The Steel Guitar Forum

I've been looking at getting Brad Sarno's Revelation Preamp. Does anyone have good suggestions for which power amp to use with it? Does it matter?

I use the Crown XLS 1002. Class D stereo/mono. Excellent fit.

Power amps do matter quite a bit. I've been very happy with my Fryette Power Station. It does a bunch of stuff but mainly I use it as a power amp and it is glorious sounding with my Sarno spectrum pre amp. There are some great really small and light class D power amps out there too if you don't want to deal with tubes.

OK cool good suggestions. I've read somewhere that dedicated power amps sound a bit better than the power station, but I guess those wouldn't have all the other stuff like effects loops, attenuation, XLR outs, etc.

I guess if you go with a Fryette 2/90/2 or something you're basically just buying a tube amp in two pieces, and then you'll need to mic it, etc just like you normally would.

With mine I used a 1 rack space Stewart World 1.2 power amp. Sounded amazing.

The Fryette is a good option but I've found that the Revelation sounds best with the Furlong Powered Cabs (CB12's I believe is the correct name). They are no longer made but you can find them occasionally here on the Forum.

Justin Shaw wrote:OK cool good suggestions. I've read somewhere that dedicated power amps sound a bit better than the power station, but I guess those wouldn't have all the other stuff like effects loops, attenuation, XLR outs, etc.

I guess if you go with a Fryette 2/90/2 or something you're basically just buying a tube amp in two pieces, and then you'll need to mic it, etc just like you normally would.

I have owned and used both the 2/90/2 and the power station. They both sound absolutely heavenly. The sonic quality is up there with Macintosh for both of them.

You will not need to mic the fryette stuff. They are as loud as anything mentioned so far. Unless you are in a position where something like a twin or Nash 400 wouldn’t be loud enough. The Power Station is about half the power of the 2/90/2 but it is still plenty loud. The 2/90/2 is a total beast !

The suggestions for power amps are all really good so far. I would base my choice on practical application.

The revelation is about as good as it gets for pre amps. Most any power amp will sound pretty good with one but they are different sounding.

Justin Shaw wrote:I've been looking at getting Brad Sarno's Revelation Preamp. Does anyone have good suggestions for which power amp to use with it? Does it matter?

Justin when I had a Revelation, like Dennis, I matched it up with the Crown XLS 1002. It was an excellent fit with TONS of power, and if I remember correctly it was Brad who made this suggestion to me.

I am having really good results using a mosvalve 500 with my Revalation and tc m one xl !! The only downside is its 2 rack spaces and it adds quite a bit of weight to the rack!

Jay Ganz Straight Ahead features 500 watts, immaculate sound, weighs nothing, and takes up very little space

The only right answer is a McIntosh MC2300....
https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/brand/news ... ys-auction
...Other 2300s available for MUCH less money on the used market nowadays, and reviews still say they sound amazing even when stacked up against modern gear...
...and, as indisputable proof, IT'S WHAT JERRY USED!!!!

Jerry's "Budman"!!!

128 lbs of beastly McIntosh power!!

Wow thanks for all the replies!

I think for all the options it provides I'll start with the Power Station. It has the effects loop, attenuation, and xlr and 1/4" outs for recording and FoH.

Thank you for these other options I'll put them on the list! It would be great to have a preamp and light Class D power amp combo ready too.

Thanks again!

As Dave Diehl mentioned above, the self powered Class D Furlong SPLITs cabinets are the cat's meow.

That's a good solution too, I just already have a cab I really like. That would be a very compact gear set though: preamp, reverb pedal and cab! I'll keep an eye out for a Furlong for sure.

Anyone try the Seymour Duncan Power Stage? They have several models available now.