@mbenigni: For 169.- Euro I just ordered this: http://www.thomann.de/de/palmer_pcab112gbk.htm
It's the same cab Tilman and Marco use for their FRFR DIY project, but the one I ordered has a Greenback inside which is capable to support Vox and Marshall tones.
I hope you give us a review and comparison when you get it.
I'm guessing the DIY project with some Vox and Marshall profiles would sound fine as well?
Or are you saying that the greenback Palmer would be fine for playing actual Voxes and Marshalls through and not only (colored) Kemper?
No, what I want to do has nothing to do with the DIY project, so sorry for cluttering this thread.
The DIY project is to build an FRFR cab with the look of a traditional guitar cab. They do it with the use of a b
broadband speaker and a tweeter.
I have enough FRFR Solutions though so what I want is a normal guitar cab and I was only responfing to @mbenigni.
The Palmer cab, as Tilman already pointed out, is very well built.
I decided to order the one that is equipped with a Greenback, as this speaker can deliver Vox and Marshall tones equally well, (which is my main territory).
There is no comparison to an FRFR cab. It's a different beast. Sorry for derailing the thread.
Like I wrote above, there will be no comparison, as it is a totally different concept and can not be compared to the DIY project (which is awesome).
... the one I ordered has a Greenback inside which is capable to support Vox and Marshall tones.
I agree on the mediocrity of the seventy/80. I find them a bit dull.
I'm thinking I might pull the Seventy 80 and it replace it with one of these G12 Vintage Neo's: http://celestion.com/product/14/g12_century_vintage/
I'm not sure it will sound all that different (frankly the frequency response plots between the Greenback, the 70/80, and the G12 Vintage are indistinguishable to my eye) but I would appreciate the lighter weight, and Parts Express is blowing out the Neo's for $79 right now, which seems like a great deal.
I thought about going for the Celestion Gold (and for that matter I'd like to put the Gold 10" in my Mesa Express) but man, ~$290 for a speaker... it would have to sound perfect for every genre, mow the lawn, wash the dishes, etc. etc.
P.S. Camplifier Studio: Out for Delivery. 
Yes. Tilman is on holidays but he will be back in 2 days...
EDIT: The online shop says 2 units available.
Yes. Tilman is on holidays but he will be back in 2 days...
EDIT: The online shop says 2 units available.
Not "Out of Stock" - "Out for Delivery". Which is UPS' way of saying it's headed to my house right now! Huzzah!
Okay, my mistake. 
I'm not sure it will sound all that different (frankly the frequency response plots between the Greenback, the 70/80, and the G12 Vintage are indistinguishable to my eye)
Yes, going by the graphs one would assume they're very similar. But hearing them in comparison it's very easy to discern them I think.
QuoteYes, going by the graphs one would assume they're very similar. But hearing them in comparison it's very easy to discern them I think.
Yeah, I have no doubt about that. The problem is that it's hard to get an opportunity to hear all of these speakers (without a half dozen other variables also changing.) And going by the marketing blurbs they're all equally amazing, of course. 
Chased the Camplifier Studio around last night after the post office refused to deliver without a signature, and finally got it home! My god it is ridiculously small and light! How convenient to have the functional equivalent of a traditional amp head, plus effects, MIDI control, and everything else the KPA brings to the table, all weighing in at about 13lbs! Crazy. And still enough room in the back to wedge in an audio interface for my iPad, a MIDI Solutions Event Processor... I love it!
I don't have the intended cabinet yet (Out for Delivery right now!) so I plugged it into a mystery-meat 4x12 cab last night (I'm not even sure what the speaker load is) and did some conservative blast testing. I had to retreat to a far corner of the basement to avoid waking the baby, so I couldn't really open it up. But I guess that says enough right there: this is a lot more power than I was expecting of a 25W solid state design. I don't really understand what advances have been made in the past 10 or 15 years that make this possible, and I'd be really curious for someone to explain it to me. I would have expected this amp to be much quieter than my 60W Flextone, and so far (although I'm not sure just yet) I'm not getting that impression.
I won't know until the weekend - when I can really crank this thing through a couple of cabinets, listen to it in a mix with some backing tracks, etc. - whether it has enough headroom to remain tuneful at high volumes, but again my first impression is that it does. At risk of sounding like a complete wuss, I think this is as much power as I'd ever need. Hopefully the other guitarist won't show up in a week and make me eat my words LOL.
About my only passing concern is the fact that the power supply to the Camplifier Studio (the U.S. version) is a two-pronged AC adaptor rather than a 3-prong with dedicated ground pin. I don't know whether this even matters, but every modern power amp I encounter has 3-prong power, and I wonder about safety. Can anyone (perhaps Tilman?) speak to this? Is it assumed that the signal cable establishes a shared ground between the Camplifier Studio and the properly grounded KPA itself? I just don't want to wind up with my lips fused to a microphone one of these nights... 
