How Many Watts is "Enough" | Tested With Drums

Рет қаралды 6,096

Күн бұрын

Like I assume many others, I have spent a good amount of time wondering whether the investment I was about to make in an amplifier is a good one. Those of us after a traditional experience with an amp but not part of a band dont want to be coughing up a significant amount of cash for something that they'd have to replace if they ever joined a band and started gigging, at least that was my thought process.
I've watched multiple amp reviews of amps that were 10, 15, 20, 50 watts, and you always get that typical "X watts is plenty". But what IS plenty and how does it sound. Is it REALLY plenty? In this video I show you rather than tell you what 0.3 watts, 8 watts, 15 watts and 50 watts actually sound like, using my Victory Kraken 50W head next to a real drumkit so we can finally definitively answer the age old question: is 15 or 50 watts enough?
Hope this helps people who are facing a similar problem to the one I was.
My instagram: / bedroom_guitar_hero
My band: / @bringtobearband
#metalguitar #guitargear #metalband
0:00 Intro
0:26 Setup
1:30 0.3 watts
2:52 8 watts
3:49 15 watts
4:24 50 watts
5:59 50 watts with lead boost

Пікірлер: 46

@BedroomGuitarHero 2 жыл бұрын

So how many watts do YOU reckon is loud enough?

@vdalism_x_ 2 жыл бұрын

It's not about how many watts, it's about how you use them :')

@mikefrombloodofthewolf7076 Жыл бұрын

I have a PRS MT-15 that's only 15 watts and is plenty loud for band practice. I would not hesitate to play it live either, just prefer my "bigger" amps for that. However, I did have a 20 watt Peavey 6505, and that did not cut it for practice (though it did sound good on it's own).

@EliPorterMahn Жыл бұрын

Running 50w at a controlled volume will be best so you have the most low end imo

@AAAA-lt9hq Күн бұрын

Neat video. I would like to see this done with bass amps and solid state guitar amps used with modeling preamplifiers, as it is my understanding that loudness and wattage are different for tube amps than solid state designs (tube amps are louder at lower wattage than solid state amps, generally, is my understanding). When I was coming up in the 90s, the standard was a 100 watt tube head and a 4x12 cab. You could use this with a full stack if you really wanted to show off. Occasionally people would use higher wattage, like 150 watts. My solid state Randall Cyclone circa 2000 is 300 watts. Much of this was marketing of the time that more watts = better, I think. We have now gone the other direction with the emphasis on more portable rigs at lower wattage. "Lunchbox" amps became popular around 2010 with Mesa's Trans-Atlantic and others. Some constructive criticism: 1) If you are playing with two guitars and a bass, the volume of the summed guitars will probably be greater, so each guitar will need to turn itself down vs. one guitar. 2) Having a bass would be helpful here as low end frequencies would add more complexity to the mix and make the guitar harder to hear. That said, I can see how having one might make the sound blurry and boomy in the room for demonstration purposes. 3) I would go with 50 watts and the amp turned down to an appropriate level for live playing. The reason is you should have more clean headroom at higher wattage and playing at 10 can damage speakers. I had this happen to me once on my Marshall JCM800/900 style Carvin MTS3200 100 watt head and cab. One of the speakers blew when the volume and gain were cranked. There was no boost. Carvin told me not to 10 everything to protect the speakers. The head was 4, 8, and 16 ohms and the cabinet wattage was quite high at 300 watts per cab connected in parallel I believe. A speaker was still blown by a fully cranked head using 1/3rd the rated wattage. Amps with switchable wattage are mainly there so you can get more signal breakup at practice volume and to make heads easier to transport by having fewer power tubes. My Carvin MTS3200 even had switchable wattage with 50 and 100 watt settings as early as the year 2000, but it is a full sized head. 4) I'm concerned about a grounding issue in the signal chain or guitar. The hum is very loud without the noise gate engaged. I would expect hiss and feedback, but not that much hum. The boost, noise gate, and compressor really help. It's interesting that you have them in the loop after the preamp instead of in front of the amp like many people do. Positioning these in the signal chain would largely be a matter of taste I think. I tend to put boosts up front and effects in the fx loop. 5) *It is my understanding that with tube amps for every 100 watts loudness is increased by 3 db. If you want a lot more volume, you need a full stack and thus more speakers pushing more air.* In such a situation, you may need a higher wattage amp to push the speakers hard enough. I am not an expert on calculating Ohms to obtain the optimal wattage and all the various ways speakers can be wired in a cabinet or to a head, but there are many things to consider when matching an amplifier/power amplifier to a given number and type of speakers. The reverse of this logic is if you need less volume use a 2x12 cab. Great riffs and drumming. The video was very helpful. Thanks.

