Orange Pedal Baby 100

Handsome_Chris

@Faff , how was your gig?

ICBM

Designing a power amp that can't run into 4 ohms is pretty stupid, even given that 4-ohm guitar cabs are rare.

You can accidentally plug into the 4-ohm input on a modern Marshall 4x12"...

I know I've said this many times before, and admittedly these are all a bit larger and heavier, but if you want a simple, robust, decent-sounding cheap power amp then look for an old PA head in the 100-150W range by Peavey, Laney, Carlsbro etc. They will drive 4 ohms with no problem and still produce decent volume into 16 even though the power will be down to around half. You'll get one for under £100 or even less if it doesn't have XLR mic inputs, and most even have reverb.

Go to your nearest Cash Generator and look for something like this -

digitalscream

Faff said:

dudu said:

Faff said:

dudu said:

It works plug & play with 4, 8 and 16 ohm loads. The lower the load, the louder it will be.

So you have tried it?

Actually no, but I have been reading up on this power amp and a few others. I stand corrected on one aspect, though, it does not support 4 ohm, sorry about that. I got the specs mixed up with the Seymour Duncan Power Stage.

That's ok.  I know about class D amps can be plugged into any of them with corresponding losses in levels. I'd like the SD PS170 but if I turn up at a venue with 16 ohm speakers I'm not sure the 454W will be enough.

With a 16 ohm cab, the PS170 will put out 42.5W, which isn't actually particularly different to the 50W that the Orange will put out (actually, they'll probably both manage a little bit more than that).

The PS170 has a trick up its sleeve that none of the others have, though - the active EQ, which is absolutely brilliant for modellers and a vast improvement over the normal subtractive EQ you get on guitar amps (for this purpose), and so much better than the single tone control you get on the Orange that it's not even a fair comparison.

For what it's worth, at 8 ohms into a 2x12" the PS170 is so loud that I chickened out testing it when we couldn't hear our (loud) drummer any more into. While that's not completely indicative, I suspect that with reasonably-sensitive speakers it'd be fine at 16 ohms.

randella

ICBM said:

Designing a power amp that can't run into 4 ohms is pretty stupid, even given that 4-ohm guitar cabs are rare.

You can accidentally plug into the 4-ohm input on a modern Marshall 4x12"...

I know I've said this many times before, and admittedly these are all a bit larger and heavier, but if you want a simple, robust, decent-sounding cheap power amp then look for an old PA head in the 100-150W range by Peavey, Laney, Carlsbro etc. They will drive 4 ohms with no problem and still produce decent volume into 16 even though the power will be down to around half. You'll get one for under £100 or even less if it doesn't have XLR mic inputs, and most even have reverb.

Go to your nearest Cash Generator and look for something like this -

https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY4WDEwMjQ=/z/SYkAAOSwVL5a41i1/$_86.JPG

@ICBM - I've seen (and used) plenty of those down the years but not picked one up for a long time.  Just as a ballpark figure - how much does one weigh out of the rack case?

ICBM

randella said:

@ICBM - I've seen (and used) plenty of those down the years but not picked one up for a long time.  Just as a ballpark figure - how much does one weigh out of the rack case?

They're not rack cased, they're in a wooden sleeve. You can't take it out without leaving the top of the chassis exposed.

My Peavey one weighs 21lb/10Kg, but it's very easy to carry because the handle is on the end. I think most are on the top, but it's easy to move.

The Carlsbros are actually lighter than the others because only the top and bottom are wood, the end pieces (which incorporate the handle on these) are plastic.

monquixote

I would have thought one of the 1U rackmount PA power amps would do the job.

There is also a Rocktron power amp in the classifieds at the moment.

randella

ICBM said:

randella said:

@ICBM - I've seen (and used) plenty of those down the years but not picked one up for a long time.  Just as a ballpark figure - how much does one weigh out of the rack case?

They're not rack cased, they're in a wooden sleeve. You can't take it out without leaving the top of the chassis exposed.

