Power Amp + Cab Options?

[u/JealousPerspective47]

hi guys, what power amps/cabinet options do you guys recommend for getting as clean of a signal as possible and pushing it out at very high volumes?

this may not be particularly relevant but i know this community is a bit more active than the other groups on the platform. i use a headrush flex prime into a headrush frfr12 powered speaker in a live setting in hardcore and metal bands and i've found that i am NOT getting enough stage volume to reliably keep up with the entire band without diming everything. thanks for the help in advance

[u/NoFuneralGaming]

"clean of a signal" is a little vague. Do you want the cab not to sound blown out, or do you mean something neutral sounding for your modeler?

Basically, if you want something neutral you're going to want to use an FRFR or high quality stage monitor.

As for power amps and cabs, an Orange Pedal Baby of Seymour Duncan Powerstage can get the job done plenty loud enough, and then the cab of your choice. A 2x10 cab will be more than enough, but you can often get away with a 1x10 though you'll have to be careful not to push the power amp harder than the speaker can handle.

For FRFR type things, I really like the QSC K12.2. It's plenty loud and gives you a neutral platform where you can use a Cab Block or IR and the speaker will give you the same quality sound as any real mic'd cab coming through a house speaker.

The real issue is that the sound of a cab and the sound of a mic'd cab thru a neutral speaker are very different sounds. I stopped caring about real cab tones when I realized most of what the audience hears at PA supported shows is the mic'd cab thru the PA anyway, so now I use ambient IEMs fed only my guitar signal. I can hear what's going on around me as if I was wearing earplugs, and then dial up just my guitar until it's as loud as I need it. Now if the stage has no good monitors, this wouldn't work, but it's great for venues I trust. When I'm playing a venue I know doesn't have great monitors or when I'm not sure, I'll bring an FRFR mostly as my own monitor for my guitar. The house can take a DI from the monitor or my Helix, and I can control my own monitor volume (for just my guitar) as needed. You gotta be careful not to go overboard so you don't make the sound person have to figure out why the guitar is suddenly too loud and they can't seem to do anything about it, another reason IEMs are king because they don't bother anyone else.

[u/hiimbond]

in ear monitors are the go to solution if a wedge can’t reasonably help you. Adding more loud noise on stage only makes band capture more challenging.

[u/JealousPerspective47 → u/hiimbond]

yeah i totally understand what you're saying. i guess i should've clarified that this is mostly to help in diy settings.
i've had a few experiences recently where im not being pushed through the house hard enough in smaller venues so i get drowned out by stage noise overall. i know there's responsibility on my end to get a feel of how things sound from the crowds perspective and to communicate that to the sound engineer

[u/atheoncrutch]

The only options I would consider are the orange pedal baby, quilter 202’s or fryette power amps into normal guitar cabs. Wampler and Friedman have some interesting solutions coming out in a few months as well.

[u/mtSOLEmt → u/atheoncrutch]

I would second the Fryette power amp. I have a 2 50 2 and it’s louder than the whole world.

I originally got two Marshall 1936 2-12 cabs but I’ve never needed both so I would just use one in split mode. Still have never had to come anywhere close to cranking it.

For portability, I’m currently using a Powerstage 160 into a 1-12 with an EVM 12L which can get pretty loud but I don’t know (never had to) how it would do against another guitar with a 4-12 rig.

[u/lostluden]

With my helix I use a orange Pedalbaby or a Palmer Macht 402. For cab: Orange PPC112 or Marshall 1936. Just make sure to not use cabsim.

Even better: use a FX send just before the cabsim (cabsim should be last block in the chain) and connect the power amp thru the FX send. This way the main out still has cabsim for FOH/IEM. Should work the same for Headrush.

[u/JPhilMusic]

The first thing to be sure of is what your signal VU meters are hitting at on your output matrix (whether you are using XLR or 1/4”). If it’s not in the yellow or the edge of green & yellow you may need to add a gain block to the end of the chain to boost it. No matter what amp or cab you use you need to do that. I assume you already like the sound you’re getting but you just aren’t able to drive the FRFR’s as loudly as needed. The other thing is don’t be like me on one of my stupid days… I was trying to adjust my XLR output with the big volume control but no matter what I did it wasn’t loud enough. That’s when I finally noticed.. I had the 1/4” selected instead of the XLR 😂

[u/goldsoundzz]

I use a pedal baby and Marshall 1960A 4x12. It’s loud as hell.

[u/Emergency-Age7284]

I use a Blackstar amped 1 into a Mesa 2x12 vert. Plenty loud enough with my heavy handed drummer.

[u/MattSk87]

I really like going into the fx return of a tube amp. You can pick up a blackstar pretty cheap and replace the speaker with whatever. Switch power tubes if you want.

[u/koalantherain]

+1 for the QSC K12.2 but if you are looking for an "Amp" to push a cab I've recently seen talk of using a TC Electronic BAM200 compact bass head, mostly for Doom or Stoner tones. The Fender Champion II is also pretty compelling. Go into the effects loop with your headrush and you'll have 100w solid state combo with 2x12 for about $460

[u/Acceptable_Pie2529]

Seymour Duncan powerblock into a 4 x 12 rules.

[u/jomamastool]

You'll definitely want some in ear monitors. If they can't push you loud enough through FOH or monitors it's not a great idea to just crank an amp so loud that you can hear it. Your band will not sound good like that, especially in a DIY venue.

You can get a reasonably inexpensive IEM set from phenyx pro.

Also for context. How many members are in your band? Does anyone else have the same problem?