Looking for an educated recommendation - what power amp to use with an  Alembic F-2B? (and [sorry] a Sadowsky NYC bass guitar?)

I use a Crown XLS1502 with mine.

I use two channel Yamaha with two F-1X and an SF-2.  Clear, reliable power.

I use the 1U, four pound, stereo Carvin DCM200L with mine.

Bill, tgo

I use a QSC-GX7 with my F-2B for bass, and the same Carvin set up as Bill for guitar.  Works well for me.

I use a Crest ProLite 3.0.

Isn't Carvin out of business now?

Yes, l believe Carvin is no longer, at least not their amps.  I got mine when they were liquidating, but you can find them used online as well.

Quote from: rv_bass on January 11, 2023, 04:46:25 PM
Yes, l believe Carvin is no longer, at least not their amps.  I got mine when they were liquidating, but you can find them used online as well.

Carvin changed the name of their guitars to Keisel, and severely scaled back the product range that had carried their name - a massive line of guitar & bass amps, as well as sound reinforcement gear - but they do still make power amps: https://carvinaudio.com/collections/lt.


But to get back to the original question, this is where I came in; I had been lurking for a while when this question came up for the hundredth time & I could hold my tongue no longer - so about 15.5 years ago I joined just to say (as I have said many times since) that the only power amp I would spend my own money on, and the only one I'd argue for you to spend your money on if a system I'm mixing on depends on it, is Yamaha. 


Every other power amp I've used colors the sound some, and you have to choose which color you prefer; Yamaha takes what you put in and sends it back out unchanged (except, of course, way louder....).


And, as I have also said before, in my working days I used Crown, Crest, QSC, Peavey, Trayner, and probably a few I'm forgetting, and Yamaha is the only brand that never crapped out on me during a gig.  Never.  And I heard similar experiences related by my colleagues; never heard anyone say otherwise.  They are the shizzle, period!  (I will add the caveat that my experience predates the emergence of Class D amps - and my 4 back surgeries attest to that - so I don't know how they stack up.)


Yeah, they pack some poundage.  But if you want the very best enough to hump the weight - or pay roadies (naturally, my preference  ), Yammie is the ticket.


Your turn, Wolf...........


Peter (who came for the amp pimping, but stayed for the great folks!)

Peter, interest,  is there a current lighter weight Yamaha two channel power amp model that you would recommend?

Peter, ever worked with a McIntosh?

Bill, tgo

I can second what Peter is saying, with regards to Yamaha amps. When I was a teenager, trying to put together my first rack system, I would stop by the warehouse of a pretty big sound reinforcement/power generation Co. located in my hometown. All the guys I got to know always told me to get Yamaha amps (P2200 to be exact). They called them the "Poor man's McIntosh". I still have that amp in the rack in my rehearsal space. Still works great. Never had a single issue, and it's seen some use!

Regards,
Pete

Just looked up the P2200.  44 pounds!  The "poor-man-with-a-bad-back's" McIntosh.

hehehehe

Bill, tgo

The good news is that we're now well into all touring PA being self-powered (each cab has its own built in amp), the prices of 'traditional' rack mount stereo power amps have dropped dramatically, both the newer lightweight ones, much less used old school chassis with the big transformers. 

Just down to you in terms of budget, weight targets, power, etc.  In the old days, it was easy:  Cheap?  Peavey CS800.  More better?  Either Crest or Crown or Yamaha.  There are terrrific deals out there on QSC, another good choice. These days there are more choices, and you also need to decide if you need the smart front ends newer ones feature with built-in speaker curves, compression, filters.

As several have mentioned above, for me the short answer would be Yamaha.  IF you have time to educate a little and wait out a really good deal, that's even better.  In general, I'd shoot for one road-tested by the traveling sound companies.  If they can't break one, you're probably good.

definitely not light, by any means, but a relative lightweight compared to some of the larger McIntosh amps! That's why it stays in the rehearsal space.

I recall Pierre-Yves advising me to look at Yamaha when I was considering a power amp for my rig but they are quite expensive here in the UK compared to other models. If i need to change mine in the future i will certainly look at Yamaha again.