Tech 21 Power Engine 60

[buddaman71]

I love my Mesa Lone Star and my GSP1101. I ran a W/D/W setup for years and have missed that sound ever since I downsized. Because I regularly play both small clubs and large festival stages, I want to get that sound and feel in a lean and mean package.

Rather than add a power amp and cabs to my rig (increasing weight and size) I am thinking about just buying a couple of the Tech 21 Power Engine 60 slave amps. I can actually send the wet XLR outs from my GSP into them (and then pass it on to the FOH) and keep my LSC tone pure and dry.

I have had great luck in the past with Tech21 products, but just wondered if anyone has used these units with success.

Thanks,

 

[danel59]

I have had 1 in the past and of course have regretted selling it( I went to a Powerblock and external 1x12 cab) I play at a lot of oudoor festivals and had no problem hearing it. I had used it on its own with various processors and as the wet side of my Fuchs and thought it sounded good. Oh well may get another one especially after hearing about the new Character pedals from Tech 21. This may be an alternative light weight rig

Dan

 

[buddaman71]

Thanks. Much appreciated.
Rock on,

 

[PaddyBrumson]

Please try a test with your Lone Star if you can. I had a Tech 21 TM10 and got a PE60 for more volume and found the combo very noisey and not as loud as I thought it would be. I ended up getting a TM60 and that seems just fine.

 

[buddaman71]

I went ahead and purchased two Tech21 PE60 powered 112 speaker cabs. They have 1/4" AND balanced XLR inputs and outputs. I am running a w/d/w setup with a Mesa LSC 112 and the Digiech GSP1101/Control 2 setup in the 4CM loop mode. I use both the Mesa preamp and the Internal GSP models and love the unit more and more every day. I could NOT go back to standard pedals for my main rig.
I just take the left and right XLR outs of the GSP into the XLR inputs of the PE60s and spread them out on stage. My bass player loves it, because he can hear my guitar clearly without having to fold back any guitar through the stage monitors. (which I hate doing )

The tone is just incredible and extremely professional. A couple of bands that I am friends with came to my last gig (first one using the PE60s) at a decent-sized (300-350) club with a large stage and dance floor. One of the bands played a few songs at the end of the night and their guitarist said it was the best tone HE ever heard onstage. Getting to listen to him out front, throught the PA gave me a chance to REALLY hear my tone (albiet with him playing) and I was just floored by the width, clarity and smoothness of the sound. Having a much wider sound field allowed me to play with less focused volume and just sounded amazing.

Nothing can be all things to all people, but these little powered cubes are EASILY worth the money and the small space they take up. Extremely versatile and affordable, and they pretty much just reproduce whatever you put into them.

rock on,

 

[Deuterium]

I went ahead and purchased two Tech21 PE60 powered 112 speaker cabs. They have 1/4" AND balanced XLR inputs and outputs. I am running a w/d/w setup with a Mesa LSC 112 and the Digiech GSP1101/Control 2 setup in the 4CM loop mode. I use both the Mesa preamp and the Internal GSP models and love the unit more and more every day. I could NOT go back to standard pedals for my main rig.
I just take the left and right XLR outs of the GSP into the XLR inputs of the PE60s and spread them out on stage. My bass player loves it, because he can hear my guitar clearly without having to fold back any guitar through the stage monitors. (which I hate doing )

The tone is just incredible and extremely professional. A couple of bands that I am friends with came to my last gig (first one using the PE60s) at a decent-sized (300-350) club with a large stage and dance floor. One of the bands played a few songs at the end of the night and their guitarist said it was the best tone HE ever heard onstage. Getting to listen to him out front, throught the PA gave me a chance to REALLY hear my tone (albiet with him playing) and I was just floored by the width, clarity and smoothness of the sound. Having a much wider sound field allowed me to play with less focused volume and just sounded amazing.

Nothing can be all things to all people, but these little powered cubes are EASILY worth the money and the small space they take up. Extremely versatile and affordable, and they pretty much just reproduce whatever you put into them.

rock on,

Hi Buddaman:

I am also running my GSP1101 into a Tech 21 Power Engine 60. I am using the 1/4" Line Out from the GSP1101 into the Power Engine.

Question...

Do you have a cabinet model enabled on your GSP1101, when using the Power Engine? Or, do you disable the GSP1101's cabinet modeling, and run a "direct" single to the Power Engine.

I would think that one would want to turn-off any cabinet sims on the GSP1101, due to the fact that the Power Engine is not a full-range speaker/monitor. Is this correct?

If you do in fact disable the GSP1101's cabinet sims...do you do this through the Global function, or do you do it on a patch by patch basis?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
John

 

[buddaman71]

I actually have been using the cab sims, since the PE 60 seems pretty transparent in the midrange, but I am feeding mine out of the XLRs, since my 1/4" jacks are used in the 4CM with my Mesa LSC. It just sounded a little warmer to me. I turned the Global Cab Sim on in the XLR outs. It's in the I/O section of the Edit menu.

I am not really using the PE60s for my "core" tone, but more just for stereo spread and FX. My bass player loves it, because I can set one over by him and he can hear me without having to fold electric guitar through the stage monitoring system. It's also giving me a much wider tone field, as I am the only electric guitar player in the band.

For my application, considering the weight, convenience and cost compared to a larger rack with a power amp and still having to carry cabs, it's working great for me.

Hope it works well for you.

Take care,

 

[Deuterium]

I actually have been using the cab sims, since the PE 60 seems pretty transparent in the midrange, but I am feeding mine out of the XLRs, since my 1/4" jacks are used in the 4CM with my Mesa LSC. It just sounded a little warmer to me. I turned the Global Cab Sim on in the XLR outs. It's in the I/O section of the Edit menu.

I am not really using the PE60s for my "core" tone, but more just for stereo spread and FX. My bass player loves it, because I can set one over by him and he can hear me without having to fold electric guitar through the stage monitoring system. It's also giving me a much wider tone field, as I am the only electric guitar player in the band.

For my application, considering the weight, convenience and cost compared to a larger rack with a power amp and still having to carry cabs, it's working great for me.

Hope it works well for you.

Take care,

Okay, thanks Budda.

Sounds like you have a great set-up, especially for live gigs. I will try my GSP1101 and Power Engine with the various cabinet sims, to see which sounds best to my ear.

Cheers,
John

 

[bilbal]

Hey how do you guys think my Triaxis rig would sound with a pair of 1x12's or even 2x12's? I like the idea of running (2) 2x12's for live and having (1) 2x12 at home and (1) in the studio.

bilbal