Anybody PLEASE post if you disagree with any of this.
First and foremost there are people on VW who are more knowledgeable than I on this topic so please take this as a data point and not as specific recommendation and my opinion only. If anybody else reads this it wont hurt my feelings if you think I'm off base or downright wrong (i.e. full of (#*it).
The challenge with the Malletkat is it's basically a midi keyboard except by the nature of the vibe sounds, the initial attack is really strong. So you need headroom as well as a broad frequency response for all the cool sounds the Kat can make. You'll have a hard time finding a Guitar Amp that does that. Keyboard amps, acoustic amps, and mini PA type systems that are over about 200 watts on paper look to be good choices. XLR line out is great and the sound person will thank you. Carry a XLR to 1/4 plug in case they don't have enough XLR cables to plug into the board.
Today I use a Fishman Performer I bought used and I like it on my K&K Musser M-55, it sounds fine with a malletkat as well. If I were in the market and had $1000-2000 to spend I'd test listen with my Kat to the portable Line array PA systems if I could find a vendor who would actually let me try them. I've heard a malletkat played through a Turbosound ip2000 first gen and I liked the way it sounds; but that sucker is too big.
Below are amps I'd try, but I sure as heck wouldn't buy one without listening to it first. I'd also have someone else play it so I could hear what it sounds like from the audience. I also like that some of these models have a short pole mode and the array sits lower so it doesn't tower over you. If you don't want to pay that much, I'd mostly look at amps designed for keyboards, for example the Roland KC-80.
Bose L1 Pro 8
Yamaha Stagepas
Electro Voice 30M
JBL Eon1 Mark 2 (this is cool because it has a battery)
Comments
Here's my 2 cents regarding amps
IndianaGlen Tue, 06/06/2023 - 15:23
Anybody PLEASE post if you disagree with any of this.
First and foremost there are people on VW who are more knowledgeable than I on this topic so please take this as a data point and not as specific recommendation and my opinion only. If anybody else reads this it wont hurt my feelings if you think I'm off base or downright wrong (i.e. full of (#*it).
The challenge with the Malletkat is it's basically a midi keyboard except by the nature of the vibe sounds, the initial attack is really strong. So you need headroom as well as a broad frequency response for all the cool sounds the Kat can make. You'll have a hard time finding a Guitar Amp that does that. Keyboard amps, acoustic amps, and mini PA type systems that are over about 200 watts on paper look to be good choices. XLR line out is great and the sound person will thank you. Carry a XLR to 1/4 plug in case they don't have enough XLR cables to plug into the board.
Today I use a Fishman Performer I bought used and I like it on my K&K Musser M-55, it sounds fine with a malletkat as well. If I were in the market and had $1000-2000 to spend I'd test listen with my Kat to the portable Line array PA systems if I could find a vendor who would actually let me try them. I've heard a malletkat played through a Turbosound ip2000 first gen and I liked the way it sounds; but that sucker is too big.
Below are amps I'd try, but I sure as heck wouldn't buy one without listening to it first. I'd also have someone else play it so I could hear what it sounds like from the audience. I also like that some of these models have a short pole mode and the array sits lower so it doesn't tower over you. If you don't want to pay that much, I'd mostly look at amps designed for keyboards, for example the Roland KC-80.
Bose L1 Pro 8
Yamaha Stagepas
Electro Voice 30M
JBL Eon1 Mark 2 (this is cool because it has a battery)
--IG
morgan, i know a place where…
tonymiceli Sun, 06/11/2023 - 21:08
morgan,
i know a place where you could try keyboard amps (I'm pretty sure). Not sure what they have but you could try it.
I have jbl eons that are 20+ years old and work great. 10 inch. hmmm i will be using this thursday for a concert in south philly.
QSC TouchMix 16 + (2) QSC K12 speakers
Randy_Sutin Mon, 06/12/2023 - 14:48
The subject line says it. If you want to hear it, come pay me a visit. We’ll plug you in and you can hear it for yourself.
If you want a monitor, an additional K10 would suffice. For small gigs, that may be all you need. We can try that also.
I have all of this equipment.
QSC TouchMix 16 + (2) QSC K12 speakers
Randy_Sutin Mon, 06/12/2023 - 14:48
The subject line says it. If you want to hear it, come pay me a visit. We’ll plug you in and you can hear it for yourself.
If you want a monitor, an additional K10 would suffice. For small gigs, that may be all you need. We can try that also.
I have all of this equipment.