High power amps

[thodrik]

2 hours ago, TimR said:

 

Doesn't matter how loud you are, you won't cut through that without some serious EQ adjustments, especially cutting EQ from the guitars who belive that a load of what they think they're hearing is guitar. 

Wow, thank you for the advice. From playing bass guitar for over 20 years I had never before considered that EQ was important and I particularly appreciate your expertise which is based on a presumption that the guitarists in my band don’t know how to use EQ to compensate for their chosen tuning.

 

Cheers!

[Beer of the Bass]

I don't think I've ever owned a rig bigger than 200 watts through two 12“ speakers, and it's just never been a problem for me. I don't know if that's down to the types of band I play with or what. The times I was aware of my amp sounding pushed were always with just one speaker.

[SteveXFR]

1 hour ago, thodrik said:

Wow, thank you for the advice. From playing bass guitar for over 20 years I had never before considered that EQ was important and I particularly appreciate your expertise which is based on a presumption that the guitarists in my band don’t know how to use EQ to compensate for their chosen tuning.

 

Cheers!

 

Is that a touch of sarcasm I detect there?

[Newfoundfreedom]

9 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Is that a touch of sarcasm I detect there?

 

Nooooooo 😆

[thodrik]

9 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Is that a touch of sarcasm I detect there?

Just a little bit but not really enough to cut through, probably on account of the low tuning. 

[TimR]

1 hour ago, thodrik said:

Wow, thank you for the advice. From playing bass guitar for over 20 years I had never before considered that EQ was important and I particularly appreciate your expertise which is based on a presumption that the guitarists in my band don’t know how to use EQ to compensate for their chosen tuning.

 

Cheers!

 

It's free. You can take it or leave it.

 

I have absolutely no idea who you are or how long you've been playing but when you say you struggle to be heard in a low metal band I assume you might need a pointer. 

 

Carry on. I'll continue to give advice where I think it's appropriate. You can continue to be rude to people who are offerring help. 🤷‍♂️

Edited October 4, 2022 by TimR

[thodrik]

43 minutes ago, TimR said:

 

It's free. You can take it or leave it.

 

I have absolutely no idea who you are or how long you've been playing but when you say you struggle to be heard in a low metal band I assume you might need a pointer. 

 

Carry on. I'll continue to give advice where I think it's appropriate. You can continue to be rude to people who are offerring help. 🤷‍♂️

Okay, first I apologise that my first response came across as passive aggressive rather than having a bit of fun. That was not my intention. 

However, I did find consider that your post to be a bit condescending and did not really take into account the whole point of my post. 

In my post I was giving an account of my experience of using a Mesa Walkabout, an amp I have owned for over thirteen years (which I specifically stated in my original response which at least gives an indication of how long I have been playing and using that particular amp). The amp is well known for having a lack of clean headroom so there is a limit to how much clean volume is available, particularly when it is used in its combo format. This is well known to anyone who has used the amp, it is part of the reason that Mesa developed the WD-800. 

In terms of using the combo I actually wrote: 'It struggles in a two guitar format when the band is playing loud, low tuned rock/metal, but through a decent cabinet it is totally fine.' 

I was considering the limitations of using a 300 watt combo with limited headroom and volume capabilities in a high volume environment in the context of a thread which is discussing high power heads and just how much power is really required. With a different cabinet I can cut through just fine with the Walkabout head and I said as much, as did a couple of other posters on this thread. Yet you wrote 'Doesn't matter how loud you are, you won't cut through that without some serious EQ adjustments'. 

I felt that your post really didn't take what I wrote into account. I felt that you instead focused on the issue of low tuning and immediately came to the conclusion that issues faced by me when using the Walkabout combo in a high volume environment are due to me not knowing how to use EQ in order to cut through and also partly down to my bandmates being unable to use EQ and also being a bit juvenile for down tuning in the first place, as detailed in your reference to 'guitars who belive that a load of what they think they're hearing is guitar'.

So, respectfully I didn't actually consider that you were offering any meaningful assistance or advice that was relevant to what I actually wrote. However, I do apologise for the sarcastic nature of my initial response.

[Dad3353]

[msb]

I had a Mesa Walkabout for a bit , but it was too much to carry around. Just using it for rehearsals , and parking there was difficult.

I had blown up my GK MB150. It was off to repair , but took forever to get a replacement module for it. 

Liked the Mesa , but it was cumbersome and weighed a ton.

