A louder 50watt valve?
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Posted on Oct 05, 2005 01:53 pm
Hujambo
Member Since: Aug 13, 2005
Hi,most gigs my band play are pubs so we dont usually mike up through pa,just drums touch of bass n vocals.Sometimes my 50watt carlsbro valve through 4x12 gets a bit swamped when bass and other guitarist keep going back to amps and tweeking up.At last gig i decided to try somthing and it worked great The cab is an Ashdown and can be used in stereo so I dangled a mike in front of the two speakers powered by the valve amp,and put it through an old pa 100 amp feeding the other two speakers! Great sustain and plenty of usable vol.Has anyone tried this and whats your opinion?Or should I find other muso's that can hear while i still can?
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TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Oct 05, 2005 02:22 pm Just my 2c worth.
50w of tubes through a 4x12 should be plenty!
I'm a little concerned at your stage volumes, if your 50w isn't cutting it.
WHAT?
HUH?
You know that ringing in your ears when you go to bed after a gig? Guess what that's all about!
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
Oct 05, 2005 03:51 pm It might be relative to the way things are possitioned on your stage . Try some different configurations, and perhaps the extra volume won't be needed . Just the same, there's nothing wrong with being as loud as you need to as long as everyones not playing the 'how loud can we be' game . The less is more is the rule of thumb applies for making what sounds good on stage, sound loud and clear up-front... of course, if there's no pa, well...
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Oct 05, 2005 04:16 pm If 50 tube watts aren't enough, then you all are one LOUD band! :)
Maybe try using some EQ in each of your setups, as well as on the PA. Try to give each instrument its own piece of the EQ spectrum. Then you won't have to keep turning up to hear yourself, and your audience will thank you as well.
I wish I'd known this when I was still a performing guitarist. Our band sounded like a collection of construction crews all hammering away at the same time! I think that we just ended up with pink noise, each frequency of the spectrum was maxed out to the brink of human perception.
jmailjimmie neutronMember
Since: Feb 14, 2005
Oct 05, 2005 06:43 pm I used to think I "needed" that amp in Spinal Tap that went up to "Ee-LEV-vun!", so'd the other guitarist in the band ("Hey!", Hue). What helped us most was getting on-stage monitoring set right. That includes balance, volume & "personal preferences" (or "your own mix"). What's available now is simply mind-boggling, both from a "wow, what'll they think of next?" pov, to the "where in the world am I gonna get that kind of cash?" pov...
In-the-ear stuff looks to be way-cool, but I've never used 'em... We had like 3 or 4 monitor sends for our band (can't remember now - it's only been 25+ years!). One drums, one left, one right (and one for the prima-donna?). Each mic stand had a monitor speaker in front of it, the drummer had one on each side of him, and then 2 other stage side-fills. You couldn't go anywhere on stage without being near a speaker with "the band" in it. Everything was mic'd, tho, which complicated things for set-up/tear-down.
Also, the sound man has to be the "boss" of the stage sound. Once the band's "balance" is set, it doesn't change unless the sound man boosts or cuts it... AND, you'll need more "roadies" for more gear... It can get quite expensive (lol)... But seriously, good stage monitoring helps "fight" the volume-knob-wars...
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Oct 06, 2005 10:47 am I'd also be concerned that the amp is not performing up to snuff. I fixed a vibrolux reverb once that was running at about 30% of normal volume. The dude thought it was normal. Once I got it going he was amazed.
My super reverb (around 40 watts, 4x10) can easily out-loud a drummer, guitar, bass, and PA for a normal band type environment. I usually play with it between 3 and 5, depending on what I'm driving it with. That's with a band.
EDIT: i just thought, tube output sections like to be in a good area for impedance, or Ohms of resitance in this case. I'd check you're not mismatching your output transformer, this can shorten the life of your tubes (cheaper) and the output transformer (way spendy).
Also, what you did was give yourself a 150w guitar amp. I'd say that's pretty loud =)
TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Oct 07, 2005 11:01 am Pete Townshend has to play in a special perspex quiet zone on stage nowadays. His tinnitus resulted in his stage rigs being way too loud.
I'd have to agree with pjk that there could be something wrong with your amp. If 50w of tube isn't cutting it over the drums, you might have a problem.
I play bass, so I need to move more air than a guitar. Playing through an 80w combo in the clubs around here, I never once had to push the volume over 5. EQ, and properly serviced amps will get you better stage presence that just bringing in more artillery.
Oct 08, 2005 06:09 am Hi guys n gals,thanks a lot for your help.Have gone back to 50 head only,switched cab to 4 ohms,amp to 3.75 ohms knobs at ten to twelve simple and gorgeous sound with 62 strat which must have earned its keep since I bought it in 1969 for (dont scream) £144.Before that I had a tele and we played the Top Ten club in Hamburg,all the band was gutted to find all the on stage amps were 20 watt trannys bolted down.Funny thing was though after doing two weeks of long nights the sound went from crap to brill.Some nights a perspex box would have been handy!Tee Hee. Bye bye.
