Grateful Dead Music Forum

hi guys,
can i run a rig like this
ibanez guitar>sms classic tube amp>PA mixer
or do i need a power amp
thanks,
<deadbearbobby>

It depends on what kind of gig you have and what your looking to achive? Sure you can run any preamp through the board direct and get a signal and even a good one (sms) to record. If you were looking to play live same thing applies depending on where you play and the PA provided. In short I would think YES you need a power amp for your sms> speaker combo. In the end it all depends on the application in which you use the preamp.

deadbearbobby wrote:hi guys,
can i run a rig like this
ibanez guitar>sms classic tube amp>PA mixer
or do i need a power amp
thanks,
<deadbearbobby>

No. You don't *need* a poweramp. However, the tone may not be to your liking.
I'd do it in an emergency without thinking twice like using an OD pedal to the board.

However, a *classic* guitar rig has a few key ingredients:
Guitar
Preamp
Poweramp
Speakers

You will be eliminating the poweramp & speaker coloration. I wouldn't do it unless my poweramp blew and my back-up blew too. Then, sure!

thanks guys,
does anyone know where i can get a cheap power amp for temporary use?
<deadbearbobby>

maybe if you go into "Power Amp In" on your mixer (avoiding running a preamp into another preamp), and you also disconnect or defeat the tweeter on the speaker it will run through (avoiding the icepick) ... best possible execution of that scenario imho.