[thodrik]

1 minute ago, msb said:

I had a Mesa Walkabout for a bit , but it was too much to carry around. Just using it for rehearsals , and parking there was difficult.

I had blown up my GK MB150. It was off to repair , but took forever to get a replacement module for it. 

Liked the Mesa , but it was cumbersome and weighed a ton.

The combo is a lump to carry and is decidedly underpowered compared to modern class D amps. Though it was portable compared to my old Trace Elliot combo!

[Bridgehouse]

2 hours ago, thodrik said:

The combo is a lump to carry and is decidedly underpowered compared to modern class D amps. Though it was portable compared to my old Trace Elliot combo!

Warwick Castle is portable compared to the Trace Elliot combo I have.

[lozkerr]

31 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

Warwick Castle is portable compared to the Trace Elliot combo I have.

Sheesh, and I thought my Eden Metro was heavy.

 

Have to give you that, though. One of the studios we rehearse in has a 210 Trace Elliot combo for a backline. After one attempt at moving it, I'll call in a fork-lift before I try again!

[Bridgehouse]

3 minutes ago, lozkerr said:

Sheesh, and I thought my Eden Metro was heavy.

 

Have to give you that, though. One of the studios we rehearse in has a 210 Trace Elliot combo for a backline. After one attempt at moving it, I'll call in a fork-lift before I try again!

I’m pretty sure mine defies the laws of physics in some way or other. 
 

I swear it’s heavier every time I try to lift it

[Stub Mandrel]

They each contain a small piece of neutron star.

[Dan Dare]

On 03/10/2022 at 22:03, Downunderwonder said:

I suspect the taper on your master volume is further from linear than some. 30% of the loud knob travel doesn't really tell you very much on any amp. Eg vintage Trace Elliot are about done at '4'/10.

 

Then there's the 'audio taper' that attempts to linearize the power to loudness relationship, or let a bit more out at 2 than it really should in an attempt to get more sales from in store demos.

 

The first 10w are the loudest. The next 90w go to making it twice as loud. If the cabinet would actually use 1000w with any efficiency you could go twice as loud again. But you can't.

 

 

 

This is key. It's understandable to think "My amp's only turned up a quarter of the way. Therefore I'm only using 25% of its power", but it ain't so, because of the taper of the pots. They don't increase volume in a linear fashion. You usually see a large increase during the early stage of the pot travel, with the amount of increase lessening as you turn it up further. 

[nilorius]

The best high watt amp, i have tried, is Aguilar DB 751.

Edited October 6, 2022 by nilorius

[Dad3353]

The best Hiwatt amp is Hiwatt. 

[jimmyb625]

53 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

The best Hiwatt amp is Hiwatt. 

True, but oh my word are they heavy!

[Owen]

I used to run a Chevin Audio A3000 power amp bridged into an Eden 410XLT. It was never about the volume. It was about the headroom. Absolutely glorious. There is no substitute for lots of power. Obviously, knowing what to do with it is key (looking at you Liz).

[Dad3353]

This is our main bass amp (we have others...), a Hiwatt PA head, 200w of KT88 valves. Headroom to the sky, and clean all the way up. Power..? It can double as a concrete buster for reducing war-time Omaha Beach bunkers to dust. We seldom need, nor want, to dial up beyond 9 o'clock. The HH cab helps, of course. How much does it all weigh..? A little less than Jupiter (but not much...)...

 

[Elfrasho]

Big stages. It's quite amazing how pub sized amps become small amps on big stages. I've played on a few and a 200-300 watt becomes  a practice amp, expecially when the side fill alone can out muscle you! 

[Lozz196]

33 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

Big stages. It's quite amazing how pub sized amps become small amps on big stages. I've played on a few and a 200-300 watt becomes  a practice amp, expecially when the side fill alone can out muscle you! 

Definitely, that’s why I love my Ashdown ABM600, on those big stages it still delivers a big powerful sound. Some amps are loud enough on those stages but the sound gets thinned down, the ABM retains its “bigness”.

[msb]

I mostly play mid sized bars , and frequently run a single 8 ohm cab. Most gigs only the vocals , and maybe a sax are miked , so I need too fill the room, the band stage mix is what people are going to hear. 
I do have a second cab for bigger rooms and outdoor gigs. There are times it’s needed. I’ve never had to dime the amp. Lots of headroom. Berg 112 & 210 cab combination , Forte head. 
It’s got a serious slam.