The main problem I have with that is that it's 200W. I've been told by a few people around where I live that I need 300W minimum to play comfortably in a loud hard rock band. These dudes aren't young either, they're both in their mid to late 30s, and have been gigging for years.
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Cheap head, good cab; good way to start?
- Thread starter dcalde78
- Start date
You can get by with lower watts with lots of speaker area and higher sensitivity (and voicing and EQ etc).
dcalde78 said:
I agree with them if your using a 410 cab. Anything less might be a little stressed depending on how much low end you like to hear. 200w and a 115 would probably be alright with a practice in a smaller room but would have a hard time in a medium bar.
It depends on a whole lot of contributing factors as to what size rig is necessary to get the job done. Me, I like powerful amps not so much for the volume but for the headroom and tone/dynamics that should come with them.
I played a gig in a large auditorium last week with a single fifteen and a 350 watt transistor head. It was fine, but the audience was seated and we weren't playing loud. There is no way I would go out with my blues/rock band with just a fifteen. The difference is the rig that the guitarist uses and the power of the drummer, then of course is the PA providing bass DI and what type of venue is it?
I don't think there is a hard and fast rule, I think you find what suits you and then adapt to it. Many many years ago I toured the country with a 200 watt GK RB400 and a single fifteen and no PA reinforcement, the memory of that rig regularly farting out continues to haunt me. At the time I did not know any better, but a lesson learned the hard way is a lesson well learned. These days I wouldn't contemplate doing a pub gig without either a 215 or a 610 cabinet (and in my case coupled to a decent tube head). I might not need all that power but the headroom and tone is there and I use the volume control to turn down to the requisite level. IME it is far preferable to have too much power and turn down than have too little power and turn up to a level that is not optimum for the amp/speaker combination.
To get back to the OP's original question, and his financial limitations, I would be looking at a reasonable 8 ohm 410 or 212 (as he mentioned), then try to pick up a cheap second hand amp (older Peavey, Hartke, GK or suchlike) until such time as the budget allows an amp upgrade.
I played a gig in a large auditorium last week with a single fifteen and a 350 watt transistor head. It was fine, but the audience was seated and we weren't playing loud. There is no way I would go out with my blues/rock band with just a fifteen. The difference is the rig that the guitarist uses and the power of the drummer, then of course is the PA providing bass DI and what type of venue is it?
I don't think there is a hard and fast rule, I think you find what suits you and then adapt to it. Many many years ago I toured the country with a 200 watt GK RB400 and a single fifteen and no PA reinforcement, the memory of that rig regularly farting out continues to haunt me. At the time I did not know any better, but a lesson learned the hard way is a lesson well learned. These days I wouldn't contemplate doing a pub gig without either a 215 or a 610 cabinet (and in my case coupled to a decent tube head). I might not need all that power but the headroom and tone is there and I use the volume control to turn down to the requisite level. IME it is far preferable to have too much power and turn down than have too little power and turn up to a level that is not optimum for the amp/speaker combination.
To get back to the OP's original question, and his financial limitations, I would be looking at a reasonable 8 ohm 410 or 212 (as he mentioned), then try to pick up a cheap second hand amp (older Peavey, Hartke, GK or suchlike) until such time as the budget allows an amp upgrade.
We're talking public bars on Shetland Islands here. I expect they are smaller than the average Scottish bar, which ain't big.
Buy a used hartke or something, if Thomann is able to ship to where you live it's possible someone else can as well. I used a hartke HA3500 for a couple of years with 2 vx410 cabs and it sounded great and was plenty loud ( I played metal), so 1 410cab + the hartke should be enough and they can be had very cheap.
The vx410 cab isn't the best one out there, but it's cheap and sounds great with that head.
Another option is a used ashdown, which is also cheap and pretty solid. You can also just buy the head used...
Good luck!
The vx410 cab isn't the best one out there, but it's cheap and sounds great with that head.
Another option is a used ashdown, which is also cheap and pretty solid. You can also just buy the head used...
Good luck!
As a point of reference for what others are using, Ten Tonne Dozer, the local metal act (they won best metal act at the SAMA awards), their bassist is using an 80s Laney Probass head with matching cab. It thunders. The local pubs hold about 100 - 150 people in the performing room, there's more space but it's either upstairs or downstairs. There are loads of halls around as well with probably around a 300 person capacity.
