First test drive of my E9th hooked to 2000 watt amp.

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 20 Jan 2008 6:59 pm

Some time back I reported I was building a big powerful system. Not to take on jobs, but to just have fun with in the shop. I had purchased a used 2000 watt Crown PA power amp, 2 15 inch speakers and two speaker cabnets. I am using speakon power cables to connect the power amp to the speakers. I thought I would report on the progress of the big system to this point. Here is what it felt and sounded like; Remember those little sub-compact Renault cars that had less power than a motorcycle? Remember those powerful muscle cars of the late 1960's and 1970's.
A ride in the sub-compact Renault felt like, and sounded like, you were riding in a tin can. On the other hand, when you got behind the wheel of that powerful muscle car, you felt the chest thumping power, as the force pressed you back in the plush seat. On my E9th neck,as I pushed down on my volume pedal, increasing the output of the 2000 watt crown amp to the two 15 inch speakers---I could feel the EXHILARATION of raw brute power and the clearity of ultimate headroom!!!!!!! I don't care how the candy is sugar coated, nothing takes the place of brute power. You can't make an under powered 10 inch speaker sound like two 15 inch speakers with enough head room to slay a draggon. There is something to be said for small amps that are easy to carry. Just because these small amps are easy to carry doesn't mean they have the sound quality of a big system. My next addition to my big system is going to be a tube pre amp.

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 20 Jan 2008 8:52 pm

Keith, you are crazy!! But in a GOOD way, though!! I sure would like to hear your rig in action!!
Question: Do you have a seat belt on your steel seat yet??

Steve Alcott · Post by **Steve Alcott** » 20 Jan 2008 9:57 pm

This reminds me of a gig I did at a dance for deaf students. I used my usual bass rig on stage, but the sound company had subwoofers all around the perimeter of the dance floor, and had them CRANKED. I was playing my first 5 string bass guitar, so it must have been after '76. The low B was pretty amazing, as were the bass and snare drums. I got a little queasy by the end of the night after "Not Fade Away" with lots of E and A power chords.

Jerry Erickson · Post by **Jerry Erickson** » 20 Jan 2008 10:03 pm

Keith, It sounds like you're a candidate for that wireless phone commercial.... you know... can you hear me now?

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 20 Jan 2008 10:09 pm

I was wondering what broke all my windows out......

Ben Godard · Post by **Ben Godard** » 20 Jan 2008 10:25 pm

Sounds like the 60" speaker, super power amp from Back to the Future that Marty McFly played and got knocked back twenty feet on a power chord

Ben Godard · Post by **Ben Godard** » 20 Jan 2008 10:25 pm

Sounds like the 60" speaker, super power amp from Back to the Future that Marty McFly played and got knocked back twenty feet on a power chord

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 21 Jan 2008 8:41 am

I don't care how the candy is sugar coated, nothing takes the place of brute power.

Ahh, a kinsman! Let's just say Keith and I have experienced what few others have...really "big" sound. Sadly, throwing a mike in front of a small amp (regardless of how big and powerful the PA is) won't make it sound like a BIG AMP.

It just sounds like a small amp, miked. $:\$

(Neat, ain't it Keith?)

Roger Francis · Post by **Roger Francis** » 21 Jan 2008 10:27 am

I though i heard someone playing steel a few nights ago!!

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 21 Jan 2008 11:25 am

Donny, whats wrong with you? People like you and me are supposed to fall--IN LOCK STEP-- behind endorsed players who have been "GIVEN" these small amps with 12 inch speakers. I guess something is wrong with you and me Donny, for liking a V8-Hemi motor more than a one cylinder motor cycle motor.

Paddy Long · Post by **Paddy Long** » 21 Jan 2008 12:11 pm

Goodonya Keith, there's nothing quite like the ball-tearing sound of a big rack rig, I love it!
You have to have that headroom -- think of the lead guitarists that your gonna scare the cr*p out of when you set up that lot !!

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 21 Jan 2008 2:05 pm

Keith, if you want what you are after, with all tube tone, try one of these: Super Twin. In a head cab with a couple of 15s, it's awesome. You can sometimes get one for under $700, because guitar players hate them - too loud and too clean.

Ray DeVoe · Post by **Ray DeVoe** » 21 Jan 2008 2:51 pm

HI Keith

The question would be this.

What did you use for speakers that would handle 1000 watts each??

Are you trying to see how fast you can ruin your hearing ??

I think this must be the steel players equivalent to a car with a massive power amp and boom boxes.

:)

I use a Mosvalve 500 for a power amp and I cant get the volume knobs above 4 when playing out.

Have fun but watch the ear drums. !!

Ray D.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 21 Jan 2008 3:11 pm

Keith probably never had more than a few hundred watts cookin out of that rig. My old rig (Super-Twin Reverb) only had 180 watts, but running through a huge sealed 2-15 cabinet along with the twelves in the amp was a real experience. The 2-15 cabinet I used was an Altec-Lansing front ported bass reflex design which I built out of 3/4" aspenite, corner and center braced with 2x2's. It has two 15" SRO's, and has a volume of almost 10 cu. ft. (proper interior volume is quite important).

