Fryette vs Tube head as power amp

bigfoamfinger

bigfoamfinger

Inspired
The FRFRs are fun but I’m missing the oomph you guys. Was looking at getting another PS100 or 2902 for some tube power but then I thought maybe the money is better spent on a tube head, to run the fractal in the loop. That way I also have a nice stand alone amp in addition to a tube power amp option.

Anyone have any experience in this scenario, comparing the tones?
 
A lot of standard tube head returns are highly colored so will skew the accuracy of amp models played through them (unless the amp model matches the tube head whose return you're playing into) - not good overall for modelling imo, unless you like the skewed amp model versions.
 
bigfoamfinger said:
The FRFRs are fun but I’m missing the oomph you guys. Was looking at getting another PS100 or 2902 for some tube power but then I thought maybe the money is better spent on a tube head, to run the fractal in the loop. That way I also have a nice stand alone amp in addition to a tube power amp option.

Anyone have any experience in this scenario, comparing the tones?
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I keep telling everyone that asks this question something they usually don't want to hear: a GOOD class D power amp is a much more practical solution to the problem than lugging around some heavy ass class A/B iron.

Of course don't buy something underpowered and expect oomph, you gotta size it right. Something like this will do the job and then some at a weight of 8.6lbs: https://www.crownaudio.com/en-US/products/xls-1502
 
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bigfoamfinger said:
The FRFRs are fun but I’m missing the oomph you guys. Was looking at getting another PS100 or 2902 for some tube power but then I thought maybe the money is better spent on a tube head, to run the fractal in the loop. That way I also have a nice stand alone amp in addition to a tube power amp option.

Anyone have any experience in this scenario, comparing the tones?
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To me tubes always sound better. I own a Fryette LXII (transparent stereo tube PA) which is phenomenal for the oomph. I also own an SLO-100 and enjoy running the Axe into its power amp, too. I've had multiple solid state power amps before to try to find a lighter and more practical solution to this but none of them scratched the itch nearly enough to make me happy.
 
axes said:
To me tubes always sound better. I own a Fryette LXII (transparent stereo tube PA) which is phenomenal for the oomph. I also own an SLO-100 and enjoy running the Axe into its power amp, too. I've had multiple solid state power amps before to try to find a lighter and more practical solution to this but none of them scratched the itch nearly enough to make me happy.
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The LXII is the only Fryette I haven’t tried yet. I bet that SLO is glorious.
 
You cant go wrong with a fryette power amp. I run my x88IR into my axe fx 3 and use my powered monitors for sound and I love it.
 
I am in the market for a two ninety two but today i finally plugged the axe fx into the return on my pittbull ultra lead and also tested it with my fryette ps2a. It sounded amazing through the ultra lead and into a mesa traditional 4x12. Ive also used the powerstage SS power amps and they also gave me great results but felt a bit stiff and less full bodied for lack of a better word. Because the ax fx is stereo i think a stereo tube poweramp is the way to go.
 
Vylan said:
I am in the market for a two ninety two but today i finally plugged the axe fx into the return on my pittbull ultra lead and also tested it with my fryette ps2a. It sounded amazing through the ultra lead and into a mesa traditional 4x12. Ive also used the powerstage SS power amps and they also gave me great results but felt a bit stiff and less full bodied for lack of a better word. Because the ax fx is stereo i think a stereo tube poweramp is the way to go.
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the Seymour Duncan powerstage are VERY underpowered for driving a 4x12, that's what you're hearing. Class D by design needs to be sized adequately to have the same feel of a class A/B amp, I'm not that type of engineer but Cliff has a post somewhere explaining the reason quite well.
 
bigfoamfinger said:
The FRFRs are fun but I’m missing the oomph you guys. Was looking at getting another PS100 or 2902 for some tube power but then I thought maybe the money is better spent on a tube head, to run the fractal in the loop. That way I also have a nice stand alone amp in addition to a tube power amp option.

Anyone have any experience in this scenario, comparing the tones?
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edit - I went down the FRFR path for years and couldn't jive with it. Now I use it when I need to, but if there's stage space I'm using my 2x12 and Fryette.


I have tested this with a few different amps - I have a thread for it on gasp TGP.

I have a Fryette PS2A now and it's the best among the different amp options I tried. Next best is a EVH 5150 FX Return, which as I understand it is pretty clean - and it seemed so when compared to the Fryette. I also tried a Marshall DSL40 and a Marshall Origin 20 but didn't get nearly as good of results - probably how their power amps are designed to impart distortion whereas the 5150 isn't. I should note it was a 5150 LBX.

Test was primarily on a 2x12 - though I've run them through 4x12's before. I bet the Fryette would have plenty of power for a 4x12.

I also tried the Seymour Duncan and an Orange Pedal Baby 100 but they had other undesirable traits. I preferred the Orange for a while until I splurged on a Fryette. You can't go wrong with it.
 
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I have a palmer macht 402 class D power amp in our rehearsal room driving 2 4x12 cabs in stereo mode. It can easily match tube amps in volume it has good sonic qualities but there something like a slight delay between your fingers and the amp. It feels a bit off compared to tubes. It's more transparent but less 3d. If you work your presets around it you could come close to tubes i guess.
 
If you can find one, find a SS power amp that uses an Output Transformer ( very rare ). This sounds 10,000 times better than any other amp except for a tube power amp. It's basically a tube power amp with all the punch but just without the color of tubes. It works great with a Fractal while using the power amp sim on.
I have one made by Paso. It's a 4000 series and doesn't have 1/4 jacks but has just bare wire terminals at 4/8/16 ohm taps. Mine is the 60 watt version and it sounds about equivalent to a 30 watt tube amp. More than a 20 watter but maybe not quite a 50 watter in comparison. They made them in different wattages. I had a 200 watt version many years ago and it will hold it's own against a 100 watt Marshall.
There are a few on Ebay right now:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186888215686?
 
I tried the Power Station and found it generally disappointing and underwhelming. It's far too stiff, and I don't find the EQ controls particularly useful. Right now I am absolutely loving the KSR PA50, and the ability to control the amount of NFB and the resulting feel of the amp is a huge point in its favor.

That said, my 5150 III 50W is also a friggin fantastic power amp when just using the return.

[Edit] I've kinda softened on this over the last couple weeks. I think the Power Station is a decent power amp for the Fractal, just not my favorite.
 
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Promit said:
I tried the Power Station and found it generally disappointing and underwhelming. It's far too stiff, and I don't find the EQ controls particularly useful. Right now I am absolutely loving the KSR PA50, and the ability to control the amount of NFB and the resulting feel of the amp is a huge point in its favor.

That said, my 5150 III 50W is also a friggin fantastic power amp when just using the return.
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I wish i could easily buy KSR products in Europe without import taxes or whatever. The PA50 would be my choice.
 
Promit said:
I tried the Power Station and found it generally disappointing and underwhelming. It's far too stiff, and I don't find the EQ controls particularly useful. Right now I am absolutely loving the KSR PA50, and the ability to control the amount of NFB and the resulting feel of the amp is a huge point in its favor.

That said, my 5150 III 50W is also a friggin fantastic power amp when just using the return.
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The KSR sounds like an interesting amp and I'm glad that you've found a solution that works well.

For all of the nerds who care about the technical stuff, I wanted to clarify that the Fryette Power Station has two user adjustable negative feedback controls. They are labeled depth and presence.

The switches (flat / brite / edge and flat / warm / deep) only adjust the behavior of the reactive load. These controls have zero impact on the tone when routing a signal into the preamp input or the effects return as you would do when using it with a FAS modeler.
 
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