Best poweramp for the Mesa studio preamp of the 80's?

[mxr2000]

I just found a nice studio preamp from the late 80's y I would love to ask to any body using or with experience with the unit what would be the best Power amp to get the best tones??..

 

[straitouttahell]

I'd say an old 295, or a 395.

 

[Spamds]

strategy 400 :wink:

 

[Bobby Marshall]

I'd say an old 295, or a 395.

+1 - I have this set up with one of my Studio Preamps. Just used this rig at my last show and I have to say the tone was incredible. Everyone said my tone was even better than the previous show. For that show I rented a Mark IV combo and ran it through a Marshall 4x12 with Vintage 30s.

I run my other Studio Preamp through a Peavey 50/50 with EL84 tubes and it also sounds amazing. It all fits in a 4 space case too. Comparable in weight to my old Mark IV but the tubes are not as vulnerable in this setup (the Peavey is fully enclosed just like the Studio Pre). This power amp is also very flexible as you can run in 100 watts mono or 50 watts per side in stereo (I don't believe you can run mono with Mesa power amps). So if you only have one cabinet and it is a mono cab this could be a consideration. The Peavey 50/50 amps can be found for at least a few hunded bucks less than a Mesa 295, 20:20 or a Fifty/Fifty (all based upon used prices of course!!!). If you have the $ and two cabs I would go Mesa all the way. If not, I don't think the Peavey would be a bad alternative. Look at the amps of the old guitar greats you like and see what kind of tubes were in the power sections to get a feel for the tone. Also, I met a guy who made a kind of amp summit where he got like 30 people to all meet with their gear so they could try out different rigs. Pretty cool idea. Even cooler that it happened!!!

Anyway, good luck finding a nice power amp.

 

[telecasterkid]

I too used to have a Peavey 50/50. I ended up selling because I thought at the time it was too thin. I wish I had thought it all the way through I would probably still have it.
I ended up replacing it with a Carvin TS-100. The thing I love about it is you can run 50/50 watts in stereo or 100 watts mono. Nothing special there I know. The added bonus is you can change the power tubes out independently in other words run EL34's on one side and 6L6's or 5881's on the other. Very versatile but you have to bias the tubes via the internal controls after you change them out. Might be worth a look see.

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

There is no "best" power amp becuase they all offer something different. Some offer more features than others, some offer midi, some offer class A modes, tone controls, etc..

don't think that you HAVE to get a mesa amp to go with the preamp.

I've done a lot of research on this and it seems that a lot of mesa power amp owners eventually find their way to owning a VHT power amp. If you read the VHT 2/50/2 reviews at harmony central, you'll read that most of them sold their mesa amps once they got the VHT's.

So if you're wanting an EL34 based amp, if money is no option, the VHT 2/50/2 is widely regarded as the best you can get. They have a more rare version called the black beauty which is a dual channel 6L6 based power amp.

Their dual 100 watt model I've heard doesn't have nearly the mojo that the EL34 amp has.

I myself am looking at the old carvin T100 EL34-based amp. They're dirt cheap and I've talke to a few guys who own them and several of them, once again, USED to own 50/50 power amps or peavey 60/60 power amps. One reason is that they're built well, they're dirt cheap (less than $400 usually) can use el34's or 6L6's, are very clean and have gobs of headroom, can be bridged to 100 watts and don't really color the sound. They add tube warmth but still allow the preamp to define the overall sound.

I suggest you look around, read reviews, talk to folks who have owned these various amps and don't limit yourself to one particular brand. I know it's alwasys going to be a popular suggestion here on the mesa forum. And most importantly, take your preamp to stores that sell power amps and try them out. who knows, you may end up really liking some no name solid state power amps.. you never know. Pawn shops and small mom and pop stores that have used gear are also greatly untapped resources for those "diamond in the rough" finds.

 

[Spamds]

Like I said already, strategy 400 (hard to find) is good if you like to jam old metallica especially and justice for all... metallica used actually that combination (studio pre and strategy) during recording. I think it would help if you could tell whatkind tone you are exactly looking for and what genre you play .
See if someone else can suggest you something, but I would go for this if seeking metallica tone..

 

[EdgeOfDarkness]

Like I said already, strategy 400 (hard to find) is good if you like to jam old metallica especially and justice for all... metallica used actually that combination (studio pre and strategy) during recording. I think it would help if you could tell whatkind tone you are exactly looking for and what genre you play .
See if someone else can suggest you something, but I would go for this if seeking metallica tone..

The pictures I seen, it was the Quad that was turn on. :wink:

 

[Spamds]

Like I said already, strategy 400 (hard to find) is good if you like to jam old metallica especially and justice for all... metallica used actually that combination (studio pre and strategy) during recording. I think it would help if you could tell whatkind tone you are exactly looking for and what genre you play .
See if someone else can suggest you something, but I would go for this if seeking metallica tone..

The pictures I seen, it was the Quad that was turn on. :wink:

I readed that they used both preamps recording ...and justice for all