@juliettamusic2864 2 жыл бұрын

Nice! Massive sound!👍👍👍

@jasonlewis5350 2 жыл бұрын

Killer video. I think that 8-15 was good enough. Amps need to be cranked to be at their best and at 50 watts I could only hear the cymbals.

@BedroomGuitarHero 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Yeah, you can probably get a decent high gain sound out of a high gain amp at lower volumes, so it's not like 100 watts is a downgrade in that application, but I think its useful to know that 50 and even 15 watts are no slouch :D

@SniperSam Жыл бұрын

Yeah but can you still have the bottom end? I would think at max power bass starts to get flubby or muddy loose sounding.

@norbergaudio 8 ай бұрын

@@SniperSam All depends on the amp, its transformers and the type of rectification. Tube rectification requires more power to deliver the low end, but most amps don't use tubes for this anymore.

@nelito_torrez 7 ай бұрын

Lately im thinking that more wattage is really going to help the low end come out, obviously it gets louder throughout the whole spectrum, i got a mk1 boss katana and thats the difference i feel when switching the power settings around

@lightninginmyhands4878 2 жыл бұрын

This is great. I'm glad you did chugs. Since, how can I have a chug volume match my leads? I guess compressor is the answer. What say you?

@BedroomGuitarHero 2 жыл бұрын

Hey I'm not quite sure what you mean, do you mean the perceived volume, you want your chugging to be as loud as your lead sound? That would make your lead sound too quiet and get lost in the bass and drum sound. A palm muted chug will be the loudest thing you can do on guitar in terms of DB. Since you mentioned compressor I guess you mean making the chugs quieter? That makes sense, your rhythm tone should be set, then you add 2-3db boost for lead tone with a boost or (I recommend) an EQ

@TheCoreys 3 ай бұрын

Giaggin' with the Orange OR 15 (15watts) we usually are on 3 to 5/10 on the volume. Same goes with the Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 50 (50watts) 3 to 4/10 is usually there. We play melodic punk rock and these settings apply on super small to big stages.

@DVRKSHVYVN 2 жыл бұрын

Fascinating video! I wonder what are the speakers (and their wattage) in the cab?

@BedroomGuitarHero 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I believe that's a Marshall 1960A with Celestion G12T-75 75W speakers.

@DVRKSHVYVN 2 жыл бұрын

@@BedroomGuitarHero So you're telling me that you could get louder....

@BedroomGuitarHero 2 жыл бұрын

@@DVRKSHVYVN I could actually yeah, I mean I'm speaking in a normal tone, I wasnt even shouting...

@poncianorodriguezdicochea8392 7 ай бұрын

Will HeadRush FRFR 112 with 2,000 watts peak / 1,000 watts RMS be louder than this 50 watts amp? I think I have no clue about watts in monitors/PA speakers/cabinets/combos, it's too confusing to me.

@greg6162 Жыл бұрын

Just started a band with some guys at work. I brought my Yamaha THR10II and it just got drowned out by our drummer. We actually have great chemistry and layed down a great track the first time we jammed. I’m wondering if a Boss Katana 50 MKII would work or maybe the 100? I love the sound of the Yamaha THR series, but it’s 10w (10w x 2) and I need something bigger. I don’t want to get a tube amp just yet. Would love a budget modeling amp that could cut through drums… any suggestions?

@BedroomGuitarHero Жыл бұрын

In most venues you would be mic’d up, in which case pretty much any wattage amp is enough, like 1 watt would be fine (obv there are other considerations like stage volume based on the amp/cab). Only concern is when you have a venue not specifically for music, where there’s no mics for instruments, when the sound the audience hears has to actually come from your amp. In that case it’s gonna depend on how YOU think you should sound, plus the acoustic signature of the space, and the eq on your guitar tone. If the space propagates and bounces bass freqs a lot (most spaces) then its going to require more volume to cut through, if your guitar tone is high on bass and low on mids/highs, its gonna be harder again to cut through. How much you need or want to cut through is also a question for you, I personally believe the drum and bass sound should be a component of the guitar sound, at least at times of simultaneous hits, otherwise the guitar is inaudible at those times which means for those moments the character of the sound of the music is gone. Depends on you. TLDR yes 50 watt katana should get you by just fine :)

@clivewalkling6863 2 жыл бұрын

A Vox AC30 - a 30 watt amp - with the volume set to 3 is enough. It's not just about the Watts. I also use a Vox MV50 through a 4ohm 2x10 cabinet loaded with Cekestion Gold speakers. The MV50 only needs to be half way up to do a club gig with around 100 people in it.

