Does less power but more speakers equal more, less, or equivalent loudness?

In general, more speakers = more air moving = more perceived volume. More speakers also generally means bringing the load from 8 to 4 ohms for your amp.

For amp specs, you need double the wattage of an amp to get 3dB more overall volume out of it. Bassists tend to like headroom, and that's why we tend to like a lot of watts (solid state, speaking).

 

So Anyway, is your Ampeg loud enough for your band? If it isn't, a 40 watt Vox might not be a big enough of a bump.
Not sure where you're located, but your budget range could get a lot of used amp or something lightweight and new.I
Good Luck!

 

Take a look at the Ampeg Portaflex series - you can get a 115 cab and 350 watt amp for around $700. I think that would do everything you need. And that's new. Used I am sure you could do much better.

 

In theory, the Vox will be louder as the 10w difference between the amps is pretty much insignificant. As an earlier poster said more speakers equals more air moved.

 

In theory, maybe. More cone area does yield more volume. However ...

The V-4 model, which was one of the early "Thomas Organ era" models, was actually rated at 35 watts RMS. As a transistor amp, pushing it beyond its rated power would result in clipping, which is really unpleasant. And - cool-looking as it may be - these amps didn't sound very good even at lower volumes. The Oxford drivers in the Essex are probably the least efficient of all the ceramic drivers that could have been used in 1966, and they weren't good bass speakers. I remember blowing these drivers regularly in Fender Bassman cabs.

Not to mention that you have only one tone control on the Essex.

The Ampeg combo you have, despite its one driver and low power, probably sounds better and quite possibly as loud or louder than the old Vox amp. If you're looking for "louder" with good sound in a combo amp, on a budget, I heartily recommend the Traynor SB12 or SB15, or perhaps a used Peavey combo. You'll find them much more versatile and reliable... if you're willing to sacrifice the cool visual-vintage vibe.

 

This line is based around the vintage Ampeg products, the look feel and sound is all very vintage oriented.

 

See if you can find an Ampeg B100r

 

I could only recommend one of these amps if a) you're getting it for a low price, and b) visual coolness is your top priority. Most amps made in the last 30 years will far outperform a solid-state Vox from the 1960s.

 

More drivers = more louder = more better. But don't go lower than the minimum ohms rating. Cheers.

 

There was not a vox bass amp from the sixties that was considered very good. You mentioned limited budget and the amount of problems and probable repairs would make this a poor choice assuming your really gonna use it and not just look at it.

 

The first question I would ask is 'How has time treated this amp?'. Electronics and Speakers may need serious attention which will add to the cost.

The "cool" factor is amazing but could be expensive.

Best of luck to you I hope it works out

 

If you consider late 60's solid state amps, the only thing that stands out and could hold a candle to modern gear is an Acoustic 360. Beyond that, I do not see why I would invest money in an old solid state amp. The modern ones are a much better value for the money.

 

Speaker efficiency (or sensitivity) is the most important difference in loudness for a single speaker. Although one must keep in mind they're typically measured at 1kHz, which is upper midrange area, not low bass output range.

There is a lot of math that tells us the exact results, at the tested frequency, of various speakers in various combinations, knowing their impedance and efficiency.

So if you want to go that far, you can.

But yes, more speakers does mean more volume, simply speaking. And it takes a pretty hefty difference in amplifier power to make similar differences in maximum output volume.