what gets louder

[BurningSkies]

i guess you guys didnt understand me, to rephrase my question. what would be heard better at a gig somebody running 2 2x12 at 200 watts(because of the amp & ohms) or 1 2x12 running at 400 watts

Double the wattage doesn't equal double the volume. It doesn't work that way. Double the speaker on the other hand will get you closer quicker.

 

[SiReZ]

Tube watts

 

[BurningSkies]

Tube watts

Shhhhh. People will laugh.

 

[seamonkey]

Tube watts

Then what you want is perceived "what gets louder"
It's like perceived speed while riding in a car. A car low to the ground traveling at 60mph is perceived by a rider to be going faster than a rider in a Mac truck also going 60mph. It's all about perspective - they're both going 60mph.

 

[totallybacan]

Then what you want is perceived "what gets louder"
It's like perceived speed while riding in a car. A car low to the ground traveling at 60mph is perceived by a rider to be going faster than a rider in a Mac truck also going 60mph. It's all about perspective - they're both going 60mph.

But then a Ferrari going 60 mph will feel much more natural than a 4 piston truck doing it's best to get up to 60

 

[DukeLeJeune]

Assuming the same woofers and proportional enclosures, and assuming you aren't pushing anything so hard that it's starting to compress or limit, theoretically a 1x12 with 400 watts would move the same amount of air as a 2x12 with 200 watts. Still assuming nothing is pushed to its limits, the 1x12 with 400 watts would be a little louder in the upper mid and treble region because of destructive intereference between the two woofers in the 2x12 (unless both cabs have a tweeter that takes care of the upper mids and treble).

But in the real world, that 1x12 may well be thermally compressing by a couple of dB more than the 2x12 because its voice coil will be getting 4x the wattage of either of the others'. Also, there's a very good chance that 1x12 would begin to fartout from over-excursion on peaks well before the RMS input reaches 400 watts.

So in this case my vote is for the 2x12 with 200 watts, because the 1x12 pushed hard by 400 watts will be running into its thermal and mechanical limits.

 

[SiReZ]

thankx duke, now thats what i wanted the answer to look like

 

[Korladis]

Lemmy uses a 100 watt (tube) amp powering a 4x15 and 4x12 stack. Pretty loud.

 

[Son of Bovril]

Like Bill said

more speakers is (generally) the best and easiest way to increase volume, so if your question is... I need more volume, what should i buy, a more powerful amp or another cab, the answer is..... wait for it! another cab

but obviously the clear volume winner is..... a bigger amp and another cab! and it'll make your wallet considerably lighter and easier to carry in the process!

 

[billfitzmaurice]

i guess you guys didnt understand me, to rephrase my question. what would be heard better at a gig somebody running 2 2x12 at 200 watts(because of the amp & ohms) or 1 2x12 running at 400 watts

Assuming identical 2x12s, the two 2x12. And it's due to efficiency, not power.

 

[Turn Em Loose]

a 10 inch speaker at head level three feet away is loud at 40 watts. a 410 powered by 1,000 watts three feet away hitting you in the knees is not.

LOL!! Funny because it's true!

Is there a way to have every guitard player in the world read and understand this concept?

 

[Foz]

headphones

 

[Rickett Customs]

 

[Son of Bovril]

lol, nice gif

 

[Cyber Soda]

I'm stealing that fyi.

 

[P. Aaron]

I have lushed on Champagne all night and am delighted to be posting on TalkBass.com.

 

[lbwdog]

You can always double up on speakers and double your amp power. This way, you're sure to be louder without any controversy!!

 

[jnewmark]

Correct. Orange basses are very loud indeed, as are orange tuxes.

Wow! I used to have a wine colored, velvet tux, but this one takes the cake!

 

[Kenny Allyn]

... Got Orange

 

[Munjibunga]

i guess you guys didnt understand me, to rephrase my question. what would be heard better at a gig somebody running 2 2x12 at 200 watts(because of the amp & ohms) or 1 2x12 running at 400 watts

OK, all the wise-ass answers are used up, so I'm going to go ahead and give you the answer. Four 12's at 200 watts will be much louder than one 12 at 400 watts. Amen.