How much wattage?

[DeeBassist]

Hey there, I was just wondering what kind of power I'd be needing for playing gigs going from small pubs, to small stage venues, like, academies and stuff.

I was thinking of investing into an Ashdown MAG 810 cab with and Ashdown MAG 300 Head. Would this be enough power to be able to heard in a gig?

[Musky]

Probably overkill if anything.

[chris_b]

[quote name='DeeBassist' post='1185454' date='Apr 2 2011, 12:33 AM']....I was thinking of investing into an Ashdown MAG 810 cab with and Ashdown MAG 300 Head. Would this be enough power to be able to heard in a gig?....[/quote]
I'd take two if I were you!

[JTUK]

Depends on your monitoring and whether the PA has decent side fills.

Small pubs deffo overkill..large stages...?? needs to look the part. If you need more than one there, your PA isn't spec'ed well enough.

Seriously, most bass playes have more than 300watts on tap in small venues even if they don't use it.

The 'usual' is a 500w amp into 4 ohms..300 into 8...typically, if you were to canvass most on here

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='DeeBassist' post='1185454' date='Apr 1 2011, 07:33 PM']Hey there, I was just wondering what kind of power I'd be needing for playing gigs going from small pubs, to small stage venues, like, academies and stuff.

I was thinking of investing into an Ashdown MAG 810 cab with and Ashdown MAG 300 Head. Would this be enough power to be able to heard in a gig?[/quote]
Before considering an 8x10 consider how you'll get it to the gig.
300 watts is plenty, and a pair of 2x10 cabs makes for an easy to transport scalable rig.

[Blademan_98]

I asked a similar question a while back.

As above most agreed that 300watts and a 2x10 was good with a 1x15 extension if it was a bigger club.

DI through the PA if any bigger!

Having said that, I opted for a 2x10 combo with a 1x15 (450 watts @ 2ohm).

I must be mad was my misses' only comment!

[xgsjx]

It depends on the type of music you're playing. I've played with no pa support to audiences of @150 thru a Vox 30 watt combo & been ok (it was a folk gig tho). I wouldn't be heard in my rock band with it.
If you're not gonna get 2x8x10s then I'd go with Bill's advice & get 2x10 cabs.
What's your budget?

[Lozz196]

Agree with the posts so far, 450/500 watt amp at 4 ohms, with either a 410, or two 210s will be enough. Use one of the 210s for practice, both at gigs. It`s what I would have done, if the funds had been available, but they weren`t, so I went 410, into which my amp will put about 300 watts at 8 ohms. Will still be enough for the size of the gigs mentioned.

[DeeBassist]

To the budget questions, I'd say anywhere between 300 and 800 quid.

To the PA related replies, I have a Carlsbro Marlin 6 PA head, with some Carlsbro speakers from the 80's which I don't know the model of, because Dad give me them.

I think my PA is backing around 800 watts, but I'm not too sure.

[xgsjx]

If you're willing to go 2nd hand, you'll get a decent amp & a couple of 2x10s for just under your max budget. You'll get away with 1 2x10 & add another if needed at a later date.

[Paul S]

I play a mix of small pubs to open air stuff where the rig is just for stage monitoring and have found my 300w Trace Elliot head to be more than adequate even if just using one cab - so effectively about 220W on tap? Never had to turn up the volume beyond 2 o'clock.

Shameless plug - I will be selling this lot soon for not a lot of money.
AH300-12 head (with footswitch!!!)
1x15 cab, 2x10 cab.
The very last of the pre-Gibson stuff to come out of the factory and in very good nick, all with covers...
I'm thinking probably £600 all in, with all cables.

[Truckstop]

Personally, I'd go with a 2x10 and a seperate 1x15/1x12. That will provide enough volume for any gig without PA support up to about 250 people.
It's handy to have two cabs too in case you need to make more space in the car or if there's not enough space on stage.
Trust me, there's nothing worse than turning up at the famous Frog and Twat on a tuesday night with your obscenely huge 8x10. 8x10's don't even sound good unless you're running them at massive volume anyway. And as we all know, the Frog and Twat have to keep the decibels down to please the neighbours.

Truckstop

[allighatt0r]

An 8x10 is COMPLETELY ridiculous for a pub gig. Are you out of your mind?!?!

I gig a 300w 15" combo in a band with two guitarists and a loud drummer and no PA support with ease. One guitarist has a 4x12 and the other one gigs a 1x12 line 6 combo (on a stand that puts it about ear height on top of my combo).

[chris_b]

Pro bands that go out with 1, 2, 4 or more stacks per band member are just doing it for show (and bravado!) so don’t get sucked in to that game. A 500 watt amp and a 410 cab (or 2 210/212) is as much as most promoters, neighbours, band members, audiences and your ears can take.

Get louder and larger if you really have to but you'll be breaking your back, being asked to turn down and seriously damaging your hearing to no real purpose.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1185527' date='Apr 2 2011, 07:35 AM']I asked a similar question a while back.

