Is 40 watts enough to practice and jam with

[sk8]

I need a practice amp anyhoo and i'm looking at a 40 watt one and wonder whther this will be enough to jam with an accoustic guitar or an epectric on a practice amp?

Thanks in advance

[The_D]

[quote name='sk8' post='79651' date='Oct 26 2007, 08:33 AM']I need a practice amp anyhoo and i'm looking at a 40 watt one and wonder whther this will be enough to jam with an accoustic guitar or an epectric on a practice amp?

Thanks in advance[/quote]

Without Drums? Yeah easily. With drums? Probably not unless the drummer uses daffodils as sticks

[queenofthedepths]

[quote name='The_D' post='79652' date='Oct 26 2007, 08:37 AM']Without Drums? Yeah easily. With drums? Probably not unless the drummer uses daffodils as sticks [/quote]

In my last band, the 2 guitarists both played with 30W combos and were clearly audible against a drummer - that said, they sounded rubbish - there's no point cranking a small amp up unless you don't care how good you sound

[sk8]

[quote name='The_D' post='79652' date='Oct 26 2007, 08:37 AM']Probably not unless the drummer uses daffodils as sticks [/quote]roflol

No drummer involved

[wulf]

No problem. I've gigged (largely acoustic venues) with less.

Wulf

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='79654' date='Oct 26 2007, 08:42 AM']In my last band, the 2 guitarists both played with 30W combos and were clearly audible against a drummer - that said, they sounded rubbish - there's no point cranking a small amp up unless you don't care how good you sound[/quote]

Guitarists yes; there is loads of top quality valve gear at and below this wattage... bassists NO (not with drums)!

[sk8]

i have got a MAG300 combo but it would be nice to have a mellow jam without it!

[sk8]

Well i've just bought aNemesis N8 40 watt with an 8" speaker

[stingrayfan]

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='79654' date='Oct 26 2007, 08:42 AM']In my last band, the 2 guitarists both played with 30W combos and were clearly audible against a drummer[/quote]
Bear in mind watts are not like for like between guitar and bass amps. Bass players often need a lot more (3 or 4 times more) that guitarists. They want distorted and overdriven high-frequencies, we want clean low ones.

[Machines]

I'd say you might be heard but it'd sound a bit naff.

I think you'd be better off with the MAG210, I assume your reason for selling it is it's heavy and a pain to lug ?

[sk8]

The MAG is great but i'm not quite getting the sounds in my head i want out of it and most of the time i'm just playing on my own so a practice amp is cheaper to run (yes i am that tight!).

I'm selling the MAG to replace it with something else, probably a head and cab of some sort but i'm not desperate to get rid of it at any cost. I'll keep it and use it on bigger gigs until i can replace it.

As long as the practice amp can keep up with either an accoustic or a quiet electric thats fine by me. I'm not expecting to gig with it and would bre mightily impressed if it would hold its own against a drum kit, which it won't

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='sk8' post='79802' date='Oct 26 2007, 02:52 PM']The MAG is great but i'm not quite getting the sounds in my head i want out of it and [size=5][b]most of the time i'm just playing on my own so a practice amp is cheaper to run (yes i am that tight!).[/b][/size]

I'm selling the MAG to replace it with something else, probably a head and cab of some sort but i'm not desperate to get rid of it at any cost. I'll keep it and use it on bigger gigs until i can replace it.

As long as the practice amp can keep up with either an accoustic or a quiet electric thats fine by me. I'm not expecting to gig with it and would bre mightily impressed if it would hold its own against a drum kit, which it won't [/quote]

Try playing without an amp at all, it will improve your technique and save you another 0.72p per hour on electricity

[LukeFRC]

there are two arts you could use here.
the first is the art of choosing the correct bass amplification for your need. Other people have been giving you advice

the other is training guitarists to turn down.
this is harder

[bassicinstinct]

Also, bear in mind how "loudness" works i.e. all other things being equal (e.g. speakers), to be twice as "loud" as a 100 watt amp, you would need [b]1000 watts [/b]and [b]NOT[/b] 200 watts.

Just my 2 pence worth, but it is something which is commonly completely misunderstood.