NYCkeithvibes
23 February 2026
Seeking advice on what amplifier is a good all around choice for both moderate and high volume band gigs using K&K Pickups on a Musser M-55 vibraphone? Regrettably, I sold my Roland JC-77 (two 10 inch speakers) last year because I thought I was done with gigs needing an amp. Wrong! :-) Seeking similar powered amp advice. I tried the Roland Cube 30x but it can't handle the loud volumes. When playing with drums the Cube 30X sound breaks up. To save money, I am considering getting a used 1980s Peavey Chorus 212 or a similar age Peavey KB 300, which is a keyboard amp. Thanks everyone!~
Comments
That’s the only thing i can…
tonymiceli Mon, 02/23/2026 - 07:39
That’s the only thing i can think of to say, any keyboard amp right?
I can’t remember the name of that amp with the chorus build in it that i always used to use. Was it a Roland? I forget. But the pickups sounded great coming out of that.
Amp for M-55 Vibes with K&K pickups
NYCkeithvibes Fri, 02/27/2026 - 15:39
In reply to That’s the only thing i can… by tonymiceli
Thanks Tony! I bet the amp you are remembering was a Roland JC-120. They are still available new but really pricey. Too pricey for an aging vibist with minimal paid gigs.
depends on so many factors...
Randy_Sutin Mon, 02/23/2026 - 18:11
The "best" amp would be the one that works best in a particular venue for a particular style of music. Yeah, something like the Roland that Tony mentions is great in most places. I think that is a solid choice.
If I ever get a set of pickups for myself, I think I would prefer to use a PA head and a powered speaker or a pair of powered speakers. The speakers could be reasonably light because there is not a real need to crank out bass pitches (unless your effects are doing something like an octave splitter... which is a REALLY cool sound on vibes with pickups...).
If you were to start with something like the QSC Touchmix 16, you would have a nice, lightweight (5.4 lb), 16 channel mixer with good preamps and a fair amount of onboard processing (Reverb, EQ, Compression/limiting, Echo, Chorus) and enough I/O to allow you to loop out to any effects pedal or outboard unit you may wish to use.
For the speakers, you could get lots of different somewhat less costly pairs that still sound good, but I would stick with QSC for that as well. Both the K10 and the K12 have good, clean 2000W Class D amplifiers, so you will have the power you need to play with a louder group. The K10 is about 35 lb and I think the K12 is around 45. EV makes a couple models off powered speakers that are less expensive, a little lighter, not as powerful; still pretty good though.
One last thought: Most venues seem to have sound systems these days. You may be able to get a good sound with whatever they have if you have a decent signal to provide them, so get a good DI box like the Neve NRDI-S so you have a high quality and quiet signal chain up front. Also, if you go with something like the QSC mixer, you can use the Neve DI box into your mixer and keep your part of the setup constant, then just feed the sound tech a balanced stereo output from your mixer. You would get to retain control of the processing on your pickup with that setup.
But, each kind of venue has its own sets of needs for what works best. A whole PA takes up too much space for some venues (or it scares them that you are going to be loud but they use "space" as the excuse), for instance.
Good luck! Let us know what you land on and how well it works for you.
Amp for M-55 Vibes with K&K pickups
NYCkeithvibes Fri, 02/27/2026 - 15:43
In reply to depends on so many factors... by Randy_Sutin
Thanks a lot Randy! I have actually done that....routed the vives K&K signal to the sound system. But for small venues an amp on stage (ha ha ha! What stage?) would make more sense to me.
Column PA/amp
Vince H Fri, 02/27/2026 - 17:10
In reply to depends on so many factors... by Randy_Sutin
I use a Fishman Soloamp. It's a "stick" or column style amp. 2 channels, phantom power available for both, reverb, and anti-feedback sweep. This and similar amps are line arrays. Line arrays have an advantage in that they cover 120 degrees or wider and they reach further back into the room. This also means you don't have to crank them as loud to hear yourself or be heard by others. Plus, many of them are lighter than other types of speakers. The Soloamp weighs 25 lbs, plus 10 lbs for the stand and a little more for the case. The Soloamp is no longer made but there are other column-type PAs such as those in the series by Bose, the Maui, etc...after the success of the Bose system many others jumped on this bandwagon.
Only reverb and the typical lo-mid-hi filters are built in. However, I use a single pedal--the Zoom MS50-G, for effects. It allows you to stack up to 5 effects and you can program it as well.
I also use the amp with mics instead of the K&K or with the older Musser amplivibe magnetic pickup system. It works for all three.
One downside is it takes a little more floor space--though the amp itself has a small footprint (about 6" x 6" x 30"), the tripod needs a circular space of about 24" diameter.
randy makes a good point…
tonymiceli Tue, 02/24/2026 - 14:34
randy makes a good point about sound systems in venues. I have a hot spot (Mackie) i connect my evno mics to and then I go to the sound system. the hot spot is for my ears.