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Topic: Session 500 biamping |
Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 14 May 2012 2:21 am |
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I have some gigs coming up that will be outdoors and amps will be unmiked. Sounds like the perfect time to give some playing time to the Session 500 head I picked up last summer. Also seems like an opportunity to try its bi-amping feature in conjunction with a fender twin reverb, with the Session 500 going into BW 1502-4 to handle the lows, and the twin into 2x12s for the highs. Being a bear of little brain, I can read the Peavey instructions and still not be sure I understand how to do this correctly. Here's what they say:
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BI-AMPING
The purpose of bi-amping is to eliminate various kinds of distortion by maximizing the system's overall dynamic range. This is done by utilizing separate power amps to Independently amplify the low and the high frequencies.In systems where the various components are known, such as particular speakers in particular enclosures,it has been common practice to preset the crossover point in order to achieve optimum balance.In musical instrument amplifiers that are used with a wide variety of different speaker systems operated in different sized areas, we felt it was necessary to incorporate a variable electronic crossover to facilitate matching different amp/speaker combinations together into a compatible system. Typically, the internal amplifier is used as one channel of the b1-amp,while an external amplifier is used as the other. As a general rule, the most powerful of the two amps required should be used for the low frequency since this end of the spectrum generally demands more power output than the high end of the spectrum:i.e.. if you have an external400 watt power amplifier,you should use the Session's internal 300 watt power amplifier as the high end of the system by utilizing a small patch cord and patching from the high out to the power amp in.The low out should then be patched to the input of the external 400 watt power amplifier, with the speaker for the high end being patched into the out jacks of the internal power amplifier and the low frequency speakers patched into the external amp's outputs. The external amp should be gain matched using its level control to set a proper "balance" of highs and lows to compensate for different speaker efficiencies and power amp sensitivities. The proper crossover frequency point should then be determined by experimentation using various crossover frequency settings after the desired channel gain and equalization have been set in the preamp. Obviously, if an external power amplifier with less than 300 watts is used,it should be used for the high end. The bl-amp connections for both highs and lows are located on the rear panel. CAUTION: Be sure that Bi-amp hookups are made with shielded cables. |
So, if I understand this correctly:
1)Plug my steel (after volume pedal, etc.) into the input on the front of the Session 500.
2) run a guitar (i.e. shielded) cable from the "Crossover outputs/Low" jack on the back of the Session 500 into the "Poweramp input" also on the back of the Session 500.
3) run a guitar cable from the "Crossover outputs/High" on the back of the Session 500 into the input on the front of my Twin Reverb.
4) Blow out all the windows on main street.
Yes?
Thanks,
Dan |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 14 May 2012 4:16 am
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Correct.
Wear earplugs if you plan to sit in front of that rig.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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Al Carey
From:
Dublin, NH USA
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Posted 14 May 2012 4:35 am
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Hey Dan, where and when are these gigs you're playing? I'm in NH, and I'd like to check it out.
Al
_________________
Sierra U-12, Gretsch 6120, Fender Tele, old tube amps, etc... |
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 14 May 2012 5:08 am
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Haha! Don't worry, Lane: I always wear ear plugs at this gig (annual event).
Al, these will be at Weirs Beach Winnipesaukee Marketplace for bike week: Saturday night June 9 and Friday afternoon, June 15. We occasionally play closer to your neck of the woods, but nothing on the horizon in the "southern tier."
Dan |
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Al Carey
From:
Dublin, NH USA
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Posted 14 May 2012 5:23 am
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| Dan Beller-McKenna wrote: |
Al, these will be at Weirs Beach Winnipesaukee Marketplace for bike week
Dan |
Weirs Beach... Bike Week... fun gig to play, but I avoid that scene otherwise 
_________________
Sierra U-12, Gretsch 6120, Fender Tele, old tube amps, etc... |
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 14 May 2012 5:53 am
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Agreed, Al. But we are right downtown, not out at the Lobster Pound or one of the Mega stages with pyrotechnics and massive (drunken) audiences. The Saturday afternoon gig is almost downright quaint. Come on up!
We also play a nice club by lake Sunapee about once a month: the Double Diamond on rt. 103 in Newbury. A more traditional setting.
Dan |
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Al Carey
From:
Dublin, NH USA
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Posted 14 May 2012 6:11 am
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hmmm... sounds more tempting. Or maybe the Sunapee gig. This is you playing pedal steel, correct? What's the name of your band?
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Sierra U-12, Gretsch 6120, Fender Tele, old tube amps, etc... |
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Posted 24 May 2012 5:00 am
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That will work but you will very likely get "ground loop hum", as a result of the cable's shield connnection from the Twin to the Session grounds the two amps to each other. I would suggest a HUM-X, by Ebtech on one of the amp's power cord to eliminate the hum. I do not recommend running one amp with the ground lifted, as that is a dangerous situation.
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