Amplifier Terms explained.

[NavyBass]

Bi-amp: it essentially has 2 power amp sections in it. One used for the high and mid frequencies, and another one for low frequencies. To use an amp this way requires 2 speaker cabinets.

Bridged: An amp with 2 power amp sections that are capable to be combined into one output to one cab. The amp MUST be made to be able to run this way. Not all amps of this design are capable of being bridged. When bridged, you are combining the power of the 2 sections, thus it will have a much higher power rating.

Power Amp: The final amplifying stage in an amplifier, can also be a seperate unit. This is where your output power comes from and goes to the speakers.

Pre Amp: Can be a seperate unit or combined in one unit with a power amp. The pre-amp has the tone circuitry in it. It takes the weak signal from the bass and amplifies it to a level that is useable by the power amp. If you have a stand alone pre-amp, you won't be able to hook it directly to a speaker. It requires a power amp.

[edgebass5]

Good explanation JP. For anyone wanting to get a bit more technical on this topic, there's a great FAQ about this over at TB: http://www.talkbass.com/ampfaq

The FAQ I posted is essentially a glorified explanation of what JP already said.

[kilian]

Nice one!

I would really advice everybody to read that article though. It gives you a lot of information about almost everything. :thumb:

[doodooking]

quick question. i have a carvin probass 500 and its a bi-amp. does this mean that all i need to do to use it in bi-amp mode is plug in 2 speaker cabinets?

[doodooking]

anyone?

[elmo121]

thats exactly it

[Polyamarous]

Yep, there should bve instructions about which is high and which is low.

[fishingforbasses]

edgebass5 you are the man, that went right into my favorites.

sliceanddice

[AcerbicCunnt77]

Are you sure the bi-amp double cab thing applys to all cabs?

cos no where in my manuel for my head(gk 700rbII) does it say anything about high low outputs or that you need two cabs. :confused:

[AcerbicCunnt77]

this isnt even a bump cos it's on top people are just too lazy to read their threads?

[sixner]

What is the Output on a cab used for?
I've got a gk 1001rb and an swr 4x10 goliat III... only 1 cab. but im just curious.

Is bridged like....
.......... Amp
...... /............\
in cab out -- in cab out
or like..
.....Amp
...../
in Cab out -- in cab
? (i hope this diagram makes sense. ignore dots)
my friend has an swr full stack, i do roadie work for him. 1x15 and 4x10. both cabs have input / output jacks on them.
-Sixner

[PsychoTronn]

cool

[Jimbobntnr]

Are you sure the bi-amp double cab thing applys to all cabs?

cos no where in my manuel for my head(gk 700rbII) does it say anything about high low outputs or that you need two cabs. :confused:

that's kind of weird Your manual says that you have to connect to an RBH cabinet with a speakon cable, and then set the cabinet to Biamp. That's not a great feature- normally there are two outputs on the back of the amp and one goes to the low cab, the other to the high cab.
http://www.gallien-krueger.com/manuals/1001RB-II_700RB-II.pdf

[Jimbobntnr]

What is the Output on a cab used for?
I've got a gk 1001rb and an swr 4x10 goliat III... only 1 cab. but im just curious.

Is bridged like....
.......... Amp
...... /............\
in cab out -- in cab out
or like..
.....Amp
...../
in Cab out -- in cab
? (i hope this diagram makes sense. ignore dots)
my friend has an swr full stack, i do roadie work for him. 1x15 and 4x10. both cabs have input / output jacks on them.
-Sixner

The input/output jacks put the cabinets into parrallel. Be careful about how low you make the impedance in the chain, though.

[AcerbicCunnt77]

I emailed GK and they said they have bi-ampable 4 ohm cabinets. Im still not 100 percent what he was trying to tell me because I mentioned buying another brands cabinet. I asked him to better describe how it works and all he said was
"Our bi-amp feature is done with a woofer amp and tweeter amp. It is not designed to run two different cabinets. If you are looking for a 4 ohm cab, we have the 410RBH and 410SBX+ available in 4 ohms. They both come set up to use the bi-amp feature in the 700rb."

[Jimbobntnr]

that's pretty disappointing. I have the 800rb and it has 4 outputs in the rear, 2 high and 2 low. This must be what edge gets all bent out of shape about with the GK biamping.

[AcerbicCunnt77]

yeah it dissapoints me quite a bit too now. Im pretty sure I'm going to buy a dr.bass 2x12 neo cab since they will wire it for free to bi amp with a gallien krueger head.

I wish their cabs had more options and could be better mix n matched.

[Thunder Lizard]

It's important to remember that Speakon connectors have 4 poles, and you can run 2 amp channels down one 4-conductor line that way.
So, if there's a marking for "biamp" and there's only one speakon connector, pay careful attention to wiring. You'll use 1+ and 1- for the first amp and 2+ and 2- for the second amp channel.
For the GK issue, it sounds like they're incorporating a crossover, or frequency divider, into the "biamp" mode........ it splits the highs to one amp section, and the lows to the other. It's an efficient way to do things, but one must be careful to connect the correct cabinets---- running highs thru a 15" won't be too terrible, other than to sound awful. Running the lows thru a tweeter will only sound awful for a short while, and then it will get tremendously........quiet........ forever.