Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

[80's_Metal]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

I feel so left out...
I JUST got my first tube head... 7/15 watts...
my other head is 200w....:approve::naughty:

 

[some_dude]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

Blog Article

a little 30-watt combo amp might be able to get loud enough to be heard, but I would be pushing it so hard that the power section is going to distort. A lot. For some players, that’s the sound they’re going for, but for me it means that my mid-range is going to go from “smooth” to “crackly” and my low-end “thump” is going to sound more like low-end “xghrrrghshgfffbpl.”

This was exactly my experience with 30w amps. A number of years back I fell for the whole low powered thing. 30w sounded great at home but sucked on stage. The amp was plenty loud... but the power section was so overdriven that there was just a wall of midrange with zero nuance. I tried going from a 2x12 combo to a 4x12 to the 2x12 sitting on the 4x12... but it just didn't have the headroom required to hold it together.

I switched back to high powered amps and got all the articulation back. The overall volume was the same, but the quality of the sound was improved.

Itsabass is a soundguy, great insights here :beerchug: hard to disagree with, you gotta crank a big 100 watter a lot LOUDER to get the "sweet spot"!

I disagree. Speakers do their thing at whatever level they do their thing at, and don't really care if the amp that's pushing them is 1w or 1000w.

As I also stated above, I believe that the influence of wattage on whether or not an amp is overkill/underkill pales in comparison to the influence of the speaker cabs used. It's not really about high power vs. low power. It's about stack or half stack vs. smaller cabs. In other words, suiting your rig to a certain venue is all about how much air your cab moves. Your amp determines your basic tone. Your speaker cab determines how that tone is distributed in the mix throughout the venue.

I agree. My main amp for the last couple of years is a 90w head and I've been mixing it up between an open back 1x12, closed back 2x12 or 4x12.

The choice of cab isn't even so much about volume as it is about the "size" of the the sound.

 

[formula73]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

Headroom?? Crate BV300. 3 channels going into a 300w, 6-6550 power section. Never shoulda sold it but I ****ed up my back just about every time I moved it. I'm on board with the headroom guys. As a matter of fact, I've never been able to get a sound I like out of one of those little things.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

more is betta! Im jumping on boardz just to look kewel teh half stackz are what I see at the rock shows I go to every other weekend at small and large clubz, so I betta getz another orange 212PPC! thankz adam

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

more is betta! Im jumping on boardz just to look kewel teh half stackz are what I see at the rock shows I go to every other weekend at small and large clubz, so I betta getz another orange 212PPC! thankz adam

Are you 12?

 

[everdrone]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

Are you 12?

YES! :dot: I AM A 'MUSICIAN' WAXING POETIC THE VALUE OF 3-5 DECIBELS! DUH :banana:

but I am prolly gonna get my second 212 for the RIG O' DOOMZ! the D00M band I saw tonight called Destroyer of Light played an orange rockerverb 50 haaaaaaaaaalfstack which sounded juuuuust right, and the other guitarist played an orange 212 combo with 212 avatar extension, but the TRUE RIG O' DOOM was the bassist who rocked a Mesa huuuuge head and three cabs containing a grand total of 4x15''s! bassist stole the soundscape by far...

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

for me, getting the sound i want at the right volumes is all about speaker efficiency and the speaker's eq curve much more so than amplifier wattage.
While i very much like the feel of lower wattage amps for some gigs, i very much enjoy higher wattage amps also even if they are running cool.
Its good to have a couple of amps and various strategies to get a satisfactory sound based on who you are performing with and what are the requirements of the gig.

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

Meh... I just mic up my Marshall MS-2 Micro Stack and I rock harder than Bryan Adams

 

[Josep_cla]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

My 120w ENGL Powerball sounds like crap past 6.
At 4 I get enough volume to be heard in a live situation and not over powering anybody.
And the sound is just sweeeeeeet. Djent, clean, crunch, singing leads...

