Amp head needed?

[thill182]

May be a silly question... but I've been looking through for a while and can't seem to find a specific answer.

I was looking in to getting an Eleven Rack, but in regards to live performances, I only have a Mesa cabinet, my buddy took back his Marshall head that he loaned to me... so that's gone :/ .... with the power of the 11R, is it possible to route it through the cabinet without any added power??

I'd appreciate your guys' help!

Cheers

[albee1952]

No, you need an amp, but you DON'T need a guitar amp as any power amp will work fine(and maybe better). My preference is for a power amp designed for guitar(as opposed to a PA power amp). Some options to look at:
MosValve
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tubeworks-Mo...item3ce502e6b0
Mesa
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mesa-Boogie-...item1c436dcdfc
Peavey
http://www.ebay.com/itm/used-Peavey-...item27e7ca1a32

When you use a guitar amp, you generally disable some or all of the amp modeling in the 11R(which is something it does very well, so why not use it).

[thill182]

Perfect! that's exactly what I needed to clarify.

Thanks Dave!!

[albee1952]

FWIW, I used that same Mosvalve for several years with an ADA MP1, feeding a stereo Marshall cab with 20 watt greenbacks. It was glorious

[thill182]

Awesome! :) Thanks for your help, another quick question.. pre-amps are generally the same as power amps?? probably another silly question, but I'm a drummer, lmao, never researched guitar equipment, but I'm always playing guitar and really getting in to it more nowadays. :)

Thanks again.

[Obsidian Dragon]

Originally Posted by thill182

Awesome! :) Thanks for your help, another quick question.. pre-amps are generally the same as power amps?? probably another silly question, but I'm a drummer, lmao, never researched guitar equipment, but I'm always playing guitar and really getting in to it more nowadays. :)

Thanks again.

No. A preamp only brings your signal from instrument level to line level. This is barely good enough to power a pair of headphones. It can not drive a speaker cabinet. It's main purpose is to shape the signal before going to the power amp.

A power amp is what converts your line level signal to the much higher speaker level output to drive a speaker cabinet.

Guitar amps (combo amps as well as head/cabinet setups), have both a preamp section and a power amp section before being connected to the speakers.

Your 11R is similar to a preamp as far as input and output levels. That is why you need to connect a power amp and then to a speaker cabinet. One other option is connecting your 11R to a powered speaker (which has a power amp and speaker in one unit).

I hope that clears it up for you.

[thill182]

Perfectly clear, appreciate it again!! Thanks guys