Adding a second cabinet and power amp to my bass rig?

Paul Smeenus · 03-23-2013, 04:08 PM

This is my bass gear

Since that pic was taken, the 4/10 cabinet was refitted with much beefier drivers w/ steel cones. I like the mid to mid-low end tones I'm getting, but the deep lows and esp. the top end isn't doing it for me at all. I'm considering getting a second cabinet with a 15" and some kind of tweet to fill in the top and bottom, but I have no confidence in the so-so power capability of that Trace Elliot head to drive both cabinets, it can drive the 4/10 cabinet but juuuuust barely.

So to that end, I'm wondering if my Adcom GFA-555 power amp I originally bought for a non-powered subwoofer for my home system would work:

...it would be 600 watts bridged mono. I could use the internal amp on the Trace for the 4/10 and the Adcom for the 15/tweet, or vice versa if that worked better.

I assume I would use the "send" 1/4" jack in the back panel of my Trace:

...does this require sending the pre-out signal to the "return" jack? If so, the Adcom isn't equipped for that, would I just split the "send" output and feed one to the Adcom and the other back to the "return"?

I apologize for omitting an "anal beads" option...

Paul Smeenus · 03-31-2013, 04:07 PM

Well, clearly this topic has generated entirely too much drama and controversy, so I'll put everyone at rest & report that the Adcom, I've learned, can be used as a power amp for my bass. I haven't determined yet how the signal would feed, I don't want any more histrionics from this nearly out-of-control thread so I will report back when I learn the rest of the story

Afro Blue · 04-13-2013, 01:16 PM

awesome rig. i have never own anything as pro as that, but i understand now that its part of the process of learning to be able to deal with an amp tone.

so thats the reason why i never got anywhere and now mostly play acoustic or record stuff on the computer.

do you have any recordings of what you play?

03-23-2013, 04:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
Paul Smeenus David Hasselhoff Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Back in Portland, OR Posts: 3,681	Adding a second cabinet and power amp to my bass rig? This is my bass gear Since that pic was taken, the 4/10 cabinet was refitted with much beefier drivers w/ steel cones. I like the mid to mid-low end tones I'm getting, but the deep lows and esp. the top end isn't doing it for me at all. I'm considering getting a second cabinet with a 15" and some kind of tweet to fill in the top and bottom, but I have no confidence in the so-so power capability of that Trace Elliot head to drive both cabinets, it can drive the 4/10 cabinet but juuuuust barely. So to that end, I'm wondering if my Adcom GFA-555 power amp I originally bought for a non-powered subwoofer for my home system would work: ...it would be 600 watts bridged mono. I could use the internal amp on the Trace for the 4/10 and the Adcom for the 15/tweet, or vice versa if that worked better. I assume I would use the "send" 1/4" jack in the back panel of my Trace: ...does this require sending the pre-out signal to the "return" jack? If so, the Adcom isn't equipped for that, would I just split the "send" output and feed one to the Adcom and the other back to the "return"? I apologize for omitting an "anal beads" option... Last edited by Paul Smeenus; 03-23-2013 at 11:16 PM.

03-31-2013, 04:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
Paul Smeenus David Hasselhoff Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Back in Portland, OR Posts: 3,681	Well, clearly this topic has generated entirely too much drama and controversy, so I'll put everyone at rest & report that the Adcom, I've learned, can be used as a power amp for my bass. I haven't determined yet how the signal would feed, I don't want any more histrionics from this nearly out-of-control thread so I will report back when I learn the rest of the story

04-13-2013, 01:16 PM	#3 (permalink)
Afro Blue Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: in a wave Posts: 54	awesome rig. i have never own anything as pro as that, but i understand now that its part of the process of learning to be able to deal with an amp tone. so thats the reason why i never got anywhere and now mostly play acoustic or record stuff on the computer. do you have any recordings of what you play?