My Peavey one weighs 21lb/10Kg, but it's very easy to carry because the handle is on the end. I think most are on the top, but it's easy to move.

The Carlsbros are actually lighter than the others because only the top and bottom are wood, the end pieces (which incorporate the handle on these) are plastic.

Hahaha, I said it had been a while!  Blimey my memory is appalling.

Thanks for the info, very useful.  One of these days my MP-1 will have the full setup it so richly deserves, instead of being plugged unceremoniously into the FX return of my Marshall.

ICBM

monquixote said:

I would have thought one of the 1U rackmount PA power amps would do the job.

There is also a Rocktron power amp in the classifieds at the moment.

Unless you need stereo and much higher power I honestly think the old PA mixer heads are a better solution. You don't need a rack case and they have onboard EQ which can often be useful.

I know I keep banging on about this like a stuck record , but I really think they're some of the best and most overlooked pieces of gear a musician can own - not only cheap, but usually extremely reliable, very versatile for all kinds of impromptu or emergency uses, and it would be a shame to see them all end up in landfill. You can even use them as a small PA if you need to .

Faff

DaveMon said:

Henning has just compared the SD and the orange.

Thanks -
So while saying make your own mind up - he seems to lean towards the orange. I'm not going to make my mind up on the strength of sound via YouTube. 

Faff

digitalscream said:

The PS170 has a trick up its sleeve that none of the others have, though - the active EQ, which is absolutely brilliant for modellers and a vast improvement over the normal subtractive EQ you get on guitar amps (for this purpose), and so much better than the single tone control you get on the Orange that it's not even a fair comparison.

The orange has active bass & treble controls

Faff

ICBM said:

Designing a power amp that can't run into 4 ohms is pretty stupid, even given that 4-ohm guitar cabs are rare.

You can accidentally plug into the 4-ohm input on a modern Marshall 4x12"...

I know I've said this many times before, and admittedly these are all a bit larger and heavier, but if you want a simple, robust, decent-sounding cheap power amp then look for an old PA head in the 100-150W range by Peavey, Laney, Carlsbro etc. They will drive 4 ohms with no problem and still produce decent volume into 16 even though the power will be down to around half. You'll get one for under £100 or even less if it doesn't have XLR mic inputs, and most even have reverb.

You're right. 4Ohm cabs are rare except for mono speaker option on Marshall 412. I'm just paranoid about turning up with an incompatible head.

As for the Carsbro etc - One of my criteria is that I'm downsizing and not wanting to take my big pedalboard and Mesa Boogie Amp so the 19" rack amp options is not what I want.

Faff

Handsome_Chris said:

@Faff , how was your gig?

Gig went great even though I was not entirely happy with my sound. 

I really want this Boss GT1000 to work but still feel my old analogue pedals and tube amp have the edge - certainly for ease of live use. On stage - pedals and an amp are a lot easier to tweak during the set if required.

Oh well - it was good enough  - 95% of the audience don't give a monkeys as long as it's in the right ballpark.

monquixote

Faff said:

Handsome_Chris said:

@Faff , how was your gig?

Gig went great even though I was not entirely happy with my sound. 

I really want this Boss GT1000 to work but still feel my old analogue pedals and tube amp have the edge - certainly for ease of live use. On stage - pedals and an amp are a lot easier to tweak during the set if required.

Oh well - it was good enough  - 95% of the audience don't give a monkeys as long as it's in the right ballpark.

I had an Amplifire and managed to get to the point where my setups and soundchecks were cake and the audience and band thought it sounded great. I unfortunately was bored out of my mind.

digitalscream

Faff said:

digitalscream said:

The PS170 has a trick up its sleeve that none of the others have, though - the active EQ, which is absolutely brilliant for modellers and a vast improvement over the normal subtractive EQ you get on guitar amps (for this purpose), and so much better than the single tone control you get on the Orange that it's not even a fair comparison.

The orange has active bass & treble controls

The most useful controls are the bass and mid, though.