Big, heavy beast...I call it my "THUMPER".

Chalker woulda' loved it.

edit - p.s. There's a difference between a big sound, and just loud sound. A symphony orchestra has a very "big" sound, but it's seldom unpleasantly loud. It's sorta like the Dead's "wall of sound" concept - the more radiating area you have, the less hard you have to "push" everything to be heard.

I can honestly say it was far more tolerable than any rock concert I've been to.

Brad Issendorf · Post by **Brad Issendorf** » 21 Jan 2008 8:01 pm

I was using a Peavey CS 800 power amp in my rack system to 2 15" Black Widow enclosures a few years back. Some thought I was crazy, (I definitely got the award for the heaviest rack system) but all of that head room gives you the most noise free results in my opinion. It also allows you to put your ear plugs in and push it when the drummer and guitarist are having volume wars, so that you can have the final word just before you move on to a better band.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 21 Jan 2008 8:26 pm

Only 2,000 watts ??...Only 2-15's ??....Kid stuff !!.....When are you gonna reach for the big guns ?

....As the Carpenters use to sing " we've only just begun " ...Jim

Wayne Wallett · Post by **Wayne Wallett** » 22 Jan 2008 10:45 am

Gotta tell you guys a funny story. A friend and fellow steel player in PA named Bobbie Klinger, who has since passed away, was always trying different things. I stopped by his place one day and he was out in his shop playing. I walked in and he had two huge stacks of cabinets set up. I said 'Bobbie, what are you playing through?' He said 2 8's, 2 10"s, 2 12"s , 2 15"s and 2 of them friggin whatchamacallits (horns). I about laughed myself onto the floor. Just the way he described the 2 of these, two of those, two of them, ..... etc. What a hoot.
Regards,
Wayne

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 22 Jan 2008 5:01 pm

OK Donny, this story is for you my friend: Donny, do you remember about 15 years ago when the Federal Government got involved in water conservation? Law makers in Congress made it a Federal mandated law that all toilet and urinal manufacturers had to build toilets and urinals that conserved water. I don't know the exact details on urinals, but I do know the Goverment's Rules on toilets. Before the Federal water conservation law, toilets ALWAYS had a 3.5 gallon flush. The Federal Government made it a law all manufacturers of toilets had to go to a 1.6 gallon flush. 1.6 gallons is printed on all new toilets. Millions of dollars were spent on studies to determine the minimum amount of water it took to flush away a person's fecal matter, including paper. Who would ever dream this would happen! With that in mind Donny, do you have any fears that the Government might make a restrictive law requarding the power of a guitar amplifier and the size of it's speaker? The Goverment might say, "All steel players must use no more than a 40 watt amp, and nothing bigger than a 12 inch speaker." The purpose BEING-- to prevent hearing loss in all the big Texas Honk Tonks. With the fear of Goverment intervention in amp power, and speaker size, I advise those interested in boring with a big auger to buy those powerful amps and big speakers now? This means you also Donny Hinson. Otherwise you might be stuck having to mike one of those small amps that sound so good to some people.
I have my big amp and speakers and am Granfathered in just in case the Goverment restricts amp power and speaker size.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 22 Jan 2008 6:10 pm

That does it, I'm going to hook up my guitar and a couple speakers to my welder.... stand back...

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 23 Jan 2008 12:05 pm

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 23 Jan 2008 5:34 pm

Heck, I thought Donny Hinson would have some kind of response to my last post about the toilets. Come on Donny, say something.

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 23 Jan 2008 6:30 pm

Here's a rig for ya:

http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/730/an ... l-of-sound

Brad

Bill Moran · Post by **Bill Moran** » 23 Jan 2008 7:21 pm

At one time I used a 1200 watt Crown amp, Mesa Boogie
Studio preamp with 2 Nashville 112 speaker cabs.
Totally clean and the guitar player could not run
over me.

Took an hour to carry in and set up though !!

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 24 Jan 2008 8:42 am

Nothing succeds like excess!!!!!

I got to play 6 string bass through 35,000 watts, full range,
and a Line 6 preamp tweaked to MY preferences.

Power corrupts, absolute power... well you get it.
Fun in no small dose.
But I didn't get to take it home

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 24 Jan 2008 11:05 am

My life long dream has been to sit in the middle of a stage at an ampitheater similar to the one at the Red Rocks in Colorado , and have my own "Wall of Sound" and play synthesizers as loud as it would go !!.....( I'm a keyboard player by trade ) ....My email name is "synthnut" .....Pedal Steel hooked into the same system would work too , if I could still hear from playing the synth !!!.....

PS...I'm a plumber also ...and I STILL pee in a 3.5 gal toilet !!.... Don't tell the feds !!...You have to flush the 1.6 gal toilets at least 3 times to get everything to go down .. I fought against the 1.6 gal toilet ...It was during the Urine and Bowel Movement of 2000 ....

The Steel Guitar Forum

First test drive of my E9th hooked to 2000 watt amp.

First test drive of my E9th hooked to 2000 watt amp.

Power ???

yeeeee hawwwww!!!