how-many watt amp? do i really need

With at least 50 watts i'd say you won't have volume level issues. Also play with your speakers position, if you angle it instead of being on ground level (in case it's a combo) it will help you hear clearly.
 
Farview said:
ummm, no. In order to get volume and stay clean, you need the headroom that comes from having more power. As soon as you start clipping the power tubes, you aren't really clean any more. The clean sound on a vox ac-30 isn't exactly squeaky clean, it just isn't fuzzy. Same sort of thing with the classic Fender amps.

Try to get a super clean sound out of a 5 watt amp and a 50 watt amp and see which one is louder.

edit to add:

The speaker has a lot to do with how loud it is too. The Jensens in the old fenders are more efficient and cleaner than the Celestions in a marshall cab...

All things being equal, more power = louder clean.
Click to expand...

I agree Jay. The ear/brain system always equates harmonic distortion with a louder sound. So if two sounds have the same SPL the distorted one will be perceived as louder (actually, a distorted sound has a higher "rms" value and thus greater energy but let's no go there!) . Look at PA systems and studio monitors? Huge power in the former and many monitors have 100+50W amps in each cab. Even so it is a bloody good monitor that can live with a fully driven AC30 decibel for decibel, and almost none can reproduce the full SPL of a 100W 4x12 stack. (and these more or less just post ww2 designs KEEP working for fekkin hours, day in day out. But STILL they moan about new valves every 2 years or so!)

Greg_L
I take your point about "clean picking" but those guys are not competing with a mad drummer and an SVT equipped bassist! The Shads were pretty clean but most people do not know that they were also bloody loud!

Dave.
 
so i ended up going with a 5 watt all tube, with a webber 1225 british series greenback style driver cab. this thing cranks. if you really are not too knowledgeable about watts/loudness. and think a 5 watt is some little baby amp, think again. i was completely surprised.

the amp and cab were made by a single dude with a small amp company in my area. know a guy who had commissioned a custom 30watt amp and loves it.

i obviously went way out of my budget, but who needs to eat/payrent/gas up the car anyhow?
thankyou too all who contributed thought/time[
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