Does more watts = more tone?

[georgestrings]

I was going to say something along the lines of a couple of Ken's points, but he beat me to it... If you mostly push mids, you probably won't notice a tonal difference with additional watts... If you like a clean sound with lots of low end, then you *might* notice a tonal difference with additional watts - and if you like the sound of a driven amp, more watts can actually be a negative...

I know that in *my* situation, an amp that has plenty of headroom left sounds better than one that's being pushed hard - but I like lots of clean low end, which eats watts up - especially when I'm digging in while in the lower registers... An amp that's running out of headroom doesn't respond the same way in those situations...

Like Ken said, it depends...


- georgestrings

 

[billfitzmaurice]

I realize having more watts makes you louder

Not necessarily.

 

[Mark Olson]

Let me get my recorder back... It won't be studio'd like your's is, it'll be live.

I wouldn't say my clips were done in a studio... all I did was put a 57 on my cab and run it straight into a soundcard and into audacity on my computer. There's absolutely no post production whatsoever. Of course live, if you amplify it loud enough you can't hear the difference between a fart and a cello, but that doesn't mean there's no difference in their musicality.

 

[mowburger]

more watts=more headroom=better tone, IF... like me you have to boost your eq section to get a lil more volume out of your rig, I feel like if I had an uber amount of wattage(1000+) I could set my tone/eq more moderetly rather than trying to boost certain frequencies to get a more powerful sound on stage. OTH I don't like the sound of tubes breaking up or getting growly or mushy on bass, grit/grind/distortion/ovrdrv is for guitars IMO. if you like that kind of tone, than nothing I said applies to you. you need to match the wattage to the volume you have to play at, AND the sound of ampX at that volume. very subjective question.

 

[bovine mind]

that's your speakers bottoming out. may want to back off it a little to avoid damaging them.

Listen to Jimmy!

Trust me, I had the exact same problem with my older 810, it's most likely the sound of the speakers slamming against a component inside the cabinet, I can't recall exactly what but the speakers are probably being pistoned as far as they can travel. I like a lot of subby low end in my tone and it would always happen when I used a low pass filter with the sweep down to the lowest frequencies.

 

[Gizmot]

More power doesn't equal better tone - - and you need lots more power to play noticeably louder. Too much power is a good thing to have especially for the dynamics

 

[BassNGuns]

more watts=more headroom=better tone.

+1
I totally agree with this statement, especially if you think a cleaner signal gives you a better tone.
The less power you have, the easier it is to distort.

 

[AwkwardLoudness]

I think 'more watts' contributes to better tone for loud volumes. Having appropriate cabs and speakers is necessary too, of course. I love the sound of saturated power tubes at loud thumping volume.

There are plenty of low wattage amps that have great tone, but don't have the headroom and volume of higher powered amps..

 

[joeydavidson]

I guess it all depends on your tonal goals. I like the sound of a clean or (near clean) amp putting out low deep bass and really pushing the speakers, so you could say more watts 'could' help the tone in this situation.

 

[aledeville]

+1
I totally agree with this statement, especially if you think a cleaner signal gives you a better tone.
The less power you have, the easier it is to distort.

If you push a poweramp that doesn't mean automatically that it starts to distort. At first the sound gets compressed. That signal is still clean, but thicker and fatter. It cuts better through the mix.
A 1000W amp played at low levels can also have it's charms though.

I'd say it depends...

 

[Smurf-o-Deth]

It's all adult diapers. It depends.

 

[MAMMOTHvolume]

Ok, silly question time...

I realize having more watts makes you louder, but does it also improve your tone?

My rig is a Tech 21 Landmark 300 head (300 watts) with Bag End S15-D / S15D-X stack. It sounds good to me, but, if I added say a 500 watt power amp, would it make my rig more punchy? Would the low end sound tighter and more controlled? Would there be crisper more sparkly highs? Or would it just blow up my cabs?

Any insights are greatly appreciated!

if your going by the equal loudness curve then yes.

 

[JimmyM]

If you push a poweramp that doesn't mean automatically that it starts to distort. At first the sound gets compressed.

compression is a type of distortion.

 

[bongomania]

if your going by the equal loudness curve then yes.

Wattage doesn't necessarily have a direct relationship to the equal loudness curve. Too many other factors are involved.

 

[JGR]

I have the Landmark 600 and it sounds great through my S15D's - they like to be fed some power - it really opens up the tone. They sounded great with my GK2001RB as well.

 

[MAMMOTHvolume]

Wattage doesn't necessarily have a direct relationship to the equal loudness curve. Too many other factors are involved.

yes but generally running 1000watts will be louder than 5watts

 

[LeonD]

For years, I've been using amps in the 300 to 500 watt range. I've had more than enough volume and very good tone with these amps. This is a general statement using different basses / cabinets and amps from different manufactures.

In the last couple of years, I've been using amps in the 900 watt range. Again, with different basses / cabinets and amps from different manufactures.

While the volume has been the same, there seems to be a different quality to the sound. And by quality, I don't mean EQ. For lack of a better term, it just sounds more authoritative. The only thing I can attribute this to is the increase in power. When properly matched to the output of the bass, I think the amp isn't as stressed but has enough power to drive the speakers with a clean signal.

I think this applies clean tones and tones with preamp distortion. If you're looking for that power amp distortion, then all you need is a miked 5 watt amp.

So for me, more power does equal more tone.

 

[greenboy]

More watts = more watts. If they are really more watts and not just marketing figures. And if the fuse hasn't blown.

That is all. Now more something interesting.

 

[bongomania]

yes but generally running 1000watts will be louder than 5watts

Sure, but do you think 1000 W has better tone than 5 W, because of the equal loudness curve? I just don't get what you're trying to say. Remember the OP's question was about tone, and your answer was about the equal loudness curve.

 

[MAMMOTHvolume]

Sure, but do you think 1000 W has better tone than 5 W, because of the equal loudness curve? I just don't get what you're trying to say. Remember the OP's question was about tone, and your answer was about the equal loudness curve.

tone is always subjective, but generally things sound better the louder they are due to the equal loudness effect