Why do so many people have huge amps?

[nahfuten]

In my never ending search for the perfect amp that I can play at home I've never understood how so many of you are using 100w high gain tube heads and 4x12 cabs, etc. Either you guys are all gigging guitarists and need the watts, or you are playing in homes with no wife/kids/neighbors and you wear earplugs. What gives? Because what I thought would be my perfect amp (Marshall Class 5) was still too loud once I got it home!

 

[uOpt]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

La la la I can't hear you.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

Because they rock, dude.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

I'm so deaf I can't read.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

I get where you're coming from, though I won't begrudge someone for being able to let a big watt amp hang its balls out. I can't even let a 5 watter unravel in my house, so the Valvetronix I'm borrowing fits in perfectly with what I like. It also sounds nice and plays well with pedals on the amp sims I like. I'll probably end up finding a vt50 or vt80 for myself, unless I can find an ad120v blue cheap.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[uOpt]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

My cat looks cute on the 4x12 + head.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

Because they sound fantastic when you DO unwind them. It's like asking why people own M3's Vettes, Mustangs, and Camaros. Cuz they can...

 

[jimlp]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

I guess it is all relative to your situation but there are a lot of high watt amps that have great master volumes, I doubt a lot of guys are running 100 watt plexi's at home without some kind of attenuation.

 

[youngthrasher9]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

Think about this. In volume, a 100w tube head is roughly only twice as loud as a 10w tube head. 2nd of all, most lunchbox amps aren't made to function best cranked. Also, lots of modern high wattage, high gain amps sound pretty good at low volumes. They are made with late night apartment jams in mind. Thus when you do decide to crank them, it doesn't sound as magical as you imagined. As for cabinets, a 4x12 tends to have more bass then a 1x12, not to mention in some cases a fuller less boxy tone.

It's really quite simple.

 

[chadd]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

The volume knob has a 1 as well as a 10 (or 11)

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

i use a twin when my princeton runs out of headroom. It depends on who i'm playing with and what the band needs to fill a space. Size is not volume. 4 speakers sharing 100 watts means they are sharing the load equally, so a 1x12 can be as loud as a 4x12 when it is facing you. Volume is a matter not of watts tho, so much as speaker efficiency. One really efficient speaker will sound louder than 4 less efficient speakers. Wattage= fat bottom end. More headroom in the speakers = the fat bottom end gets reproduced out into the world.
Volume is measured by decibels, and you can get a pretty good idea of exactly how loud something will be when you look at the speaker efficiency which is max sound pressure levels at whatever frequency the speaker peaks at at 1watt measured at 1 meter.
Big=fatter, but not always louder.
Having said all that tho....most guitarists with half stacks are overdoing it in this day and age of music venues closing more and more due to noise restrictions. That, and the fact that the FOH can make up for any deficiencies in a small amp.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

Because so many people are foolish.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

I only know one guy who owns a 4x12 and the head is a Peavy 5150 II and that sh!t is loud too loud really. IMO in this day and age if you have a 50W amp your covered in just about any type of gig situation. One of the reasons I like my Blackstar HT40 is the fact I can push it and still have extra vol or gain on tap. The cleans on it remind me of a Deluxe Reverb in that once you push it it doesn't stay super clean it becomes a bit more driven.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

Why do so many people have huge amps?

WHO CARES??

 

[LReese]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

Bigger is better!

Actually my most used amp these days is a Princeton Reverb.

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

Because I can.

 

[nahfuten]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

WHO CARES??

Because I'm apparently doing something wrong looking at tiny amps. I'm not jealous of those that can run a large amp. I'm actually hoping someone has a secret so I can broaden my amp search to higher horsepower amps and still keep my hearing.

I'm trying to figure out why so many people want a Soldano or JCM800 if they only turn it up to 1. Why not just get a 15w modeling amp. They sound equally good at bedroom volumes, especially since the master volume on tube amps only drives the preamp tubes.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

On a more serious note, one important reason:

keep your expectations adjusted. As things move into modeling or smaller amps, how do I do the reality check that a big amp doesn't or does sound better if I don't have one?

How much time did I mess with G12-65 versus whatever else speaker? How do I preserve that when/if I ever go modeling?

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

In my never ending search for the perfect amp that I can play at home I've never understood how so many of you are using 100w high gain tube heads and 4x12 cabs, etc. Either you guys are all gigging guitarists and need the watts, or you are playing in homes with no wife/kids/neighbors and you wear earplugs. What gives? Because what I thought would be my perfect amp (Marshall Class 5) was still too loud once I got it home!

At home is about the only place your allowed to play big amps these days.

Think about this. In volume, a 100w tube head is roughly only twice as loud as a 10w tube head....As for cabinets, a 4x12 tends to have more bass then a 1x12, not to mention in some cases a fuller less boxy tone.

Good points

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Why do so many people have huge amps?

When I'm jamming with a heavy handed drummer and bassist my 40 watt amp is needed to be ables to play clean stuff loudly. At home I could get by with a 1 watt amp about 90% of the time though. It's nice to have the option of turning up when you need to . . .