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sk8bobby10
New member
about how much tube wattage do you guys think you need to play wiht a full band? is 30 enough, or do you need atleast 50? I don't have much experience with tubes.... thanks in advance.
Joepie
New member
The thing with tube amps is that you can never tell just by the amount of watts. I've seen 30 watt amps that totally overpowered my 60 watt Marshall tube combo (even though they sounded really distorted). I guess it depends on the make & model, as well as the speakers/cabinet hooked up to it.
As a reference, my Marshall JTM60 has plenty of power for a practice room or even a small venue (like a bar). Anything above that it needs to be mic'ed.
Sorry if this doesn't really answer your question.
As a reference, my Marshall JTM60 has plenty of power for a practice room or even a small venue (like a bar). Anything above that it needs to be mic'ed.
Sorry if this doesn't really answer your question.
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sk8bobby10
New member
haha, yeah i know what you mean. I gotta start messing around in the shops and figure out what i like...
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jonnyc
New member
My little mesa boogie dc-3 is 30 watts and it slaughters my 50 watt marshall. Once I start getting to 2 or 3 it fills up my entire house. I had a cranked to 6 once but felt like I was doing damage to my ears and turned it right back down. 30 watts is probably more than enough to jam with a band. Hell I know guys in blues bands jamming on 5 watters.
Outlaws
New member
Depends on how much clean power you need. If distortion is all you need, then 30 is enough most of the time. If you need a loud clean sound, 50-80 watts would be better.
But it is also how efficient the speaker is in using the power it gets. that would most likely explain the previous posts of one tube amp of lower wattage being louder than other of higher wattage.
But it is also how efficient the speaker is in using the power it gets. that would most likely explain the previous posts of one tube amp of lower wattage being louder than other of higher wattage.
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stainlessbrown
New member
I play a Mesa Rocket 440, 45 watts and typically at 2-3 for small rooms and 4-5 for big and outside we mic everything thru the board....
standing infront of the amp at 4 -5 my ears are mush by the end of the 3rd set
standing infront of the amp at 4 -5 my ears are mush by the end of the 3rd set
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Adam P
Well-known member
If you're using a tube combo or a smaller cabinet, like a 2x10 or 2x12, get that thing up off the floor and on a chair or a stand or something a little closer to ear level. You don't hear things through your shins, after all. It will make a world of difference when rehearsing, and is probably a good idea live as well, even if they mic your amp for the FOH.
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hungovermorning
Dr. Caveman.
Totally agreed with the responses, I've got a Sound City "30 watt" amp that is death incarnate over 3 on volume. 30 tube watts will definitely be enough to practice with a band. To be honest, there are very few times where you need 100 watts because it's just too loud. I've played an assload of shows for the last five and 100 watts is just silly unless you're playing an arena and that's miced anyways. 30-60 will let you push the amp to get a healthy amount of gain plus it'll record well. Just make sure it's tube wattage, I have no idea how solid state stuff calls itself 100 watts, probably out of a 2 ohm speaker or something non-existent.
cheers,
scott
cheers,
scott
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ggunn
Crystal Flavolian
sk8bobby10 said:
A lot really depends on the rest of the band and the material you are performing. My 22 watt Deluxe Reverb is plenty for me in my situation, but if we were headbangers it probably wouldn't be enough. My 50 watt Marshall, OTOH, can get louder than I could possibly ever need.