I Think My Amp Needs Upgrading

[avenger7326]

Looking for opinions, suggestions and advise please.

I'm currently playing through an SWR 350X into a Hartke XL Series 410 (400W into 8ohms). The Hartke had 2 of the speakers replaced with Eminence speakers (not sure what model) by the guy I bought it from a year and a half ago.

Now my problem is that for the last year and a half I've played through my rig with an Ibanez GSR200 and whenever I'd play with a drummer and guitarists I'd find myself having to turn up pretty high like over 3/4 and even then I felt like I could use just a little more. (Also while practicing alone I can crank it just under halfway at night and no one will mind) Overall I feel its just not delivering enough power but I've always just went with it lol.

Now I've just got an Ibanez ATK300 and its really kicking my amps butt. I easily get the speakers to fart out while practicing and with a drummer its ridiculous, I could have it literally at max volume and still not have enough. The only way to alleviate some of the problem is to boost mids and cut bass but even then it really doesn't help and I have a terrible sound (and speakers farting out on top of it all.)

So I've decided that something has to be done and I'm pretty sure my Hartke is the main culprit so I've been researching and looking into getting a new cab. And have looked heavily into Avatar. I'm also thinking my SWR might not be for me tonewise but can't be sure whether I can get a sound I like out of it because my speakers are coloring (in a very bad way) the tone so much. I hear alot about how lots of headroom is good but I have literally no headroom.

So thats alot of background info but my basic questions are:

Is a different speaker cab going to give me more headroom? (Higher wattage rating?)

I like a midrange punch/growl and lots of tight lows (aggressive), what kind of speaker configuration should I go for? (Is 4X10 ok?)(Hows Avatar? I've heard great things and they aren't too hard on the wallet)

Should I also look into a different head with more power? (I see guys on the forum all the time working with less power then me and less speakers! lol)

Sorry for all the info I really want to make very informed decicions since I really don't have the cash to just be buying loads of gear to try and really can't justify doing that either since I'm currently just jamming in various basements lol but this problem needs fixing.

Any advise is appreciated. Thanks!!

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by avenger7326

So thats alot of background info but my basic questions are:

Is a different speaker cab going to give me more headroom? (Higher wattage rating?)

possibly. if you get a cab with the right drivers for it and/or get a larger cab rig, it will make better use of the wattage you have and then you'll have more headroom.

I like a midrange punch/growl and lots of tight lows (aggressive), what kind of speaker configuration should I go for? (Is 4X10 ok?)(Hows Avatar? I've heard great things and they aren't too hard on the wallet)

all speaker configs need to be judged on their own merit and can't be generalized. a 410 is just as likely to be mid scooped as it is to have a lot of midrange.

Should I also look into a different head with more power? (I see guys on the forum all the time working with less power then me and less speakers! lol)

possibly, but doubling your speaker count will result in a lot bigger volume gains than doubling your power. no replacement for displacement, as the audio geeks say.

Sorry for all the info I really want to make very informed decicions since I really don't have the cash to just be buying loads of gear to try and really can't justify doing that either since I'm currently just jamming in various basements lol but this problem needs fixing.

Any advise is appreciated. Thanks!!

a 410 can put out some strong volume, but if yours has the wrong 10"s in it, it could also make it be too quiet, too. pull the eminences when you get a chance and tell us what model speakers are in it and folks on here can probably tell you if they're good or bad.

[countrybass007]

If you have the ability to get out and sample some rigs that's the best way to figure out what is going to make you happy. I've usually found the farting out problem you mentioned is usually due to speakers not being able to handle the volume you're putting into it, with the tone you prefer. I've had to tweek the EQ on rigs before to clean up the sound, back off the bass a bit for instance. Also, adjusting the master volume/gain sometimes clears up the sound if you're clipping your system. Using a provided backline at gigs often requires a bit of individual adjustments for each brand/ active/passive bass.