Marshall 8100...how loud is it?

[junjuniam]

Thinking of getting one of these. Love the classic tones they're associated with. How loud are they? I would assume they could be plenty loud since many metal bands etc have been know to play them! What cab would be best for the amp? I'm curious. Thinking of a Marshall 1960 cab. Matbe boosting with a Boss SD1? or Xotic FX RC Boost?

[WRGKMC]

Thinking of getting one of these. Love the classic tones they're associated with. How loud are they? I would assume they could be plenty loud since many metal bands etc have been know to play them!

 

Those aren't as loud as you think. They are about as loud as a 50W tube head using the same speakers but the speakers are the big key here. In reality you only need to be loud enough to match a drummer when he's hitting the skins hard. Anything above that can be done with a PA.

 

Loudness depends on the speaker efficiency. Wattage is a power consumption term.

You can have a15W amp with high efficiency speakers, it can blow away 100W amp with low efficiency speakers. How big an amp sounds is actually a better term.

 

An amp driving a single 10" speaker isn't going to sound as big as a 4X12" cab because it isn't as big as a 4X12 cab. The wattage and SPL can be exactly the same but the larger cab usually has more bass response and its going to trick the ears into thinking the amp is louder.

 

 

What cab would be best for the amp? I'm curious. Thinking of a Marshall 1960 cab. Maybe boosting with a Boss SD1? or Xotic FX RC Boost?

 

I have a Marshall 1960 with 75W Celestion's and I run a Marshall Valvestate 100 which is a very tube like sounding head. Along side it I have my old 1967 Blackface Bassman on a 4X10" cab with Alnico Jensen's in it. The Jensen's are lower efficiency speakers then the Celestion's. I can set the Bassman on #3 and the Marshall on #6 and they will match in actual volume on the recording console meters.

 

This would be a good clean volume level that would fill any club I played at and easily match the drummers volume. For drive I have at least a dozen different choices and swap them around depending on what I want. I can easily plug my Marshall governor into my fender amp and match the Marshalls overdrive tones or plug a fender tweed pedal into a Marshall and get it to sound like a fender so long as those amps are dialed up with clean tones and a flat EQ response.

 

This is something to think about. When I want to play really loud with a cranked tone I choose a smaller amp and crank it up. When I want to sound big and full, I choose a bigger cab and run it at a lower volume and use pedals to get drive.

 

On the rare occasions I can get away with big and loud I will crank a big amp but I usually weigh that against what the other musicians are using. If the other guy is using a smaller combo, The band sounds bad if one guy has an amp that overkilling the other guy.

 

I want the band to sound great overall so I sound good when I step up and solo. On the occasions where there are mis-matches, I'll mic the smaller cab and pump some bass up to match the bigger un-miced amp. This way you have a solid backing to play against instead of a ghost in the background.

 

I have used my Marshall on a 2X10" and 2X12" cab and the 2X12" is plenty for any band you'd likely play in. Its the speaker choice that's the most important of all. Frequency response and SPL are the two numbers you need to familiarize yourself with.

[Tall]

Not as loud as most Marshalls. I had one for awhile and it came with a 4x12 cabinet. I liked the sound but taking a half stack marshall into most of the gigs I was playing seemed like overkill. There was also a perception among some people when you were setting up that the band was going to be loud. I eventually bought a 1960 2x12 cab for it and thought that was a better pairing. The 1960 is nice since it has a stereo and mono jack for different applications.

 

For some bigger gigs I actually used both cabinets as a half stack and a half:cool: That was quite a nice setup.

[Argali]

They're really not as loud as you would think. Way back when I played one, my friend used to drown me out with a solid-state Fender 2x10.

[Timfever]

"In reality you only need to be loud enough to match a drummer when he's hitting the skins hard. Anything above that can be done with a PA." [Applause...] Now even if you're doing small gigs or house parties with no PA system, most people's practice amps can match a drummer's volume JIIIIIIIST fine...lol. The compulsory half or -- dear lord -- full stack mindset needs TA DIE...

[Timfever]

Hol crap I just realized which amp you're talking about lol... This is what Tommy Victor (Prong, Danzig, Ministry) has been playing for like 20 years now and unless I missed somethi g, he started their cult following amongst metal guys like moi (FWIW, Victor is one of my all time fave guitarists and one of my biggest Influences). They're great if you like to downtune lower than Db...personally, I have no issues with my tube amps and playing in Db, C, B, or even A (then again...a 5150 or 6505 isnt exactly "muddy" lol), but touring etc, solid state amps (or hybrids like the 8100) are SOOOOO much freaking easier to deal with...it's co.ical even. And with these amps, the low end is solid and TIGHT--even if you're a masochist like me playing in dropped A with .011s lol. (I'd recommend .012s for that low...even with those amazing DDT strings DR makes)