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Sujet: Amp overheating...gig coming up. HELP! - Page: 2

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Martin,

Thanks for the great advice. That all makes sense to me now. I'm actually going to Guitar Center today to shop for a new mixer. Any specifics I should be looking for (# of inputs, outputs, controls, etc)? I've seen a few small and simple mixers for under $100 at Guitar Center, I just wasn't sure if I was buying the right product.

Thanks again.
 
"this amp came with the cabs, so I figured musicians friend.com knew what they were doing when they sold them as a package".

Wrong. It's to late now, but your amp should be capable of double the peak level of your speakers. First, you are dealing with a beginner setup, so let's not expect greatness. If your speakers are capable of 600 watts peak, that means that they can handle momentary spikes of 600 watts. If your amp can only push 450 watts, that means that anything above that is distortion. Even if you are coming close to 400 watts continuous, you are near your limit, and peaking at who knows what. Now this is true for the best of equipment, because they usually build in a lot of headroom, so they sound good at the stated specs. You are not dealing with the best, so let's bring our expectations down a little. So, you need an amp that will peak at 600 watts, with little or no distortion. Distortion is what kills speakers, and the best can handle a great deal more peaks than they are rated for. I would have gotten an 800 to 1200 watt amp, so if I have 600 watt peaks all night long, my amp is running cool.

You are just starting out, and are not expected to know all of this. Heck, there are guys that have been around awhile, and don't know jack. However, you have no excuses from now on. So, before you buy, if you don't know, ask some one that does. Don't assume that because they work at the store, they know what they are talking about. They are there to sell you stuff. Last week they were working at the Gap.
 
Charlie Wilson wrote :
Seems you only have one amp and a pair of dual 15's plus your 10's, could use another amp for your 10's unless the 10's are powered of course.

Never run your amp much further than half way, if your maxed or even at 75% then you need a larger amp. What you've described is a classic example of an under powered amp.

Try Hercules console panel, make sure your turned up to the max in there.

OMG, I just realised you don't have an external mixer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



This is not entirely correct. Just adjust your gains to the point where it sounds good but most importantly is not clipping. In simple terms the purpose of the gains is to match the incoming signal to the amplifier from the source. It does not increase or decrease your amps power.
 
Reading the quote all seems fine,

Most amp's clip when pushed unless you have the source ridiculously low.
 
Charlie,

for some reason I'm thinking something is structual wrong in your setup.
In the case of Matt I've been searching for specs on the RMX and the Phonic amp he's using now. The amp has an input sensitivity of +4dBu (which is a common value for PA-amps) and the RMX has an output signal of +4 dBu. This means that if you won't overdrive the RMX you won't oversteer the amp.
I can imagine you're using a mixer in your setup. Could it be that the output is set to +10 dB? That would make a lot of sense regarding your comments.

@Matt: I've read that you have your amp in parallel mode. Why? Now it only accepts a signal from input A (or 1) and send it to both outputs. This means you're not working in stereo. There's a stereo mode on your amp. You might consider using that.

Martin.
 
Martin,

I ran the setup today as a test. I left the RMX Master and Deck volumes at about half, and I had the amp gain knob about 3/4 way up (very loud) for an hour or so in bridge+mono with NO subs connected, and it was blowing cool air the whole time, without needing an external fan.

I think I solved the problem with just removing the subs. I don't even need them, because I discovered the true power of the dual 15 subs in each cabinet by using them in bridge+mono. I had them in stereo and parallel, but the subs just weren't getting enough power to make any feasible low end sound. It ran like a dream today, and I think I'll be set for my next gig.

I'll just keep an eye on the LED's and make sure I get nowhere near a red blip. haha

Thanks so much guys, you've all been a great help. I'm learning more and more every day, but I'd be lost without all of you haha.

Cheers,

Matt (DJ Persia)
 
And so you've discovered another fault...
If you have sufficient low in bridged mode and not in stereo mode, one of your cables is not connected the right way. (i.e. Hot & Cold on 1 connector wrong) In bridged mode you should connect 1 speaker the wrong way to make it work. If your setup is working right in bridged mode, you should check your cables.
Music these days rely a lot on stereo effects. You're surely missing a lot now.
It's like I said before and you confirmed that now: There's no way the 10"subs could keep up with 4x 15".

BTW: In bridged mode with 2 speakers you're running again in 2 Ohm load. This can give you the same problems you've had before (although it seems OK during your test)

Martin.
 
Well I was going to say something but thought someone would say that he has the correct config and that they run like that with no issues,

Picture the scene, in bridge with channel A active sending a signal to the left speaker and then daisy chaining from the left speaker to the right speaker!! why not just run in stereo @4ohms?
 
mattin90 wrote :
Haha trust me, I'm getting paid like an amateur, which is why this is my first setup ever. Some background info: I'm a 20 year old kid working 45 hours a week, a full time student, with two recently laid-off parents who can barely afford to keep our home...this was the best I could afford, plus, all my gig cash goes towards the family and supporting myself completely so they don't have to. It's not professional equipment, I know, but it gets the job done for now, when it doesn't overheat.

Okay, so I'm getting the basic consensus of everyones posts. I don't have the cash right now to buy a better amp, so I'll just sacrifice by buying a powerful fan and direct it into the vents in the front of the amp. I'm ditching the subs, because I don't need that much bass anytime soon...I'll keep the volume lower so it wont clip, and try to save for a mixer.

Thanks for being so helpful guys. I'd be lost without your knowledge of this stuff.

-Matt (DJ Persia)


And I am a retired physics teacher, and if you are in a warm environment to begin with, all you will be doing is blowing warm (and perhaps even moist) air into the amp by doing that. The fans in the amp throw air out of the amp to be replaced by room air (whatever temp. that is). So in other words, you may still need another amp at some point.

Stay in school, keep your other job, and perhaps DJ when you can afford to, so you don't lose your reputation now. Save it for later.
 


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