Guitar Amp

[RuSty13]

Hey guys ummm... :helpsmile:

just wondering (I'm gonna learn guitar and I got everything picked out besides a Amp and I just don't quite get them.

Ok so yeah they're supposed to pretty loud right? well most of the ones I were looking at were around 15-30 Watts... 15-30?! MY STEREO SPEAKERS ARE 80 WATTS AND I DON'T CONSIDER THEM LOUD ENOUGH!!!

Is there some reason that has to do with the guitar or amp that makes it louder then a stereo? or is the watt measurement differnet? ANYTHING?!

Thanks guys,
-RuSty13

P.S. If you have any refrences to help with you post (I.E. A Link to the amp your talking about, or one that you own) then that would be great!

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[DRACOJOE2]

30 watts is 30 watts so ya get what you pay for. Go to the Peavy website and get something 100 to 300 watts. I run a set of Behringer B300~powered speakers with built in 300 watt amps in each and man they reach out there and grab ya LOL. Behringer Website

[lee551]

i have a crate gx-1200h head and a crate 4x12 angled cab. (makes for a pretty badass half-stack B) )

the head is 120w rms. that may not sound like a lot, but when it comes through the 4-12 inch speakers at a volume level of 3-5 its LOUD. i normally practice and play at a level of 1.5 - 2.5 volume and that still overpowers my computer speakers sometimes!

link to the head @ crate's website here.



the first amp i had was a little squier 15w practice amp. that thing was pretty quiet, but i could crank it some. then i had a fender princeton 65 that had like 60w of power, and it was more loud, but still not very powerful. now my stack is pretty powerful and its only got 120w pushing it. :music1:


edit:

i was browsing marshall's website (makers of some of the best guitar amps) and most of their amp heads & combos are 50-100w.
i looked @ mesa boogie (popular with many nu-metal bands) heads & combos and most of theirs are 50w.
i looked @ the Peavey Triple XXX head (another popular head among metal bands) and that too is only 120w.

so dont be fooled by a low number of wattage. most of the amps can still be cranked to 10 and blow you away B)

[Afronaut]

Here's my views on amps.

I had a Marshall JCM800 stack back in 80's, didnt like the head too much so
I got me Metaltronix, which has tons of gain but not much bottom, rather Thin sound actyally.
Bit too much on the Heavy Metal stuff tho, so i dont use it that much...

Still got the 4x12 cabs thought, which i dont use much either...

Then I had a stereo system, an ADA-MP1(Great Chorus innit) preamp with 2x50 Marshall poweramp,
and some Dig. effects. It was a bit too loud for pubs, and too big setup to take
on the road. Those Marshall cabs take some space, he he...
Was nice for Ping Pong delays but honestly, there aint too many songs that
you'll need that Stereo Kit...

So, I got me a Peavey 5150 combo, thats 60w with 6L6 tubes on it,
that has been perfect on the practising, and in the gigs. I dont play on Stadiums,
and if i'd had to, i'd rent the bigger gear, if needed.

I would say i dont need a 100 ---> zillion watts amp at all.

You see, part of a Good Guitar sound comes when power-amp tubes is
running on hot too, not just the preamp section.
All the nice compression, a bit more extra gain kicks in etc...
You dont get that while playing a JCM800 at volume 1,
or from transitor amps either. Atleast i have not heard of it.

I've also used the 120w head of 5150 but i thought it was a bit too much,
certainly too big for smaller clubs.
In my opinion, those massive heads (100w and over) are more Stadium equipment,
to get the best possible sound out of amp, you need to play on the edge,
and it gets too loud on the stage.

Thats why there's PA's and monitoring.

I also have a Bassman amp from -62, 60w., that has Volume, Treble, Middle, and Bass.
When i pull it up around half of it, its starting to break the sound just nicely.
Most places i've used it, its been a bit too loud so we had to hide the amp from the stage,
add more monitoring etc. works fine most of the time.

One other good thing about the 5150 combo, it has a Resonance knob, for
controlling the low and, i found that playing in open areas with a JCM800 etc,
the Bass gets lost, so the 5150 has been really usefull in places where we dont have
a big PA to rely on, to get a Fat Guitar Tone.

Basically, the Tone comes from your fingers ---> guitar ---> amp,
the Volume is controlled with PA, or atleast that would be the ideal approach.

I need a little more volume out of the amp to get the nice feedbacks happening,
and the warm tube sound. No, i dont mean the Metallica type of high pitch feedback,
i mean the feedback that i have control over, and the 5150 does let me do that.

I had a Peavey Classic 30w. also, it was nice to practise with, but it was choking while
playing together with a drummer and without PA, so i'd say about a 50 or 60 w
Tube amp is perfect for about 90% of the situations.

Sure, there is a lot of gear out there to choose from, but in my experience,
Tubes are the way to go, and the 54 sets of Marshall cabs looks silly and
you'll need several trucks to move the gear, thats why i like Combos, they're practical.

The amount of Wattage, lol, aint really that important, more important would be
the Tone.

For a beginner guitarist, later Professional, he he, i'd get me a 5150 combo.
It will serve for years. It is definately Loud enough, with tons af gain if needed, and
the Resonance control is a big plus. Sounds great from Bluesy to extreme Metal.



Oh yeah, couble other things to add, your guitar sound is as bad as your worst
piece of gear in the signal chain. If you got one cheap-ass-louzy cable,
you can be sure the sound is going to Suck.
Dont use too long cables either, you'll lose signal again, sound would Suck again.
Keep the length of cables as short as possible, and get Good Cables.
If you got a Stack, or Half-Stack, the cables from the head to cab is a bit different also. I've been using Neutrik connectors and i get the cable from dealers,
make my own cables. Its cheaper.

These things may not be cheap, but you'll only have to buy them once,
good gear lasts for a long time, and keeps the value also.

Maybe i'll add something more later, cheers from now.

[B.Helto]

In my experience, there's "watts" then there's "tube watts".

You always seem to get more muscle out of tube amps with the same ratings as their silicon counterparts.

I have a '61 Fender Deluxe amp (22 watts) and a '68 Fender Bassman head (50 watts) and the Bassman can blast the paint off the wall.

BTW: guitar amps pretty much keep their value if you take care of them, so you can always trade up later.

[spelunker121]

I got me a Peavey Heritage amp with 2-10" speakers peaking @ 130 watts.

It is MORE than enough for home practicing(actually to much), as well as fillin a 100,00 Sq Ft building with fat sound.

50 watts would be perfect for my practicing with a band in rehearsal space.
(thru a P.A.) in a club.

[drbugrugburns]

Great post slinger. I had a 1979 jmp 100w lead mk2 head with a 60s slant cab that i loved for many years but wanted to try something new so i got a 73 fender silver face super reverb and have been using a vox ac30 to do some recording with. Id stick with fender and marshalls. It sounds like you might want a little fender champ or side kick or whatever they are calling thier 15-30 watt little buddy these days. Harmony Central is a pretty good site for looking up amps and peoples personal experiences with them. hope i helped.

DBRB