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Is a 100 Watt tube amp over kill?


DRPool

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Love my C30 and all it can do but there I'm considering a Jet City 100h that's available here locally. My band is playing the typical club and party type gig and the other guitar player is blasting out through a 150 watt Line 6 and 4x12.

 

I usually run the PV clean at about 8-9 to keep up even while using a CrunchBox and Fat Drove OD up front.

 

Would 100 watts of tubage be just too damn much or is volume less an issue than the tone that comes with the extra juice?

 

What's a boy to do?

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The Line 6 amp is solid state, solid state amps need more wattage to project. Depending on how efficient your speakers are you should be able to plaster the crowd up against the back wall with a 50 watt tube amp. 100 watts is overkill.

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man , my 12 watt tweed deluxe is overkill. but, if you need all that head room and/or brutle volume whatever makes you happy.

 

 

Good stuff, thanks. No practical need for that kind of power. I've just never plugged into anything with that kind of juice

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Im not a big attenuator fan. Amps sound best with the circuit un attenuated. Even the built in ones lose tone per step down. Sure it comes in handy to practice, but if I'm buying 100 watts of tubes that's the sound I want. I think it would be better to buy a 50 and not attenuate it and mic it if you have to.

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High wattage power amps have been pretty standard for hi-gain amps from some time. The idea is to keep the power amp clean so the overall sound doesn't get too muddy. And we are talking a Soldano cascading gain stage design. So, ideally, you won't be pushing the amp over 100-watts and into peak wattage. If we were talking Marshall Plexi, than you may have a miserable time finding an application for a 100-watt amp, but talking Soldano, it's just volume you don't have to use.

 

And, if you needed to get to get a sweet spot, you can pull two power tubes, check the bias, and relabel your speaker outs (16 becomes 8...8 becomes 4) and run it as a ~60-watt amp.

 

If you ever play an outdoor gig, then 100-watts and a closed-back cab become very handy.

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you'd be surprised how a speaker upgrade or an additional 1x12 cab with an efficient speaker would make a massive difference with a 30 watt amp.... I've used my Egnater Tweaker with a 2x12 Cab with Eminence Governors for a gig in a fairly large venue and it worked out fine... I'd say the amp was pushed to its limit... and wasn't really super clean, but that's how I like it... in most small pubs and bars here the 2x12 is overkill...

 

From a quick check online the Blue Marvel that's in the Classic 30 is rated at 96.5db @ 1 Watt... which is not bad but you can get a decent volume increase if you put in a more efficient speaker... the Governors are rated at 102db @ 1 Watt

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you'd be surprised how a speaker upgrade or an additional 1x12 cab with an efficient speaker would make a massive difference with a 30 watt amp.... I've used my Egnater Tweaker with a 2x12 Cab with Eminence Governors for a gig in a fairly large venue and it worked out fine... I'd say the amp was pushed to its limit... and wasn't really super clean, but that's how I like it... in most small pubs and bars here the 2x12 is overkill...


From a quick check online the Blue Marvel that's in the Classic 30 is rated at 96.5db @ 1 Watt... which is not bad but you can get a decent volume increase if you put in a more efficient speaker... the Governors are rated at 102db @ 1 Watt

 

 

Thanks Marc, I typically play through my matching PV 4x10 cab when we play out. I've got the original 1x12 as well. You are correct, they really help open up the amp.

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Thanks Marc, I typically play through my matching PV 4x10 cab when we play out. I've got the original 1x12 as well. You are correct, they really help open up the amp.

 

 

I gotcha... then...wow...you'll must be playing pretty loud then lol! I"m not going to lie... I'm a little envious!! I'd say 1 out of every 10 gigs we play I get the chance to really open up my amps...

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I think it depends on your gain tone.

 

If you ever go past AC DCish levels, then 100 watts is like mandatory for me. It's not the volume, but the attack, the tightness. I have a 100 watt Mesa Stiletto and when I flick it to 50 watts, I think "hey, this is pretty good, maybe I only need 50" then a few songs later I try 100 again it's just this wave of extra awesome.

 

Oh, and the JCA100H is a lovely amp. Our old rhythm guitarist used one and it was great, sounded about like a Soldano, which is like modded Marshall amazingness. Extremely versatile, great cleans, great mid gain, great high gain. If you goose it with an OD, sheesh. Incredible.

 

I say do it.

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If you ever play an outdoor gig, than 100-watts and a closed-back cab become very handy.

 

 

+1.

 

I usually play through an 18W tube amp and it suits all my needs. For general club/pub gig use I'd say go for 30W or higher only if you need to play clean.

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I think it depends on your gain tone.


If you ever go past AC DCish levels, then 100 watts is like mandatory for me. It's not the volume, but the attack, the tightness. I have a 100 watt Mesa Stiletto and when I flick it to 50 watts, I think "hey, this is pretty good, maybe I only need 50" then a few songs later I try 100 again it's just this wave of extra awesome.


Oh, and the JCA100H is a lovely amp. Our old rhythm guitarist used one and it was great, sounded about like a Soldano, which is like modded Marshall amazingness. Extremely versatile, great cleans, great mid gain, great high gain. If you goose it with an OD, sheesh. Incredible.


I say do it.

 

 

Okay so it's likely no one needs the kind of volume these things produce but...this is the key...if there's next level of crunch and drive to be had without using all that volume, that's what I'm after.

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I think it depends on your gain tone.


If you ever go past AC DCish levels, then 100 watts is like mandatory for me. It's not the volume, but the attack, the tightness. I have a 100 watt Mesa Stiletto and when I flick it to 50 watts, I think "hey, this is pretty good, maybe I only need 50" then a few songs later I try 100 again it's just this wave of extra awesome.

 

 

I'm not arguing that your amp sounds better on the 100 watts setting, however that doesn't necessarily mean it sounds better because it's 100 watts. Especially with what you said about the gain. Gain and power output are independant things.

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