Members kyrreca Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 So, I'm playing a gig with my new band in a couple of weeks. I usually use my Rivera M100 for gigs, but it's really heavy and cumbersome, and I don't drive a car. At the last band practices, I've used my 5W combo, and I've had no troubles with volume, even with the volume knob at about 1 o'clock. Does anyone here regularly use 5W amps for gigging? I'm pretty sure the venue we're playing at will be micing the amps anyways, so it shouldn't be problem, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jbrazz Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 i never have, but as long as you mic it, it shouldnt be an issue at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Teahead Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 The 5w setting on my amp was plenty for me on the last two gigs we played. There was a mic on the speaker of course and I had it up on a table to monitor myself, but yeah, it was more than loud enough to do the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kyrreca Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Cool, thanks. It will be really nice bringing a 20lbs amp instead of one that's closer to 100 lbs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Teahead Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Damn right, it's also cool to hit a chord and hear the sound bloke say "that's great" rather than "turn it down!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kyrreca Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Yeah, I'm sure the sound guy will appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Psychodelicx Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 So, I'm playing a gig with my new band in a couple of weeks. I usually use my Rivera M100 for gigs, but it's really heavy and cumbersome, and I don't drive a car. At the last band practices, I've used my 5W combo, and I've had no troubles with volume, even with the volume knob at about 1 o'clock.Does anyone here regularly use 5W amps for gigging? I'm pretty sure the venue we're playing at will be micing the amps anyways, so it shouldn't be problem, right? As long as you mic it you can play anything I'm pretty sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members messiah Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Damn right, it's also cool to hit a chord and hear the sound bloke say "that's great" rather than "turn it down!"Is there anything worse than that?? And of course we all think 'yeah right, I'll turn it down for now but it's going back up the second the gig starts...'.The only problem with a 5W amp I'd have is the on stage level... I hate my amp sound coming back via monitors, and you have to stand in front of them... but this usually depends on the venue/stage.I can't rehearse with anything less than 15W and a 1x12" speaker personally... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kyrreca Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Yeah, I was a bit worried about the stage volume. My amp is a Valvetrain 205, and it appears to be louder than other 5W amps I've played. It also has a 10" speaker, not the usual 8", so I guess that might help a bit. Do you think I will have trouble hearing myself on stage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Teahead Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 I suppose I should elaborate and say that the stage we played on was tiny, literally the amp was a foot behind me and has an efficient 12 inch speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members messiah Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 It's hard to say, it depends on how loud the band plays. Being able to compete with them and have the headroom to jump out when you need to is what you need to check for... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aberrant Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 I've gigged with a 5W amp and it was the best tone I've ever gotten on stage...I had all kinds of complements that night, and that was after they were all making fun of me for bring in a 5W amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dolf Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kyrreca Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Well, it's not a very large venue, and the stage is pretty small, so I guess I'll be standing close to the amp. On the other hand, my band is pretty loud. I don't need super pristine clean sounds, so I'll just dime the amp and see how it goes. If it doesn't work out too good, at least I know I should bring my big amp next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheGareth Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 I think that sometimes people don't realise how loud 5 watts is. I remember, when I first got my Cornford Carrera, I thought that because it was only 6 watts I'd be able to turn it up pretty loud in the house and get some nice power amp distortion.......I was so wrong. I don't think that I've ever turned it past half way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FatsoForgotso Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 I couldn't do with with something that small. Even 30 watts would be pushing it for me cause I like lots of headroom and dynamics is very important to my sound. As long as you don't mind putting a mic up to it go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members freeRadical Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Angle it up toward you or put it on a chair (stand) next to you and mic it. It should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Teahead Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 I think that sometimes people don't realise how loud 5 watts is. I remember, when I first got my Cornford Carrera, I thought that because it was only 6 watts I'd be able to turn it up pretty loud in the house and get some nice power amp distortion.......I was so wrong. I don't think that I've ever turned it past half way. Exactly, I use my Cornell on the 5w setting at home and it's louder on 1.5 than my AC30! So much can be dependent on the amp's design, speaker etc. The Nano Head is 0.5w and when cranked through a pair of Blues it's loud enough to bother the neighbours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members messiah Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 Nobody has mentioned it yet, but you also have to think of your other band members being able to hear you... so raising a 5W amp to your own chest height might be good for you, but little good to the bass player and drummer.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members inu Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 Actually, if the stage is about the same size of your band rehearsal room and your amp is loud enough for rehearsals, you should be fine hearing yourself if everything is miked for the front.However, if you play a bigger stage, resonnant hall with a so-so monitoring system (or not much time to soundcheck it right)... like a festival, you might be a bit lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dooshbag Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 So, I'm playing a gig with my new band in a couple of weeks. I usually use my Rivera M100 for gigs, but it's really heavy and cumbersome, and I don't drive a car. At the last band practices, I've used my 5W combo, and I've had no troubles with volume, even with the volume knob at about 1 o'clock.Does anyone here regularly use 5W amps for gigging? I'm pretty sure the venue we're playing at will be micing the amps anyways, so it shouldn't be problem, right? Mic the amp and tip the sound guy....maybe a lil butt secks between sets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lanefair Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 In a perfect world I'd have all kind of wattage amps and pick one to suit the venue. Smaller the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Yeah, I'm sure the sound guy will appreciate it. You don't know how much! I hate doing live sound, and I've been as displeased with some "sound people" as much as any other musician. But while some sound guys can be real jerks, I have to agree that if the band is killing you with stage volume from multiple 100W amps, there's not a lot left you can do to give them a good mix. At some point, you start driving the room, and it starts acoustically compressing things, and no matter how much you bring something up in the PA (assuming you're willing to throw any state / local / Federal SPL related regulations out the window by doing so...), it's not going to really get any louder in the room - it's out of your hands, and the band is basically mixing themselves acoustically, at whatever balance their relative individual playing and instrument / amp levels happen to be at the moment. Oh, and you can forget about hearing / understanding any vocals... Small amps are wonderful IMO, but I "live" in a studio most of my life, and in there I don't need tons of SPL (sound pressure level - "volume"), but when I do gig, I do like to have a decent amount of clean headroom. I'm not that into playing really loud either, because I try to protect my hearing... so I usually find a 15-20W amp usually works for me, or better yet, two of them for stereo. Then I feel I can play clean loudly enough for my tastes, without straining the amp or struggling to hear myself over the drummer. Of course, if you have a great PA, and someone who knows how to use it (there are a few of those folks out there, and bands should at least learn enough about live sound to be able to tell the difference between the two IMO), and enough time for a decent sound check, and to get a monitor mix you're happy with, you could probably gig with one of those battery powered mini-Fender or Marshall amps or a "Little Smokey"... and a 5W amp can actually put out some decent volume... but for me, it's just not quite enough IMO, because you really can't rely on getting that good monitor mix, so you may need enough juice in reserve to, if not kill the first three rows, be able to hear yourself over the drums when you're playing "clean". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spentron Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 It might be even better if you can arrange to hear the low end through monitors. Problem I always had in a big space and adding PA bass is the amp seems to lose bass and get more directional in the highs. Considered need more speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoboPimp Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 I've used a 10 watt amp, 15 watt, 30 watt, 50 watt, 75 watt, 100 watt, 150 watts... I get a good tone with all of them but I have to say it is not as fun for me to use a 10 watt amp as compared to a 50 or 100 watter. Yeah, I'd have to say I could use 10 watts all the time but why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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