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How many watts does your guitarist need

#21
Our guitarist uses a 15W Marshall, that is usually on 1-2 (amazingly loud, even that 'low'), whether rehearsing or playing live. The latter scenario mic'd, I believe.

He says it's hard to get the tone/sound he wants, without deafening us all. Those amps definitely need pushed a bit, to get that breakup.
 
#23
The Deluxe Reverb and Ultimate Chorus should be fine together. The problem here isn't wattage, it's loudness. Like with bass, watts just equal clean headroom. So long as everyone plays nice with the volume, you should be ok. These are both solid state amps, so they do need higher wattage than a tube amp. A 15 watt tube amp will be loud, but will also distort in a pleasing manner. A solid state amp pushed to distort in the same manner will sound like moist ***.
 
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#25
IMHO. From my perspective the ideal wattage is probably between 12W and 25W. But this assumes the guitarist kicks the amp back to aim at his ears and adjusts the sound accordingly. Let's be clear, even a 25W amp can be brutally loud if it's cranked into an efficient cab.

Unfortunately, most guitarists seem to hate the sound the comes out of the front of their amp. Many prefer using an open back cab and a huge amp. They crank the amp and focus off the nice diffuse field that forms from the reflections coming out the back of the rig and bouncing around the stage. This approach makes the guitarist feel like they are engulfed in a nice warm and responsive tone. It's easy to understand why the love it. Unfortunately, it often means everyone else is overwhelmed by the guitars massive volume.
 
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#26
Quite honestly, a guitarist only needs 20w-30w. Just my opinion. And a limit on the amount of bass. I play and listen to mostly R&B, Funk, Smooth Jazz and Contemporary Pop music. I can't stand heavy guitar and chords played up by the headstock. R&B guitar is way different than Rock guitar playing.

Again, just my opinion.
 
#27
Old Fart said:
You can't be serious. You have a guitarist who can control his volume?

I've had them look at me and, dead serious, say their blazingly loud amp can't go lower.
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Yep!

Believe it or not, we sometimes even ask him to turn UP. But, he also runs sound so he's very aware of the overall mix. We're lucky that, as a band, we are good about creating a good overall mix.

I also play in a weekly basement jam session and the guitar players and drummer have a very difficult time with their overall volume as well as with dynamics (some songs or parts of songs need to be softer, some louder). Everything they play is at one volume level that always gets louder as the night goes on. :rollno:

I realize that I'm lucky to play in a gigging band that has a high level of musical maturity. And I'm doubly lucky because I'm a late starter and this is my first gigging band. I learn so much from playing with them and am grateful for getting this kind of experience right from the start.
 
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#37
75B8C6FE-94AB-43CC-A89E-1755F7E0B5EE.jpeg
 
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#39
Cory rich40 said:
.,.. our singer can’t hit those minor chords and won’t practice to be able to do it. ... But he isn’t horrible and is the best we have played with in 20 years...
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I'm sorry, but a guitarist who "can't hit those minor chords" is, if not horrible, inadequate.
 
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#40
The difference in power between the two amps is essentially negligible. It sure seems to me like going from an acoustic rhythm guitar to a Telecaster is a fairly radical change of tonality, but what do I know?

As stated, it's easy enough to balance the two guitars since both rigs have volume controls. Doh! :facepalm:
 

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