“It’s really loud for a 15 watt amp!”

[Baba]

Not arguing with anyone in this thread, but, I play on multi-band bills quite a lot, (all rock/party rock cover bands), and I only know of ONE guy who uses a 100 watt head, and he uses an attenuator. EVERYONE else either uses 50 watt (only 1 or 2 of them also), or less amps/heads, or modeling, straight in.

Now, that is for a variety of reasons, some being that a good few of these bands use tracks and IEMs. But even the guy with the 100 watt head, his other guitar player uses Fender deluxe with pedals.

IME, once your bass player and drummer's kick drum starts going, and if you are anywhere near the PA's subwoofers in the room, any "balls" you may have is negligible at best, and may even start trampling on the kick drum and/or bass player.

THIS IS ALL STRICTLY SPEAKING OF USING A PA WITH SUBWOOFERS. Need to carry a big room with your amp? 100 watts and 4x12 all the way.

 

[Chocol8]

I prefer almost any amp available in 50 and 100w to be in 50w, because you can typically get a little power tube saturation at rehearsal/gig volumes.

I often prefer 50w Marshalls (60’s NMV circuits) and I think it is because of the iron and the lower voltages giving them a sponginess compared to a stiffer 100w version. Other times I prefer the stiffness.

That said, both the 50 and 100 (or Fender 40 and 85) are big bottle and big iron amps and I don’t think any el84 or 6v6 amps do what either the 50 or 100 watt amps do.

 

[metropolis_4]

Wattage is all about feel and response, not volume.

A 100 watt amp feels and responds very different than a 9 watt amp at the same levels.

The only time it becomes about volume is when you need the power amp to remain clean at very high volumes, especially with low notes (hence my metal comment). Even then, that seems to have as much to do with transformers, speakers, and amp design as it does with pure wattage.

 

[metropolis_4]

I often prefer 50w Marshalls (60’s NMV circuits) and I think it is because of the iron and the lower voltages giving them a sponginess compared to a stiffer 100w version. Other times I prefer the stiffness.

That said, both the 50 and 100 (or Fender 40 and 85) are big bottle and big iron amps and I don’t think any el84 or 6v6 amps do what either the 50 or 100 watt amps do.

The inverse is also true: I don’t think any 50 or 100 watt big bottle amps do what either el84 or 6v6 amps do

 

[FuzzyAce]

Well, there's loud and then there's LOUD. At some point it's all the same.

Yeah, when your ear drums explode.

 

[sleewell]

not to be that guy but a variation of this thread happens at tgp every 2-3 weeks ahahahahaha

 

[metropolis_4]

not to be that guy but a variation of this thread happens at tgp every 2-3 weeks ahahahahaha

Well, it was about how guitarists assume lower watt amps aren’t as loud as they really are until you turned it into a tone and feel debate, haha

100% fax



Loudness aside there's also a huge difference in tone and feel between preamp distortion w plenty of power where the power section isn't close to distortion or tube distortion from a dimed power section w smaller glass.

 

[spawnofthesith]

My deluxe reverb is insanely loud

 

[BahamaDada]

In 2015 I played a bigger gig with a Blackstar HT1, bc the other guitarist was too broke to get his own amp. So he used my bigger one and I took the 1w. We were allowed to use the ENGL XXL 4x12 cabs of the headliner band.

Of course we were miced, but I could hear the amp on stage against our super loud drummer asshole.

Since then I am a firm believer, that the cab, its speakers and its membran surface is more important, than the amp watts.

As a bassist I have a 4x10 cab. Played against the other bands 4x10 cabs my cab is much quieter bc the cab and the speakers are shit. Speakers it is.

Late edit: Of course the watts still matter to me. We played full on punk and 1w wasn't exactly great sounding at max everything. But it worked.

(Although 1w was really close to getting the amp cooked. Everything was maxed out and stuff)

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Loud? Yes!
Balls? No!

A flute puts out > 100db of volume

 

[Dave Lewis]

I’ve got a few 5 & 15 watt valve heads & 15 combos and they are all Loud if you turn them up and sound great .

 

[Eagle]

For clean tone the headroom in 15w amps can be problematic . Basically if you need loud clean 15w is not enough. 20w or 30w is a safer bet if you gig.
This is the best low watter imo

This can do it.

 

[Orvillain]

Lost count the number of times some dude. who strictly plays lead in 12 bar blues jam bands, tried to give me some advice about amps.

Nah. Chairman laow that.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

The other problem with some small amps is they can cave in when you hit them with healthy amounts of fuzz. It's a cool sound if you want it but a bigger amp can usually handle it better and still have some dynamic left.

 

[Eagle]

The other problem with some small amps is they can cave in when you hit them with healthy amounts of fuzz. It's a cool sound if you want it but a bigger amp can usually handle it better and still have some dynamic left.

Most of the two tube preamp low watt amps collapse when distorted. They don’t sound like big amps turned down. Apart from that Soldano.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Most of the two tube preamp low watt amps collapse when distorted. They don’t sound like big amps turned down. Apart from that Soldano.

I've never played through a soldano. It's a bucket list amp brand I've never tried yet.

 

[FuzzyAce]

For clean tone the headroom in 15w amps can be problematic . Basically if you need loud clean 15w is not enough. 20w or 30w is a safer bet if you gig.
This is the best low watter imo
View attachment 42314
This can do it.

That really is the main thing, what kind of clean headroom is needed. Of course not all low watt amps are designed the same either. Some of those amps have beefier transformers which can be cleaner longer. Bias type and setting, voltages all play a huge factor as well. Then there is speaker cab and efficiency, all of which can make a lower wattage amp not seem so low. Granted, someone who does a lot of heavy riffing and chugging in a band situation, 50+ watts may be more ideal. The cool thing is there's something out there for everybody.

 

[metropolis_4]

The whole debate about whether big bottle high watt amps are better or low watt amps are better is like a rancher and someone who lives in Manhattan debating about whether a dually truck or a compact EV is a more practical vehicle.

Obviously they’re different tools for different jobs.

I love my JRT 9/15. I would rather play it than any 50-100 watt amp when I’m playing jazz, country, funk, Latin, and R&B. I much prefer lower watts for what I do most.

Would it be my amp of choice if I was playing in a prog metal band? HELL NO!!

 

[metropolis_4]

A flute puts out > 100db of volume

I just sat next to a reed player at a gig last weekend with no IEMs and my 300 watt "FRFR" was struggling to keep up!

 

[BahamaDada]

I just sat next to a reed player at a gig last weekend with no IEMs and my 300 watt ""FRFR"" was struggling to keep up!

Wind instruments are hella loud. Neighbor plays... some kind of horn. 2 european windows, 18m air between them and still hearable.