Your Rating of the Art SS power amp SLA-2

C

chopshop777

Inspired
As the title implies please write and rate your reviews of the Art SS power amp SLA-2 Solid State , would you rather go with tube power amps ? like Mesa , VHT , etc ? also I hear this is good for studio but is it good for live settings as well ?
Cheers
Ed
 
I also have a VHT 2/50/2 and the SLA-2. I would rate the VHT as a 9.5/10 (I think it is the best, but hey, can't I dream for a Fryette-made, MIDI-programmable, EL-34-based poweramp?) and the ART as 8.9/10 - a tremendous value in price and size.
 
So those of you that have the SLA-2, do you think it'd have the power to cut through a death metal bands live mix? Gotten some feedback but the more the better. I play through Lundgren pickups, and vader 4x12's, and I have serious concerns as to if this is going to have the ballpark output that my Powerball does.

I've had problems with the Mark IV and a few other select amps in the past, don't wanna repeat that.
 
Others can chime in, but my SLA-2 into a 2x12 can drown out any non-miced drummer. I also know of several players who power two 4x12's with the SLA-2 - SPL's are definitely not an issue. However, if you want to "cut through the mix", it is more about finding the right acoustic space, not just being louder.
 
The SLA2 can put out roughly the same volume as a typical 100 watt tube head. We have a pretty hard hitting drummer, and my SLA2 keeps up just fine, with headroom to spare.

Also, as Ventanaman said, "cutting through the mix" has a lot to do with dialing in your amp so it sits nicely in the mix with the rest of the band, as opposed to just raw volume.

Mike
 
For the guys that use 2 4x12's with the SLA-2; are you or they using one 8 or 16 ohm cab per side of the amp, or driving both daisey chained parallel in bridged mode?
 
SLA-2 here. I'm only using about 1/3rd of the dial compared to diming my old CS400x & it's keeping up just fine. And thats in MONO mode, 1 channel, ie, not bridged. I could bridge it *STILL*.

I'm not sure where everyone else is playing, but my band can barely fit on a stage (2 drummers, totalling 1 kick, 6-7 toms, 3-4 cymbals, 4x12 guitar, 2x15/1x12 bass, 8u rack vocal effects for singer). I can't ever imagine the need for 2 4x12s. I tried it once & it didn't really help.
 
For those that have the SLA-2, I have a bit of a problem. If it's bridged mono, should the controls of both channel 1 and 2 be active? I have it banana plugged into a 4x12 and those are plugged into the top two connectors, as the label on the back of the amp says I should.

I push the button in and it doesn't seem to change anything. Anyone know what could possibly be my problem?

edit: Also let it be known that I just unboxed my Ultra about 2 hours ago so I haven't really changed any settings on that.
 
Servile Insurrection said:
For those that have the SLA-2, I have a bit of a problem. If it's bridged mono, should the controls of both channel 1 and 2 be active? I have it banana plugged into a 4x12 and those are plugged into the top two connectors, as the label on the back of the amp says I should.

I push the button in and it doesn't seem to change anything. Anyone know what could possibly be my problem?

edit: Also let it be known that I just unboxed my Ultra about 2 hours ago so I haven't really changed any settings on that.
Click to expand...

Two things:
1) The channel volume controls on the SLA2 can be pushed in, but that doesn't activate/deactivate anything - it just prevents accidental changing of the volume when it's pushed in.
2) If you're bridged mono, channel 2 control doesn't do anything - only channel 1 control works.
 
Okay, also I'm sorry if it's a noob ass question but, will the L/R of the input of my guitar change? Don't know if that'd make a difference either. Hell, maybe it's pushing bridged mono already and I'm just too dumb to realize it. haha
 
mikeyen said:
Servile Insurrection said:
For those that have the SLA-2, I have a bit of a problem. If it's bridged mono, should the controls of both channel 1 and 2 be active? I have it banana plugged into a 4x12 and those are plugged into the top two connectors, as the label on the back of the amp says I should.

I push the button in and it doesn't seem to change anything. Anyone know what could possibly be my problem?

edit: Also let it be known that I just unboxed my Ultra about 2 hours ago so I haven't really changed any settings on that.
Click to expand...

