Which box for micro amps?

[fabiansey]

Hello,
at home I play my Fender Princeton Reverb which sounds fantastic at low volumes.
For playing out I would like to have a solid state amp because of the several advantages.
My idea is to have one or two micro amps for different sounds and to have a back up and just one box with a ten inch speaker.
What kind of box would you choose? Should it sound as neutral as possible? I was thinking about getting a toob box or one from Quilter. Not that many available with a ten Inch speaker.

[orri]

I think there are two different routes which can be taken:

- a pre amp only product and an active guitar speaker (power amp part of speaker cab product).
In that case it is most common to use a "neatral speaker" (also called Full range or FRFR) and cab simulation. Cab simulation can either be a feature in a pre amp and/or a feature of the active speaker so make sure to check that you have it in at least one of them if you go that route.

- a micro amp which includes a power amp section and a "normal" (passive) guitar cab. In that case you usually use a "normal" guitar speaker element which becomes a part of your guitar sound character.
I think both Quilter and Toob are good options and you can swap speakers if you want to.

(Micro amps which include power amps often have pre amp output so there is also the option to use them as a pre amp with an active speaker (or PA or computer interface)).


My impression is that all the new pre amp products which have becomming more popular in recent years are designed for the use case to connect them directly to a computer interface or a PA which uses a monitoring system.
Then the active guitar speakers have come as a response because people who have bought these pre amp products and also want to be able to use them in the traditional guitar amp use case (rehearsals, and gigs which are less dependent on PAs).
I don't know how suitible they are for this as a main use case (without implying they are bad, I simply just don't know since I've neither tried it myself nor heard/read other people's experiences).


Personally I both use and recommend the second option (micro amp with a power amp section and a normal guitar cab) unless you are really excited by some modelling amp or other pre amp product (personally I do find the neural dsp quad cortex a bit tempting).

[garybaldy]

I think there are two different routes which can be taken:

- a pre amp only product and an active guitar speaker (power amp part of speaker cab product).
In that case it is most common to use a "neatral speaker" (also called Full range or FRFR) and cab simulation. Cab simulation can either be a feature in a pre amp and/or a feature of the active speaker so make sure to check that you have it in at least one of them if you go that route.

- a micro amp which includes a power amp section and a "normal" (passive) guitar cab. In that case you usually use a "normal" guitar speaker element which becomes a part of your guitar sound character.
I think both Quilter and Toob are good options and you can swap speakers if you want to.

(Micro amps which include power amps often have pre amp output so there is also the option to use them as a pre amp with an active speaker (or PA or computer interface)).


My impression is that all the new pre amp products which have becomming more popular in recent years are designed for the use case to connect them directly to a computer interface or a PA which uses a monitoring system.
Then the active guitar speakers have come as a response because people who have bought these pre amp products and also want to be able to use them in the traditional guitar amp use case (rehearsals, and gigs which are less dependent on PAs).
I don't know how suitible they are for this as a main use case (without implying they are bad, I simply just don't know since I've neither tried it myself nor heard/read other people's experiences).


Personally I both use and recommend the second option (micro amp with a power amp section and a normal guitar cab) unless you are really excited by some modelling amp or other pre amp product (personally I do find the neural dsp quad cortex a bit tempting).

Please excuse my ignorance but why do you need a cab simulator with a powered speaker? Thanks

[marcwhy]

Hello,
at home I play my Fender Princeton Reverb which sounds fantastic at low volumes.
For playing out I would like to have a solid state amp because of the several advantages.
My idea is to have one or two micro amps for different sounds and to have a back up and just one box with a ten inch speaker.
What kind of box would you choose? Should it sound as neutral as possible? I was thinking about getting a toob box or one from Quilter. Not that many available with a ten Inch speaker.

If you hang out at "The Gear Page," you'll find about 50 or more cab builders who make 10" cabs! Too many options!

I have 10" cabs from Toob and Raezer's Edge, and they are both fantastic cabs.

[VBoutique makes the cabs for Quilter, and you can buy from them for much less!]

Why do you need "two" SS amps?? What types of gigs are you playing?

I recommend (in general) grabbing a Quilter Superblock amp and one of these cabs, and call it quits! If you want to spend more, grab a Henriksen Bud/Blu and definitely call it quits!

Let us know what you get!

Marc

[orri]

Please excuse my ignorance but why do you need a cab simulator with a powered speaker? Thanks

It is optional to use a cab sim (but I guess most people would use one?), and if you prefer the sound you get without a cab sim it is very unlikely that some guitar police will come and tell you that you must use a cab sim.

