When people are talking about amp heads what does it mean when they say "Lots of headroom" or "Not enough headroom" etc. ?
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What does 'Headroom' mean??
- Thread starter AllenBass7
- Start date
When people speak of head room in regards to amps they are speaking of having reserve power or volume that is available to them if need be. Like during a gig, to crank it up and fight against those nasty guitar amps.
I think of head room as the space between the level I am playing, and the peak of the amps power. The more headroom the less distortion. This also allows me to have a hard attack without compression.
Its like jumping on a trampoline. If you have a ceiling 10 feet above you you have to be careful, or tie some bungy cord to your foot so you don't go to hi (compression). Having lots of head room is like using the trampoline outside.
Jonathan
Its like jumping on a trampoline. If you have a ceiling 10 feet above you you have to be careful, or tie some bungy cord to your foot so you don't go to hi (compression). Having lots of head room is like using the trampoline outside.
Jonathan
yeah you want to get an amp with more watts than you think you will need, that way you never have to turn it up enought to where it starts to break up and your tone turns to poop
Yes, I agree about having headroom. That's why I never use an amp that's less than 25 watts on a gig 
I had a boss once who told me something very wise. It might still apply here...
If a plane lands safely on the runway whilst running out of fuel at the very same moment - it did NOT have enough fuel.
Even though the plane was safely on the ground, it was too big of a gamble to not have plenty in reserve.
Sorta similar...
If a plane lands safely on the runway whilst running out of fuel at the very same moment - it did NOT have enough fuel.
Even though the plane was safely on the ground, it was too big of a gamble to not have plenty in reserve.
Sorta similar...
So if you don't have enough headroom, people will die? I better bring the 30-watter from now on.
I just played a large gig last night. Here is my definition of headroom. My master volume was on 3 (or 9:00) all night. I play w/ 3 guitard players all on tube amps and a drummer. I was heard easily all night long. If I had turned up louder, it would have been too much. But at this level my power was very clean and had lots of room to spare. Get it?
I think of headroom kinda like two cars.
First, you have a Yugo doing 80 mph. it's straining but you're moving down the highway.
Next, you have a porsche/ferarri, type of car doing 80.
Both going the same speed, but one is almost at it's limit.
Now, let's take them both to 100 mph. The Yugo is straining and gets to 100, but it won't last long. It'll probably blow the engine in a few minutes.
The Porsche/ferarri easily goes to 100, and will go to 175 ALL DAY IF NEEDED with no strain.
That's headroom.....
Mike
First, you have a Yugo doing 80 mph. it's straining but you're moving down the highway.
Next, you have a porsche/ferarri, type of car doing 80.
Both going the same speed, but one is almost at it's limit.
Now, let's take them both to 100 mph. The Yugo is straining and gets to 100, but it won't last long. It'll probably blow the engine in a few minutes.
The Porsche/ferarri easily goes to 100, and will go to 175 ALL DAY IF NEEDED with no strain.
That's headroom.....
Mike
Barring complex metaphor and analogies, headroom is simply the amount of clean db that can still be milked from the amp @ a given situation. It doesn't have much to do with gain structure (position of the knobs) and more to do with the available volume before clipping of the power stage occurs.
Some people like a lot of headroom because they can dial in more bass (wich eats up headroom like crazy) and can "shape" their tone a bit more (slight mid scoop for example). Other people like less to no headroom for certain situations: ie. overdriven tube sound. In the bass world, since our sonic space is very hungry for power and we thus need a lot of watt to efficiently and cleanly amplifiate our signal, it's rare that we will have too much headroom.
In the guitar world, too much headroom can be had, especially if you factor in tubes: some people prefer the sound of a straining amp to a distorsion/fuzz/overdrive pedal, and to them, a 25-30 watts amp can be better suited than a 200 watts one, if they play small venues and still want that vibe. We, as bass players, usually don't like distorsion much or in small doses (grit, dirt, funk, whatever you want to call it) and this is why we might cut some bass and add some mids to our signal: to cut through and save headroom.
Amps that have ample headroom will also tend to run cooler and thus live longer.
Some people like a lot of headroom because they can dial in more bass (wich eats up headroom like crazy) and can "shape" their tone a bit more (slight mid scoop for example). Other people like less to no headroom for certain situations: ie. overdriven tube sound. In the bass world, since our sonic space is very hungry for power and we thus need a lot of watt to efficiently and cleanly amplifiate our signal, it's rare that we will have too much headroom.
In the guitar world, too much headroom can be had, especially if you factor in tubes: some people prefer the sound of a straining amp to a distorsion/fuzz/overdrive pedal, and to them, a 25-30 watts amp can be better suited than a 200 watts one, if they play small venues and still want that vibe. We, as bass players, usually don't like distorsion much or in small doses (grit, dirt, funk, whatever you want to call it) and this is why we might cut some bass and add some mids to our signal: to cut through and save headroom.
Amps that have ample headroom will also tend to run cooler and thus live longer.
If you see "headroom" advertised, make sure they list how many microseconds it can sustain the advertised claim. There's no standards that I know of?
If I need "X-watts" to achieve desired SPL in the impedance of the cabinet I need, I'd buy that many watts, I wouldn't buy less and rely on some "headroom" claim.
If I need "X-watts" to achieve desired SPL in the impedance of the cabinet I need, I'd buy that many watts, I wouldn't buy less and rely on some "headroom" claim.
"Amplifiate?" 
I've been joking a little in this thread, but only because I find some bass players' quest for headroom to be absolutely ridiculous. You don't need a 2000w system to play keg parties, nor will having those 2000w make your bass sound better when your volume is on 1. Hell, I play arenas and large theaters and the most powerful amp I've ever used is 500w, and I probably only use 100 of that at the most.
So while I see a need for headroom, I think some people go for ridiculous amounts of it just because they can.
I've been joking a little in this thread, but only because I find some bass players' quest for headroom to be absolutely ridiculous. You don't need a 2000w system to play keg parties, nor will having those 2000w make your bass sound better when your volume is on 1. Hell, I play arenas and large theaters and the most powerful amp I've ever used is 500w, and I probably only use 100 of that at the most.
So while I see a need for headroom, I think some people go for ridiculous amounts of it just because they can.
"Amplifiate?"
I've been joking a little in this thread, but only because I find some bass players' quest for headroom to be absolutely ridiculous. You don't need a 2000w system to play keg parties, nor will having those 2000w make your bass sound better when your volume is on 1. Hell, I play arenas and large theaters and the most powerful amp I've ever used is 500w, and I probably only use 100 of that at the most.
So while I see a need for headroom, I think some people go for ridiculous amounts of it just because they can.
What's your point?
