Grateful Dead Music Forum

Our pedalboard preamps thread got into pedalboard power amps, too, but I thought it might be helpful for these units to have their own thread for easy reference.

Here's what I got so far:

Milkman The Amp 50: https://milkmansound.com/collections/am ... ts/the-amp
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Milkman The Amp 100: https://milkmansound.com/collections/am ... he-amp-100
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Seymour Duncan Powerstage 170: https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-pr ... rstage-170
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Seymour Duncan Powerstage 200: https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-pr ... rstage-200
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Electro Harmonix 44 Magnum: https://www.ehx.com/products/44-magnum/

Mooer Baby Bomb 30: http://www.mooeraudio.com/product/Baby-Bomb--54.html
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Carvin Mach 100: https://carvinaudio.com/products/mach10 ... -amplifier
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Quilter Tone Block series: https://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/p ... block-201/; https://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/g ... itar-heads
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Quilter Interblock 45: https://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/p ... rblock-45/

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Harley Benton GPA-100: https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_gpa_100.htm​

BluGuitar Amp 1: https://bluguitar.com/en/products/amp1/
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ISP Technologies Stealth Pro: https://www.isptechnologies.com/portfol ... power-amp/
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Taurus Stomp Head: http://www.taurus-amp.pl/guitar/stomp-head.html

Hotone Mojo Attack: https://www.hotoneaudio.com/products/na ... ojo-attack
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Hughs and Kettner Black Spirit 200 Floor: http://hughes-and-kettner.com/products/ ... 200-floor/
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Vanflet Station 1: https://www.gearnews.com/is-the-vanflet ... itar-amps/ (I can't find the main page)​

Thanks for putting these all together, Jon. Being as I’m on a mission to choose a pedal power amp, there’s a couple here I missed that I’ll have to check out. The one I most wanted to try is the Harley Benton but, alas, this morning I received an email response to my inquiry informing me that they have no plans to make a 120v version of the GPA-100 for the US.

Bill

Interesting... I'm seeing this as possibly 2 diff threads:
1) head on a board: MM or IB45
2) poweramp on a board: Mag44, SD 170, etc

Actually, I started a similar thread also on TGP where I specified expressly (I left it out here), "Power amps with included preamps are in. Preamps alone are out."

Our traffic is far less than on TGP (though certainly no less discerning!) plus there aren't really so many choices yet for either subcategory so I figured combine 'em here, too.

New entries!

Cicognani JMH 50w amplifier pedal.
http://www.cicognani.eu/jmh-amplifier/

Orange Pedal Baby 100w *
https://orangeamps.com/pedal-baby/

Orange Terror Stamp 20w
https://orangeamps.com/terror-stamp/

* I'm finding this one particularly intriguing. I LOVE the basic clean tone on my Orange 35RT combo (heads up - it's got slightly more mids than a BF Fender - that's OK with me, though, I like it). Here's one reviewer's take:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... t-29334956

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... t-29348025

I guess I don't see the Quilters (other than the Interblock) and Orange Pedal Baby as "pedalboard" power amps. Small, sure, but they don't have footswitches and don't go go on a pedalboard.

Reminds me of a joke from the "old country":

Q. What's green, hangs on the wall, and whistles?
A. A herring.
But a herring isn't green.
You could paint it green.
But a herring doesn't hang on the wall.
You could hang it on the wall.
But a herring doesn't whistle.
OK, so 2 out 3!

As the thread originator, IMO, those other units are relatively small and you could certainly fit them on a pedalboard if you want to.

Re: their lack of footswitches, OK, so 2 out of 3.

EDIT: Perhaps it's worth a reminder, too, that the Orange unit isn't Class D. Orange calls it AB. They tout that, in their promotional literature, as a plus:

Overview
The Orange Pedal Baby 100 is a 100W class A/B power amplifier, designed for the touring musician. Neutral-sounding but still flattering, it’s perfect for guitarists running pedalboards, modelers or digital processors. Light, compact and built for the road; fly dates and changing venues are all taken in its stride.

Class A/B Power Amp
While Class D amps are favored for their efficiency, Class A/B amps have a certain “feel” that you can’t get any other way. The Pedal Baby 100 gives guitarists back the dynamics, punch and natural sound that is missing in modern power amps. Plus, Class A/B amps produce real power through standard guitar cabs; 100W into 8 ohms and 70W into 16 Ohms, to be precise.

Class A Front End
Inspired by valve/tube amp design, the Pedal Baby 100 uses a Class A, single-ended front end. Forget sterile-sounding solid-state amps, the Pedal Baby 100 keeps all of your tone’s mojo, then adds a bit more.

I don't need a foot-switch on my power amp. I plan on leaving it on. Size is very important to me. At this point, with several reviews discussing the dark tone of the Powerstage 170, I'm leaning toward the Carvin which is the smallest that puts out 50 watts or more.

Bill, tgo

While a foot switch may be far from the most important feature of a power amp I will say that I thoroughly enjoy walking up to my board and clicking on the power with a simple tap of the foot.
There is just something very nice about not needing to squat or reach down/behind something with a guitar strapped around your back.
The Carvin has an led light (red) that stays on all the time and after you click it on the light turns green.

I don't see the need, or even a reason, for a footswitchable power switch. It's so quick and easy to roll my guitar's volume off. But everyone's different and why it's nice to have so many options.

Jon S. wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:13 am I don't see the need, or even a reason, for a footswitchable power switch. It's so quick and easy to roll my guitar's volume off. But everyone's different and why it's nice to have so many options.

So you just leave everything on all day? I just don’t like leaving things “on” when I’m not using them. Maybe I’m wierd tho
Also since I have blasters and buffets on my guitars I need to unplug when I’m not playing as to not waste battery.

wpmartin1979 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:21 amSo you just leave everything on all day? I just don’t like leaving things “on” when I’m not using them. Maybe I’m wierd tho
Also since I have blasters and buffets on my guitars I need to unplug when I’m not playing as to not waste battery.

The killer of electronics is expansion and contraction from excessive heat and cold cycles.

Also, switches, especially if they're mechanical, are often the first components to die.

For these two reasons, it's almost always preferable to turn an electronic device on and leave it on until you're done with the session or even the day than cycle it on and off repeatedly.

I rarely use batteries. I prefer consistent tone from consistent voltage. And I prefer not to even think about having to uplug the cords from my pedals.