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How many watts/cabinets do i need to gig with??

#42
To me it all depends on the tone you are looking to get, and whether or not there is a PA.

With a 210 cab and a 300 watt head, you can dial in a bright low-mid strong tone that will punch through and get you through the gig. If you have PA support, that is also a very good approach since you won't put a lot of sound into the room, letting the soundman do his job more effectively. If you are going this route its nice to get the cab closer to ear level or angled up at you.

If you want a fat, full, clear sound, and are not using a strong PA, and are playing loud rock or funk, 500-1000w and some efficient cabs that can handle (4x10 or equivalent is about the minimum) it is the only thing that has been able to get me there. Anything less and I've always been unhappy with the results (in fact, most 500 watt heads won't cut it for me).

If you are playing big stages, even 1000w through a 15+410 stack can start to sound thin as you walk out toward your mic, hopefully though if you are at that level you'll have side fills and monitors to fill out the stage sound .... but sometimes not :scowl: Thats why you see multiple 8x10s in backlines on those big stages.

Watts are your friends, and so are efficient speakers. Its much easier to turn down than turn up ;)
 
#43
pickles said:
Watts are your friends, and so are efficient speakers. Its much easier to turn down than turn up ;)
Click to expand...

I agree, right on, keep preachin' :bassist: !
I also recommend bringing your favorite graphic equalizer with you. My favorite equalizer is a large, brightly painted cricket bat that I use to bludgeon the ofending guitarist/drummer/whomever with until they turn down :D .
 
#44
I have a pair of rack rigs and each contains a Stewart World 2.1. The Stew 2.1 is 2100 watts bridged into 4 ohms, 650 watts/ch into 4 ohms, 450 watts/ch into 8 ohms. At big gigs, I bridge into 4 ohms. Sometimes I use stereo (2 x 8 ohms) or run one channel into a 4 or 2.67 ohm load. Even my smallest config (an 8 ohm 2x10) will have 450 watts available: overkill at house jams where no drummer is involved, but that's what volume knobs are for.

I could probably get by with a 300 watt tube amp, but they're too heavy for my poor achin' back.
 
#45
remo said:
ok this is driving me nuts.. I can't figure out which head will suit me! I've read WAY too much about "underpowering" "tube vs. solid state amps", "pre->power amp combos" etc etc... I've tangled my brain :bawl:

can you guys simply suggest a well matched head for the following 2 Avatar cabs:

b210NEO (600w's) 8 or 4 ohm
B212 (1000w's) 8 or 4 ohm

(I don't know what the best ohm rating to get is)

I want to be able to run the 210 on its own at rehearsals and run both comfortably at gigs ... please just throw a few suggestions at me :help: :help: :help:
Click to expand...

GK 700RB-II or 1001RB-II
If you plan on using two cabs, get them in 8 ohms each for a 4 ohm load total. That's probably the better approach, because if you get one cab and you're like many of us here, you'll want another in short order! ;)
 
#46
Ben Clarke said:
Unreal.

Maybe if you threw a sticky up there about what speaker sensitivity is, you wouldn't have to answer this question every day. I've seen exactly one reference to it in this thread, and one reference to actual SPL. Freakin silly.

Sorry if I'm a bit bent, but watts don't mean a thing without considering the whole picture. Can a 200HP tractor go faster than a 100HP street bike?
Click to expand...

Amen! Speaker sensitivity is a huge factor, and was one reason I bought an SWR Goliath III 4x10, which has a 105 db/watt/m rating.

I totally appreciate the importance of headroom, and the necessity for serious wattage when competing with loud guitars in a large room. But in small clubs, even going up against two guitars and drums, I've always been fine with my 4x10 and a GK 700RB providing 225 watts into the SWR's 8 ohms. In fact, I've been told it's too loud at times.

However, once I used a friend's Ampeg cabinet with a 98 db/watt/m sensitivity rating, and even in a small, acoustically live room, my GK was pushed to the max. Another 200 watts would have been real nice. (Well, I guess that's always true!)
 
#50
I'm thinking of upgrading my rig, so was reading this and other related threads. Let me just ask for opinions on my current plan, maybe you can send me in a different direction.

I play bass and sing in a classic/retro rock band. I've only been playing out for two years, so relatively inexperienced. We play mostly clubs/bars - 75-200 people venues; occasional larger shows for charities, outdoor events etc. But we're not playing large halls. I currently have a Peavey Mark III head (150W @ 4 ohms) and a Peavey 410TX half stack (8 ohms), so from reading most of the opinions here, I'm VERY underpowered today. I get that. But we almost always have a good PA to run to, so it hasn't been a problem. I also have a Line6 Lowdown 110 combo for practice - 75W. Sometimes I use it as a preamp into the Peavey rig cuz I like some of the modeled amp tones.

I'm thinking of getting a bigger head - 400W or so - maybe an Ampeg SVT450. For cabs, I'm thinking of either keeping the Peavey 410 for now, eventually getting a better 410 cab. But adding a 15" cab for more bottom, like an Ampeg B115 for example. I'm thinking I can just bring one cab for smaller venues (save my back, I'm old), both for larger venues. Or instead of keeping/upgrading the 410 cab, would it be just as useful to buy a 210 cab, making the cab combo a 210 and 115?

Thanks for your :help:!
 
#51
Depends on genre IMO...

I'm in a two man stoner rock band... Drums and bass nothing else. This type of music is supposed to be loud IMO, so I'm going to use two amps (Sunn concert bass and Earth Sound Research producer). 200 watts and 220 watts. I'm going to use them to run a 4x10, 1x18, 4x12, and a 2x15. Some would say this is too much, but I believe the music I'm playing should be loud as hell, so it's going to be, no matter where we play.

So there's my two cents. Do whatever YOU feel is appropriate.
 
#55
I've gigged direct to the PA, I've gigged into my 300W 1x15 combo that went direct to the PA, I've gigged with a SWR WM15 and no PA support, I've gigged with an old broke down Peavey 1x15 with no PA support, I've gigged with a 100W Crate that was mic'd, I've gigged with an SVT & 8x10...

But I've never played anything bigger than ~300 person room. :D

I plan to gig with my Bassman 135/2x15 but my band's still in the early stages of songwriting so it will be a bit.

If you have PA support it doesn't really matter that you even have an amp or cabs. If you don't have PA support, it depends on the venue. Outdoors requires more volume. If you're worried that you won't be heard, elevate your cab & it will project a little better.
 
#56
I think it's wise advice to always buy as many watts as you can afford, and NEVER skimp on your speaker cabs. I gig, (bars/house PA), with 300 watts, and a 2x12. Loud rock band. But if you're young, and jamming loud in the garage, you need even MORE speakers. I think that fact gets lost sometimes, since it's quite easy to gig a proper club, with a proper PA system with much less bass amp than you'd need in the garage.
 
#58
I think I need a bigger rig, I play with 2 guitars, drums and we just added keys. the two guitars are using fender twins and constantly have volume wars. I have a Trace Elliot 350 watt into an 8 ohm LDS single 15, and i push have to push the rig to be heard. This is only practice, we are still about 6 months from gigging. I think i need to add another 15 for practice/gigs, or upgrade everything and maybe go the LMIII route with a decent set of cabs. :hmm:
 

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