mayboy Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Hi, So im a proud owner of the POD HD500x pro and im currently looking for a live setup. I want to go the power amp and cabinet route. i have found a power amp and cabinet suiting my budget. Power amp: https://www.thomann.de/gb/rocktron_velocity_300.htm Cabinet: https://www.gak.co.uk/en/orange-ppc-212-ob-open-back-2x12-cabinet-black/57935 I read somewhere in the reviews that this power amp may blow a 120w 2x12 cabinet. If that is the case which power amp around that price should i go for? im avoiding 4x12 cabs because of mobility and size. If it isn't painfully obvious already i am a complete noob, In need of a guru. Thankyou Edit: I found this https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_gpa_400.htm it has 2 50w outputs, im guessing this would be a better fit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceatl Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 How ironic. Up until this past weekend, I have never played gig on a Rocktron Velocity 300. I have heard them several times and they have always sounded good. A good buddy of mine's banmd was playing the same gig and he uses a GT-10 into the Rocktron and runs direct to FOH. He is using mono patches and has the Rocktron brightened up a bit a it is getting a Studio Direct tone. It sounds pretty good and the house is nice when dialed in for FRFR. I recalled my mono FRFR setlist and plugged my HD Bean into the Rocktron and the DI and did not touch anything other than one of my clean tones needed about +3db of volume leveling (probably my bad lol!). I was super impressed with the Rocktron. It's not tube and that is apparent to me, but it does have a nice feel and the dynamics are good. This was not a very loud gig, but it had a lot of room left as I was hitting with with healthy line level as my Master was at exactly noon and I matched the input level he was feeding from the GT-10...No sound check and it went really smooth. cut through the mix, nice balance and response IMHO. I think a closed back 212 would be an excellent match for the Rocktron. I use 212 cabs. However, the drivers I use at rated @ 300 watts RMS each. You would be fine with 75 watt RMS rated speakers. Be careful not to clip. Peak rating on a 75 watt RMS rated speaker will be 150 watts +- which is close enough. But no, a Rock Tron will not blow a 212 cab...Only you can do that if you run any conventional power amp into clipping for too long. The DC voltage that is generated when a power amp clips eventually melts the voice coil. Rocktron reminds me of my Flextone IIIXL power amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayboy Posted February 22, 2017 Author Share Posted February 22, 2017 Thankyou for your reply! Im kinda going off the idea of a rocktron velocity 300 due to reading a lot of users experiencing overheating and it just shutting off mid gig. I'm just wondering now if a harley benton GPA-400 running 2 50w outputs into the 2 60w speakers will be loud enough for mid sized gigs. i run the pod into the PA for practice and that seems to be loud enough after cranking the master on the pod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colmac2000 Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Have you seen this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5XiMGYcVcQ I was surprised by the one I preferred out of the 4 :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayboy Posted February 22, 2017 Author Share Posted February 22, 2017 I had a look at it was pretty imformative. Thing that confuses me now. Say my power amp was 8ohm 300w. I then plug that into a 16ohm 320w cab. Is this going to damage the speakers? In other words will these two go together without me breaking anything? https://www.thomann.de/gb/laney_irt412_ironheart.htm?ref=search_rslt_laney+4x12_269333_0 https://www.thomann.de/gb/rocktron_velocity_300.htm?ref=search_rslt_rocktron+300_242146_0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 I had a look at it was pretty imformative. Thing that confuses me now. Say my power amp was 8ohm 300w. I then plug that into a 16ohm 320w cab. Is this going to damage the speakers? In other words will these two go together without me breaking anything? https://www.thomann.de/gb/laney_irt412_ironheart.htm?ref=search_rslt_laney+4x12_269333_0 https://www.thomann.de/gb/rocktron_velocity_300.htm?ref=search_rslt_rocktron+300_242146_0 You can always use a cabinet with a higher impedance rating than the power amp...the trade off is that you lose power. An amp that's expecting an 8 ohm load will have to work harder to drive a 16 ohm cabinet. Sooner or later you run out of headroom, but you won't damage anything. The question is, will it be loud enough? Depends on the amp, and there's only one way to find out. I did this for years with a Marshall 25th Anniversary Jubilee 4x12 (16 ohms), and a variety of power amps. Some of the amps had selectable impedance, some didn't. There were a couple of solid state ones that topped out at 8 ohms...but if it's pushing enough watts, it'll work just fine. What you CANNOT do, is plug an 8 ohm power amp into a 4 ohm speaker. That will require pulling out your checkbook, and possibly a fire extinguisher. ;) Look for an amp with selectable impedance. That way you can match it to whatever cabinet you want, and should you get a different cabinet down the road, no worries...just set the amp where it needs to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayboy Posted February 22, 2017 Author Share Posted February 22, 2017 Thankyou so much for the help, i really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Thankyou so much for the help, i really appreciate it. No problem. Though I should have added that you do need to look at the wattage rating on the cabinet too. If the cabinet says "MAX 150W @ 8 ohms", don't try to feed it with a 300W amp, even if the impedance is matched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTSC777 Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I have a very cool old Line 6 2x12 I painted with truck bed liner and have 4 different speakers to try in it .Someone gave it to me lol! It is a very well made cab used by a touring pro for a long time. When the rain/ cold finally stops here I will put my Marshall Haze on top of it and gig that sucker outdoors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayboy Posted February 23, 2017 Author Share Posted February 23, 2017 Ah okay, If the power amp is 300w and the cabinet is rated at 320w does that just mean I cant crank it up past a certain point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Ah okay, If the power amp is 300w and the cabinet is rated at 320w does that just mean I cant crank it up past a certain point? No...don't over-think it. All it means is you can't put 10 lbs of crap in a 5 lb bag. The cabinet can tolerate up to 320W of power before it will start launching speakers into next week. Try and feed it more than that and you will eventually destroy something. If you try to max out the volume on any power amp though, you're gonna break something...to say nothing of your eardrums. It's never a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayboy Posted February 23, 2017 Author Share Posted February 23, 2017 No...don't over-think it. All it means is that the cabinet can tolerate up to 320W of power before it will start launching speakers into next week. You can't put 10 lbs of crap in a 5 lb bag. If you try to max out the volume on any power amp, you're gonna to damage something eventually, to say nothing of your ears. It's never a good idea. Thanks for clearing some things up for me, i feel much better about this future purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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