Is 150w (8ohm) 200w (4 ohm) enough for a head?

[agedhorse]

As I said, it was the only point of reference I had. I am of the opinion that it was a bit better than "It was loud enough for my situation." You people get waaaaay too wrapped up in the minutiae. I'll make sure I never mention knob position again.

It's mentioned often BECAUSE many players get tripped up by knob position when comparing products, and also when assuming that they can't damage their speakers because they only have the amp turned "half way up".

 

[Wasnex]

I'll make sure I never mention knob position again.

IMHO knob position is not a good reference for volume. Ideally the volume and tone needs to be adjusted to the situation. So consider room acoustics, how the band is setup, and how loud everyone else is playing. IMHO use your ears to get in the range you want/need and then expect to negotiate a bit with the rest of the band and audio tech.

I find it's useful for me to set up my rig so I can hear well with the volume low. Basically I think it's better to be asked to turn up, than to not be able to hear well enough and still have people complaining I am too loud. So I usually prefer to elevate my cab to about waist level and tilt it back to aim at my ears. This approach can work well if you like a clear and detailed sound. If you like lots of fat down low, you will probably hate it.


Knob position can be a useful reference if you are the type of player who uses a tube amp and likes pushing it to the edge. Plenty of set it and forget players. Some even mark setting on their amp's with a Sharpie.

 

[Kaa]

IMHO knob position is not a good reference for volume. Ideally the volume and tone needs to be adjusted to the situation. So consider room acoustics, how the band is setup, and how loud everyone else is playing. IMHO use your ears to get in the range you want/need and then expect to negotiate a bit with the rest of the band and audio tech.

I find it's useful for me to set up my rig so I can hear well with the volume low. Basically I think it's better to be asked to turn up, than to not be able to hear well enough and still have people complaining I am too loud. So I usually prefer to elevate my cab to about waist level and tilt it back to aim at my ears. This approach can work well if you like a clear and detailed sound. If you like lots of fat down low, you will probably hate it.


Knob position can be a useful reference if you are the type of player who uses a tube amp and likes pushing it to the edge. Plenty of set it and forget players. Some even mark setting on their amp's with a Sharpie.

I understand about the vagaries of the volume knob "position", with so many manufacturers using different values/obfuscations(lol). As I said in the other post, it's all I had to go off. I was the same as you, I told the bartenders to let me know if I needed to turn up. They usually got me in the right spot volume-wise for their tastes, which was right for the room from where they were. (Mostly dinky bars, for clarification.)

 

[brianrost]

It all depends on how loud the band plays, both at rehearsals and at gigs.

Many of us here have played many gigs with amps spec'd similar to the Micro VR like the GK 400RB or the Peavey Bass MkIV which were very popular in the 1980s. If the gigs were pretty loud, we'd use cabs with multiple speakers like a 2-15, a pair of 4-10 or even 8-10 fridges that were 4 ohm loads. For plenty of gigs running around 150 watts at 8 ohms with a 4-10 worked just fine.

But if the band likes to play really loud, you might need more power. That's why class D amps cranking out about 800 watts are pretty common.