The Steel Guitar Forum

My Mosvalve 1500 has failed yesterday ( he was smoking and smelling) now i need new poweramp. Has somebody an idea wich one, because i want to have the same good sound as the Mosvalve (or better) but with more technical quality.
Thanks

I love the sound of Mosvalve 500's and 1500.But I to had to get away from them.Mine stayed in the shop. I bought them used but they appeared to be in great shape when I purchased them. I went with the Peavey 1000's.They're not quite as sweet sounding but they've never let me down.I'd buy a Mos 500 or 1500 today if I thought it would hold up.I tried 3. Maybe I just have bad luck.............bb

My feeling is that a Stewart is comparable and they weigh much less.

The MosValve has it over most power amps as it is designed for instrument amplification. Most, including the Stewart, are really designed for "linear" or P.A. amplification.

There's nothing wrong with a clean "linear" amp (all frequencies are equally amplified, or flat response over it's range) but one with the response curve tailored for musical instrument amplification will do a better job. The MV500 (and 1500) even have a "Presence" control on them.

The MV500 I have, bought used (It had previously been owned by Joan Cox) has never failed me. I did have to replace the volume and presence pots but that's all.

One thing that contributes to failure is heat. You must allow adequate ventillation/air flow. I see many people with rack systems and they are closed and no way for air to circulate and the equipment just sits in the rack and "bakes". Heat will eventually "Kill" any electronic device, it may not be today or tomorrow but some point down the line it will fail and ultimately it's the heat that caused it.

Peter, the MossValve is (IMHO) the best sounding transistor power amp out there, it sounds quite different from other amps. I owned a Stewart world 1.2 and while there were things I liked about it (the light weight and the clear airy sound) the MossValve sounds much more like a tube amp.

The only better amp I have played is the VHT 2-90-2 power amp. It sounds amazing, with a *huge* bottom end and sweet high end. It's heavy, but not a lot heavier than the MossValve 1500. It's a tube power amp with two pairs of KT88 tubes. It theoretically puts out 90 watts a channel, but in practice it is way louder than the Stewart World 1.2, which puts out 600 watts a side.

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Jack, dan,
I know the Mosvalve 1500 is the best sounding amp i ever owned but this is the third time he left me alone and now i don't trust him anymore and that's the reason why i want to change to another good power amp. The VHT is very hard to get here in the Netherlands also the Mosvalve.
thanks for your reply.

Hi Peter,

I have two MosValves , the 500 and the 160 . They are both older models ie. model 500 instead 1500 , yellow lettering.. Both have performed flawlessly for years . So , I`d suggest you try to find an older model 500 , they might be more durable , mine are , anyway...
This is just an idea,since I haven`t had or even tried a newer model,

Cheers,
Olli

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Olli Haavisto,
Finland

Come to think of it, mine was a model 500 (not 1500).

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