What does a crown amp do for a band?

Answer 1

Pros: Lots of power, clean sound, exceptionally dependable, relatively cheap.

Cons: Surely you jest.

The Bottom Line: Buy one! What the hell, I did.

Rationale

If you've ever had to play your bass at a mega venue, wanted monster sound, and said, "Damn the Direct Boxes--Full Steam ahead!" there's a good chance that you needed this power amp. Lets face it, once you start truly cranking out the decibels, the regular type bass amps, be they combo or piggy back, just can't match a good power amp for cleanliness of sound. Worse yet, try running an upright bass through most of them, and the term,

"DOGS#!+",

comes to mind. Your sound becomes muddy, mushy, and at best mediocre on a good night. Run it through one of these Crowns, however, w/it's own mixer, and enough power to run a real sub-woofer, woofer, horn, and true tweeter (not that piezo garbage tossed into a bass cab as an afterthought) set up, and your sound will help you reach Nirvana.

Affordability vs. Performance

"Wow" you might say, "sounds expensive." Actually, another term comes to mind -----"NO!" When you consider this entire set up comes in at around $1200.00 you're talking a heck of a lot less than those over-priced boutique jobs. These babies can be had at a street price well under $500.00, and a good mixer and speakers are easily bought for around $600-700.00 as more and more good bands go belly up every week. I've used this set up at mega venues and outdoor gigs w/superior results. You must keep in mind that electric and upright basses are two different animals when dealing w/the amplified sound spectrum. Especially my 5-stringed monsters that are often de-tuned to a gut rumbling "LOW 'A'." If you've ever felt this note bowed on an amplified upright, you'd be checking the seismic reader and buying some ocean front property in Arizona. On a five string electric, when the room is locked on the same resonance, I've actually watched it move beer mugs across the bar. --(Another reminder of why you should wear ear plugs.) None-the-less, the sound remains crystal clear at all times. Kinda nifty huh? It also captures the high end in case you ever find yourself playing way up in nose bleed territory, and it sure is good to hear that w/out any hiss. (Make sure to buy good dome tweeters to pull this one off.)

Durability

Crown amps are legendary for a reason. This one has been tossed from a gigmobile, and landed on it's side a few times. It has also had a beer bath or two from drunk musicians and fans. It has, and I believe never will, fail to start. Hit the switch, and boom---you're on. We've even used this baby to power up our sound system at smaller venues when the boutique stuff in our P.A. system blew out. Even if it does fail for whatever reason, new ones come w/a 3-year no fault warranty. Try beating that w/a stick. Even your drummer can't do that.

Blue Juice

This thing kicks out major wattage:

2 ohm stereo=840 per channel

4ohm stereo = 600 per channel

8 ohm stereo= 370 per channel

-AND-

8 ohm bridged/mono= a whopping 1200 watts per channel

All w/only 0.5% Total Harmonic Distortion.

Versatility

As I said, for bass it cannot be beat. If it can cleanly amplify the sounds of a bowed upright bass, which it does (you can hear the rosin on the strings w/this baby), you can only imagine what it will do for electric. Yes it does do what you imagined. My electrics are custom built 5-stringers w/Bartolini pickups and pre amps,and this amp helps them reach their fullest potential. From the "dipped

in the deep dark semi sweet chocolate" depths of the low end, to the "brilliantly sparkly, spank-o-matic" sounds of the upper register, this thing makes my babies sing. All this power and versatility also comes in a small light weight box. Yes the set up I recommended w/this thing is bulky, but the amp itself is relatively tiny for the amount of power it kicks out. Plus the set up I suggested is modular.

Recommended:

Yes

http://www99.epinions.com/review/Crown_Stereo_Power_Amplifier_XLS602/content_217261182596