Pushing a head too hard?

[BernardBass]

Hi guys,

I'm just curious... I have a 1000watt head and a 1200watt cab both @4ohm and sometimes I find myself pushing the master vol up to 8/10 to cut through a live set with 2x guitarists using 4x12 marshall cabs...

I've asked them countless times to turn down as I'm afraid of pushing my head too hard. I've had a hartke head crap out on me before pushing it up to 8 also... Am I being paranoid or is it a legit concern?

Appreciate any info!

 

[gtirard]

Following…

(can't believe you can reach the limit with such specs, hope your wear ear protections)

 

[BernardBass]

Following…

(can't believe you can reach the limit with such specs, hope your wear ear protections)

Not all our gigs are that loud, in fact very few are but when I do play I don't use ear protection... I really should!!

 

[MrKpawz]

Am I being paranoid or is it a legit concern?

Yeah. Ask them to turn down a bit AND buy some Hearos. They don't have to turn down volume too much, but I'm also curious to how you EQ. Pushing 1000w and still having a hard time being heard?

 

[Zooberwerx]

What's the cab in question? If placed in a similar situation, I'd probably wave the white flag and retreat.

Stock response: add a HPF and boost the mids.

Riis

 

[Redbrangus]

Is your gear made by Behringer, by any chance?

 

[el murdoque]

Bugera maybe?

If you take a 1000W head like the Orange Terror Bass 1000 and a 1200W cabinet like the Barefaced Big Twin,
you will inflict serious injuries on people before your master vol reaches 10.

 

[gtirard]

maybe you scoop the mid too much and don't use HPF?

 

[Sid the Kid]

Perhaps your EQ settings are diminishing the headroom of your amps, causing it to sound pushed? More knowledge of your gear is required, the numbers you gave us mean little in application.

 

[klejst]

I've always said the biggest enemy of the bass player is overly loud and obnoxious guitar players and drummers...

 

[lfmn16]

Not all our gigs are that loud, in fact very few are but when I do play I don't use ear protection... I really should!!

By the time you realize you should have, it will be too late.

 

[SJan3]

Hi guys,

I'm just curious... I have a 1000watt head and a 1200watt cab both @4ohm and sometimes I find myself pushing the master vol up to 8/10 to cut through a live set with 2x guitarists using 4x12 marshall cabs...

I've asked them countless times to turn down as I'm afraid of pushing my head too hard. I've had a hartke head crap out on me before pushing it up to 8 also... Am I being paranoid or is it a legit concern?

Appreciate any info!

I'd be paranoid about my hearing!
That sounds awfully loud..

 

[iiipopes]

The solution is the opposite: turn down. When they complain they can't hear you, you can honestly tell them it is because they are too loud and you are not going to turn it up any more under any circumstances. And as above: an overly-scooped tone will defeat your purpose.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Usually, unless you want preamp distortion, turn the master up all the way. Control the overall level with a gain control.

Depending on your cab, a cranked 1000W amp can blow a 1200W cab. Peaks in the amp can be a lot higher than the 1000W rating.

More speakers will give you more volume for a given tone setting. If your amp can’t do 2 ohms, a second 4 ohm cab won’t work.

 

[basscooker]

I'd say the cab is way more at risk than most amps,, but they can take the amp with them when the die.

 

[Silky Johnson]

Hi guys,

I'm just curious... I have a 1000watt head and a 1200watt cab both @4ohm and sometimes I find myself pushing the master vol up to 8/10 to cut through a live set with 2x guitarists using 4x12 marshall cabs...

I've asked them countless times to turn down as I'm afraid of pushing my head too hard. I've had a hartke head crap out on me before pushing it up to 8 also... Am I being paranoid or is it a legit concern?

Appreciate any info!

Really depends on the cab, I had 1600 watts and two cabs that were not getting the job done whatsoever.

Now 800 watts plus the right cabs is more than good enough for anything I could possibly do.

 

[gtirard]

I've got THE solution :

- You know how TB works: soon you're going to reply "thanks guys, I've got my answer",
- Despite that answer, the thread is going to go on and on, you'll end up with 8 or 12 pages, the majority of answers will confirm your guitarists should turn their volume down
- As soon as you got enough answers, you print the whole thread and show it to the guitarists

And you buy ear protections before it's too late

Problem solved

 

[fjbass78]

Hi guys,

I'm just curious... I have a 1000watt head and a 1200watt cab both @4ohm and sometimes I find myself pushing the master vol up to 8/10 to cut through a live set with 2x guitarists using 4x12 marshall cabs...

I've asked them countless times to turn down as I'm afraid of pushing my head too hard. I've had a hartke head crap out on me before pushing it up to 8 also... Am I being paranoid or is it a legit concern?

Appreciate any info!

If you're using that ampeg hlf 4-10, they are a darker, lower sounding cabinet. Maybe you need an 8-10 if they won't turn down.

 

[Killing Floor]

Usually I’d recommend a pedal buying spree but in this case I agree it sounds like you need to tell the guitarists to drop a little.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Hi guys,

I'm just curious... I have a 1000watt head and a 1200watt cab both @4ohm and sometimes I find myself pushing the master vol up to 8/10 to cut through a live set with 2x guitarists using 4x12 marshall cabs...

I've asked them countless times to turn down as I'm afraid of pushing my head too hard. I've had a hartke head crap out on me before pushing it up to 8 also... Am I being paranoid or is it a legit concern?

Appreciate any info!

You’ll likely damage the speakers before the amp. Depends on what it is really. I’d check the speakers for cone creasing. Most modern amps have protection built in and will shut themselves off before getting to a point of being permanently damaged. I used to use a ampeg 810 but I don’t even try to compete with loud players anymore. I bring my 400w Mesa subway 115 and Mesa d800 head and if I can’t hear myself well enough I’ll wear headphones instead of participating in a volume war. They help me hear myself and help protect my ears a bit from loud players. Often times the guitar player will turn down because they want to hear me better.