Hi mbenigni,
I am glad your Camplifier STUDIO has finally arrived and that you like it !!
Yes, 25W can be very loud indeed. We are all so used to high numbers such as the 600W the Power Head offers that we sometimes forget, that the guys back in the day used this kind of power (like the JTM45) to play complete rock shows.....
You will get the most sound pressure out of your Camplifier with an 8 ohms cabinet and high efficient speakers. If you , for example , use an 4x12" ohms cabinet with V30 in it.....you might already need some hearing protection.
About my only passing concern is the fact that the power supply to the Camplifier Studio (the U.S. version) is a two-pronged AC adapter rather than a 3-prong with dedicated ground pin. I don't know whether this even matters, but every modern power amp I encounter has 3-prong power, and I wonder about safety. Can anyone (perhaps Tilman?) speak to this? Is it assumed that the signal cable establishes a shared ground between the Camplifier Studio and the properly grounded KPA itself?
No worries here. The beauty of the wall wart supply is that is completely isolates the 120V AC (which could be dangerous) from your system.
It will then send 24V DV voltage to the Camplifier, which is the same voltage your Power Book supply sends to your Macintosh Computer.
The technical term here is "protected extra low voltage" (PELV).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E…ra-low_voltage_.28PELV.29
This voltage is so low, that you could even use it in childrens tools.
The "3rd connector", the safety ground, is not needed nor required here.
The 3-pronged sockets and plugs you are talking about are used on equipment on which you connect your "wall voltage" (230V or 120V) directly to it (like the KPA or the bigger Camplifiers).
You are absolutely right to worry about such things. Most musicians are a little to optimistic in that regard I think.
One should never eliminate the safety ground on their equipment, just because it might eliminate hum.
When playing at locations you don`t know, it is always a good idea to carry an inexpensive "safety check plug" with you and test the local safety ground before switching on the equipment.
This is especially true for equipment connected with a power cord directly to the wall socket.
The Campliifer STUDIO does not fall into that category and is therefore free from such considerations.
Tilman
QuoteYou are absolutely right to worry about such things. Most musicians are a little to optimistic in that regard I think.
Thanks so much for setting my mind at ease with regard to grounding, and for understanding my concern. I've seen enough to be pessimistic. A friend has a vintage Fender Tweed with original 2-prong plug, and I've seen his face go blank in the middle of songs whilst he gets mildly electrocuted - I don't want any part of that LOL. Similarly, I watched the singer in a band I was playing in last year get shot half way across the stage because his mic wasn't properly grounded. (Astonishingly, he wrapped the mic in a bar towel and finished the set!) Anyway, I'm satisfied that you've put some thought into this.
Quotethe guys back in the day used this kind of power (like the JTM45) to play complete rock shows...
Yes, but of course this was 30W from a tube power amp. Is it also true that SS amps have gotten more efficient in some way? I haven't really done a like-for-like comparison with my Flextone power amp (i.e. into the same cabinet) so perhaps in this I am being optimistic.
My little 1x12 cabinet showed up this morning and I ran home to test the combination during my lunch break. As I've already said: much louder than I had any right to expect from a 25W SS amp, and the rig as a whole sounds great! It doesn't get unbearably loud, so it's still hard to say whether it will be enough for a band long term. If not, I can foresee a bigger Camplifier in my future.
So I'm not worried about volume or tone - but I did observe something that had me concerned about reliability: As a test, I set the Direct Out to 0.0db (KPA equivalent of "diming it") and brought up guitar volume. It was loud, of course. Then, after a few seconds, it cut out briefly, came back in, cut out again... I rolled back the volume to, let's say, 8 or 9, and didn't experience the problem thereafter. At no point did the CS feel warm to the touch. Can you explain this behavior? I don't mind that there are limitations in volume, but I need to know how to manage those limitations so there aren't unexpected dropouts during performance.
Thanks for all your help, Tilman - great product!
Some photos to share all the fun I'm having. Did I mention that the Camplifier Studio is tiny?
All in all, a very cool little "micro stack".
.... I watched the singer in a band I was playing in last year get shot half way across the stage behause his mic wasn't properly grounded. (Astonishingly, he wrapped the mic in a bar towel and finished the set!) Anyway, I'm satisfied that you've put some thought into this.
Wow! Is this great working ethos or dumbness? I don't know.
Thanks for sharing your 1st experiences.
Quote
"I watched the singer in a band I was playing in last year get shot half way across the stage..."
Wow! Is this great working ethos or dumbness? I don't know.
Well, it was only a small stage after all.
Seriously though, I thought it was pretty heroic, even if he did briefly lose his cool and kick the mic stand into the audience.
