He was a Joe Perry fan. It was a little 1x12 boogie 22, with a 1x12 extension cab. He was more of a rocker than a metalhead. That descending riff on hold on loosely was where that amp really showed off.
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How big should I go? 100w vs 500w
- Thread starter Gonzalo Sanchez
- Start date
That weight thing is fantastic. I have an 18lb Rumble 40, that doesn't seem like that much more weight for way more power.
My experience is that 100w is not enough to gig with unless you are also running through the mixer and sub - then it might be OK for stage volume. It's probably not even big enough to rehearse with a full band with.
For the gigs I play, 300w+ is the necessary size. I probably don't use the whole bit most of the time.
If you are concerned with weight, go with a compact head + a cab or two. I use MarkBass Traveler 210 cabs. I typically only need one, but have a second if I'm going to be pumping to a large outdoor setting. These cabs come in at 22lbs, my head is about 6. I get lots of compliments on how good the cabs sound and I'm happy with the modular situation.
For the gigs I play, 300w+ is the necessary size. I probably don't use the whole bit most of the time.
If you are concerned with weight, go with a compact head + a cab or two. I use MarkBass Traveler 210 cabs. I typically only need one, but have a second if I'm going to be pumping to a large outdoor setting. These cabs come in at 22lbs, my head is about 6. I get lots of compliments on how good the cabs sound and I'm happy with the modular situation.
I really like the Markbass Ninja head. I see it is discontinued. I did not know that
That with 1 or 2 small cabs would probably be excellent.
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For punk music, you’ll need volume and room rumble. Pushing a class D to the max will likely have the warning light on. And as others have said, you’ll need an extension cab to get the full 500w. But, the power amp of a combo is very light, so I always buy a 2nd combo instead of just the extension. That way you have plenty of head room, didn’t spend much more to get it, and having 2 is very versatile. By the way, in a rock band, 2 500w class d combos is barely enough to cut it if you’re needing to carry the room. This is my smaller rig when there’s a good size PA and I’m looking to avoid hauling the bigger rig. But, bigger rig goes most of the time.
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I've done that before. I had a pair of SWR WorkingMan 15s that I could stack on their sides. I gigged with that for a year or two.
Like nearly all the people are saying, yeah better have more power: more headroom, more clarity at higher volume then, and will handle stoopid effect pedals required for those genres of music better than a quieter rig. I play jazz in a trio, and can't do less than 500W man... because it simply sounds better at low volume.
Nowadays with ceramic or neodymium speakers it weights almost nothing to have a decent sounding rig rated 500W, if money is not a problem you should invest in a cart too.
Nowadays with ceramic or neodymium speakers it weights almost nothing to have a decent sounding rig rated 500W, if money is not a problem you should invest in a cart too.
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500w. You won't need that many watts, but 100 won't always be enough against drums and guitar. Give yourself some growing room. If you're thinking about the weight, look for a neodymium speaker.
I bought an 800 watt head for my living room. I hope it's loud enough... All jokes aside, for the price of some of these lightweight class d amps, might as well go big. I grabbed a hartke LX8500 for $400 USD from thomann and even with the shipping from Germany, I saved like 180 dollars. I really dig that head with its tube preamp and on-board compressor.
Isn’t the 500 watt Rumble like 35 Lbs? That’s an easy carry, I currently use two 210s that are each 65Lbs.
100 watts, if you’re getting 100 watts out of the attached speakers, is possibly doable but you won’t have anywhere to go. It’s like buying a shoe that *might* be a size too small, sure you can put your foot in it, but if it messes up your feet permanently or makes it painful to walk, then why not get the right size shoe?
I played for decades with a 40 watt combo, mostly because I knew jack about gear and was constantly struggling financially, so bass gear was not a top priority over feeding my family and paying the bills. I played in bands with it, with drummers and guitar players and horn sections, in metal, jazz, rock, country, and blues bands and many house party jam sessions. It finally bit the biscuit around the time I discovered Talkbass, when I also had more money and one less wife, so I started being more interested in gear and playing more with other people. I discovered two things:
- I’d developed a very heavy string attack to compensate for a low powered amp, and it’s a challenge to whoah it up. I use very high tension strings now as a matter of course.
- the concept of headroom
Headroom is like having shoes that fit. Volume knobs go all the way down, but all 10’s on a volume knob are not created equally. Having a big a$$ ol’ amp and being able to bring the thunder with a light touch is pretty amazing, and opens a lot more doors for your playing.
*Always* go for more headroom. You won’t regret it.
100 watts, if you’re getting 100 watts out of the attached speakers, is possibly doable but you won’t have anywhere to go. It’s like buying a shoe that *might* be a size too small, sure you can put your foot in it, but if it messes up your feet permanently or makes it painful to walk, then why not get the right size shoe?
I played for decades with a 40 watt combo, mostly because I knew jack about gear and was constantly struggling financially, so bass gear was not a top priority over feeding my family and paying the bills. I played in bands with it, with drummers and guitar players and horn sections, in metal, jazz, rock, country, and blues bands and many house party jam sessions. It finally bit the biscuit around the time I discovered Talkbass, when I also had more money and one less wife, so I started being more interested in gear and playing more with other people. I discovered two things:
- I’d developed a very heavy string attack to compensate for a low powered amp, and it’s a challenge to whoah it up. I use very high tension strings now as a matter of course.
- the concept of headroom
Headroom is like having shoes that fit. Volume knobs go all the way down, but all 10’s on a volume knob are not created equally. Having a big a$$ ol’ amp and being able to bring the thunder with a light touch is pretty amazing, and opens a lot more doors for your playing.
*Always* go for more headroom. You won’t regret it.
