You should try to demo the NY122 with your LMIII. I swear there is something magical about that combination.You just made me want a 2x12 for my LMIII. Just can't justify the purchase with zero gigs.
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Does anybody really need more than 500 watts?
- Thread starter Joe Nerve
- Start date
You just made me want a 2x12 for my LMIII. Just can't justify the purchase with zero gigs.
Meet my 212 Ninja + 1000 Watts Little Mark Ninja = heaven.
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So many variables on this topic, Joe. Numbers can be deceptive. Just because something is rated in MEGA watts doesn't mean it can produce a usable signal that you'd be happy with. How good is the clean tone? What type of gigs are you using it for? How well will it match your existing cabs? I always thought about getting the most out of the gear I already had rather than replacing it with new stuff. Once the gear didn't meet the task at hand, then the reason for the new gear was clear: whatever the task at hand was. The new gear was spec'd around that. In the old days if an amp fried and you were the house band at a club, you'd get a working specimen of what just fried. You didn't really go nuts over it. SVT and a fridge. Check. These days it can be much more confusing but the basic premise remains the same. Fit the gear to the gig and not the other way around. Think of gear as part of your stage costume. What is needed to be successful in that situation? If the only difference between two models is power, let the price determine whether or not more is justified. Having the extra and never needing it is fine. Don't go broke buying a super sized amp when a medium will do. Hope this helps.
Really depends on your speaker system (S). Large efficient systems and FOH connection you probably do not need 500 W. But if you are old and broken down like me, the smaller and LIGHTER bass speaker systems like those from Quilter Labs even 'tho nicely efficient, need some low end boost when I play 5-string. And that requires some power.
Hi Roger, are you the Roger Cox who co-created the SVT and many other classic 70's Ampeg amps?
I used a 700 watt SWR head and a Aguilar 210 cab with a EV 15 cab. Never did I have to crank it playing even outside gigs. I finally got tired of lugging it all around. I finally sold it all and bought me a MarkBass Jeff Berlin combo with a 15in speaker rated a 300 watt are 500 watt adding another speaker cab. I never had to add another cab. The amp at 300 watts was plenty for outside gig or inside, and never did I have to crank it. And at 47pds lot easier to get around then my other rig.
That Magellan 350 is a honey! Gets plenty loud with 1x12". With 2 cabs it should be more than most people need. IMHO
Depends on what sound you want really and type of venue. An Orange Terror bass 500 amp has a preamp tube and solid state where as the Quilter BB800 is a pure clean tone but with extra slam being 800 watts. Could always try that and throw an Orange pedal in front of it. Best of both worlds.
Then it just depends on the cab. As I play heavy metal and hard rock (AC/DC) an Ampeg 500 watt 4x10 is plenty and pair it with an Orange Terror 500 watt amp. Good combo and no need for a pedal as the amp has a dirty setting. You'd only really need an 8x10 or two 4x10s for outdoor festivals or stadiums. Cliff from AC/DC uses 8x10s and since they don't play pubs or small venues anymore..that's the way to go.
Then it just depends on the cab. As I play heavy metal and hard rock (AC/DC) an Ampeg 500 watt 4x10 is plenty and pair it with an Orange Terror 500 watt amp. Good combo and no need for a pedal as the amp has a dirty setting. You'd only really need an 8x10 or two 4x10s for outdoor festivals or stadiums. Cliff from AC/DC uses 8x10s and since they don't play pubs or small venues anymore..that's the way to go.
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Here's an interesting article on the logarithmic relationship between watts (power) and decibels (loudness). I'm not that smart, so you'll have to read it yourself.
Relationship Between Watts and dBs
Relationship Between Watts and dBs
My boy uses a D800+ mated to a 2x3015 cab. Honestly, it's a little much for the rooms they play. But if he needs more volume, it's all there and then some.
I analogize it to having enough horsepower to pass that semi comfortably before the passing lane peters out.
I analogize it to having enough horsepower to pass that semi comfortably before the passing lane peters out.
Wait; 200 HP is enough for car?
NEVER!
I've got a 480 lb. motorcycle that makes 125 RWHP. So 780 HP for a 3,000 lb car
(and other than the SVT reference amp), my amps are either 500, 800, or 1500 watts at 4 Ohms for plenty o' clean headroom
So you were being cheeky then. Seems I'm the guy who missed. : DWait; 200 HP is enough for car?
NEVER!
I've got a 480 lb. motorcycle that makes 125 RWHP. So 780 HP for a 3,000 lb car
(and other than the SVT reference amp), my amps are either 500, 800, or 1500 watts at 4 Ohms for plenty o' clean headroom
My favorite amp of all time is rated for more than 500 watts. I’m sure I never push it hard enough to output 500 watts. Far from it. Since it’s the only head that sounds the way it does I do in fact need more than 500 watts even if I don’t use all of said watts.
My Mini Cooper had more than that.
Car analogy. Eons ago I was tailgated by a crazy person at night on a straight hwy. He would move behind me no matter which lane I moved into. So I swore to always be able to outrun and out handle and out stop, anything.
I would take 1000w in cab solution to outdoor gigs, no band shell and provide clean full undistorted sound. I would use the same cab in a single acoustic guitarist singer songwriter through modest PA setting for 50 people and sound big present and clear. The watts allow dynamics without any effort.
Not about ego or volume.
My Acme B2 cabinet is fairly inefficient, so I do need the extra wattage that my G-B Shuttle 6.2 provides. Of course, two 8 ohms B2's would be better than the one 4 ohms cab I have, but I'm not complaining (until we get outdoor gigs).
