Watt is actually LOUD?

Thatbastarddon

Thatbastarddon

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I found this a fairly concise presentation of the wattage vs loudness conundrum I’ve seen since I first started gigging as a guitar player/singer.
I haven’t bothered to lug out a 100 watt rig at a gig since around 2007ish...the last time we played the last, local, larger venue(500ish person capacity) before they turned it in to a super drug store.
Since then, we’ve morphed from an original band to a cover band with a little originality(I like to think), playing for a few dozen to around a hundred people at the smaller venues that remain locally. Other than a few gigs with a 50 watt Silkyn, I’ve been happily using smaller rigs.
Finding the right combination of amp and speaker cabinets for myself along the way has been fun, and educational. The smallest wattage I was able to run for an audience of ~50-60 was a Tiny Terror, set to half power(7watts), pushing a reasonably efficient 2X12. There wasn’t much in the way of “clean” guitar needed(or had) for that set though.

I know that Smitty has a 5watt iso-cab rig that he is smitten with too, but I’ve not had the courage to attempt a setup like that...yet.

Are many others here clinging to the heavy hitting, high watters, for anything other than the occasional indulgence at rehearsals?
 
I been using my Vox 30 for any potentially loud rehearsals and at home dialed down. Even at the loudest rehearsal hootenanny it was only set to 3/4 power

I have my Marshall 100whead and 120w Cab at home, is mostly just used as something to look at, like a great peice of uasable art
 
I switched to 25-watt amps several years ago. I was never driving a 40 or 50 watt amp hard enough to get the power amp to break a sweat, so this has been an incredible revision for me - actual power tube distortion at volume levels that won’t sterilize the neighbor’s dog!
At “practice” volume the 10-watt modes are plenty to keep up with a full band but 25 has more punch. Masters are never above 11:00.
 
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The few times I played electric on worship band I used my 20w Traynor with a single 12. Miced and thrubthe board it was more than enough. Don’t remember ever using it, but I also have an old 5w-10” Fender. Was tempted to use it. The Traynor I still had to keep it below 6 or I’d be blasting people. That little fender, crank that sucker to 10 and rock it out.
 
Honestly-- I dont do "loud" anymore -- I did -- and now-- truly LOUD music is painfiul--not sarcasm, its ACTUALLY painful ---

so --- for me even a 5 watt can be TOO LOUD --

my ROLAND Micro Cube barely gets above Vol level 5 and its 3 watts!!!

good rich tone-- at a volume that you can HEAR all the tone-- to me is best--

maybe why I prefer bass-- the lower frequencies I can tolerate at louder volumes
 
My old Peavey Vulcan Series 500 head on top of a peavey 6x12 concert stack was loud - really loud actually - no clue how many watts it was though.
 
I rarely get a chance to play live with other fellow noisemakers. Usually 2 to 3 times a year, and they are all "Garage Jam-Fests". The volumes are insanely loud at these gatherings. My 18 watt Sweet Spot gets the job done, but barely. The amp is usually maxed out on its volume capabilities. No more headroom at this point, so my playing dynamics is limited because of this. I don't have this problem with my 30 watt and 50 watters though... :dood:

I'm sure my choice of amps and volume needed would be completely reconfigured if I was actually playing in a real band at the local small venues.
 
Vt20+ Vox here
Very pleased with the sounds I get from that amp also extremely amazed at how well the clean setting sounds last time I had one of these amps I spent way more time messing around with all the gadgetry and decided I didn't like it this time I'm using the amp just as itself and it sounds quite nice
 
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To add on...he brings up a really good point in the video. I run my 25-watters through a 4x12 when playing with a band, but just through a 1x12 at home, and there is a radical difference in volume with the master set the same.
 
gball said:
To add on...he brings up a really good point in the video. I run my 25-watters through a 4x12 when playing with a band, but just through a 1x12 at home, and there is a radical difference in volume with the master set the same.
Click to expand...
I often use 4 to 6X12 at home/rehearsal. I only take 1 or 2X12 to gigs nowadays.:cheers:
 
Speaker efficiency plays a part in how "loud" an amp is. I often borrow an old 4x12 loaded with Rola 12PEG (alnico) speakers when using my 50 Watters in pubs, small clubs etc. While it doesn't knock heaps of volume off it is noticeabley not as "loud" as my more efficient Celestion (greenbacks over V30's) loaded cab. I still need to use a dirtbox in those situations though. I see an attenuator in my near future. Cheers
 
I've been using 15 watt Pro Junior for almost a year now. It has a Jensen P10R speaker which made a huge difference. With a humbucker guitar it's rarely above half volume. On really rocking nights I may get the volume up to three quarters. I can get reasonable cleans with the guitar volume around two to four depending where the amp volume is. I also have an 80 watt Traynor 6l6 4x10 monster combo Strangely enough I use this one quite a bit at home because the cleans are so nice, very twin like, at low volumes. At 70 lbs it hardly ever ventures out of the house.
 
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