dual monobloc technology

[rabies]

it seems that Marshall is/was the only tube amp manufacturer (recently anyways) that builds dual monobloc amps.

do they have a patent on this?

if not, why haven't Mesa, bogner, diezel, fender, etc. released similar designs? it's great for failover in live situations...

[Merlinb]

You can't patent the idea of "one amp in one box". All ordinary amp heads could be described as monoblocks.

[rabies]

You can't patent the idea of "one amp in one box". All ordinary amp heads could be described as monoblocks.

I'm talking about patenting "dual monobloc", not "monobloc". big difference.

[Enzo]

Which is pretty much what any "stereo" amp is. Hard to patent that as well.

[rabies]

so what other dual monobloc "copies" are available in current production?

[Enzo]

I have no idea, it seems that the advantage you descrfibe is that of having a spare amp. Most guys who concern themselves over backup simply carry a second amp. I wod think that rather than some patent was the reason others don't have such models.

Does the Peavey Classic 50/50 meet the description? Two separate power amps in one chassis.

[tboy]

I wonder if it might have separate power supplies for each side; that's the only thing I can think of that would differentiate it from a regular stereo amp.

[Enzo]

I suppose. The PV 50/50 has separate standby switches, but a common B+ supply. Totally separate power supplies would mean two power transformers, and in an amplifier powerful enough for a touring player, that is prohibitively heavy. We are into SVT territory then. That is good enough reason for most OEMs not to make one.

I recall the QSC EX and MX series of power amps. They were pretty similar except one series had dual power transformers, the other a common one. I hated to see the dual ones come in for service because they were so much heavier.