How much power do you need?

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Doodleface

Doodleface

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Is 40 watts enough to keep a progressive metal guitarist (me) heard in the midst of a huge drum kit, a powerful synth, thick bass, and smooth high vocals?

It is tube of course, and I'll be running stereo (but through one cab w/stereo options, not true stereo)



EDIT: If 40 is enough.. would you rather have a Mesa 20/20, or a Peavey Classic 60/60. Mainly for live purposes, not recording.
 
I guess it depends on how the amp is tweaked, and how hot the output is on your preamp.

My marshall 9100 was one of the loudest pieces of music gear I've ever heard. I'm talking "blow out the wall" loud.

My Hughes & Kettner VS250 didn't even come close volume wise.

My VHT 2150 will blow the building's roof off like Chernobyl.

My Rivera TBR-3 is not as loud as the Marshall 9100 or the VHT 2150.

etc.


The output on my Egnater IE-4 can easily overdrive any fx unit's line level input.

The output on my Sound Clinic Climax preamp is about half as loud as the Egnater output.

My other preamps fall somewhere in between.



Preamp output makes a BIG difference in overall loudness of your rig.
 
guitarslinger":2g88m4pb said:
My VHT 2150 will blow the building's roof off like Chernobyl.
Click to expand...

I love when you talk all hot and dirty Gene..................
 
Digital Jams":38n328ij said:
guitarslinger":38n328ij said:
My VHT 2150 will blow the building's roof off like Chernobyl.
Click to expand...

I love when you talk all hot and dirty Gene..................
Click to expand...

Like a dirty bomb, Scotty 2Hotty the Body
 
I like 50 watts of power but I DO play Marshalls and it DOES depend on the specific amp.
 
Depends on the amp - my 50 watt plexi is way louder than my Peavey Classic 50 - but either of them could hang in any band situation. I've played rooms with my Peavey Classic 30 through a 4x12 with no mic and filled the room no problem - of course the master was on 12 :D .
 
Different amps really output different level volumes, even if they all say 100-watts (although it's never 100% accurate). Also, 50-watts to 100-watts is not double the volume, it's really only a couple decibels louder. That is assuming they both are the same volume output. Honestly though, if you're not playing a gigantic outside concert or stadium-sized gig, 20-30 is more than enough... though I think higher-wattage amps naturally sound better if we were comparing apples to apples.
 
Qweklain":292upvfw said:
Different amps really output different level volumes, even if they all say 100-watts (although it's never 100% accurate). Also, 50-watts to 100-watts is not double the volume, it's really only a couple decibels louder. That is assuming they both are the same volume output. Honestly though, if you're not playing a gigantic outside concert or stadium-sized gig, 20-30 is more than enough... though I think higher-wattage amps naturally sound better if we were comparing apples to apples.
Click to expand...
+1

All things being equal, the biggest difference I've noticed from say 50 to 100 watts is the low end and the attack. 100 watts seem to have a tighter, more robust low end and attack; the difference is more of a "feel" thing, since you can drive low wattage amps easier to get power amp breakup/distortion & compression easier. However, I find that difference in feel to usually be pretty noticable even at bedroom/low volumes too. I think alot of that is the output transformer. In no way am I saying a 50 watter can't be beastly, but this is what I've found to be the norm.

I've never played the power amps you mentioned, but the thing to consider is how you like you amps to feel under your fingers. The peavy has 3x the wattage, so on paper it should have a bit more oomph. I would think that with playing progressive metal you might want something I little more powerful/robust sounding and feeling, but that all depends on your preference. Just my $.02.
 
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