Warwick Profet 3.2 review

[ReeV0]

wow thanks for all the comments guys. Moo, i do the same as you. I just turn the master volume on 10, and use the gain to adjust the overall volume. otherwise it is just too quiet.
im a bit frustrated with the clip light, and i tend to push quite far past it. do you think i am doing any damage to the amp or the cab? i cant really hear any difference when it clips, just the light comes on.

if the master volume is on 0 (i.e. no output volume), and then you crank the gain past clipping, are you doing any damage? to the head maybe?

cheers guys

[Protium]

If you're having to do that I reckon there could be something wrong with the head. I have no volume trouble at all with my 300W ABM even through a single 15".

[ReeV0]

yes well we are talking about the warwick profet 3.2 head, not an ashdown ABM which i'm sure is FAR better than the warwick.

[Protium]

I'm not discussing which is a better amp, 300W is still 300W - you should get a comparable volume.

[MythSte]

General concensous from owners is that warwick are lying!!

[Moo]

[quote name='Protium' post='314256' date='Oct 24 2008, 11:39 PM']I'm not discussing which is a better amp, 300W is still 300W - you should get a comparable volume.[/quote]

My point is that it may not be 300w [u]RMS[/u], Warwick may not be lying, but it is well known in pro audio forums that manufacturers use different criteria to rate the power of thier amps.

I have been discussing this same amp on another pro audio site. It has been suggested that the 300w rating of the prophet may be a peak rating, not an RMS Rating.
So what they call a 300w, and what I have measured to be 200w RMS continous, may not be the same power as another manufacturers 300w RMS Rating. It could be the case that my prophet is not working properly, but the experience of others would suggest otherwise.

For comparison, when I ran the RTA Frequency Plot of my bass rig, I also ran the same test on my 900w P.A. amp plugged into the same speakers, in the same location , and at the same SPL level. The plot for Profet compared to the P.A. amp shows the Prophet is 1db within the P.A. Amp, which I would take to be my margin of error - Exept that it is 3db quieter than the P.A. amp bellow 70Hz.

It is probably not fair to compare a £180 Bass Head to a £300 power amp, but I feel cheated that my 300w £600 rig is not as loud as a small 100w £220 Combo.

Moo.

Edited October 24, 2008 by Moo

[Protium]

[quote name='Moo' post='314274' date='Oct 25 2008, 12:08 AM']It is probably not fair to compare a £180 Bass Head to a £300 power amp, but I feel cheated that my 300w £600 rig is not as loud as a small 100w £220 Combo.[/quote]

Yeah, I would not be pleased either. Send an enquiry to Warwick about it?

[bass_ferret]

Just looked at the Warwick site and its sh*t with a capital S. The close up picture of the amp does not even show the controls, no manuals or specs, no specs on the cabs even other than dimensions and f***ing heavy! Compare it to the EBS website. I know the Warwick is a budget amp and the EBS the opposite, but thats no excuse for the sh*t website and lack of downloadable manuals. Except I was looking at the US site not the european site. What does that say about the US.

Start again. The manual for your amp can be downloaded from [url="http://www.warwick.de/media/manuals/ProFet/WW_PROFET_EN.pdf"]here.[/url] Its not the best manual I have ever seen I have to admit but it does give some clues. Unfortunately it does not tell you what the adjustable compressor adjusts so my suggestion that you read the wiki article in your other thead was not helpful. The things it is most likely to affect is the threshold or the ratio. You will have to read on what these controls do and f*** about with it to try and work it out. The compressor comes before the clip light.

Like you have already been told you should set the clip light so it flashes on just when you play the loudest notes. Nearly all amps are the same in this respect. You will now have to compromise what is your ideal sound for something you can hear. DO NOT USE THE CONTOUR! Turn it off. This would be the same advice for most amps. I dont know why they fit them to be honest, slappers like them but you dont buy a Warwick for slapping.

