amplification problems

[Moonstomper]

at the moment I'm playing through an Ashdown five fifteen 100w combo, its not really big enough for what we need but its all i've got and can't afford anything else at the moment. Is there anyway i can boost the signal to the amp? or just generally get louder?

[Mr. Foxen]

More speakers is about the only way to get louder actually. ut, stick it on a box, in the corner, and you get the speaker closer to, and facing your ears, plus the corners gives you a bit of reinforcement as you radiate into a smaller space. Then, mess with EQ, cut some bass, and you can up the volume. Might sound a bit poo on its own, but gets you louder in the mix, that combo is never going to do actual bass, so depending on the frequency center of the bass knob, might just be a fart control.

[chris_b]

You can get extra volume by adding an extension speaker. Can you DI through the PA system?

[thisnameistaken]

It's probably never going to be loud enough. Adding an extension speaker would make it maybe 50% louder, but that still isn't going to be very loud and you will end up with a difficult-to-transport bass rig.

You need a bigger amp, ultimately, if you're gigging.

[spinynorman]

100W isn't ideal for gigs, but I wonder if the 515 is worse because it's pushing a 15" speaker? I bought a Crate BT100, which is 100W + 12", on eBay for £80 to use at home. Then I took it to a band practice and was surprised how loud it was. Took it to a gig in a smallish pub and was quite upset that it not only coped, but got more compliments on its tone than my 400W Markbass combo gets. Depends how much you could get for the Ashdown, but there might be affordable alternatives for not much money. Obviously be careful though, as you could end up worse off.

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1019621' date='Nov 11 2010, 03:25 AM']It's probably never going to be loud enough.[/quote]
Plus one. 100w is fine for some bands & I can get by on it due to a quieter drummer and the genre we play. Ultimately though if it ain't cutting it now it probably never will & you could spend a lot of money ignoring that you have reached the stage where you need to upgrade

[KevB]

Cheapest option at the moment would be to mic your current rig through the PA so at least the bass could be mixed up accordingly with the other instruments. If you mean that a 100W rig isn't loud enough for you to even hear onstage then your bandmates are probably way too loud with their backline.