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How many watts do I need?
- Thread starter pcon
- Start date
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,614
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
You cant under power a cab, and the majority of cabs on the market list thermal ratings for voice coils, not excursion limits. So the marketed rating mean little. To the OP: Use your ears, when the cab sounds like you are pushing it too hard, you are.
On a SS head if you go below the listed impedance ratings have a fire extinguisher handy, you will fry your head. For tube heads there may be a little leeway but you are stressing your tubes. Match the impedance properly and they will last longer.
My unscientific rule of thumb is that basses need at least 5 times the power of a guitar to produce similar volume.
So 500 to 1000 watts is a good range to look at depending on budget and needs in my opinion.
Too much power is just right!
I have 500 but wish I had 1000 even for home practice.
So 500 to 1000 watts is a good range to look at depending on budget and needs in my opinion.
Too much power is just right!
I have 500 but wish I had 1000 even for home practice.
Let's see.....you're looking for something that can go from practice to coffee club to bar to stage and you're liking the GK tone and don't want a lot of weight to carry around.
I'd recommend the GK MB210 combo. The 2x10 cab layout is perfect for practice and coffee club settings and then when you get to the bar and stage scene you can add a MBE15 extension cab. Any venue bigger than that you can run to the PA system or mic. The MB210 combo puts out 500watts with the extension cab or 250watts without the extension cab. The combo only weighs 32 pounds and can be carried with one hand via the handle on top. Solid rig, great tone, light weight, expandable, high enough power for most gigs and won't start a sound war with your Guitards. The combo runs about $500 new at GC and the extension cab can be purchased when you actually need it and after you've got some gig money saved up.
If it's a sound war you want then buy an Ampeg SVT-VR and run it into a pair of Bergantino NV610's at full volume (with hearing protection and safety glasses). After you've shattered their eardrums and all the glass in the room you can have a little discussion about the importance of managing sound to reasonable levels.
I'd recommend the GK MB210 combo. The 2x10 cab layout is perfect for practice and coffee club settings and then when you get to the bar and stage scene you can add a MBE15 extension cab. Any venue bigger than that you can run to the PA system or mic. The MB210 combo puts out 500watts with the extension cab or 250watts without the extension cab. The combo only weighs 32 pounds and can be carried with one hand via the handle on top. Solid rig, great tone, light weight, expandable, high enough power for most gigs and won't start a sound war with your Guitards. The combo runs about $500 new at GC and the extension cab can be purchased when you actually need it and after you've got some gig money saved up.
If it's a sound war you want then buy an Ampeg SVT-VR and run it into a pair of Bergantino NV610's at full volume (with hearing protection and safety glasses). After you've shattered their eardrums and all the glass in the room you can have a little discussion about the importance of managing sound to reasonable levels.
A combo amp eh? Hmmm. I read somewhere that people didn't recommend combos because they weren't versatile enough. I saw the MB combos, just didn't know if they'd be worth getting.
- Philippe
- Philippe
Let's see.....you're looking for something that can go from practice to coffee club to bar to stage and you're liking the GK tone and don't want a lot of weight to carry around.
I'd recommend the GK MB210 combo. The 2x10 cab layout is perfect for practice and coffee club settings and then when you get to the bar and stage scene you can add a MBE15 extension cab. Any venue bigger than that you can run to the PA system or mic. The MB210 combo puts out 500watts with the extension cab or 250watts without the extension cab. The combo only weighs 32 pounds and can be carried with one hand via the handle on top. Solid rig, great tone, light weight, expandable, high enough power for most gigs and won't start a sound war with your Guitards. The combo runs about $500 new at GC and the extension cab can be purchased when you actually need it and after you've got some gig money saved up.
If it's a sound war you want then buy an Ampeg SVT-VR and run it into a pair of Bergantino NV610's at full volume (with hearing protection and safety glasses). After you've shattered their eardrums and all the glass in the room you can have a little discussion about the importance of managing sound to reasonable levels.
One reason is it simply takes more power and the speakers excursion ability to physically move more air to get lower frequencies out there at similair volume as middle/upper frequencies, where guitars live. It's why a 40 watt guitar amp with 1 speaker can be a pretty loud gig rig, and the same configuration for bass wouldn't amount to much more than a little practice amp. Our ears are also more sensitive to middle frequencies, like where our voices, and guitars sit, than they are to the very lows or highs.....another advantage for guitar. These are acoustics/physics laws that no amount of technology can break.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,614
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
The 2001rb?......those things can carry stadiums, man.
1080 watts bridged @ 4ohms is not much less than a Crest CA6 lead sled (1500 watts bridged @ 4 ohms), which is a pretty typical old school power amp. A stadium FOH would require 20 of those!
To have twice the loudness (~+10 dB), you need 10 times the watts.
So start with a bigger head and one 410. Add another 410 if it is not enough.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,614
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
A completely modular system can be changed one piece at a time. Obviously, a combo "combines" the amplifier and a speaker cabinet/driver(s) in one unit. Some sound great, but they do "tie-up" more capitol, are generally heavier, and require you to replace/repair both pieces if you want only to replace/repair one.
An honestly rated 500watt combo with 2x10s and extension cab capability for another 2x10 or 1x15 cab and also equipped with XLR out capability that only weighs 32 pounds, can be carried with one hand and is reliable and sounds great is a home run in my book. That's why I bought one, not to mention that it easily double duties as a practice amp.
Sure I also have an SVT-VR/Berg610 rig for the big outdoor gigs but that's only because I had it first. Had I already owned the GK MB210 with a MB115E I probably could have got by on 90% of my gigs without ever needing the SVT and just using the PA instead. And at $500 I would have saved a bunch. If you have a Guitar Center nearby try the GK MB210 out, take it to a band practice and see if you need the extension cab, if so try it with the 1x15 extension. It's a very capable and very loud combo and the good news is because of the neyodium speakers you can schlep it in and out with one hand (try that with a typical 210cab and separate 300 watt tube head).
1 MILLION WATTS!!! BLAHHH!!!!! Really, the more watts you have, the less you have to turn up. It will give you a cleaner tone at lesser volume. I am extremely happy with my 850w, but I know others around TB that are just as comfortable with less wattage and some that have much more! Portability, functionality and tone will all sway your decision to go from 65w to 2500w..
