100w vs. 50w

[korovamilkdud]

I was just playing around yesterday and went back and forth between the 50watt mod and the normal 100 watt on my amp. To be honest, I never really saw much of a difference in sound quality.

It got me wondering...you hear techs complain about miking 100w amps. Why exactly? I know they're a LITTLE bit louder, but come on. 3db, right?

What is it about 50w amps that supposedly make them so much more tech-friendly?

 

[SonofaMitch]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

umm...less components to work with....cheaper to retube.....when "cranked" it's a lot more pleasing on the ears.......and you're still running all 5 filaments in the tubes rather than 3 with the "half" power switch.....iunno, just off the top of my head here

~Mitch~

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

yes, but how does that apply to miking a cab for a performance? I understand all that other stuff.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

The only difference I notice in 100W vs. 50W is headroom and transient attack. In equivalent amps, I don't see that musch of a difference. For example, a 2204 can't be that much easier to mic than a 2203, right? I mean they both need to be turned up to deliver the goods, the 2204 will just be a bit spongier and breakup a touch earlier, right?

 

[LoFiBrian]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

my issue with 100watters and micing is usually the high spl pushes my mics to hard...

not so much about percieved volume as just moving alot of forceful air and making the mic'd sound sound like crap.

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

You would think so...but my amp even at 100 watts doesn't need to be ridiculously loud to sound good...at least to me.

Hey, maybe I'm just lucky!

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

my issue with 100watters and micing is usually the high spl pushes my mics to hard...

not so much about percieved volume as just moving alot of forceful air and making the mic'd sound sound like crap.

interesting...

 

[jerryjg]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

man, say you got a full stack with 8 x 12" GT-65 Celestion speakers. Thats over 500 watts power handling on those speakers. You wanna throw some watts into those muthers.
No matter whats said about 100 watt amps(like my JMP marshall), Nothing sounds like a 100 watt head cranked into a full stack..

-NOTHING!!

 

[sosomething]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

100 watt amps tend to kick a lot more "thump" even at similar perceived volumes, because the higher wattage makes them more equipped for frequencies that are difficult to produce, like bass. To some this is a non-factor, for others it's their bread and butter. I fall somewhere in between....

 

[thucydides]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

You would think so...but my amp even at 100 watts doesn't need to be ridiculously loud to sound good...at least to me.

Hey, maybe I'm just lucky!

I fooled around w/the 50/100 watt switch on my Marshall JCM 900, just to hear the difference. What I heard was that on the 50 watt setting, I could get the crunch at a slightly lower volume level than if I was at 100watts. It was not much of a volume difference, but it was there. When on 100 watts, I perceived more bass.

Re the soundman, the guys I've worked with were more concerned w/the number of spkrs rather than the wattage of the amp. A 4x12 will throw a lot more sound out than a 2x12, and that can make all the difference when it comes to the FOH guy controlling the band's overall level in a smaller venue.

 

[korovamilkdud]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

Are you talking about a 100/50watt switch on your amp?

.

We're talking about pulling the two outside tubes and setting the impedance to half.

 

[jimmy]

Re: 100w vs. 50w

We're talking about pulling the two outside tubes and setting the impedance to half.

Yeah, that's not the same as a full out 50 watt and 100 watt amp, because:

1. Tube Operation
2. Volts

Like Joelap said, most amps just switch between the triode and pentode mode. But true 100 watt and 50 watt amps have different voltage.

I think the chief difference, though, is the power section. In 100 watt amps, the power section is huge, whereas in 50 watt amps, power amp distortion, signal clipping, and compression start to kick in earlier.

And that's not even taking into account the different types of tubes.

For example:

An amp that's rated at 120 watts with EL34's, and an amp that's rated at 120 watts with KT88's. That's a HUGE difference in poweramp sections, as well as the overall feel of the amp.

In all in all, it's just a whole lot of jibber-jabber.