opinions on these poweramp options

[MarshallJMP]

Could be a bad relay.

[Harley Hexxe]

@MJMP;

   I've seen Marshall poweramps that on the front panel, they are printed with 9000, but yet people are calling these power amps 9005. Am I missing something here?


   Harley 8)

[MarshallJMP]

Well marshall had a 9000 series amps and preamps.From what I recall the 9001 was a valve preamp and the 9004 was a SS preamp.Then you had the 9005 which was 50/50W valve power amp (very good) then you had some SS power amps like 9040 and 9060 (not sure about these numbers).But all those amps had like you said "9000 series" printed on the front.
The main difference is the height,the 9005 was a whoping 4U while the 9040 and 9060 were only 2U.

[Dante]

I seem to remember the 9005 weighing in at about as much as my old car

[MarshallJMP]

I seem to remember the 9005 weighing in at about as much as my old car

:lol:

[Harley Hexxe]

Well marshall had a 9000 series amps and preamps.From what I recall the 9001 was a valve preamp and the 9004 was a SS preamp.Then you had the 9005 which was 50/50W valve power amp (very good) then you had some SS power amps like 9040 and 9060 (not sure about these numbers).But all those amps had like you said "9000 series" printed on the front.
The main difference is the height,the 9005 was a whoping 4U while the 9040 and 9060 were only 2U.

Yes, I remember seeing them in the shops when they were new, I just never looked into them because I was really getting into the ADA gear a lot more at the time and liked the idea of having the same power but in a smaller package. I guess when it comes to real tube poweramps, it can only get shrunk down a little bit. That's the compromise. I might have liked the sound of the 9005 if I had tried it, but it would have had to work well with the ADA preamp, since the Marshall preamps seemed very limited in the variety of tones. I did experiment a little with the JMP-1 in the store when it was out, but I wasn't impressed. That was when I chose the Classic and bought it.
These days, I am considering the Mesa 2:95 for the classic since I doubt I'll ever find a T100S. Like the MP-2, I like the B200S better for the Classic than the Microtube. It's quieter, and warmer. Maybe a bit of poweramp coloration is just the ticket.

   Harley 8)

[El Chiguete]

I would really like to test the B200S but no one over here has one :( ... anyway next month I should get a 2:95 and just be dont with it! LOL

BTW I came to the realization yesterday that for general rehersals and even at quick practicing at home I can use the cab sim of the Lexicon for a quick setup when tone chasing is not the exact idea but just learning song or jamming along. I came to this conclusion when the other guitarist just plugged to the solid state amp that was in the rehersal studio and didnt bring nothing more than his guitar... so why be bothered with all the extra gear when no one (at least on that particuar scenario) is chasing tone on the rehearsal.

[rnolan]

Hey El, shame you can't get to hear a B200s, they are a great match with ADA preamps and no where near as heavy as Dantes old car LoL.
I understand where you are coming from re how much gear etc, it very much depends on what you are trying to achieve in the rehearsal/session.  Eg in one band (The Queue) we used to do one rehearsal a week for harmony rehearsal so we just played acoustics, but if you are doing a "dress rehearsal" for a gig, then set up the rig.  Also later with the same band when neighbors were an issue the drummer just played practice pads and we all tuned right down so you could sing over it without a PA as we were just learning new songs for the set.

[Harley Hexxe]

I would really like to test the B200S but no one over here has one :( ... anyway next month I should get a 2:95 and just be dont with it! LOL

BTW I came to the realization yesterday that for general rehersals and even at quick practicing at home I can use the cab sim of the Lexicon for a quick setup when tone chasing is not the exact idea but just learning song or jamming along. I came to this conclusion when the other guitarist just plugged to the solid state amp that was in the rehersal studio and didnt bring nothing more than his guitar... so why be bothered with all the extra gear when no one (at least on that particuar scenario) is chasing tone on the rehearsal.

Hey EC,
  The B200S is surprisingly good for a solid state amp. It's quiet, and it seems to have a lot of emphasis on the warm side of amplification, and it's louder than a locomotive!   ADA claimed it was a poweramp tuned specifically for guitar. Personally, I like the sound of it as far as solid state amps go. It's not sterile sounding like other guitar amps.

   I agree with you about using some other amp for just practicing or rehearsing. When you aren't trying to create a specific sound, any practice amp with a decent tone will do the job. When I'm playing alone and trying to figure out something, I'm usually using one of my Fender G-Dec amps. I have a couple of cool programs in those that sound really good. Nothing like the ADA stacks, but good to play around with. If I'm rehearsing at lower volumes, I use my Vibrolux Reverb, and that is once again a good sound, but not my ADA rig.
   At the risk of sounding repetitive, most of the real tones come from my fingers. The amplifiers just embellish that tone.

    Harley 8)