Learning how to use the Seymour Duncan PowerStage pedal amplifiers will help you get the most from your tone. With a few simple – and familiar – connections, these diminutive tone machines push out a ton of musical power while simplifying complicated setups. They are as useful for straight-in guitar players as pedalboard users and those married to their modelers.

In past blogs, we’ve covered how great these amps are for everything from backline issues and fly dates to dorm rooms and a coffeehouse gig. Now we’ll show you how to maximize your PowerStage rig. We’ll go from input to output and explain how to use each model for the best results in any musical situation. Let’s get started.

What We’ll Cover

• Connecting to the PowerStage Input
  • Using a dedicated preamp pedal
  • Integrating with your current pedalboard
  • Modeler-based rigs
• Connecting to the output
  • Powering an external speaker
  • DI out with cabinet simulation
  • DI out without cabinet simulation

Connecting to the PowerStage Input

PowerStage pedal amplifiers – made here in Santa Barbara, California – are highly tweakable power amplifiers. While they make for a great clean channel, they want to see a preamp or pedal before the input. These devices’ level and output impedance let PowerStage work its magic without any…well…impedance.

“But it has an EQ. Doesn’t that mean it has its own preamp?”

Yes and no. PowerStage’s intuitive 3-band analog EQ is more like one you’d find on a mixing console rather than on a guitar amplifier. This makes it perfect for tuning your PowerStage to different cabinets, monitors, etc. But your actual tone-shaping should be done with whatever you put in front.

So what do you put in front? Here are three great options.

• A dedicated preamp pedal
• The pedalboard you already have
• A digital modeler

A Dedicated Preamp Pedal

For players who prefer a streamlined rig, we recommend using a dedicated guitar preamp pedal to give PowerStage its personality. Not only are preamp pedals lifesavers in a ton of situations, but there are some fabulous tube-based designs. Many even re-create history’s most famous amplifier tones.

Preamp pedals also deliver optimal impedance and output levels to match your PowerStage’s input. And, thanks to that input’s high-headroom, it delivers your preamp’s tone in extreme detail, whether or not you pile on the gain.

Do you lean clean? Swap the preamp pedal for a decent guitar EQ for a clean, warm sound with the flatter tonal response jazzers love.

Integrating with Your Current Pedalboard

Another option is to connect your PowerStage to the pedalboard you’re already using. While non-preamp guitar pedals don’t give you the same tonal control, they still juice your signal and give PowerStage all it needs to get the job done.

No need to worry about placing time-based effects in an effects loop. PowerStage amps don’t even have them. Instead, their input’s headroom and transparent character let those pedals shine in all their glory.

Hookup is just as simple as with a preamp pedal. You simply run out of the last pedal in your effects chain and go directly into PowerStage’s input. PowerStage 170 and 200 are even designed to fit right on the board with their big master volume knob giving your feet on-the-fly level control.

Tech Tips:

For maximum clarity, we do recommend placing your time-based effects pedals between your tone-shaping devices – like distortion boxes, compressors, and your favorite overdrives – and the PowerStage input. But there are no rules. Go nuts!

Modeler-based Rigs

There’s no question, digital amp modeling devices are here to stay. They’ve proven their sound quality, their unparalleled convenience, and who wouldn’t want a ton of top-shelf amps at their fingertips? However, if modelers have one drawback, it’s trying to amplify them.

Many players have relied on stage monitors to hear their tones until now.

There go the tonal benefits.

Or they integrate larger power amps (often tube) into the rig to power a live cab.

There goes the convenience factor of a lightweight rig.

PowerStage is the perfect complement for digital modeling devices and the solution to this onstage conundrum. It’s both incredibly convenient (portable), and it’s specifically tuned to sound and react with the organic feel of a great tube amp. But does it actually sound that much better? Why don’t you ask Periphery’s Mark Holcomb?

Again, hookup is simple. Run a cable from your modeler right into the input of your PowerStage. Now dial the 3-band EQ to complement your speaker cabinet. That’s it. No complicated adapters, no USB and firmware updates. Done.

Tech Tips:

Because PowerStage is voiced like a guitar power section, you may want to remove the digital power amp simulation from your modeled tones for optimum results.

Connecting to the Output

The PowerStage fun really ramps up when you look at the output section. And each model offers different configurations making it easy to find the perfect PowerStage for your application, like…

Powering a Speaker Cabinet

You’ve made a great choice if you’re using PowerStage to push air the old-fashioned way. On top of delivering plenty of power and higher volumes, PowerStage works flawlessly with any standard guitar speaker cabinet.

Most guitar amplifiers run best at a precise impedance. While they’ll still do work with cabs at different ohm ratings, you’ll sacrifice power, clarity, and headroom. PowerStage, however, offers internal impedance matching. That means you can run out of its speaker outputs to any guitar speaker cabinet or any combination (combined rating must be between 4 and 16 ohms) while still enjoying optimal performance.

DI Out with Cabinet Simulation (PowerStage 200 & 700)

Do you play on silent stages or need a quick way to send your tone to front-of-house? Then grab a PowerStage 200 or 700 and engage the switchable speaker simulation. With the push of a button, you imbue the amp’s DI XLR output with the sound of a well-miked 4×12 speaker cabinet. This is great for direct recording, quick onstage setup, and when you want a cranked amp tone without the accompanying volume.

PowerStage 200

• Single XLR output
• Selectable, independent Cab Sim and EQ buttons add or remove the features from the DI and headphone output signals.
  • On: Direct recording and live performance
  • Off: Use with impulse responses (IRs) or for reamping (see next section)

Buy PowerStage 200 Now

PowerStage 700

• Dual, independent XLR outputs
• Each features its own bypassable cabinet simulation
• Ideal for sending different signals to two different destinations
  • On: Direct recording and live performance
  • Off: Use with outbound impulse responses (IRs) or for reamping (see next section)

Buy PowerStage 700 Now

DI without Cabinet Simulation

Sometimes, an unaffected DI is the way to go. It keeps your rig’s tone and dynamics while letting you mix and match various IRs or physical cabinets on your computer or IR loader.

PowerStage 200 and 700 have you covered here as well. By disengaging the Cab Sim buttons, the XLR outputs ditch the power section and translate your front-end tone as it is. Now your favorite piece of stage gear is also your studio go-to.

More Than Meets the Eye

As you can see, PowerStage is far from a simple series of tiny amps. Their convenient dimensions and weight are only one part of the story. We’ve crammed these little powerhouses with a truckload of connectivity and player-friend features.

So, whether you’re an analog or modeling purist, if you want a streamlined rig for performance, an effortless miking solution, or a powerful studio pal, Seymour Duncan’s PowerStage pedal amps are the way to go.

Though, we might be a bit biased.

Let’s Talk Tone

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