Typical wattage used at small bar gigs

[alexclaber]

I'm just pointing out that many of us, as well as many far more talented, were able to play thousands of bar/club gigs for years with much less watts. It may have as much to do with our perception of how bass should sound, or where its supposed to be in the mix, or the slap bass eq's but it can and was done very well with much less.

We used to drive cars that could barely go faster than the speed limit too. And now, as then, we're still in control of how fast/loud we go.

I think I probably use about 50W on average at a typical gig. My amp has a little more than that available.

Alex

 

[ksandvik]

Thanks Bear. Obviously, I grew up with PA for voice only and was happy to continue that way but I've changed my mind. Its a great advantage to be able to tweak the mix out front without having to blow your fellow bandmates ears out. I don't have any personal experience doing this but it seems logical that doing so would help keep the volume on stage low and make for a more musical and pleasant experience. In other words, I'm anxious to try.

To be fair, if the PA does not have any low-end support (such as a sub-woofer), using bass DI will amplify the mid-range and high one, but not the low end... Any drum kick amplification via PA will then also of course suffer.

 

[pedro]

We used to drive cars that could barely go faster than the speed limit too. And now, as then, we're still in control of how fast/loud we go.

I think I probably use about 50W on average at a typical gig. My amp has a little more than that available.

Alex

Alex whats your point?

 

[pedro]

To be fair, if the PA does not have any low-end support (such as a sub-woofer), using bass DI will amplify the mid-range and high one, but not the low end... Any drum kick amplification via PA will then also of course suffer.

Maybe so, albeit some in the know have told me that subs may not be necessary for smaller gigs. Anyway, my hope is to have a PA that will cover us at most of our gigs and will allow us to keep our volumes low while providing good coverage out front.

 

[ksandvik]

Maybe so, albeit some in the know have told me that subs may not be necessary for smaller gigs. Anyway, my hope is to have a PA that will cover us at most of our gigs and will allow us to keep our volumes low while providing good coverage out front.

Yes, it really depends of what kind of low end you want the audience to hear, or both hear and feel.

 

[Dave Bassincus]

I was shocked to find that running 2 Fender Rumble combos (100w,1x15 each) was insane overkill at a school auditorium show w/ drummer & horns. Wish I could take the room acoustics with me to every show

 

[Rick Auricchio]

Room acoustics can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

I haven't read all eight pages of the thread, but I'm sure someone asked:

- How big a bar? "Small" is too vague.

- Type of music? Instrumentation?

- Type of stage?

 

[Bassist4Life]

I play in a funk jazz trio and I've used a 65w combo turned up about 90% of the way. It worked.

I've also used a 100w combo that worked very well. Sounded great too.

Now I used my GK 700RB-II into a 1x12. That has been WAY more than I need. I've used this head in a medium sized club with PA support and I barely had to turn it up at all.

Joe

 

[dponbass]

I've played gigs with an older Mesa 2-10 Diesel Series (w/EVM's) that weighed as much as a 4-10, with a Mesa Titan, 1200 watt amp and found it a good match. The cab was 8 ohms, so figure 60-65% of the 1200, turned up less than half, you're figuring roughly 275-325 watts being used. Of course, that was with a loud drummer, and an averagely loud guitar player. I've also done gigs with a Line 6 Low Down 1-10 75 watt amp. It was conveinent but even with in ear monitors, it was clearly hard to use/feel. I really dug my '77 Ampeg V-4B, but if you need it to be quieter than on 4, it's hard to hear. I'll now be using my SWR Mo' Bass, 900 watts-great effects, for the loud stuff, and for mellow stuff, my B-15N once it's back from the tech's. I believe in it's better to have more power you aren't using than trying to make a 30 watt amp be 100 watts loud. The SWR is very even while increasing volume, the V-4B is not, it comes on hard and quick. I've tried it all, there is no one way. I'd use the Low down again, but prefer not to. Sorry about the random scatter-brained ramblings.... they are my experiences though.

 

[Ric5]

350 watts and 4 10s

 

[tocs100]

....why a certain wattage or not will work in a pub environment:

* How big is the area that will be covered with music
* What is the acoustics, especially parts that will reflect or absorb sounds
* How many or few humans are in this space (see above)
* Tube or solid state amp, in general tube-based amps carry the sound better than solid-state, but they are in general of lower wattage.
* Loud or non-loud drummer
* Loud or non-loud guitar player(s)
* Trio or more musicians
* How well the bass sound is eq:ed into the total sound of the band (where the low-mid range is the key, not the low range itself)
* Quality of the bass cabinets, number of cones
* PA support or not

300W should cover a lot, but it's good to have an option to go up to 500W if needed, that's my own personal concept of 'bass loudness.'.....