Two things:
1) The channel volume controls on the SLA2 can be pushed in, but that doesn't activate/deactivate anything - it just prevents accidental changing of the volume when it's pushed in.
2) If you're bridged mono, channel 2 control doesn't do anything - only channel 1 control works.
Click to expand...

I think he's talking about the bridge/unbridged recessed button on the back.

I'm not sure the amp would make any noise in unbridged mono with just both the positives tapped, but I'm also scared what kinda signal might be gallivanting down the line.
 
LAYGO said:
mikeyen said:
Servile Insurrection said:
For those that have the SLA-2, I have a bit of a problem. If it's bridged mono, should the controls of both channel 1 and 2 be active? I have it banana plugged into a 4x12 and those are plugged into the top two connectors, as the label on the back of the amp says I should.

I push the button in and it doesn't seem to change anything. Anyone know what could possibly be my problem?

edit: Also let it be known that I just unboxed my Ultra about 2 hours ago so I haven't really changed any settings on that.
Click to expand...

Two things:
1) The channel volume controls on the SLA2 can be pushed in, but that doesn't activate/deactivate anything - it just prevents accidental changing of the volume when it's pushed in.
2) If you're bridged mono, channel 2 control doesn't do anything - only channel 1 control works.
Click to expand...

I think he's talking about the bridge/unbridged recessed button on the back.

I'm not sure the amp would make any noise in unbridged mono with just both the positives tapped, but I'm also scared what kinda signal might be gallivanting down the line.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the button on the back. I have the banana connector hooked into the top two connectors on the top. According to the diagrams and stuff, the top and bottom left are channel 1, and top and bottom right are channel 2. Is this wrong? It's still loud as hell but I wanna be able to get the most out of it still, ya know.
 
LAYGO said:
I'm not sure the amp would make any noise in unbridged mono with just both the positives tapped, but I'm also scared what kinda signal might be gallivanting down the line.
Click to expand...

That's actually how you should have it wired in bridged, according to the manual. In fact, if you wire it up normally (positive/negative on one side), it actually doesn't give you the full power. I know, because that's how I originally had it wired, before I finally read the manual. :D

Mike
 
LAYGO said:
mikeyen said:
LAYGO said:
...2 drummers...
Click to expand...

There's your problem right there. :lol:
Click to expand...

Yea, it is a problem fo'sho. Not to mention the lil tiny places we're playing.
Click to expand...

Yeah man - we only have one drummer, but he has a rack, so it takes up 1.5x the normal amount of space. It usually gets pretty tight in smaller venues - there was this one dive where we played, where one of us had to stand off the stage. :lol:
 
mikeyen said:
LAYGO said:
I'm not sure the amp would make any noise in unbridged mono with just both the positives tapped, but I'm also scared what kinda signal might be gallivanting down the line.
Click to expand...

That's actually how you should have it wired in bridged, according to the manual. In fact, if you wire it up normally (positive/negative on one side), it actually doesn't give you the full power. I know, because that's how I originally had it wired, before I finally read the manual. :D

Mike
Click to expand...

Classic... :lol:
 
mikeyen said:
LAYGO said:
I'm not sure the amp would make any noise in unbridged mono with just both the positives tapped, but I'm also scared what kinda signal might be gallivanting down the line.
Click to expand...

That's actually how you should have it wired in bridged, according to the manual. In fact, if you wire it up normally (positive/negative on one side), it actually doesn't give you the full power. I know, because that's how I originally had it wired, before I finally read the manual. :D

Mike
Click to expand...

No, we're talking about 2 different things. You had it on Channel 1 pos/neg. I'm talking about if you had it UNBRIDGED and had CH1 Pos & CH2 Pos connected like you should when it IS BRIDGED.
 
LAYGO said:
No, we're talking about 2 different things. You had it on Channel 1 pos/neg. I'm talking about if you had it UNBRIDGED and had CH1 Pos & CH2 Pos connected like you should when it IS BRIDGED.
Click to expand...

Ah. Now there's an interesting experiment...
 
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