A guitar cab (both its physical construction and the speaker element), just like the guitar amp is considered to be a part of the instrument and a part of the sound character. That's why microphones are put on guitar cabs for recording or PA rather than using line out. (line out with cab sim has gotten more common).

So cab sim can be used in cases like recording or with a PA system where you don't necessarily need or want a loud guitar cab, but still want the sound character of one.

[fabiansey]

Thank you for your answers. I guess I will try the superblock and one of the toob speakers. Not sure which one. So many options.

[marcwhy]

FWIW, I ended up preferring an alnico speaker in mine.

[st.bede]

Not sure what you are wanting to accomplish. Just in case, with guitar it tends to be best to have a pre-amp and a power amp. (Just because gear x says pre-amp and even if it cost a small fortune, it might not function as a real pre-amp. For example Chases Bliss Preamp MkII is not a real pre-amp, even though it cost as much as an whole guitar amp. Sounds excellent though).

[Hammertone]

The Toob thing with any one of several micro amps is cool.

I also like the idea of an open-back, pine speaker cab (w/plywood baffle) that has the same footprint as your existing Princeton Reverb cab, covered in the same Tolex, with similar hardware and a suitably-rated 8 ohm speaker. That way, you can:
-use the cab as you intend, as a standalone with a preamp box and power amp brick of some kind;
-stash the various boxes and cables on the floor of the cab;
-place the PR on the cab for storage at home, which makes good use of space and looks super-cool, and allows you the bonus of driving the cab with the PR if you want;
-use different preamps as you see fit for different kinds of sound.

The power brick can be attached to the bottom of the speaker cab with some velcro, along with a small power bar.

Here's a shot what I use, taken before I installed the Hotone Loudster and a power bar onto the floor of one of my speaker cabs. I needed a 4-ohm power brick capable of driving a 4-ohm cab, which is why I got the Hotone (from the estimable Jim Soloway), but there are various widely available 8 / 16 ohm bricks, such as the Mooer Baby Bomb Micro Power Amp (30watts) or the Electro-Harmonix 44 Magnum Guitar Power Amp (44 watts). Many other choices have additional functionality, for more money.

[st.bede]

I just recently purchased a Duncan Powerstage 700 to use with a few things. However I am really intrigued in seeing how well it runs the DV Mark Jazz 2x8 cab I have. I going to use my JHS Clover as the pre. It should be fun and extremely portable.

In all of my search I did come across a few post stating that the baby bomb was good but not a clean 30watts. Do not know if it is true. The EHX stuff also looked interesting but I decided to just dive in deep. (I once owned a amazing Mesa Boogie 2 90, and a the Groove Tube Trio. I really wish I had not sold those... and other stuff. They really never were used much because of weight).

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I really wish I had not sold those... and other stuff.

…and that’s how I got my name!

I console myself with the knowledge that I love and use what I have and that I learned so much from my temporary custodianship of so much great gear. From a decade gigging with a ‘60 175 and 40+ years with a ‘69 D28 to 30+ years with a hunree EVM-loaded Boogie to a few years each with Guilds, Gibsons, Taylors, Ibanezes, Carvins, Fenders etc, it’s been a constant continuing education course.

I did get to use a few of my micro amps with my EVM Boogie closed back Thiele cabinet before I sold that too. A clean, solid driver in a well designed cabinet is a great match for a little class D head. The Boogie cab sounded great with my Quilter Microblock, my Elf, my DVM Raw Dawg 250 (which is not quite micro), and assorted others. And they sound almost as fine through a Bag End 12 (with 5 pound magnet) in a cloned GK MB150 cabinet I built and still have.

But if the amp is also a modeler, cabs like these can grossly alter and/or degrade the quality of the simulation. I know of no unpowered loaded cabinets of any size that are truly flat and uncolored coming from music industry makers. You probably need to go to sound reinforcement or serious audio to find such a passive speaker system tough enough to handle live guitar without suffering a premature death.

I have no experience with the new line source powered “speakers”. I suspect that they’re another good alternative for higher volume simulation using a preamp pedal, but they probably affect the sim because they’re not point source drivers. So they may sound different but probably not bad.

My first 2 days playing with my new modeling pedal into small JBL powered monitors have been fascinating. I strongly doubt that they’d survive a loud gig, but I have no doubt at all that they’d be fine for solo and small group dates at restaurants etc. You could busk well with a $50 preamp pedal (like the Acoustic APDI) and a $75 powered monitor. Up the ante to $100 for a preamp pedal with cab sim to get very good guitar tone from 5 pounds of gear for $200 or less.