# Solid State Amps, No Load?



## Joey D. (Oct 16, 2006)

Hi all,

Looking for a little clarity on this issue. I have an 80's Traynor TS-50B SS bass head. I'm looking to use its line out direct in to a recording interface (or possibly with an IR box in-between), I was hoping to do this without an external speaker connection to keep the db's to a minimum. The consensus online is a bit scattershot about whether running an SS head without a load will lead to failure. Most say as long as there is no OT present, a "no load" scenario will have no detrimental effect to the amp. The amp has an external PT but no external OT that I can see. Here's a link to the schem if anyone's interested, 



https://www.thetubestore.com/lib/thetubestore/schematics/Traynor/Traynor-Bass-TS50B-Schematic.pdf



Thanks!


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Transformerless (which the vast majority of them are) solid state no load is perfectly fine.
Tube output transformer no load very bad.
Your amp falls into the vast majority category.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

Joey D. said:


> I'm looking to use its line out direct in to a recording interface (or possibly with an IR box in-between)


I was just looking at the schematic for your Bass Amp. You should have no problem driving a pile of devices from the line out...6 Mercs on that transom (blue-highlighted devices), could be Evinrudes though; each device is rated over 1/2 watt. Gotta luv them Bass amps...very nice power amp too.


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## Joey D. (Oct 16, 2006)

Much appreciated! I'll be giving this a shot later today. My experience is mostly in pedals and minor tube amp repair, so hearing that solid states can run with no load ran counter to everything I've heard about speaker loads and tube amps, as nonreverb mentioned above. 

It's a cool little amp for sure, the gain/boost/eq interplay is very unique sounding in comparison to something like an Ampeg. Definitely no pretence of "clean," heh.


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