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BACTEDGREATLYD

Member
I bought the art sla 2 and when i play the axe fx thru it into a mesa 4x12 it will not go at a very high volume without breaking down. What could the issue be? is it the axe and if not what do i need to get that will be cheap in order to get the axe up and running as it should? and about this live rig in general, i seem to have a pretty bland sound and im not sure how to tweek it right for a good tone. any tips?
 
What do you mean by breaking down? You mean is stops working completely for awhile or permanently until repaired? When you turn up the volume, are you turning it up at the Axe-FX or at the power amp? Either way, I'd be very fast to point at the power amp as the culprit.
 
I was having a similar problem with my Carvin DCM1000 solid state power amp when I first got hooked up.
Finally, I identified a faulty cable as the culprit.
I'm now using regular QSC instrument cables between the Axe and Carvin instead of a George L's patch cable, and I'm good to go.

Might be something as obvious as that. If so, no shame, it took me a week to figure it out on mine.
 
By breakdown i mean that at a high volume it literally wont produce sound until i turn it off and on. i think the 4x12 is fine. its just the poweramp. perhaps the art sla 2 isnt good enough to play at loud volumes. what is a good alternative - perhaps i should just get tube, but which one? Or an amp head like a peavey 5150. when i saw tesseract live they had the axe fx run thru a peavey head. thoughts?
 
BACTEDGREATLYD said:
By breakdown i mean that at a high volume it literally wont produce sound until i turn it off and on. i think the 4x12 is fine. its just the poweramp. perhaps the art sla 2 isnt good enough to play at loud volumes. what is a good alternative - perhaps i should just get tube, but which one? Or an amp head like a peavey 5150. when i saw tesseract live they had the axe fx run thru a peavey head. thoughts?
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I had an older ART power amp that pushed a 300 cab just fine. A good point was brought up, your impedances match up ok?

It almost sounds like it is tripping and that could be what was mentioned. If the impedances match, then you may have other problems. 200w is no paltry amount of power and I am sure plenty for the cab. So... I'd definitely check the impedances first, then look at the amp by itself.
 
In the Bridged mode an ART SLA-2 will give 560 watts into 8 Ohms. If your running a 16 Ohm cab your not going to the full 560 watts, But even at that it should make your ears ring long before it thermals (shuts down) which is what it sounds like is happening to you.

More info is needed in order to help you go deaf so... Cab impedance is it 8-16 Ohm? How your running the amp single sided or Bridged?
 
From the owners manual...

"PROTECT INDICATOR LED- The LED will glow when the channel goes into protect mode. In protect
mode, the output signal to the speakers will be muted (channel specific). If there is a fault condition at the speaker outputs (due to a severe load or short) the LED will light until the fault is removed.

If, in the unlikely event the heatsink should reach 194 degrees Fahrenheit, the amplifier will mute, until it cools down."

Does your LED come on, or does the amp need to cool down before you can restore output volume?
 
Sixstring said:
More info is needed in order to help you.....
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I agree, more info needed. Which model Mesa cab are you using? Are you running mono or stereo (both the poweramp & the cab)? Once we know these simple facts answers will become more apparent.
 
to be honest dude i had an art sla and at loud volumes it did not do a good job for me personally, I have a vht UL an ampeg 800 watt bass stack and fully triggered drum kit with sub drops to contend with.

I bought a peavey classic 60/60 valve power amp and boom!!!
The 5105 sounded exact to my 5150 sat next to it! I would advise a valve power amp everytime mate I Have just bought a mesa 2:100 so I am selling my 60/60 here in the for sale section.

It has a good flat response better than my mesa as it goes but i like the mesa colour so I am happy with that.
Some of the guys on here have tried the 60/60 with axe fx so maybe they can vouch for it or tell you the opinions they have on it.
Ps its loooouuuuddddd so cutting through will not be an issue:)
 
BACTEDGREATLYD said:
the Red light does go on. i am running the art sla 2 into the in 8 OHMS , this is done thru channel 1
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Does this happen with nothing hooked up to the Amp? If so you have a problem with the amp. If not then you have an issue with ether your cable and or the cab.
 
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