Those Seymour Duncan Powerstage amps are utter tripe

[Orvillain]

He won't even mind me saying this, because he was saying it himself. Had this jam with the new guys last night. I took my recto and Egnater 4x12. He had a Powerstage 170 and a Helix LT. He was using a Marshall 1960 Lead.

Now tbh, the core modelling tones were good. But there was definitely something missing. 100000% there was. He was even a touch louder than me, but my tone was rounder, fatter, and fuller. When I did a palm mute, you felt it. When he did a palm mute, it was like listening to Papa Roach on a 1980's Walkman.

Right now I'm sooooooo disinterested in "FRFR", solid state poweramps, and tbh even amp modelling in general. I don't know what it is like for you lot, but for me, I spend so much time second guessing myself when I'm in that "modern" world of guitar, that I barely get anything done. But when I'm stinky and vintage about things, I get tons of stuff done.

My back still works. I'll hulk a 4x12 up some bloody stairs if I have to. Give me smoke, fumes, valves, fire, and rosy cheeked Scottish birds who can drink me under the table.

 

[DrewJD82]

I’m content with them as long as I don’t need to crank up to metal band gig volume or get very loud while expecting he same girthy impact a tube amp has. I was totally fine doing R&B/rock with it, but once I started itching to put a metal band together is when I decided I was going back to a tube power section.

I’d imagine with some tweaking and a higher wattage PS you could get a pretty close recreation of the feel, but at that point, just buy a tube amp.

 

[JT]

If everyone was using one in the band; the discrepancy would not be there. Side by side is probably comparatively sad

 

[Orvillain]

If everyone was using one in the band; the discrepancy would not be there. Side by side is probably comparatively sad

Aye, like our man PK Diddy once said....
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."

 

[Sirloin]

My takeaway:
Digital modelers suck
G12 T75s also suck

Nothing wrong with the PowerStage if you run a good analog preamp then into a good cab.

 

[Orvillain]

T75's are dope!

 

[SKU]

When he did a palm mute, it was like listening to Papa Roach on a 1980's Walkman.

TOP LEVEL OBSERVATION!

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Jammed with the guitarist from my old band a while ago, he brought his powerstage to my studio. As soon as he compared it to the Fryette Powerstation the SD went packing immediately.

Wasn’t a fan of it at all, felt weird and you’d have to keep adjusting it differently for different sounds.

 

[northern_fox]

I very much enjoy running tonex + eq/fx into a PA50. It's not identical to the original amp tone, but it definitely does push a lot with that characteristic higher dynamic range "thump" and has a more naturally rolled top end. Works best with preamp only captures, but full are good too with some EQ. I have not been as much a fan of models and "FRFR" SS amps (except the pedal baby or matrix are pretty good).

 

[Orvillain]

PA50

Is that the KSR thing?

 

[sleewell]

i felt the same way about quilters.

same helix, same 4x12 with a tube power section sounds like sex.

with the quilter i was always in the ballpark but it required so much more tweaking and it never sounded as good night to night. using tube power it just sounds amazing on mostly stock settings and consistently sounds good from room to room.

lifting a 4x12 is really not that bad. i love those adam corolla prank yanker calls where he calls homeless shelters trying to get day labourers and asks them how much each one of them can dead lift hahahaha.

 

[Mongillo19]

Is that the KSR thing?

It is

 

[northern_fox]

Is that the KSR thing?

Yeah, 50W 6L6/kt77 with NFB control and some other stuff

 

[Orvillain]

Those things do look cool. Don't know if they do them over here in the UK?

Wonder if you could use two of them to get a proper 100-watt beast rig?

 

[SKU]

Saw the ksr a couple of years ago on reverb. Kinda pricy but it’s compact and seems legit. Ofcourse the fryette rack power amps are the real deal. Would go as far as run the fryette rack power amp into the waza tae to squeeze that last drop of tube !!

 

[Blix]

I had the 170 for a while, found it pretty anemic. Through a standard 16 ohm 1960 cab you're down to like 40 watts.
Used it for rehearsal for a gig, ended up using the power section of a Fender Blues Hot Rod Deluxe instead with he same cab, was way better. :)

 

[Orvillain]

I had the 170 for a while, found it pretty anemic. Through a standard 16 ohm 1960 cab you're down to like 40 watts.
Used it for rehearsal for a gig, ended up using the power section of a Fender Blues Hot Rod Deluxe instead with he same cab, was way better. :)

This was actually 4ohms, so he was getting plenty of wattage!

 

[Blix]

This was actually 4ohms, so he was getting plenty of wattage!

Well there you go.. I'd like to try the Powerstage 700, hopefully the bigger brother has a bit more "oomph" to it.

 

[Orvillain]

Also... one thing I've gotta say....

With an analog rig, you can just... get the sound you like.

With a digital rig....

Oh... I like York Audio... I also like Ownhammer.... ohhhh Ownhammer have something called the V30 Workhorse pack! Oh? It is a Line6 exclusive? I don't get WAV files? ... how much of this content is recycled content from other packs? No idea. I own 6 Ownhammer packs already, with plenty of V30's.... fuck... now I'm sucked into trying to figure out if I own any of the "exclusive" content already....

Oh... I love the Dual Rectifier.... fuck me... there are like... fifty different options on the market.... this one here is shit... so cool.. cross it off the list.... these other 49? They're all pretty good.... arrggggghhhhhhh!!!! I JUST WANT TO PLAY AND RECORD MUSIC!!!!!

... working in this industry from a drum samples perspective, I totally get why there is so much stuff. But also just as a regular idiot .... I really don't get why there is so much stuff. You get me?

I guess right now I'm in the "I want to purge my gear and just focus on a few top notch choices" phase of my regular cycle!

Bloody gear ovulation man. Can't wait for gearopause!

 

[OrganicZed]

Here's what Cliff said about this topic.

Here's a video where the power output of an older style class AB solid state power amplifier is compared directly to a modern class D solid state amp on an oscilloscope. The TL/DR is that class D amps can only produce the stated maximum power for a short duration of time (fractions of a second) whereas the class AB amps produce their maximum rated power continuously.