yer. interesting setup, but seems like a 4x10 or even 2x12 cab with a decent head would do you WAY better. but still not be enough for doom stuff.
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How much is enough?
- Thread starter SMILEYSIXX
- Start date
600w makes such a huge difference over 525. btw, last year it was 750w as a minimum. what happened? did you buy a 600w amp that you like? oh yeah, that's right...you did.
I decided to cut folks some slack. Actually, it's a Shuttle 9.0, which is 100 watts below my soon-to-be-released new absolute minimum power recommendation. BTW, that extra 75 watts could give you a whole ½dB volume boost, which some dogs can discern.
I have played in VERY loud punk bands on and off for the last 20 years and have been through some gear along the way. I recently got a 700 watt GK 1001rb and I will tell you it will cut through just about any mix I could think of. It just has a sound that stands out through all the guitar mess. I would grab one of those used and get a desent cab or two. That should be all you would need unless you are going to play Dallas stadium.
i've played arenas with 25w. you don't even need high wattage to play arenas with the pa systems they have.
True. I was thinking of how bad the sound was at the Super Bowl halftime show there and I just would not trust the sound guy.
As far as power goes, you're fine. Not enough speaker area though IMO. For my band, I'm using 3 200 watts amps, into 4 15's, 4 12's and a 1x18. That 600 watts would be nothing without enough speakers. If you're trying to get to the "normal" volume levels of most doom bands, you'll be stressing your speakers and will probably end up blowing drivers. I'd say for a start, ditch the combos and try to find a couple cheap solid state amps from the 70's, 200 or 300 watts each, and find an 8x10 that you can run as 2 4x10's, and you'll be better off for this stuff. And then after that, add another 8x10 and more amps somewhere down the line.
Also note that there's not too many people on here that have any idea what "loud" means in a doom/drone band. What's loud for most other genres is barely passable for this type of music, assuming you're looking for the whole "shake everyone in the room/give them a full body massage/collapsing lungs with sound" sound.
Also, invest in good earplugs that don't ruin tone if you intend to go into super loud territory. I neglected this for a while, thought bass couldn't damage hearing as much as higher frequencies, etc..., and my hearing is pretty shredded from it. Aside from when we record, I wear earplugs all the time now when playing full volume.
having your own amp wouldn't have solved the bad sound in the halftime show. all the tracks were pre-recorded and the soundman didn't have a good balance between the tracks and the bep's mics. blaring a big bass amp in those situations would be unnoticeable on the tv at best and disastrous for the mix at worst.True. I was thinking of how bad the sound was at the Super Bowl halftime show there and I just would not trust the sound guy.
you have to trust the soundguy. i know a lot of soundguys make it impossible to trust them, but you still have to trust them to some extent, and you have to learn the difference between what's in your best interests or what's going to screw the pooch. and the truth is blaring a bass amp when the sound is bad is almost always going to be detrimental.
Right on bro ! I had some Carvin boxes a 410-300watts & 115-300watts running them with a Fender BXR200 which was 200watts.......well it used to clip alot when i wanted extra volume & couldnt push the cabs.Upgraded now to a 3400watt poweramp.The cabs are much louder without distortion.The BXR used to clip like hell when i wanted more volume & couldnt do it.Sure i got some power but can 200watts power 600watt cab properly ?
it can unless you're trying to be super loud cleanly, and then it can't. but i got out of that arms race decades ago. low/medium volume + good pa is the way to go.
My amp's only 180 watts, but it's a tube amp that I overdrive into an enormous 2x15.
525 watts distributed between three combos? Not an adequate set up for doom.
You don't need more watts, but you do need those watts in a format you can use with some serious cab. Little combos don't cut it. Ditch them, get a more serious amp (GK, Peavey and other stuff like that can be had pretty cheaply used), and get at the very least a 410 or 215. Preferably the latter, or even an 810.
525 watts distributed between three combos? Not an adequate set up for doom.
You don't need more watts, but you do need those watts in a format you can use with some serious cab. Little combos don't cut it. Ditch them, get a more serious amp (GK, Peavey and other stuff like that can be had pretty cheaply used), and get at the very least a 410 or 215. Preferably the latter, or even an 810.
I was thinking of how bad the sound was at the Super Bowl halftime show there and I just would not trust the sound guy.
Oh! I thought that had been because the Black Eyed Peas suck.
--Bomb
billfitzmaurice
Commercial User
- Sep 15, 2004
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- Owner, Bill Fitzmaurice Loudspeaker Design
Sound levels are measured in decibels, not watts, and there's no direct relationship between the two. That being the case the answer to your question is if you're too loud turn it down. If it's not loud enough you need more. And the usual weak leak in the chain isn't the amp, it's the speakers.
Get a single 400 watt amp and a good speaker cab and you'll notice a HUGE increase in tone.
Right now you may have three amps totalling 525 watts but they are giving you nowhere near the same SPL as you'd get with a good 400 watt amp. And nowhere near as good tone control. I'll wager a good 300watt RMS / 4x10 or 2x15 rig will blow your doors off.
Why you ask?
Because those threee amps are working separately.
I bet their rated outputs do not match.
So...
You're going to have differing cabinet resonance.
The speakers won't couple since they are each in their own airspace.
For the same reason your sound dispersion won't be as even as a well designed cab.
You have decreased headroom because you have to run all of them near max.
Since each speaker is being diven to differing sound pressure levels you have some serious peaks and valleys in your frequency response.
There will be phase inconsistencies because of the differing circuitry and speaker position.
All in all, a very inefficient setup.
Remember, it's all about exciting as much air as you can, as efficiently and consistently as possible.
Your set up is much too cumbersome. First question is Why? Second question: Are you running through a P.A? If so, you don't need much power.
Third question: are you familiar with ohms? It seems to me that you are running a load that your bassman isn't designed to handle. I would suggest a GK 800Rb or 1001RB-II through a 410. You will have less gear to carry, easier setup and break down and will have more than enough power to handle any situation.
This may be too much, but to be truly metal, you should, at the VERY LEAST be able to blow up a neighbourhood.
Combo cabinets are never properly designed to work as well as a seperate cab. They are usually too small for the speakers they load in them. Therefore, poor sounding.
Additionally, one of your 3 combo amps is an open back guitar combo ????
Quit while your ahead - sell it all off, and go for a proper rig.
No it's running the ohmage Fender designed for it since it is only driving its own internal speaker.
In fact EVERY speaker in his rig has its own amp!
Of course none of them are equal or crossed over. Everything is just running full range at whatever power level it can.
