Which amp to use for 200 person wedding reception?

A cheap and cranked peavey for the man to think twice and not get married.

 

Probably not the venue for the 1,000 watt all tube amp discussed on another thread here...

 

No PA for you? I choose option 2.

 

I say #2 also.

 

I'd just bring the 4x10 combo, should be plenty.

 

The question is how loud do you NEED to be, not how loud do you WANT to be. Most wedding/cover bands I've experienced have been way too loud for the occasion. Your choice of the 2 Nemesis combo amps would fit the bill perfectly. However, why not use the Nemesis 4x10 combo with the 2x12 extension cab? I am almost positive that the Nemesis combos run at 8 ohms without an extension cabs, and most extension cabs are 8 ohms themselves, bringing your total ohm rating to 4 ohms, perfectly acceptable and ideal for the Nemesis amp. I'd think that 4x10s with the 2x12 cab would be the best of all worlds.

 

Agreed. Only 200 people, small PA, probably low-ish ceilings...that's a recipe for drowning out the vocalist! There's no way you need more than the 4x10.

 

+1. No need to bother with daisy chaining, for a wedding gig, this will be plenty.

 

Should be, but might not. If the ceilings are high or the room is otherwise weird-I'd rather turn down than wish I were able to turn up.

 

Weddings are my main gig.

Agreed - you don't "need" more than a 410 cab with a 300-watt head. That's assuming the rest of the band understands that there could be some "elderly" folks sitting at the closest tables to the band!

I did a 150-person Wedding gig with my only my Markbass 112 combo (with no PA support, as one of our main amps fried) and was once asked to turn down!

 

Agreed with Bass-only. I've played a ~200 wedding with a small PA for vocals (and guitar; he brought a 1x12 combo, and we faced it backwards and miked it), using a 4x10/350 watt amp. Don't make the people wish they hired a DJ with one simple volume knob!!

 

The 4x10 should be plenty, you can always take and leave the 2x10 in the car... You can probably leave the drum mic's channels off too... It's one of those gig's that is really not 'all about the band' afterall... At a reception, I tend to start quiet and stay that way until told to turn up - and that rarely happens.

Observation 1 - if you need to rewire your rack every time you move it - You need to get it organized... My FOH is a powered board and 2 racks. 1 for external processors and power distribution, the other is subwoofer power. It takes 5 minutes to setup and requires only left&right mains to the processing rack, monitor send & return to the processing rack, processing rack to the subwoofer power rack... 5 connection total... color coded and labeled on the cables and board. A guitarist could setup my PA with 5 minutes instruction... all my cables live in the racks and I use the little colored velcro strip's from Hone Depot to kee it organized. Those and masking tape on the board.

Observation 2 - In reality I would probably haul the rack and 1 cab. In spite of the weight. See I really dig the BBE Preamp ... Were it my gig and I were to choose, I'd haul my WT-800 rig and I'd leave the micro rig home. I just love the sound of that beast in spite of the bulk.

A completly irrelevant observation - you really ought to dump the Nemesis stuff, maybe the GB too. Snag a Shuttle 6.0 (assuming you dig the GB front end) or some other strong mini-amp and maybe a couple of 1x12's to use as your easy haulin' rig...

 

Why mic the drums? Use #1 w/out the extension cab unless you REALLY feel you have to have it.. I've played weddings for 30+ years, and for the last 8 or so, I used the GK MB150 with the GK extension cab (sometimes). If #1 isn't enough, you're too loud.

 

HA!

 

"Back in the day" we packed every ballroom dance floor we played, 90-100 dates a year all over Chicagoland using nothing more than a Shure Vocalmaster PA, an Ampeg B-15N, a Fender Twin, and a Rhodes. You get the idea.

Contact the hotel in advance and ask for one or more large dollies they usually keep near the loading docks. They'll appreciate a fast load-in more than 20 hand-carry trips.

 

4x10 combo. If you're worried about hearing yourself, put the amp in a chair or a box or something, or put a block of wood under the front to tilt it back.

It's a wedding, not a concert. NOBODY is looking at you. If they are, you're pissing someone off. Back off the volume, concentrate on overall sound, and make sure everybody is having a wonderful time. You should have the same balanced sound as a DJ.

 

+1