Will a 500 watt head sound as good as a 1500 watt head running a 1200w cab or 2000w full stack? Will a 1500w head sound as good as a 500w head with a 500w cab? Or will it break it?
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Watts
- Thread starter AngryHammer
- Start date
You can blow a 1500W cab with a 500W amp.
Whether or not it "sounds better" will have everything to do with the design of the head and cab, as well as YOUR personal tones preferences, and nothing whatsoever to do with watts.
I run a 30W Ashdown LB30 into an 1100W Epifani UL410 all the time and it sounds fantastic.
Whether or not it "sounds better" will have everything to do with the design of the head and cab, as well as YOUR personal tones preferences, and nothing whatsoever to do with watts.
I run a 30W Ashdown LB30 into an 1100W Epifani UL410 all the time and it sounds fantastic.
I think some bass players worry too much about Watts.
+1, what they should be concerned about is voltage swing, current capacity, frequency response, excursion, all the factors that actually determine the result. The only thing watts are good for is advertising.
Yes! Let the silly guitarificators run around and worry 'bout that stuff.
We got more important stuff to do.
Merry Christmas everyone.
That 1500 watt head is perfectly capable of putting out 500 watts. Just turn the volume knob down.
Now, whether a 500 watt cab can handle it? That depends on a lot more than just watts.
Whether or not you like the sound of it depends on if you prefer the sound of overdriving an amp or overdriving the speaker or nothing being overdriven at all.
Now, whether a 500 watt cab can handle it? That depends on a lot more than just watts.
Whether or not you like the sound of it depends on if you prefer the sound of overdriving an amp or overdriving the speaker or nothing being overdriven at all.
sounds like an algebra problem ...
therefore , i vote ' X '
therefore , i vote ' X '
That depends on whether they're tube watts, Trace watts or Hartke watts (no H-hate here). 
I recently used this one in another similar thread, but I can't help myself.
So, (with my deepest apologies), please let me rephrase the original question in a way that makes more sense.
If a chicken and a half can lay an egg and a half in a day and a half - how long would it take a grasshopper with a wooden leg to kick all the seeds out of a pickle?
The correct answer is: Yes, or no, or maybe, it depends.
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i just got a moog mf drive pedal and now i can clean boost into my mesa d180 tube head and avoid getting more cabs or a higher watt head, merry xmas
I see Watt you did there....
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
- Feb 12, 2006
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- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
From power, everything else (voltage and current) can be derived. Amps don't )and shouldn't) have excursion.
Without good common sense and judgment, a 1500 watt amp used with a 500 watt speaker is not a good idea. (Assuming both rated using the same metrics).
W(h)y, man, do we haveta do that? (But seriously, folks, gimme Charlie any day of the week.)
Amps (SS) produce voltage.
The voice coils in the speakers draw current from the amps in relation to their impedance. (Up to what an amp can source.)
The amp's voltage output under the load of the current draw determines power.
Power is kind of like MPG ratings on cars. Y(Milage or Power)MV from what the manufacturer states depending on how you use your setup. Actual MPG is fairly easy for a car owner to calculate. Instrument amp output power... not so much. Makes it easy to have varying claims that don't seem to make sense.
