AION Beta Lead / Bass driving a power amp

[tegendemuur]

From the AION Beta Lead / Bass docs

"The Beta Preamp is a single-channel adaptation of the original amplifier. It can be built in either Bass or Lead configurations by swapping out a few components. While it can be used as a drive pedal, it works best as a true preamp driving a power amp directly."

I am not sure how to take this, concidering my situation, where I don't use cabinets. I use powered bookshelf speakers or studio monitors, depending on the convenience I am looking for. I take the description above as that the pedal sounds "better" with a power amp, but I don't think this can be solved with a power amp module, like the one PedalPCB sells. I am looking at a boost (I read on the board that its volume is weak when there's no gain dialed in). As a solition, maybe I am better off adding an effects loop to it then (kinda where the reverb sits in the original) so it really can sit at the very end of the chain into the IR cabinet and then into the mixer and monitors?

EDIT: I think I'm just gonna build a small daughterboard with the power amp emulation stage that EAE put in their Model FET.

 

[lowpitch]

It means it won't sound good in front of a guitar amp and will not really capture the Sunn Beta tone when you do. You can run this straight into your audio interface with a power amp and cab sim, you don't need a real power amp. It's plenty loud as well, so no further amplification is necessary when running it into your audio interface.

 

[tegendemuur]

It means it won't sound good in front of a guitar amp and will not really capture the Sunn Beta tone when you do. You can run this straight into your audio interface with a power amp and cab sim, you don't need a real power amp. It's plenty loud as well, so no further amplification is necessary when running it into your audio interface.

My IR loader (Mooer Cab X2) sadly doesn't do power amp, which is strange, as there's other pedals of theirs which do.

There's also not much about diy power amp simulation to be found online.

There's this somewhat barebones box (poweramp + cab + volume) ... https://shift-line.com/cabzonex (also a bass version), with 10 power amp sims. But it'd be a bit weird to add to the Mooer for the power amp selection only.

 

[lrgaraujo]

From what I understand, almost all of the sound we associate with the Sunn Beta comes from the preamp, and the power amp is there to provide clean and linear power. Your powered speakers/monitors can do that.
I think you'd be fine feeding from your Sunn Beta straight to your IR loader.

On a side note, I have messed with a standalone version of the PA emulation in the EAE model fet, and it's awesome. But I think you should include the Bjt transistors that come before IC1, as they are the one responsible for the sound (both OpAmp stages are very flat sounding)

 

[lowpitch]

Sunn Beta is purely solid state anyway so there's not as much coloration from the power amp as with a tube amp. You can certainly run this straight into your IR loader and it will still sound good.
I don't know about any analog DIY power amp sims unfortunately, but if it's a possibility for you to go into a DAW instead of the Mooer you can try the TPA-1 VST by Ignite Amps. It's a free tube power amp sim and it sounds pretty damn good.

 

[comradehoser]

[edit for clarity] You just got me stoked to restart my 2x sunn beta pedal to 100w power amp project