As above most agreed that 300watts and a 2x10 was good with a 1x15 extension if it was a bigger club.

DI through the PA if any bigger![/quote]

That works for me.

An 8x10 might look the part but I'd only consider one for a permanent practice room or if I ever get to the stage where I don't have to cart around my own gear (some hopes!).

[thodrik]

I have never needed more than an efficient 300 watts into a 4 ohm load. I think an 8x10 should be reserved for when you are in touring band playing in big venues. But if you really want it, then go for it.

[Delberthot]

My GK 700RB II and Laney Nexus 115 does every gig, regardless of size. If the venue is large enough then you'll have a PA. The lightest 8x10 is around 65kg and a pain in the arse to move

Edited April 2, 2011 by Delberthot

[mcnach]

[quote name='DeeBassist' post='1185454' date='Apr 2 2011, 12:33 AM']Hey there, I was just wondering what kind of power I'd be needing for playing gigs going from small pubs, to small stage venues, like, academies and stuff.

I was thinking of investing into an Ashdown MAG 810 cab with and Ashdown MAG 300 Head. Would this be enough power to be able to heard in a gig?[/quote]

certainly enough... but a bit overkill... and bringing that 810 into some venues could be... interesting

a 410 will be enough.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Truckstop' post='1185708' date='Apr 2 2011, 12:20 PM']Personally, I'd go with a 2x10 and a seperate 1x15/1x12. That will provide enough volume for any gig without PA support up to about 250 people.
It's handy to have two cabs too in case you need to make more space in the car or if there's not enough space on stage.
Trust me, there's nothing worse than turning up at the famous Frog and Twat on a tuesday night with your obscenely huge 8x10. 8x10's don't even sound good unless you're running them at massive volume anyway. And as we all know, the Frog and Twat have to keep the decibels down to please the neighbours.

Truckstop[/quote]


most importantly... you may have to evacuate half of the pub to give you room to bring the cab to the stage area... and then you may find the drummer got there first

[4-string-thing]

The Mag 300 is a good, budget head and plenty loud enough into a 4 ohm 4x10 cab unless the guitarists are way too loud (usually) and you have no P.A support. This was the case with me until recently, my solution was to buy the Mag 600, use it for 1 gig and then leave the band!

To this end, I have a practically brand new Mag 300 for sale if you're interested. Its in as new condition and has had less than 4 hours use (two 45 minute sets and a rehearsal)

I agree with most of the others, no need for an 8x10, if you want that, you'd be better off with 2 4x10's then you could use one for small gigs and both for bigger gigs with a bigger stage.

[xgsjx]

I'd stick with 8 ohm cabs. 4 ohm cabs leaves no expansion unless the amp will run at 2 ohms & you'll be hard pressed to hear the difference between the 4 or 8 ohm cab (wattage ain't gonna make that much difference into the same cab regardless of ohms.

Mixing cabs/drivers (10s, 15s etc) will give you unpredictable results. Sometimes good, sometimes not.

[Marvin]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='1185508' date='Apr 2 2011, 03:44 AM']Before considering an 8x10 consider how you'll get it to the gig.
300 watts is plenty, and a pair of 2x10 cabs makes for an easy to transport scalable rig.[/quote]
Having spent hours myself researching heads and cabs I'd go with what Bill says, he does afterall make his living out of this area.

If I remember correctly Bill would suggest stacking the 2x10's on top each other rather than side by side to give better dispersion.


As an aside, has the suggested min head gone up on BC recently? When I first joined the forum, and as Bill has suggested an adequate amp was 300w. It now seems to be 500w. Is there a reason for this?

[JMT3781]

[quote name='Marvin' post='1186258' date='Apr 2 2011, 10:15 PM']Having spent hours myself researching heads and cabs I'd go with what Bill says, he does afterall make his living out of this area.

If I remember correctly Bill would suggest stacking the 2x10's on top each other rather than side by side to give better dispersion.


As an aside, has the suggested min head gone up on BC recently? When I first joined the forum, and as Bill has suggested an adequate amp was 300w. It now seems to be 500w. Is there a reason for this?[/quote]

Maybe that's down to many 500w amps being digital and providing the same grunt as a "good old" 300 watter

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='JMT3781' post='1186260' date='Apr 2 2011, 10:19 PM']Maybe that's down to many 500w amps being digital and providing the same grunt as a "good old" 300 watter[/quote]
My new digital head would demolish my old ABM 300. I think it's more about it being cheaper to get these wattages? In just over a year we are seeing people say you will need the shuttle 9.0 or the RH750 when we know the 6.0 or 450's are plenty and some. I suspect in another year those people will be claiming if you use 12's or 15's and play a 5'er you will need the shuttle 1600 or TC2400 etc yet my little! 600watt will be just fine with a 2x12 and a Ray5

[Mr. Foxen]

It's the fashion for smaller cabs meaning they trade off sensitivity, thus need more watts for the volume.