Does "heft" matter if your gigs are usually PA assisted?

[Jazzjames]

24 minutes ago, BassAdder27 said:

As mentioned in my earlier post the PF500 is not a loud 500w head compared to others 

Extra cabs help but it needs some more grunt behind that amp too

I accept that the pf500 is not exactly the best amp in its class. I wouldn’t buy one, and didn’t, but if I had to either replace the amp or the cab to maximise volume, I’d be looking for a second cab, or replacing the BB2 with something bigger.  Piling loads of watts into a small cab can give you the required SPL, but a modest amount of watts into a bigger more efficient cab is in my opinion also a legitimate strategy.

 

It’s a complex issue but I feel that many players these days are gigging under-speakered. They have a 500-800w amp which has more than enough headroom and power, but they limit themselves with small, compact speakers. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that they exist for smaller/quieter gigs.  FYI I use my AER amp one for the majority of my professional engagements and love it!  But obviously I don’t need loads of SPL on these gigs if I’m happily using a 1x10 combo! But if you want that big effortless sound at higher volumes, you need speakers to move some air.

Edited May 22, 2022 by Jazzjames

[Downunderwonder]

If you are indoors your onstage 'heft' becomes mud out front. Upgrading the amp might get you another 3 or 4dB of heft but getting the guitar players to quiet down by 3dB would be far more productive.

[Phil Starr]

On 18/05/2022 at 18:21, Clarky said:

 

So am I basically worrying about a "problem" that doesn't exist in practice? Stick with what I have?

I'm assuming that is you in the video? If so the bass is sitting about where I'd put it in the mix, I can pick out every note but it isn't overpowering everyone else and there is a little bit of snarl coming over when you dig in on the odd note so for me all is good. The whole recording is a bit light on bass, the kick drum is coming over as a slap rather than a good heavy thump but that is probably down to how it was recorded and where in the room the recorder was. My guess though is that the audience were hearing a good sound, I enjoyed it.

 

The second thing is that your worry seems to come from the rehearsal room. Every room has differing acoustics and sometimes you just sound *****! If certain frequencies are exciting room resonances and you are right on top of your speaker because there isn't a lot of space it's tough. Pointing your BB2 at your head often helps so taking a stand to rehearsal might help

 

Do you like your on-stage sound generally? Ever had complaints from the audience about not enough bass? My suspicion is that you may have a problem that doesn't exist in practice. I'd expect your set up to give you plenty of power easily enough to keep up with your drums and if the guitar is too loud then get them to point their cab away from you. Take your time and see if this is just a one off or a recurring problem before you set off on an expensive quest for the perfect amount of heft.

[Clarky]

Just a quick note to say thank you Phil and all the other contributors to this thought-inducing discussion

Edited May 23, 2022 by Clarky