WonderHorse Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 (edited) Morning. I'm looking at getting a Compact once I have the money but I'm not sure if my amp could provide sufficient power to get the best out of the Compact. It's a Trace elliot GP7SM 130. Which has 130 watts and runs at a peak of 260 watts and can run two 8 ohm speakers at 4 ohms. So I'm worried it wouldn't power the Compact sufficiently. Would I be alright with a Compact or would a Double Midget be better? **EDIT** I forgot to add that the band I'm in play sort of British rock and roll, think the Beatleas, The Clash, The Who etc... I like quite a bass soundy but I play a jazz so there's also a bit of mid punch in there. Edited December 11, 2009 by WonderHorse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 It really depends on how loud you play and how clean and bassy a tone you like. What cab are you using at the moment? I know for me to get the loudness I'd want out of so few watts I'd want something big like a 6x10"/4x12"/2x15", at which point it makes more sense (for me) to get more power and thus have to carry less cabbage (sic). Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderHorse Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 I'm currently using a Marshall VBC412. I wouldn't be replacing the Marshall. The Compact or whatever would jsut be for practice, smaller gigs, gigs where I have to play upstairs etc... Next on my list is a half decent amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderHorse Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 FWIW I use a Fender '75 RI Jazz strung with rounds. Genereally I like the low mids to be strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I'd expect your VBC412 to be as sensitive as two Compacts or one Vintage - it's an ideal cab for getting lots of SPL out of few watts. A Vintage will handle lots more power and thus go quite a bit louder in the end, whilst with a powerful aggressive amp a Compact might get quite close to the VBC412 at full (clean) blast. Anyway, I'd guess a Compact would be about as loud as half your current cab - so how do you think you'd get on if it was a 2x12", not a 4x12"? Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderHorse Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 I don't think I'd fair too badly tbh. At practice and at smallish gigs I don't turn the amp past halfway and that gives me PLENTY of sound. Would the DOuble Midget be the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 [quote name='WonderHorse' post='683975' date='Dec 14 2009, 01:47 PM']I don't think I'd fair too badly tbh. At practice and at smallish gigs I don't turn the amp past halfway and that gives me PLENTY of sound.[/quote] Unfortunately my experience with most Trace heads is that halfway on the volume is pretty much full power - after that point it just gets dirtier as it clips on louder notes. [quote name='WonderHorse' post='683975' date='Dec 14 2009, 01:47 PM']Would the DOuble Midget be the same?[/quote] The D.M. will be significantly louder in the mids and highs (probably as loud as the Marshall) and a bit louder in the lows, so it depends on how much bottom you need. Sensitivity in the lows is directional proportional to enclosure size (assuming equal LF cut-off - and I'd expect the Marshall and the D.M. to have similar bass extension despite the very different drivers and alignment) so with only a few watts big lows need big cabs. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderHorse Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 (edited) I'm not too fussed about big lows... Sounds like the Double Midget would be the best bet. I'm saving up now. Cheers Alex, it's good to talk to somebody who makes it simple. Have you got an image of th DM? Edited December 14, 2009 by WonderHorse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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