass amps. I really dig the integrated power supply. And I think both would sound solid to good through the speakers and cabinets I've gathered.

 

[Tim S]

I enjoy my MV50 amps. Recently I bought several Vox Valvenergy pedals since Vox is selling them for $99.99 right now.

Pedals

Step up your pedal game with these pedals by VOX amplification. Get access to select VOX pedals direct to you right here in the VOX Shop. These special prices are for a limited time and only while supplies last.

voxampshop.com

I place them in pre-amp mode and run them into a Mooer Baby Bomb 30. It’s like an MV50 with a TMB tone stack & bright switch, except it’s 30w into 8 ohms instead of the 25w the MV50s do into 8 ohms.

If you hook up multiple Valvenergy pedals via their Link jack, they work together. When you step on one to select it, the currently active pedal switches off automatically. Functionally, it’s like a multi-channel MV50.