@BedroomGuitarHero 2 жыл бұрын

Depends on genre I guess, how full the drum parts are. Are you talking mic'd up here? I assume the amp would get mic'd up in such a club

@greg6162 Жыл бұрын

@@BedroomGuitarHero yes, I need to know this! Just joined a band (kinda on accident) with my Fender Player plus strat and a Yamaha THR10II 😂 I got recently. Only been playing for half a year or so but I learn quick. The first time we jammed it was like electricity… I’m definitely the weakest link in terms of scales fundamentals but I’m just good at song writing and arrangements. Anyways, on a budget note… would a Boss Katana 50 MKII be enough to cut through our drummer? He’s like an unknown Travis Barker (he’s really good and same style) and comes thundering in with these heavenly rolls but I want to practice live and I just can’t cut through him? I’m waiting for a big check (it’s a good chunk of change) but, in the meantime what’s a good budget modeling amp that can give me good tones and isn’t too heavy? We’re a three piece now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated 🙏

@GiselleDK 4 ай бұрын

@greg6162 I think the katana 100 would be more suitable. Which one did you get?

@TRUvoodoo 2 ай бұрын

I don't understand how the head wattage matters. Is it what drives the power to the cab? So even though the cab is 300 watts, if you have a small head, the cab can't go that loud? What if you had like a 20w head, but a 2 - 300w cabs? Would 20w be loud enough because now you have more speakers, or would 20w not be able to drive a full stack?

@madrox4132 Ай бұрын

The wattage of the speakers is how much power they can handle from the head.

@smugzoid5156 2 жыл бұрын

A cool experiment would be what is the minimums for guitar & bass against the drummer. Also distortion vs clean is another factor.

@BedroomGuitarHero 2 жыл бұрын

I guess the idea of minimums is tough to judge, as different styles, tastes, and approaches to overall sound will dictate different balances between drums bass and guitar. Thats part of why I went over several volume options to show those different points :p Yeah clean is a very interesting question indeed :)

@smugzoid5156 2 жыл бұрын

@@BedroomGuitarHero bring the bassist in, and you start at 5 watts tube, i would suggest 10x you for bass 50 watts tube. Of course if he was digital (and you tube) he would need to be twice that. I love your experinent... would love to see more!!!!!

@greg6162 Жыл бұрын

@@smugzoid5156 just started a band with some co-workers. I’m a fast learner (6-months) and we have amazing chemistry together and layed a track the first time we jammed! It was like I was an antenna and getting a radio signal and I just knew! Problem is I only have a Yamaha THR10II? Hard time cutting through our drummer (He’s bad ass btw) with my 10watts. I don’t want to spend big on a tube yet. Would a Boss Katana 50 MKII be enough… or is there something budget friendly you can recommend? Didn’t plan on joining a band, but it kinda feels like divine intervention so I wanna be able to work on our timing instead of laying separate tracks. Any help would be greatly appreciated 🙏

@smugzoid5156 Жыл бұрын

@@greg6162 you know what, that is the most difficult band question because of headroom and tone. I play 5w tube with a band and its is plenty loud for practice (I am distorted and cranked). My son in the other hand, plays an archtop gretch and prefers straight into the PA, because he prefers a clean sparkle tone. I would think 10w tube is plenty, but then again I crank the gain. It may be worthwhile to get a fabulous guitar amp microphone. So you can have your tone, but just get it louder

@thierry.lavallee 10 ай бұрын

How does the number of speakers in your cab influence the volume? How do we calculate this?

@talkingbread2012 9 ай бұрын

More cone space means more volume. Those big speakers don't need a lot of watts to be loud.

@rcknrol7258 Жыл бұрын

If you have a good drummer you don't need to be super loud . Combos are louder than 4x12s as sound comes out the back and front of the amp and fills the room. But if you are playing chugga metal with a drummer that destroys his drums, you'll need a 4x12 with 100 watt or more head . The 4x12 because it gets that compressed chunk.