I’d like to talk a little here about some of the gear I’ve used or am currently using. One of the things that become an issue for me was that I didn’t feel that I always had enough clean headroom when I needed it with my amps and, conversely, in some of the rooms I played, the amps with enough clean headroom suffered when turned down to suit the smaller rooms.
What I decided to do was go with a rack setup. I settled on the lowly Boss VF-1 Multi-Effects box (1/2 rack space, every Boss pedal ever made, decent COSM amp models), a Carvin 600 watt power amp, and my cabinet with an Altec 418-8H 15″ speaker. I’m more than happy with this setup; however, the large 4U rack and heavy amp sent me looking for a smaller alternative, which I found in a Stewart PA-50 (1/2 space unit, 100W bridged @8 ohms). I prefer the Carvin, but the Stewart has been a nice lightweight alternative.
The Altec speaker is to die for, although at times i find it a bit bass heavy and have to really dial the bass back. Speakers have become one of my greatest concerns with regards to amplification. I really believe that it is the speaker that is the heart of the sound. I’ve been through all of the classic speakers, from JBL D130Fs, to D110s, to EVM 12Ls and Altec 417-H (my favorite of all). Each person is going to have his/her own preferences, but I am very pleased with the sound of the Altec. Another thing I can say is: if you get used to playing with these full range speakers, it makes it difficult to go back to the others, at least that’s how it is for me. I love the articulation of these speakers, although i must say that I was disappointed by the EVM 12L and EVM 15Ls I’ve had.
More to come….
