amp wattage

  • Thread starter Thread starter dubstyle5000
  • Start date Start date
+10db is 10 times the power. But you are right, double the volume is subjective.

That chart Ed Dixon linked to lays it all out nicely, with the noted exception that how volume increases heard are subjective.
 
It depends a lot on what you consider "small" clubs to be. Do you mean the little hole in the wall places with barely room for a band and no real dance floor? Piano bar maybe? Supper club? I think of these places whenever someone mentions " small clubs," to others, small might mean seating for 50 with a small dance floor.
It would also help to know what type of music you play and how many band members and what instruments. Do you just want to be heard or do you want to blow out the eardrums of your audience? Will the audience be a laid back crowd or will they be rowdy?
For small quiet places 10-20 watts will probably be enough, for slightly larger and noisy clubs 50-100 watts are needed to cut through so you can be heard.
 
I dunno really, but you gotta be loud enough to hear yourself over the drummer!
 
thevirgin said:
Speaker efficiency is a big factor here. All of these calculations assume that you are using speakers with the same real world efficiency. You can make a big change in the SPL that you get from a given amp just by using more or less efficient speakers. The problem is that each manufacturer tends to use a different method of determining the efficiency ratings of their speakers so the specs are not terribly useful when comparing products from different speaker companies.

Also note that the efficiency is going to change depending on the cabinet/encoloure itself.

Peace,
ST
Click to expand...

All true, which is why knowing more about speakers and cabinets you are buying is a good thing.

Most good firms will tell you how they measure speaker/cabinet sensitivity. That makes it a little easier to compare cabinets from different firms.

Ed
 
Willybomb said:
I dunno really, but you gotta be loud enough to hear yourself over the drummer!
Click to expand...

I use a 50W power amp and a single 15" wedge for live work. I run the amp set at about -15db and have no trouble hearing various drummers. With that setting, I doubt I average more than a few watts.

Ed
 
pikingrin said:
If you have a Class A tube amp, it should produce more volume (theoretically) than a Class A/B, or any of the others, right?
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What do you mean by "Class A tube amp?" A tube amp operating in true Class A (many single-ended guitar amps but only one or two push-pull amps)? Or a tube amp operating in Class AB but incorrectly-hyped as "Class A" (push-pull amps like Vox, Matchless, Bad Cat, etc.)?

If you are talking about true class differences, actual output watts and volume do not change simply because of the the class the tube is operating in. However, the ability to get a certain amount of watts and linearity (which affects perceived volume) out of a given set of tubes is definitely affected by operating class. True Class A is generally less efficient and produces less wattage from the same output tubes in push-pull operation. But the same Class A is also capable of great linearity and cleans which might be perceived as louder than a distorted signal.
 
pikingrin said:
If you have a Class A tube amp, it should produce more volume (theoretically) than a Class A/B, or any of the others, right?
Click to expand...
Watts are watts, so that should not really make much of a difference. Amps are measured for power using standardized approach (RMS, distortion, etc). some amps have better headroom than others which can make a difference in clarity.

10Watts into a given speaker is going to produce a certain level of volume, somewhat regardless of what produced the power. Noise S/N, and other factors like weight, cost, etc, vary considerably for the same specs.

Ed
 
I may be a little on the spinal tap ours go to eleven side of things but I'd set you up with a 100w half stack and use a power brake if you need to. Rawk!
 
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