Yep, small bar (about 100 person capacity) and I had to run exactly 500 ss watts (2 10"s and 1 15") to fill the room with no PA support. 100w rms into just the 15" was a joke--even as a personal monitor, and we're only a 3-piece.

Current rig:
One of these:

And an older Peavey 115 black widow with this as the grillcloth:

into dual 450w, 4 ohm amp and Rane x/o.

 

[B-string]

I'll play along with this; GK 800rb 300watts into a 412 cab 9 to 9:30 on the master. At 10:00 or more people start heading for the patio to escape the pounding?

 

[JimmyM]

Yep, small bar (about 100 person capacity) and I had to run exactly 500 ss watts (2 10"s and 1 15") to fill the room with no PA support. 100w rms into just the 15" was a joke--even as a personal monitor, and we're only a 3-piece.

Current rig:
One of these:

And an older Peavey 115 black widow with this as the grillcloth:

into dual 450w, 4 ohm amp and Rane x/o.

How's that grillcloth sound?

 

[B-string]

You do make the tongue-in-cheek an artform JimmyM

 

[JimmyM]

You do make the tongue-in-cheek an artform JimmyM

I prefer to call it "chain yanking." Actually, I like custom grillcloths. I never used one, but they do look cool if they're done right.

My favorite custom grillcloth is Billy Idol's. He's got some beaten up old Fender amp (think it might be a Twin but can't remember), and he spray painted "IDOL" across the front. That's class!

 

[troll]

I prefer to call it "chain yanking." Actually, I like custom grillcloths. I never used one, but they do look cool if they're done right.

My favorite custom grillcloth is Billy Idol's. He's got some beaten up old Fender amp (think it might be a Twin but can't remember), and he spray painted "IDOL" across the front. That's class!

I know a guy, that I think to this day, is still using an old marshall cab with flames spray painted on it. It's always looked terrible, but somehow still awesome...

 

[Metal Matt]

I promise
I use a 200W Peavey Roadmaster tube and a 120W Earth tube into way too many cabs.

Wish you didn't live so far away, I'd love to play a show with Buzzardstein. Someday... haha

To the OP...

I play through two 200 watt Sunn amps (solid state) into a 4x10, 4x12, 2x15 and 1x18. So far we've just been playing basement shows, so obviously smaller settings than a bar, and being a band consisting of nothing but drums and bass, it's awesome being louder than the bands with 2 half stacks for guitar and 500 watt amps through 6x10's for bass.

Why all this?

Stoner rock/doom should be loud.

I don't think too many people here would agree with me at all, but I've been to too many shows... heavy bands mind you, where the best sounding bands where the ones that where louder than the PA. I just don't think there's anything wrong with a bands rig providing the volume instead of a PA, if a band so chooses to go that route and has no problem lugging around the equipment. I certainly hate the idea of amps and cabs just being monitors, but to each their own. I do realize bar shows are a bit different, that you're there to please the owners more or less and that you're expected to not be absurdly loud, no matter what the genre, but that's why I avoid bar shows. haha

 

[ksandvik]

You have to put yourself into the head of a bar owner, she or he wants people to order drinks, talk to other people, meet someone, dance and so on. If the band takes over the decibel levels in that space, some or all of the other parts will suffer. Worst, there are people who don't like loud music so they avoid the place, too.

It's Ok to play loud in concerts, that's another story. As for bars, someone doing that will just minimize their chances for more gigs in bars in future.

Personally, I guess I'm getting old but nowadays I rather like to hear musicians play in my ears than *feel* them play in my stomach.

 

[troll]

Personally, I guess I'm getting old but nowadays I rather like to hear musicians play in my ears than *feel* them play in my stomach.

This is why I carry decent earplugs with me everywhere I go. I never know when I'm going to need them. And I have yet to walk into a bar with live music that didn't require them.

 

[ksandvik]

This is why I carry decent earplugs with me everywhere I go. I never know when I'm going to need them. And I have yet to walk into a bar with live music that didn't require them.

Same here, anywhere music is played I wear them, maybe not when going to a symphony concert where the director and musician knows how to handle dynamics.

I still wish the bar bands would learn to handle dynamics the same way as a symphony orchestra.