Seymour Duncan PowerStage Praise

jellodog said:
I'm curious. How is the volume knob sweep on such a powerful device? Can you play quietly with it too? Or is the knob too sensitve to adjust well at the lower end of the range (like so many devices!). I think I might be better off with the PS200.
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Its not that sensitive in the early range, plus for home practice you absolutely don't have to run the FM3 flat out.
At gigs I run the FM3 very hot, but at home I roll it back a little to give the PS knobs more range.
 
icarri said:
Imho any Class D power amp will do the trick and SD is just the most famous one and well marketed for guitar players, but there are cheaper and louder alternatives. I use a Class D Bass power amp, the Warwick Gnome, to power my Mesa 4x12 cab and it's much louder than the SD and the sound is pretty similar (as both are transparent power amps that just power the cab, not adding color to the sound). Another alternative is the BAM 200, similar to Warwick Gnome, both between $150 and $200.

I discover about it basically in this long thread at the gear page forums, but this forum is not allowing me to paste urls in this post as it's considered spam, so just do a google search for "TC Electronics BAM200 class D bass head = Duncan Powerstage Killer?" at thegearpage dot com.

Also you can read a review and comparision with sound samples between the BAM200 and the SD170 from another website, using both Helix and FM3. Also can't post the url here so please search in Google for: "Comparing the Seymour Duncan PS170 & TC Electronics BAM200"
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I've read that also, but be advised the EQ on those other devices are set in other spots. If you are always going to run them flat it probably doesn't matter, but if you are going to use the EQs its worth reading a little more, and ideally trying one if you can.
 
One other thing to keep in mind when selecting Class D amps is how they behave when clipped. If you play on a loud stage with a cleanish tone, you'd be surprised how much power your amp is expected to provide. In that case it is almost inevitable that the amp will clip as its output stage runs out of steam.

Some of the Class D amps are based on ICs available for the task, and some have a built in protection circuit that mutes the output when the output clips. This is BAD in live music as your tone will cut out intermittently during that big loud solo while the amp recovers. I've read of some amps that do this live, and it is a bad thing.

Fearing this with the ICEPower amps, I stuck one on a dummy load and ran a huge signal into it to see if it would go into protection mode when overdriven. It did not, its behavior was very clean (just the tops of the waveform were flattened as you would expect). That behavior is what won me over to the ICEPower amps. I have looked at other Class D amps that still put out power when clipped, and you would not believe what that waveform looked like. If you think overdriven solid state amps sound bad, you should hear an overdriven Class D (that is if it doesn't go into shutdown mode, and isn't an ICEPower).
 
FWIW, the BAM200 is getting a hit of negative reviews in other forums for not proving durable over time.
I cannot confirm. Never owned one. Very happy with my ToneBlock 200 (yes its that old its the 200 not the 201 or 202)
and the SD700.
 
Hackdog69 said:
I have a PS 170, used at at a bar gig with a FM3 and was surprised that it wasn’t as loud as others have attested. I was using output 2 and the PS was cranked.. so I checked the output settings and turned up the “boost” to 18 and it still wasn’t cutting it.. Output 2 was almost all the way up as well.. I was concerned about hitting the PS with too much level because it’s advertised as a pedalboard power amp, thinking it would overload with too much level hitting the input. Well I was dead wrong about that, at home I adjusted the output of level 2 on the block up to +10 and made the preset hotter and boom there was the volume I was looking for, I was hitting the input of the PS hard but it was still a crystal clean guitar sound.. Loud and clean.. super happy with it now!

edit, using a 8ohm 2/12.. so really only getting 85 watts, but still LOUD
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Out 2 know should be fully clockwise (unity gain).
Also, I would recommend ...

  • set out 2 block level at 0 and optimize your sound to that
  • after that, you can dial in out 1 block level (for me, around -15db)
  • with this, you can be sure you get unity gain into your PS and everything else is also around 0 db

Out 2 config also to unity gain.
 
Willbnd said:
Does anyone know how the Powerstage 170 sound at home volume without a band?
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I play it everyday through a Mesa compact 212 and it sounds great!
I also play in the middle of the night and it still sounds good. In that case I boost the lows and highs a little with the Eq of the Powerstage 170.
 
MrPond said:
Even my JCM is punchier and heavier at low volumes compared to the PS170.
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I believe you, but this is not really a power amp problem, this is a pre-amp and EQ not dialed in for what you want when you are talking Fractal.
I have an 800 and a PS700 and they can both be made to sound great at high volume but I think the Fractal/PS is easier to dial in for low volume.

The EQ on the PS series really helps. I tend to need more bass at quiet volumes (home practice) but not at gigs (there is a bass player). I also tend to use a little less treble at gigs, especially if I'm playing thru v30 speakers at high volume. Those things bark!
 
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I am intrigued with this post because I am trying to figure the best way to exist in both worlds, guitar cabs and FRFR. I would ideally like a power solution that would do both equally.

I currently have a Quilter Toneblock 200 but I feel it cuts low end (no proof just my ears), but volume wise it pushes 16 ohm 4x12 and 8 ohm 2x12 cabs with much power left on tap.

The other problem with my possible route is, there’s not a lot of passive FRFR solutions I’ve seen.
 
FPFL said:
FWIW, the BAM200 is getting a hit of negative reviews in other forums for not proving durable over time.
I cannot confirm. Never owned one. Very happy with my ToneBlock 200 (yes its that old its the 200 not the 201 or 202)
and the SD700.
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Do you feel like the Toneblock 200 cuts low end? I always feel mine does. Otherwise it’s plenty loud
 
I would just try it out - buy the PS170 and give it a try.
I built my presets to sound good LOUD ... at low volumes, they also sound good - but like I said, the PS does need a decent amount of volume.
It sounds good at low volumes, of course - I also prefer real cabs over FRFR, it's just a matter of taste.
 
MrPond said:
I would just try it out - buy the PS170 and give it a try.
I built my presets to sound good LOUD ... at low volumes, they also sound good - but like I said, the PS does need a decent amount of volume.
It sounds good at low volumes, of course - I also prefer real cabs over FRFR, it's just a matter of taste.
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It's just that I don't even own a cab of any sort to try it out, I'm also thinking of buying a Powercab + or a kemper stage for the Kabinet... If I end trying everything, I don't think I'll have any money left. I could return stuff but where I live it's a hassle.
 
crdark said:
Everything needs decent volume to get that punchy full sound. Most tube amps just don't get that quiet ... :tearsofjoy:
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This.

The eternal question: “How can I land a solid, snappy punch on my punching bag without hitting it hard?” You can’t. :)
 
MKB99 said:
One other thing to keep in mind when selecting Class D amps is how they behave when clipped. If you play on a loud stage with a cleanish tone, you'd be surprised how much power your amp is expected to provide. In that case it is almost inevitable that the amp will clip as its output stage runs out of steam.
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There's nothing as fun as hearing the guitar sound change from clear and clean to "BLAAAAT" or the sound of an extremely amplified belch.
 
Rex said:
This.

The eternal question: “How can I land a solid, snappy punch on my punching bag without hitting it hard?” You can’t. :)
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Then how come the Kemper Kabinet has solid reviews at low volume? I haven't tried it but it seems like the reviews are very positive.
 
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