500W + 4 or 8 x10?
 

I'm looking to buy a 500w head. The fear I have is down the road if I play a small outside gig with it and let's say a 4x10 or 8x10 with no PA support, will I be loud enuff? I just trying to figure out if 500w with any speaker combo will suite my needs. Or should I be looking at the 800w range?

The loudness can vary from brand to brand and product to product, especially when you get into different cabs.
Outside though, i'd say 500w would have you covered, as long as you have a good cab, powerful cab. Also, I'd recommend that you (assuming your amp head is 4 ohms and can afford it) get two 8 ohm cabs instead of one 4 ohm cab. With the ability to move the two around, coupled with the fact that two cabs will generally result in a louder sound, you should be heard well.

Why would you want to be louder than unamplified drums?

For gigs where the PA is drums and vocals only.

The power of the amp does come into play, but the capability of your speakers is more important.

500 watts with a greenboy Dually - Stunningly loud.
500 watts with a no-name 210 - Lackluster.

I would be shopping for a cab you like the sound of, get enough for the volume you want, then figure out how to power it adequately.

500 watts is plenty of power, although for many the motto "more is always better" often applies :bassist: .

Yes, it's the cab that matters in this case. A 215 (or two 115s) w/your pick of the "super" 15" drivers would do the trick nicely. And while not cheap, if you're comparing apples to apples (used to used, new to new), they are a very nice (huge) bang for the buck, imho.

Here are the 2 most popular full-range "super" 15s, the Eminence Kappa Lite 3015 & Faital Pro 15PR400:

http://www.usspeaker.com/Kappa%20Lite-3015-1.htm

http://www.usspeaker.com/faital%20pro%2015PR400-1.htm

A 212 (especially with the "super" 12, Eminence Kappa Lite 3012HOs) would handle a small outside gig pretty easily, too, I think.

http://www.usspeaker.com/kappalite3012ho-1.htm

It's not the amount of power, but rather how many speakers you are running through.

There is no 2X10 that can keep up with a 4X10 or 2X15.

Played a show a couple of months ago on a huge outdoor stage (at least 40 ft wide) with a Carvin BX500 into a Carvin 2X12 reloaded with 3012HO's - No problems at all.

So it sounds like the bottom line is 500w with the right cab setup will be enuff for me. I'm not playing arenas, just wanted to make sure I was covered for a small outside gig with no PA support. Thanks for the help guys.

A 15/6 (Eminence Kappa Lite 3015LF/18Sound 6ND410) would be worth a strong consideration, too. But I think I'd prefer the 3012HO-loaded 212. Probably be about the same bucks.

Whatever you decide on, if you're looking new, Don Oatman at LDS would be a top notch choice to build it for you. Or if you could build it, even better.

www.LowDownSound.com

Happy hunting :hyper: .

I'm running a GK goldline 500 head into an Ashdown US series 4x10. The sound is huge. It's awesome when I need to be heard. It's totally doable.

I played an outdoor wedding on a Horse Ranch with a Trace Elliott GPSM 7 300 and a No-Name 2x10 sealed cabinet and did just fine and was plenty loud enough. I think it matters more what kind of music you're playing and the kind of outdoor venue you're playing. Did the OP ever specify?

While I do think volume needs vary genre to genre, max SPL is pretty objective. Is a supper efficient 215 going to be louder than a no name 210? Yep. That is regardless of the wattage of the amp. The 210 is going to be mechanically limited around 200-250 watts, so having more power than that isnt going to get it any louder. The 215 on the other hand is going to be louder per the same amount of power, and handle more total power.

But yes to everyone's "loud enough" being different.