Too much power? Dare I say, too many watts?!?

[Beck McCartney]

I'm having a problem. I play mostly house of blues size venues... which are not that small, but not huge. About 600 to 2000 in some of the bigger ones. I play an Aguilar DB750 through a 4 ohm DB412 Cab. I feel like I can't ever turn my 750 up enough to really drive the amp and get great tone without being way too loud. At a reasonable stage volume, I feel like my tone is decent at best, but there is no oomph. I feel like I could crank a lower wattage head and drive the amp a bit more, without being too loud. I am considering getting a 200 watt all tube head that I can drive a bit more, without getting too loud. Maybe an Orange AD200, or the new Ashdown BTA 200. My other idea is this. Get an 8ohm cab, thus my DB750 will be running at 450 watts. Less watts will equal less output which will equal turn up my volume and drive the amp more.... is this correct or not?

[Jazz_bass2664]

if you drop down to 8 ohms you really wont notice any drop in volume. I regularly run 1 or 2 4x10 8 ohm cabs with my gallien krueger 700 rbII and dont notice any decrease on volume or tone. It has something to do with the resistances and the voltages put out in relationship to the wattage something or other. Less watts doesnt really have too much to do with volume. its more of a question of how efficient your amp is

[projectMalamute]

This is exactly why God created the Ampeg V4b.

[Beck McCartney]

The VB4 has caught my eye a few times, though I'm not a huge Ampeg fan based on principle.

[Bernie Connors]

That's a rig that I would love to play through but it's a stadium sized rig, too. Willie Weeks uses a DB750 through a GS412 for MSG.

Do you do outside gigs often?

[Jazz_bass2664]

indeed it is! i have a gallien kruger 700rbII and a V4B Love them both!

[Beck McCartney]

Every once in a while we do a six flags show, or state fair. Even outside though, With PA support, all I rely on my amp for is stage volume. We are on in ears, so I need to really be able to feel my amp behind me. I can do that without getting too loud on stage, but again, I am just feeling like a lower wattage head will be better for getting the tone I am looking for.

[Bernie Connors]

Originally Posted by Beck McCartney

Every once in a while we do a six flags show, or state fair. Even outside though, With PA support, all I rely on my amp for is stage volume. We are on in ears, so I need to really be able to feel my amp behind me. I can do that without getting too loud on stage, but again, I am just feeling like a lower wattage head will be better for getting the tone I am looking for.

So it's like having a Soldano and never turning it past 2? I hear ya. It's tough.

[rpsands]

The V4B(H) is a fantastic amp, and definitely would be under my consideration if I wanted to use a giant cab like an 8x10 or 4x12. Sounds miles better than any other modern Ampeg product to my ears.

[Pat C.]

This sounds to me like you just aren't happy with the tone of your amp, or your cabinet, or the combination.

What do you mean by "I feel like I can't ever turn my 750 up enough to really drive the amp and get great tone without being way too loud"?

Specifically, what does "drive the amp" mean? I have no experience with the 750, but does the mosfet power section really change tone drastically from low>moderate>high levels of output voltage? I'm not sure that would really be the case.

With a hybrid head I'd would expect that you need to find the tone you want using your bass and the pre-amp section, and then using the master volume to set the sound level appropriate for the gig. The power amp should just make the initial tone louder, not change it in a significant way.

That said, the sound of the speaker cabinet could change based on the power being put into it, most likely the overall level of harmonic distortion will increase as the speakers reach their upper capabilities...and in some cases this can be a desirable effect. Since you seem to like the tone when it's loud (too loud, according to you) maybe there's something occurring along these lines.

When you say "at a reasonable stage volume, I feel like my tone is decent at best, but there is no oomph" my immediate thought is that you need to be louder. But since you don't want to be that loud maybe it's about increasing the amplitude of the "ooomph" frequencies, such as the lows and low mids? If you can't get that through the EQ on your amp you may consider an external EQ to get more precise control. If that doesn't help then you may need to look at other possible sources of the missing ooomph: the bass itself, your technique, the acoustics of the stage/venue, etc. It's also possible that the amp isn't powerful enough, and you need a power amp with more headroom. Just another possibility.

And of course you may be happier with a different amp, or a different cabinet, but I would look at some of those other variables first before you go out and pick up a tube amp that may or may not solve your issues. Also, don't underestimate the volume that tube amps create when they are cranked...it may still be much louder than you want.

Originally Posted by Beck McCartney

I'm having a problem. I play mostly house of blues size venues... which are not that small, but not huge. About 600 to 2000 in some of the bigger ones. I play an Aguilar DB750 through a 4 ohm DB412 Cab. I feel like I can't ever turn my 750 up enough to really drive the amp and get great tone without being way too loud. At a reasonable stage volume, I feel like my tone is decent at best, but there is no oomph. I feel like I could crank a lower wattage head and drive the amp a bit more, without being too loud. I am considering getting a 200 watt all tube head that I can drive a bit more, without getting too loud. Maybe an Orange AD200, or the new Ashdown BTA 200. My other idea is this. Get an 8ohm cab, thus my DB750 will be running at 450 watts. Less watts will equal less output which will equal turn up my volume and drive the amp more.... is this correct or not?