Valve rackmount power amps that are not too heavy?

richh

I've got a Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp, going into a Marshall 9005 power amp, into 2 x Marshall cabs (1 x 12").  Apart from the fact that the power amp needs servicing, the sound is really good.  I've got this set up to give a clean channel and a crunch channel.

But the Marshall power amp is really heavy!  Any suggestions on lighter weight rackmount power amps please, preferably valve?

I realise that with the weight of transformers, I'm not going to get anything featherweight, but this thing is a bit of a beast, especially when racked up with the preamp and other bits.  I don't necessarily need the amount of power or even the stereo capability the 9005 has (2 x 50 watt output).  I'm just using at home at the moment, but would ideally like a setup that doesn't involve a course of steroids to move it around!

Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome, thanks.

slate

The Marshall 20/20 EL84 is good, single rack space size and lightweight.

spacecadet

Does it have to be tube? I see a lot of touring guys using Matrix. Not gonna get much lighter.

richh

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into the Marshall 20/20 then, and no, it doesn't have to be tube if it sounds good, so I'll check out the Matrix range!

I have a love / hate relationship with valve amps.  Love the sound, but have had issues with reliability. 

Danny1969

The little Marshall 2020 is a sweet sounding power amp I had one and giged it for about two years .... now moved up to the EL 34 100 100 now that is a beast

digitalscream

slate said:

The Marshall 20/20 EL84 is good, single rack space size and lightweight.

This is the truth. In fact, the 20/20 is the only Marshall amp I've ever liked, and not much heavier than a Matrix GT800FX.

slate

digitalscream;557892" said:

slate said:

The Marshall 20/20 EL84 is good, single rack space size and lightweight.





This is the truth. In fact, the 20/20 is the only Marshall amp I've ever liked, and not much heavier than a Matrix GT800FX.

It does sound good, I've got one in a little rack here with a JMP1 - it's a great sounding little rig and very portable too. I did have GAS for the 100w EL34 but they weigh a ton!!

ThePrettyDamned

There is a 2u carvin power amp in the classifieds that apparently weighs in at about 13kg? Light compared to some combos, but that's still quite a beast I guess.

paulmapp8306

using a tube pre - Id probably stay away from the Matrix amps - or anything solid state.  There great for modelers, and also the wet sides of a wet/dry/wet set-up, but not sure about the power section of a traditional tube rig.

The Marshall 20/20 is OK, but runs hot.  If uyou want 50w per side then the lightest is the Engle E series (E850 I believe) at 12Kg.  If you can live with 20w, then the Marshall is about it.  There is a Mesa 20W power amp that is great as well - but it is heavier than the Marshall, and does ipart a Mesa flavour. 

richh

Thanks, no I don't usually need 50 watts per side.  In fact I'd prefer a lower powered power amp, so the 20/20 sounds like it might be the one.  I know my Mesa pre sounds good with a valve power amp, but not sure if it would work so well with a solid state amp, so I think a 20/20 is probably my best bet.

Thanks for mentioning the carvin power amp, but it is a cumulative weight thing.  It's not just the 13kg for the amp, but the flightcase, preamp, etc that all add up, as you can probably imagine!

Appreciate the suggestions, I'll see if there are any 20/20's about.

bignorm

I've got a Marshall 20/20 valve power amp for sale ... It's in really good nick with only a couple of scuffs as its lived most of its life in a rack.
I had it up for sale at £300 but you can make me an offer
I'll take more pix if your interested
I also have a peavey classic 60/60 watt, at 3u it's a similar size to the 9005 but not quite as heavy.
It's a much better amp than the 9005 too with 6l6's in it http://i.imgur.com/RPUmOVC.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4M4Ot99.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/XvsS919.jpg

sweepy

You might miss the ballsy bottom end you get with the 9005 though , those big Transformers make a hell of a difference , I wouldn't sell my 9100, well unless its for a Boogie 290

I have tried the EL84 20/20 with my Mesa V Twin rack preamp, it was ok  but I missed the thump of the old beast, have you thought of a sack truck or similar ?

Handsome_Chris

richh said:

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into the Marshall 20/20 then, and no, it doesn't have to be tube if it sounds good, so I'll check out the Matrix range!

I have a love / hate relationship with valve amps.  Love the sound, but have had issues with reliability. 

@RichH, I use a Matrix GT1500FX-BD and it is luscious.  At last year's guitar show, we had a Laney IRT running through a Matrix GT1000FX into a 1960B and that was delightful too.

Matrix will let you send back your gear if your not happy with it.

bignorm

To be honest I preferred the sound of the peavey running 6l6's to the marshall, much more bottom end grunt... But saying that the deep button on the 20/20 did compensate quite well
I'm using a H&K amp now so all my rack stuff is sitting there collecting dust

richh

Thanks for the extra info.  The Matrix looks to be way beyond my price range, so I'll have a think about options like the Marshall 20/20.  Thanks BigNorm will have a think about your unit.

At the moment my gear stays in place most of the time, but it would be nice to be able to move it without getting a hernia!

Cheers.

Rich

FelineGuitars

I assume thatthe 9005 has it's own 4u flight case?

It's foolish to load them in with anything else.

I must confess I was pleasantly surprised by the Marshall 20/20

Ihave a Marshall 9100 that Ino longer use , but the 20/20 sounds good at home

bignorm

If you put that 9005 in a flightcase get it modified coz they were a sod for overheating.

digitalscream

For what it's worth, my 20/20 didn't run particularly hot at all (no more than any of my full heads), and I played it with my Eleven Rack on a massive festival stage (a good 12m behind me) and it easily had enough headroom. I wouldn't have any qualms about it being perfectly giggable in 99% of situations.

bignorm

That's what I found with my Marshall 20/20 too suprisingly loud with plenty of headroom and for straight forward marshall sounds, it was perfect as a lighter solution to the peavey. It sounded great and didn't over heat at all.
I kept the deep switch in all the time though and I was using a Zilla fatboy which has plenty of bottom end

I just preferred the tone of the 6l6s with my JMP1.
I could get a chimey just breaking up tone with loads of compression with that combination.
For tits out rock tones, the Marshall 20/20, JMP1 preamp and zilla cab combination won hands down though, really fat.

I moved away from the rack stuff to H&K grandmeister just coz it's much less stuff to hump around

Mind you the H&K gets really hot, you can fry an egg on the top of that one after a gig