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Need head recmmendation now

C

Chunky_Lover

Nov 30, 2008
39
0
33
somewhere in Nebraska
#1
So I want to upgrade heads because I have an Ashdown MAG 300 C115 combo and a Mesa Powerhouse cab. I want to spend up to $700-ish tops. I was going to get an Orange Terror but not anymore. I need something that will pair well with the cab, which is 8 ohms and 600 watts, and I want something that will cut through in a band in anthing from small venues to outdoor gigs. I have been looking and there isn't really any cabs in my price range that are 400-600 watts at 8 ohms. So if a cab is rated 600 watts at 4 ohms, would there be a great difference in volume if the wattage is cut down to 350 watts at 8 ohms? Also I don't really want an all tube head. Suggestions are appreciated :D
 
#2
you'll get more headroom with the extra wattage, but the volume boost won't be very big. and you must learn to ignore power handling specs on cabs. on the vast majority of cabs out there, they use the wattage that causes total failure as the power handling spec, but in the real world, your cabs will sound like they're going to blow up at a way lower point, and they most likely will if you push them past that point. not every company does this, but the vast majority do, and mesa definitely does. so powering a 600w rated mesa cab means you'll probably be able to put 300-350w worth of power into it before it becomes unusable. so don't worry so much about running at 8 ohms...it's fine, and a head that runs at 300w at 8 ohms is plenty for your cab.
 
#5
You said "outdoor gigs." Does that mean outdoor gigs with no PA support for bass? If so, you're going to want to 4x what you have for cabs. Possibly more.

2x10 might be enough for really small rooms, assuming a polite drummer. 4x10 would give you some margin, though. For the medium rooms a 4x10 might do it. Larger rooms: 8x10 or 4x12 -- that class of cab(s).

By the way, what sort of music is this and how loud do you guys play? (I probably should've asked that beforehand.)
 
#6
craig.p said:
You said "outdoor gigs." Does that mean outdoor gigs with no PA support for bass? If so, you're going to want to 4x what you have for cabs. Possibly more.

2x10 might be enough for really small rooms, assuming a polite drummer. 4x10 would give you some margin, though. For the medium rooms a 4x10 might do it. Larger rooms: 8x10 or 4x12 -- that class of cab(s).

By the way, what sort of music is this and how loud do you guys play? (I probably should've asked that beforehand.)
Click to expand...

This. No head in the world can make a 210 cab be enough for a getting a 210 to really cut through a loud band, let alone cover a large outdoor gig without PA support. Sounds to me like you may be in need of a new cab and possibly a new amp as well.
 
#7
well there will be pa support. i just want to be able to have my amp turned up without the "farting" noise that my MAG 300 makes. It doesn't have enough power.

EDIT: and as far as the volume we play I'm not quite sure, we haven't really done that many gigs, our band hasn't been together that long. I know it's not obnoxiously loud. We play mainly modern rock
 

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