Amp for Synth's

[spsnoise]

Hello all,

Just wondering what guitar/bass amps you have tried using with synth's and got good results. Brand/Model, any that were just plain horrible. Also list what mic you were using.

Thanks

[grantlandau]

trebly synth = fendertwin + Peluso 2247LE
bass synths = GallienKruger bass stack + P 2247LE

either way, love that Peluso!

[octatonic]

I have a few:

'62 Fender Bassman
Fender Prosonic
Mesa Dual Rectifier
Marshall JCM800 and JCM900
Fender Blues Junior

They all have their sound- there isn't a particular one right for any situation.
Mics could be anything really- M201, E609/906, RE20, Josephson C42, Earthworks SR30, D112, 57's. Again, it really depends.

I have a distro box that allows me to sent to multiple amps at once- creating a huge wall o synth and then micing the room sometimes gives good results.

[Secret Friend]

Originally Posted by octatonic

I have a few:

'62 Fender Bassman
Fender Prosonic
Mesa Dual Rectifier
Marshall JCM800 and JCM900
Fender Blues Junior

They all have their sound- there isn't a particular one right for any situation.
Mics could be anything really- M201, E609/906, RE20, Josephson C42, Earthworks SR30, D112, 57's. Again, it really depends.

I have a distro box that allows me to sent to multiple amps at once- creating a huge wall o synth and then micing the room sometimes gives good results.

how's the Fender Blues Jr. when playing a synth through it?
does it have enough bottom end? just curious, thinking about buying a small amp
for guitars and synths, mostly for recording...

[hangman]

I've recorded synths and a farfisa through my Ampeg VT-22 with pretty good results.
Ive also used the Roland KC-500. which is a great keyboard amp.

I've also plugged a fender into some PA speakers, in order to get a little wider frequency response, but I didnt really have Nice PA speakers, so the highs were a little harsh, and it didn't work out like I was hoping it would.

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by Secret Friend

how's the Fender Blues Jr. when playing a synth through it?
does it have enough bottom end? just curious, thinking about buying a small amp
for guitars and synths, mostly for recording...

Depends on what you mean by 'enough'.
It is a 15 watt guitar amp with a 12" speaker.
Capable of pretty high levels when pushed.

It isn't a bass amp- if you want enormous bottom end then use a bass amp.

[desotoslo]

any1 care to comment on their relative likes/dislikes of mic'ing a cab vs. direct in?

[rasp]

I know its not a guitar/bass amp but the Roland KC amps sound great when mic'd. I had a KC-500 for awhile and when it came time to track my band's last album, I had to go through the KC just to get the same aggressive tone that I was missing when I went direct.

[alchey]

played my virus through my fender blues deville 2x12. It has a lot of bite through the drive channel; though if you're familiar with this amp you'll know the drive channel doesnt have much drive to it... more like saturation. Works well enough though.

D

[Dave Peck]

If you are looking for a good clean sounding amp rig for live use, as opposed to something for heavily coloring the sound when recording (like a guitar amp), I recommend Carvin for best bang-for-the-buck.

Carvin.com - Guitars, Amplifiers & Pro Audio

I did a lot of live gigs with a multi-keyboard rig in the L.A. rock club scene for many years and I had great results with a pair of LSx1503 three-way cabinets and a pair of LSx1801 subwoofers (actually, the model numbers were different and the design was slightly different, these current models seem a little better than the versions I was using).

Carvin.com - Guitars, Amplifiers & Pro Audio

I had a pair of large stereo power amps to run my rig (1800W RMS), but these new speaker models are also available in self-powered versions.

If you need something a bit bigger or smaller than these, their other models are also a good deal.

[sctt_stone]

Yorkville Traynor Custom 40 watt valve amp.
Best warranty under the sun.
Says on the tag that if you throw it down a flight of stairs and it breaks they will replace it for free. It is heavy as heavy as a refrigerator though.
You can also buy an extension speaker cab for it.
I got the 12 speaker in mine. celestion.

[jackflip]

ok maybe this is a little off topic from the original question but i saw the notice about searching b/f you post a new thread and i'm gon respect that . My wife plays bass and recently got a keyboard. what i'm looking for is a small keyboard amp say 50 to 100 watts to play small gigs. It would be ideal if you could also feed vocals, acoustic git, and maybe even bass into seperate channels to reduce the amount of gear we transport. I may buy two eventually to run the keys in stereo and have extra channels. I am considering the hartke km series (60 or 100) but can't find some one who carries them locally to go an hear them. sweetwater carries them and I wanted to get some opinions here b/f I order. advice? suggestions? thanks! Oh, also I called carvin, they no longer make a "keyboard amp". she has a carvin bass amp, and it really is a sweet deal, but it only has 1 input.

[keybdwizrd]

IMHO, using guitar and bass amps for keyboards is a bad idea unless there's a particular sound you're going after, and only a guitar amp will do. For example, I remember hearing that Jan Hammer played his Minimoog solos through a Marshall tube guitar amp to really get a screamin' lead sound.

Guitar and bass amps typically are not designed to reproduce the wide range of frequencies that keyboards can generate.

Roland makes a whole line of keyboard amps that can be paired up to run in stereo. I've got the 120-watt KC-350, and have used it at countless gigs. Pros: Loud, well made, small, self-contained, four stereo inputs, stereo link capability, three-band EQ, tape in, mic in, lots of low end. Cons: Heavy, expensive, too much bass at times (crank the EQ down), less than stellar for piano sounds.

Many keyboardists prefer to use powered PA speakers for live use. I recently purchased a Behringer B212A for $229 and this thing CRANKS. 400 watts and it sounds great. I use it with a small, inexpensive keyboard mixer. It weighs less than the Roland KC-350 and provides much more accurate sound reproduction. It does not, however, provide the same low end that the Roland does.

Ultimately, I'll likely upgrade to something like the Mackie SRM450.

[keybdwizrd]

Originally Posted by jackflip

My wife plays bass and recently got a keyboard. what i'm looking for is a small keyboard amp say 50 to 100 watts to play small gigs. It would be ideal if you could also feed vocals, acoustic git, and maybe even bass into seperate channels to reduce the amount of gear we transport. I may buy two eventually to run the keys in stereo and have extra channels.

You could try a pair of Roland KC-150s or KC-350s - the KC-350 has a lot of bass and a pair of them could probably function as a decent small PA, although that's not what they were really designed for.

Perhaps a better idea wold be for your wife to keep her bass amp - for bass (as it was intended), and then get a small stereo PA for vocals, acoustic guitar, and keys (as it was intended). Take a look at the Yamaha Stagepas 300, for example, or this inexpensive Behringer system.