Pedalboard amps

sweepy

I do think manufacturers are missing a trick here, all most of us need is a 100w plus box with one volume and a balance or bridge control etc  so you can run a floor Helix, Fractal istraight into a cab . You don’t need tone controls etc etc, just a gain and balance 

TheBigDipper

Axe_meister said:

Can't change the power supply on the Helix as it's built in.

True - I'd forgotten that. 

spev11

sweepy said:

I do think manufacturers are missing a trick here, all most of us need is a 100w plus box with one volume and a balance or bridge control etc  so you can run a floor Helix, Fractal istraight into a cab . You don’t need tone controls etc etc, just a gain and balance 

harley benton do this https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_custom_line_thunder_99.htm
2x50watt stereo amp and this https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_gpa_100.htm
Dunno how good they are but at 68 quid for the latter it might be worth a punt? Maybe get a pre-amp to taste and away it goes

digitalscream

spev11 said:

sweepy said:

I do think manufacturers are missing a trick here, all most of us need is a 100w plus box with one volume and a balance or bridge control etc  so you can run a floor Helix, Fractal istraight into a cab . You don’t need tone controls etc etc, just a gain and balance 

harley benton do this https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_custom_line_thunder_99.htm
2x50watt stereo amp and this https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_gpa_100.htm
Dunno how good they are but at 68 quid for the latter it might be worth a punt? Maybe get a pre-amp to taste and away it goes

I had the GPA-100 - it's crap, at least by comparison to the Seymour Duncan Powerstage 170, which I regard as the gold standard for pedalboard amps. The GPA-100 is muddy, lacking in detail and as a result needs a ridiculous amount of volume to be heard in a band mix.

spev11

fair, shelve that idea
orange pedalbaby100 maybe? Although every time I look at it I think I'd prefer a supercrush100 head

Danny1969

sweepy said:

I do think manufacturers are missing a trick here, all most of us need is a 100w plus box with one volume and a balance or bridge control etc  so you can run a floor Helix, Fractal istraight into a cab . You don’t need tone controls etc etc, just a gain and balance 

i thought the same and the small head I developed has exactly that ... a stereo feed straight in to a 2 X 50 watt class D amplifier. It has a DSP input as well and a switch to choose between them. 
I don't really like amp in a pedal format though. Even with class D efficiency at 85 % ish that can still mean a fair bit of heat in a tiny space. It also means you have to run a longer than normal speaker cable and get another mains input to the pedalboard. 

To me a small head sat on the cab is a better option. 

digitalscream

Danny1969 said:

sweepy said:

I do think manufacturers are missing a trick here, all most of us need is a 100w plus box with one volume and a balance or bridge control etc  so you can run a floor Helix, Fractal istraight into a cab . You don’t need tone controls etc etc, just a gain and balance 

i thought the same and the small head I developed has exactly that ... a stereo feed straight in to a 2 X 50 watt class D amplifier. It has a DSP input as well and a switch to choose between them. 
I don't really like amp in a pedal format though. Even with class D efficiency at 85 % ish that can still mean a fair bit of heat in a tiny space. It also means you have to run a longer than normal speaker cable and get another mains input to the pedalboard. 

To me a small head sat on the cab is a better option. 

I disagree. Long speaker cables aren't an issue (plenty of them in the PA world), and mains isn't really an issue because there's always a couple of 4-ways at the front of the stage (although I ran all my pedals from a USB power bank anyway).

My PS170 barely even got warm at gigs.

In my opinion, all those concerns are completely beaten by the convenience of a) a single trip to and from the car with a lightweight cab, b) the fact that I could be set up in 60 seconds from the side of the stage, and c) the fact that debugging that setup is trivial when it comes to the usual "did I get it in the right hole?" problems.

Danny1969

digitalscream said:

Danny1969 said:

sweepy said:

I do think manufacturers are missing a trick here, all most of us need is a 100w plus box with one volume and a balance or bridge control etc  so you can run a floor Helix, Fractal istraight into a cab . You don’t need tone controls etc etc, just a gain and balance 

i thought the same and the small head I developed has exactly that ... a stereo feed straight in to a 2 X 50 watt class D amplifier. It has a DSP input as well and a switch to choose between them. 
I don't really like amp in a pedal format though. Even with class D efficiency at 85 % ish that can still mean a fair bit of heat in a tiny space. It also means you have to run a longer than normal speaker cable and get another mains input to the pedalboard. 

To me a small head sat on the cab is a better option. 

I disagree. Long speaker cables aren't an issue (plenty of them in the PA world), and mains isn't really an issue because there's always a couple of 4-ways at the front of the stage (although I ran all my pedals from a USB power bank anyway).

My PS170 barely even got warm at gigs.

In my opinion, all those concerns are completely beaten by the convenience of a) a single trip to and from the car with a lightweight cab, b) the fact that I could be set up in 60 seconds from the side of the stage, and c) the fact that debugging that setup is trivial when it comes to the usual "did I get it in the right hole?" problems.

Good points but the ICE50ASX2 in BTL mode used in the PS170 isn't designed to be put into a pedal ... it's designed to be put in a speaker enclosure with plenty of air around it. Vertical mounting is actually prefered for the module. SM get away with putting it in a pedal because they use a fan  but it's not a great design really from a longevity point of view IMHO .. if the fan fails and the thermal protection doesn't kick in then the unit will fail very quickly.  A larger enclosure would be a better bet but pedalboard space is important  so I get why they wanted to make it small. 

GazAus

Has anyone tried the Laney Loudpedal and. Quilter Superblock UK? I'm looking at both and undecided

Woodandwires

So, I went down the pedal board amp route, tried the Simplifier dlx and Simplifier mark II with headphones and couldn’t say I enjoyed it. I now have the Rivival Drive compact going into the Neunaber Iconclast which has a much less harsh headphone sound. My question is what single powered monitor are fellow forumites using for home use only, so no need for massive wattage etc?

Axe_meister

I'm using a the budget Laney 2x12. Fairly bright (maybe because they are open back), but good enough for home practice 

Fingers657

I use an Orange Terror Stamp or a Electro Harmonix Howitzer if I need a pedal board amp.
Also have a Electro Harmonix 44 Magnum as a back up used with a power pack.

ICBM

@Axe_meister ;

An update about the Laney Loudpedal - I've borrowed my friend's one, and have checked... it is definitely earthed via its own power supply, so that's not the cause of the noise.