How small a rig can I use?

[jerryjg]

For a small Coffee house gig, with one singer, and acoustic guitar, and a small hand percussion player.?
I have a 20 watt Tube Bass amp (old Traynor) with a good heavy duty 100 db Sensitivity EV 15" speaker.

 

[raventepes]

That should be fine, actually. thankfully, in most cases, tube amps generally sound louder than their solid state counterparts, watt by watt.

 

[jerryjg]

Oh, thanks. I forgot to mention the singer will have a small portable P.A., and the Acoustic guitar player will have a small dedicated acoustic guitar amp.

 

[Remyd]

That's about the same amount of noise I bring to little gigs - I'm sure it'll be fine, but do a sound check, and then do another one

 

[SuperSubSonicRainboom]

what you have sounds like it will work fine imo. The size of a 15 is roughly similar to an actual upright bass and should complement an acoustic guitar nicely in a coffee house. have fun!

 

[will33]

What you have will be just fine. In fact, likely loud enough with that EV you can run that small tube amp completely clean if you want. In fact, you'll probably have to in order to keep volume in check.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

You could get by with a smaller speaker. For coffee shop gigs I use a Crazy8, which has an 8" high excursion driver that gets as loud as a 110. Weighs about 13 pounds.

Link Removed

 

[chris_b]

For this type of gig I use a Bergantino AE112 and my regular amp with the volume turned right down. Great sound.

 

[el murdoque]

I own a 60W 12" combo, a 100W 15" combo, several small heads and 2x12 cabs as well as a 115 and a 410. For a gig like that, the smallest combo would be my choice if space is an issue. Otherwise i'd bring one 212 and the head that suits the music best and play it softly with the master way down.

 

[bassliner50]

I am able to use my Fender bassman 25 (bought $45, used.) on the layed back gigs in a piano trio setting. 25 watts, 10" speaker, small and easy to carry and sounds full and satisfying. On the noisy gigs, I must bring the heavy artillery. My old back doesn't like that...

 

[Stone Soup]

I couldn't go in with any less than 100 watts and still feel secure about getting a full, clean tone.

 

[JimmyM]

100w for an acoustic coffeehouse gig? Looking to do metal coffeehouse music?



That little rig should kill for a gig like that. I've done coffeehouse gigs like that with a 25w practice combo loaded with an 8". A little 20w tube amp and a 15" would be plenty, and I'll bet he won't even be able to get any distortion out of it. I've also done gigs like that with a B-15, which only has 5 more watts, and if I turned it up to where I could get breakup out of it, I would have been fired on the spot.

 

[Stumbo]

I have a 18w 1x15 combo and in that setting, you'd have to do a sound check to make sure you're not too loud.

 

[PortlandBass77]

It can be as small as you want it to be. I would use Peavey and Pignose in stereo

 

[Duke21]

100w for an acoustic coffeehouse gig? Looking to do metal coffeehouse music?



That little rig should kill for a gig like that. I've done coffeehouse gigs like that with a 25w practice combo loaded with an 8". A little 20w tube amp and a 15" would be plenty, and I'll bet he won't even be able to get any distortion out of it. I've also done gigs like that with a B-15, which only has 5 more watts, and if I turned it up to where I could get breakup out of it, I would have been fired on the spot.

Acoustic metal is the new trend Jimmy!

 

[MegaSwing]

Use what ya got, unless ya want something else. If ya want something else, there's no talking sense to you, anyway.

Sounds to me you have an ideal rig for the situation you describe.

 

[Worldeeeter]

I have played this type of gig with a Phil Jones Bass Cub, 100W solid state, 2 x 5" speakers. Didn't have to turn it up past noon.
A 20W tube amp will wake those hippies up!!!

 

[PotsdamBass8]

Small is fine. What you have is way more than you need. If you want to blend, you don't want a huge tonal divide between the bright acoustic guitar and a super bassy sound. I would personally cut bass.

 

[gary m]

Sounds fine, actually...20 tube watts is more than enough, plus the tube pre prolly puts out a nice warm tone. Win/win all around.

 

[jeff7bass]

100w for an acoustic coffeehouse gig? Looking to do metal coffeehouse music?



That little rig should kill for a gig like that. I've done coffeehouse gigs like that with a 25w practice combo loaded with an 8". A little 20w tube amp and a 15" would be plenty, and I'll bet he won't even be able to get any distortion out of it. I've also done gigs like that with a B-15, which only has 5 more watts, and if I turned it up to where I could get breakup out of it, I would have been fired on the spot.

HA!! That's what I was thinking. The little Ampeg BA-108 would do the job and the BA-110 would easily do it. The smaller speakers would fit "sonically" better than a big 15" speaker also. Better tone at lower volumes.