Leave the bass control flat and try an use the low mid (sparingly) to bring up the low end. Do not use the deep switch.
Turn the hi mid to about 3 o'clock. Add treble and bright to taste.

Can you hear it now?

[tempo]

+1 pretty much as Mr ferret said as regards setting it up, but dont use the "clip" led as a guide, use your ears, the light comes on far too early IMO.

[bass_ferret]

Just had a look at the spec for the cab. It gives the frequency resonse for the drivers not the cab. Whats that all about?

[MythSte]

Really guys, as a user im telling you, its just not loud. at all.

Trust me, i tried just about everything when i had one!

[ReeV0]

the german warwick site is better: www.warwick.de

lol i agree its pretty damn quiet, but it does sound quite good. i do like the contour and deep swiches, and i do a LOT of slapping lol. although i have turned off the tweeter on the cab because i found it too harsh.

i feel that the compressor is kind of a protection thing, because with it off, the amp clips way more, but with it on, it quietens the notes and the amp doesnt clip as much.

clipping can occur whether there is no output sound or if there is a lot, right. if there is no sound coming from the speakers (i.e. master volume at 0), and i turn the gain up and just hit the strings, the clip light will go crazy. since the speakers are not producing any sound, is this at all damaging to ANYTHING?
also, when the speakers are on, is clipping only really dangerous if the speakers are working near their limit? (i.e. when the master volume is turned up high?)

cheers

[bass_ferret]

I have already told you the compressor is before the clip indicator, so having the compressor on will make the clip light come on less. The clip light comes on when the voltage in the circuit exceeds the threshold. There is a circuit diagram in the manual that clearly shows all this. All that happens when the clip light comes on is the clip light comes on.

Do you even know what clipping is? See your other thread. This can be shown on a meter put across the circuit. Like the old vu meters we used to have to use on tape decks. If you think of digital vu meters with LED's rather than Ashdown needles, then the clip light is the first red LED.

Edited October 25, 2008 by bass_ferret

[ReeV0]

yes but my point is, its all well and good having something to tell you you're clipping, but are you damaging the amp? is it a "warning" light?

[tempo]

No, you are not damaging anything by clipping the pre-amp, it just doesnt sound very nice! But ignore the light and set it up so you cant hear audible distortion.

As regards it not being a "loud" 300w amp. This I believe is mainly down to the linear volume pot which increases gain evenly throughout the entire range, as opposed to a log taper pot which gives 90% gain by "12 o'clock" which gives most amps the showroom advantage.

[bass_ferret]

[quote name='jjl5590' post='314751' date='Oct 25 2008, 09:20 PM']yes but my point is, its all well and good having something to tell you you're clipping, but are you damaging the amp? is it a "warning" light?[/quote]
Yes it is a warnig light. I told you to read the basschat wiki. Had you done so you would have seen this:[b]You can use any power ouput amp with any power handling cab. If any of these combinations makes bad sounds then turn down and/or stop cranking the bass EQ excessively or damage may occur[/b]This applies to your stupid f***ing light as well. Ignore the light and use Alex Clabbers first law.

You said in one of your previous posts that you like slapping. Slapping sounds best with slap switches and compression on - to smooth out the differences in volume between slapping and popping (just cos I cant slap, wont slap, does not mean I have never slapped ) If you are altenating between slapping and not slapping then you need a two channel amp, or some sort of preamp, or some other easily useable way of switching between a slap and non slap sound. Stop slapping, it so 80's

[thedontcarebear]

You're certainly an angry old man aren't you?

[bass_ferret]

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='314882' date='Oct 26 2008, 08:33 AM']You're certainly an angry old man aren't you?[/quote]
Not sure what age has got to do with it, but there are only so many times I will tell someone to ignore the light until it becomes ignore the f***ing light! The boy is hopefully a newbie; but he does not seem to want to know how it all works; so maybe he should take up an acoustic instrument. I'm out.