15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

thespricket

thespricket

New member
im thinking about new amps, and its way time for me to get a tube amp.
I really like the idea of small combos, for their good sound at low volumes and portability. The one amp ive been looking at is a crate 15 watt class A amp with a 112.
I mostly play alone in my dorm, but i do jam ocasionally, and i do plan on forming a band and doing a few gigs.

what kind of volume can i get out of a 112 15 watt class a tube amp? how would it compare to ss volume/wattage? cuz thats mostly what im used to.
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

It is a bit louder than 15 watt solid state usually because of just the quality of the build and how tubes work. I'd get the crate v3112T personally. 30 watts would give you enough headroom to gig, has a speaker jack output, and i believe something else but i forget.
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

From the Dept. of "my humble opinion":

SS and tube amps are rated the same way, but work completely different.

You never want to clip an SS amp. Given a minimul 3db headroom, my 60 watt SS amp just became a 30 watt amp. I prefer 10db of headroom. That makes my 60 watt amp a 6-watt amp. A tube amp operates nicely in the clipped range. That means your 15 watter could easily produce double that wattage.

So . . . my 60, compared to your 15, becomes a 6 compared to a 30. You should be fine.

Amp guru's, please correct me if I'm wrong. :)
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

people gig with those orange mini amp 15watters but I wouldnt
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

The 30 was of course my first choice, but as i mentioned im a broke ass college student.
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

I'd say go with 30 watts incase you play unmiked gigs and need the extra volumes. But 15 watts should hold up to a drummer. It depends on if you need it totaly clean or like the semi dirty sounds that these kinds of amps excel at.
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

Depends if you are planning to mic the amp....also how many speakers it is pushing

Unmiked, i wouldnt gig with less than 20 watts....i've tried gigging with my 18 watt mesa boogie unmiked...and it hasnt worked....not enough 'spread' of the sound
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

Absolutely it works. I play with a Mesa Blue Angel (non master volume), and with 2 6v6s (where I keep it most of the time) it is loud enough to hear over a drummer, bass and loud keys...and boy, when those tubes get hot, it sounds sooo sweet. If the drummer can't control his/her volume, and the bass player can't read the volume knob on the amp, find other musicians. But really, 15 tube watts are loud. You gotta push those power tubes to get that sound. Also, thats what mikes were made for- keep the stage volume lower so the sound can be mixed much better out front.
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

thespricket said:
im thinking about new amps, and its way time for me to get a tube amp.
I really like the idea of small combos, for their good sound at low volumes and portability. The one amp ive been looking at is a crate 15 watt class A amp with a 112.
I mostly play alone in my dorm, but i do jam ocasionally, and i do plan on forming a band and doing a few gigs.

what kind of volume can i get out of a 112 15 watt class a tube amp? how would it compare to ss volume/wattage? cuz thats mostly what im used to.
Click to expand...

If you mic up a 15W all-valve amp = YES !!!


I have a Fender BJr. and i jam with a young female drummer un-mic'ed in the garage = no problem !!!

Mic that amp, and you are good to go, class A or class AB - FACT !!!


;)
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

I'll give another vote for the 15-watter. Should be plenty for practice and smaller gigs. Larger venues will have a PA, so you can mic the amp and have all the headroom in the world. Unless you're finding the tone to be significantly different between the two, I suggest saving some money -- sounds like the money you don't have in the first place -- and go with 15 watts.

- Keith
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

I've been gigging and touring for years with an 18w Fender Super Champ. I got tired of hire amps in different cities, so I decided to take my tone with me. I keep it fairly close to me onstage, and once there's an SM57 in front of it and it hits the PA, it is a huge sound. The FOH engineer has to put you in the mix because there's so little spill off stage, so you get to hear it in the front mix as well. Admittedly the Super Champs are notoriously loud for their size, but 2 6V6's @ 18w is plenty loud enough unless you have a particularly rowdy rhythm section. Here's some footage of it from the Seymour Duncan User Group Day here in Melbourne last September. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czk5bxKd7j8
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

30 watts is perfect for me.... i used my 22 watt Fender Deluxe once and it was not quite loud enough.... My C30 combo i feel safe pushing it harder anyways then the 42 year old Deluxe, but around 30 watts is perfect.... an extention cab jack is also very handy in noisey rooms or louder drummers...

Most important thing with smaller lower wattage amps is i use a stand that tilts my combo back like a monitor... point the extention cab at my head and i can hear fine.... Place the open back C30 combo near my drummer and he can hear me perfect from the back of the amp
 
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Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

Carl762 said:
Wahwah, that is a great, amazing sound indeed!
Click to expand...

Thanks Carl762, the mic in that guy's camera probably doesn't really do it justice, but at least I know the FOH guy had me in the mix! Low wattage amps rule for a lot of working applications. In that clip the Master of that 18w Super Champ was sitting on 5.


Cheers................wahwah
 
Re: 15 watt Class A loud nuff for gigs?

I have a blues junior and in my apartment, I'm afraid to get the master above 2.5/3. it gets loud real quick. I got it to 3.5 at my parents house and it was freakin loud, man. I think it'll be gig worthy.
 
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