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Guitar vs bass wattage

C

CliffHarrisFan

Apr 11, 2009
56
0
#1
Hi all,
As I am in the market for a new amp, I need some wattage recomendations. I use a Steve Harris Signature Fender P (if that's helpful). One of my guitarists is upgrading to a Marshall 100w combo (and I assume the other guitarist will do the same). I have heard recomendations that bass should be 3 times the wattage of guitar. Is this 3 times the wattage of 1 or both guitarists?

Also, would anyone be able to make any recomendations for amps? I've had my eye on Marshall, Peavey, Trace Elliot Gallien Krueger and Ampeg with £1000 budget for a head that a 600w cab @ 4 ohms can handle.

Thanks,
Louis.
 
#2
No rule on wattage vs wattage works. Make sure you have bigger cabs than them, so they look to be on the wrong side of a volume war they might start.

Give some more details of the sort of sound you are after. Big low end needs big power and big cabs, drivier tones is less power hungry.
 
#3
I played guitar for years 20+ before seeing the 'light' (actually it was the MONEY) and moved to bass. My Ashdown MK500 (575 watts) keeps up with my 45 Watt Victoria if I am useing 1 2X10 cab. If I were playing with a pair of these I would also use my2x12 as well. My sons Hartke HD1000 (1000 watts) is not any louder than my Ashdown -go figure. An STV at 300 watts is stupid loud but they are invariably paired with an 8X10 cab - those cabs can wake the dead. We are use to units of measure that mean something 'watts' in terms of amps are USELESS. Plan on getting a 4X10 at the very least.
Cherrs
Telll your mates to buy smaller amps and crank them - it always sounds better.
 
#5
I saw a 4 piece rock band a few months ago and the guitar player had a fender twin (100 watts) and the bass player had an old GK 800rb (they are 300 watts now, but I believe they used to be less, and this one was old) into a beat up ampeg 6x10 and even on the guitar players side of the stage all I heard was bass. LOTS of bass!

Also remember it's usually 5 times the wattage for double the perceived volume
 
#6
Our guitarist also plays a 100W Marshall and after a while my 200W combo was struggling to keep up. About 6 months ago I went with a Hartke Hydrive 4x10 combo (with 500W head) and have had plenty of headroom since -- rarely need to play above 6 on the volume to cut through so I'm probably only using 300W or so. I suppose the 3:1 rule works but Foxen's comment about the type of sound you're looking for is appropriate. We're only a 3-piece so I tend to look for highs/mids to fill out the space and play with roundwounds. With two guitars in your group, you may want/need to seek the lows as opposed to competing in the "guitar sound space." There are some really good older threads here that talk about wattage/ohms/volume in great detail and are far more technical than I can speak to.

I like my Hartke, but cabinet sound is so subjective that I'd suggest you try several kinds before you decide. You may even ask if one of your local shops would allow you to "test drive" some used equipment at practice to get a better idea. I was fortunate in my area that our locally run shop let me take a couple of cabinets home with me one weekend. Good luck to ya!
 

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