That rig should cover pretty much any need. Just curious, how hard did you have to push the amp? Those linear pots just keep on giving!
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Does anybody really need more than 500 watts?
- Thread starter Joe Nerve
- Start date
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I've had 500 watt class D heads for the past decade. Before that 300 watts of Trace Elliott. I can't think of a single time I had it up over 50%.
I have a Darkglass Microtubes 900....never been past 12 o'clock. Kick in the OD channel and it takes off!!!!
Plenty of headroom. I couldn't even imagine how loud it would be all the way up.
Plenty of headroom. I couldn't even imagine how loud it would be all the way up.
Whatever the D800 is has proven to be enough for me.
*edit* Go figure - its 800 watts lol.
500 isn’t always enough through certain speaker cabinets, IME. There’s definitely a difference in how amp responds between 500 and 800 watts. Typically, I prefer the 500, but that Mesa just does the right things for me.
Now that I think of it my old 800RB never ran out of gas on the loudest stages I've ever been on. 300 watts. It does get a bit gritty when pushed hard but in a good way.
EXACTLY! Going from 500 to 700 watts is an increase of 40% but you'll barely heard the difference.
Double or nothing. Either double your power or you'll gain nothing. Better yet use more / more efficient speakers.
MDBass
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More wattage does not mean more volume.
More wattage means more headroom, and better dynamics and transient response.
Always better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
Curious: I've been playing Carvin amps since the early '90's. What do you not trust about your Carvin? My early '90's PB300 head is still going strong with no repairs or mods in my rehearsal space; concededly the capacitors are getting a little hissy, and that's the only reason I don't gig it in my heavier band anymore: new digital boards really pick up on the hiss on the XLR line out. It used to get compliments from sound guys that it was the cleanest line out they ever plugged into their boards, until digital technology. My MB12 combo I still gig, and even stack it on a 1X15 when I want more girth.
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Are you playing in an aggressive metal band doing battle with 3 mesa triple rectifiers and a drummer who wields baseball bats for sticks?
Does your tone make Bill Laswell blush?
If not, 500 is plenty.
My main band is a corporate/wedding/club band. I have a 250 watt backup that could cover it all. LOL... a 100 watt backup would do the job. We have our own sound people, and when we have horns they even put me in the monitors.
The thing is, since Covid I'm once again open to anything - and I've played in lots of different types of bands. I feel something loud and heavy coming on soon, too.
I was one of the lucky people to get one of the very first BX500s. It gave me a hard time cutting in and out. I took all the suggestions, Deox-ed it and everything, and then it finally just crapped out on me. Traded it in for a BX700 and now I've been having similar issues. Volume drops out, when I bang on it, it comes back in. My sound guy is a certified tech for a bunch of companies he dove into it. He told me he hard wired all the computer cables, but then it happened again. We realized that the issue the last time it happened may have been a speaker cable - and we're not playing a whole lot lately, so... well... for peace of mind I think its time to pick up something I feel safe with. The BX700 might be fine, but I want something new. And I always loved Hartke amps, but never had one.
With my main band I'm using a GK Neo 212. All my other gigs I use 2 Carvin 15" cabs.
These are the words that have me tangled up
. I believe this to be true also, but wondering if I'll ever even need that extra headroom. And or even ever notice it with above mentioned speaker cabs I have.
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See above
.I should add to that post that I was playing lots. Averaging over 100 3 set gigs a year... till Covid. And the head lives on a truck.
IMO not all 500 watt heads/amps are created equal. I’m very happy with the sound of my Aguilar TH500. But I don’t feel it’s 500 watts can equal the volume that my similarly rated Crest CA9 provides. I use my TH500 for smaller rooms that don’t require a lot of volume, and it does a wonderful job. Whenever I require more volume, I always take my CA9.
My main band is a corporate/wedding/club band. I have a 250 watt backup that could cover it all. LOL... a 100 watt backup would do the job. We have our own sound people, and when we have horns they even put me in the monitors.
The thing is, since Covid I'm once again open to anything - and I've played in lots of different types of bands. I feel something loud and heavy coming on soon, too.
I was one of the lucky people to get one of the very first BX500s. It gave me a hard time cutting in and out. I took all the suggestions, Deox-ed it and everything, and then it finally just crapped out on me. Traded it in for a BX700 and now I've been having similar issues. Volume drops out, when I bang on it, it comes back in. My sound guy is a certified tech for a bunch of companies he dove into it. He told me he hard wired all the computer cables, but then it happened again. We realized that the issue the last time it happened may have been a speaker cable - and we're not playing a whole lot lately, so... well... for peace of mind I think its time to pick up something I feel safe with. The BX700 might be fine, but I want something new. And I always loved Hartke amps, but never had one.
With my main band I'm using a GK Neo 212. All my other gigs I use 2 Carvin 15" cabs.
These are the words that have me tangled up
That is pretty much exactly what my BX500 was doing and it is a real shame because the tone was great; I literally loved everything else about it. Got a GK MB500 and only had one issue at a gig that was powered by a generator.
Yep, love my BX1500!
I used the bi-amping aspect exclusively. Have had the ribbon cable experience but usually, it's only about once every two years.
It usually reared its ugly head at a rehearsal before a gig, fixed it, and it would be good for another two years.
After Carvin Audio folded up and there was no more support for it, I figured it was time to get something new that would be supported over the long haul.
Enter a new Mesa WD 800
No bi-amping with the WD which is fine, as I don't drag around all the cabs I need for that anyway. I have run the Mesa into the still working BX1500 and tried the Mesa bi-amped through that, cool I like the power amp damping though and you don't get that bypassing the power amp in the Mesa.Anyway...
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Capacitors don't get "hissy".
I would hope he gives up on being a tech... certified or otherwise. Why on earth would anybody think hard wiring all of the connectors was a good idea? What happened to troubleshooting and actually identifying the cause before ruining a perfectly good amp?
In road bike forums "Do you really need a 12 lb full carbon bike?"
You'd be surprised at the number of yes answers and in real world, how many people climb with those bikes every week or can keep at 25mph pace for 2 hours. Most of the time they are used to pass parents pushing strollers in multi-use bike/walk paths. Same with music gear. But hobbyist keep the commerce going.
I wonder what the data looks like for say example Mesa and how many of the X-800s sold are used constantly in loud situations at least 2 nights a week (disregard covid for a minute).
I bought an Ibanez practice amp today for 10 bucks at Goodwill. I think it is 10-15 watt. Not bad
You'd be surprised at the number of yes answers and in real world, how many people climb with those bikes every week or can keep at 25mph pace for 2 hours. Most of the time they are used to pass parents pushing strollers in multi-use bike/walk paths. Same with music gear. But hobbyist keep the commerce going.
I wonder what the data looks like for say example Mesa and how many of the X-800s sold are used constantly in loud situations at least 2 nights a week (disregard covid for a minute).
I bought an Ibanez practice amp today for 10 bucks at Goodwill. I think it is 10-15 watt. Not bad