Modern high gain amps are designed to sound good at low volumes.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

I own a Bogner Shiva (80watts) a Komet 60 (60 watts) a Marshall 900 (50 watts) and two Fenders; a Deluxe Reverb & Super Reverb(22 & 40W) I gig mostly with the Deluxe. I have never used the Komet or the Bogner at a gig. Too loud * too heavy to move(yeah I'm lazy) Most of the clubs I play are small venues and the Deluxe Reverb works fine. I like a nice clean tone & push the amp with a pedal when needed. Recently we played an outside gig & I used my Marshall. That really sounded nice once we got the volume balanced. The problem I have with volume of the band is being able to hear what the rest of the band is doing. If my amp is too loud I can't hear the others as well as I like to. So I am very conscious of my volume and I am always struggling to keep it down yet still maintain a good tone.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

Fo realz, we're comparing apples and oranges again. The places bands like Adam's plays are not the country bar with a pristine sound system and people there to party. The people who go to these shows know what they're getting into and 99% show up with earplugs (I always wear earplugs when watching ANY band btw, cymbals will make you ****ing deaf).

I've seen dudes who roll with fender twins and whatnot, and it usually doesn't work. Just sayin'.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

I'd love to use my 100 watt Marshall more but I don't want to lug it around until I have a case with wheels for it. I've been using it with a 2x12 when I do use it and it sounds great. I like the additional headroom the 100 watts gives me. Most of the time I use my 50 watt Valvetronix combo just for the sheer ease of setup.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

BTW, I don't think Adam is saying you guys playing blues gigs with 60 year old drummers should go out and get a 100 watter. Horses for courses people. If you were to play in a band with me playing drums you'd def need a 100 watter.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

Just to chime in.....

Oddly enough, when people complain about guitars being too loud, it's not really the guitars.

A lot of the shows I played, I had my amp comfortably playing at 3-4. Now the sound guy mic's my amp, then runs it through a gigantic PA system. Speakers bigger than me and I'm 6'4". The show's going sound huge and loud with everything coming out of PA speakers.

I agree with the blog, 100 watt vs 50 watt is no different in terms of volume. Maybe solid state is different, but tubes... no.

Also, who hear actually ever cranks their amp at a show??? I've played medium sized shows mic'd and unmic'd and never had my amp past noon.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Just to chime in.....
Also, who hear actually ever cranks their amp at a show??? I've played medium sized shows mic'd and unmic'd and never had my amp past noon.

I think BluDave hit it when he said you can't crank it up simply because then you lose the ability to hear the rest of the band on stage.

 

[sosomething]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

BTW, I don't think Adam is saying you guys playing blues gigs with 60 year old drummers should go out and get a 100 watter. Horses for courses people. If you were to play in a band with me playing drums you'd def need a 100 watter.

100% correct

I wouldn't presume to tell other people what amps to use or not use.

I'm merely asking that other people might extend me the same courtesy, especially when they're not at all familiar with the kind of scene that you and I are.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

100% correct

I wouldn't presume to tell other people what amps to use or not use.

I'm merely asking that other people might extend me the same courtesy, especially when they're not at all familiar with the kind of scene that you and I are.

And that's exactly the problem, isn't it? The criticism only ever seems to go one direction.

If I played blues, country, or classic rock, I would definitely not have a 90W half stack, and I certainly wouldn't expect such from anyone else in that situation.

 

[sosomething]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

And that's exactly the problem, isn't it? The criticism only ever seems to go one direction.

If I played blues, country, or classic rock, I would definitely not have a 90W half stack, and I certainly wouldn't expect such from anyone else in that situation.

I think that's pretty evident right in this thread.

 

[Laughing Kookaburra]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

I think a lot of heartburn would have been avoided if the thread title had specified the music Adam's article discussed, which, BTW, was a well written article. That is, a modern style of rock.

Although I primarily write what I play, the crunch is a throwback to the
mid-late 70s. I can use an 18 watt Marshall clone because I do want the power tubes to run hotter than h***, and at a reasonable volume (whatever that is!). That isn't everyone's desire, and I understand that.

Pick yer rig fer the gig!

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Blog: The 100 Watt Amp -- Too Much Firepower? Or Juuuuust Right?

Pick yer rig fer the gig!

That is what it all boils down to. There are different amps for different applications. None are "useless" in the absolute sense.

For me, I am much more likely to use a 4x12 for recording, and smaller amps live. Sounds counterintuitive, but some of my favorite amps tonally speaking are firebreathing dinosaurs, like the Ampeg V4. Great tone, which can be easily controlled in the studio, but with more difficulty live.