What's the best way to power a speaker cab?

[chrisf]

I have a POD 2.0, a Behringer V-amp Pro and a Digitech RP350. I use the Digitech the most because it has built in drums and metronome. I love the way it sounds coming through my KRK Rokit 6 but I would love to send it through a speaker cab. What would be options for doing this? My goal someday would be to get a low watt tube head for bedroom play so getting a nice cabinet now would be beneficial.

A second question would be should I get two 1x12 cabs or one 2x12? My modeling processors have stereo outs so it would be cool to play in stereo. As far as I know the 2x12s are not going to allow me to play stereo.

Basically to sum it up I just want to get maximum power and tone out of my modeling processors and be prepared to someday get a low watt tube head.

[markD]

if you want it to sound like it sounds through your KRKs, you gotta go with a full-range system - basically build a mini-PA. get a crown power amp (wattage is your choice) and a couple of PA cabs...or even better, get a pair of the mackie pwered PA cabs and use those.

[chrisf]

Good to know Mark. What if I use a guitar cabinet... Would it sound worse?

[straycat]

Get a Tech 21 powered cab.

[markD]

Good to know Mark. What if I use a guitar cabinet... Would it sound worse?

my experience is that those modellers don't sound as good through as guitar cab. i used to use the line 6 HD - the head version of the 2.0 - and it NEVER sounded as good as 2.0 through studio monitors. i HAVE used my 2.0 in the loop of my egnater tweaker (the POD output into the return of the loop) that runs a rivera 1x12 cab with an EVM12L. it was ok at best....the tones had EQ issues - either too bright/brittle, too woofy, too middy...not sounding ANYTHING like the tones i had programmed. i have created new tones, specifically to be used with the egnater and they are okay, but they aren't neccessarily "rectifier" or "jcm800" like because i have the influence of the egnater's power tubes.

hope that helps....

[Newc]

Were you using the Direct Out to the power amp or the Amp Out?

[markD]

direct with the AIR turned off and cab models removed. at the end of the day, fucking with the POD as a "live" preamp never sounded as good as my vintage fenders or my riveras.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

You can always plug into the FX return of an amp.

[chrisf]

The more I research this and want an effects processsor and a tube amp for the best price at bedroom levels the more I keep coming back to the Peavey tubed Vypyr.

[jdr94]

A 212 can be wired for stereo as long as the speakers match the output of the amp(ohms). You could easily get away with something like a microtube from ADA or a rocktron velocity. If you need tubes maybe a mesa 20/20.

[Ward]

The more I research this and want an effects processsor and a tube amp for the best price at bedroom levels the more I keep coming back to the Peavey tubed Vypyr.

The other guitarist in the band I'm in has the 65w (maybe it's 70) Vypyr. He used it in practice a couple weeks when his half stack was acting up. He swears by it for a bedroom amp, and it sounded great in practice.

[CowboyFromHell]

If you really insist on going with 12" cabs definitely go with 2 separate ones and not a 2-12 cab. With the speakers being so close to each other, in the 2-12, the stereo separation that you hear will suffer. At least with separate cabs you can turn them and move them apart. You'd probably be amazed at what a huge difference that makes in the final sound your ears hear.

[chrisf]

I'm starting to lean towards powered PA speakers or a PA system... Should I do the powered speakers or passive ones with a power amp? I'm thinking with my iPad and iPod etc., the speakers could double as a way to amplify them when I want to listen to music around the house or at a party.

[achren]

I'd say go for the powered speakers option rather than an amp and passive speakers. And if you want to use them as a PA for anything else there's plenty good quality small mixers you could add to that in the future