30-watt tube amp enough for gigging?

[Preacher Will]

 

A 30w tube amp is loud! So is a 15w, which is what I typically use. The difference between the two isn't so much loudness as headroom. We play a lot of funk, so I need some clean punch from time to time. The 15w breaks up at a lower level than the 30w. My philosophy, having learned it as a soundguy, is bring the smallest amp that gets the tone right, then stick a mike in front of that. Let the PA do the heavy lifting (in more ways than one). Terry D.

 

 

Agree 100%. I used to gig with a Classic 30, one of the best combo amps out there IMHO. Got rid of it because it was TOO LOUD. I have literally brought down ceilings with it. What the world needs is a sweet little 3-5 watt combo that weighs about five pounds. Mic it and you're done.

[Marc G]

I can't complain about my 30 watter....does everything I want it to do and more.... I don't look for Fender cleans though... I like a little grit in my clean tones...

[Flannery]

Terry is right about the main difference being headroom and not volume.

 

I have a Mesa Boogie F-50 which is 50 watts (naturally....) and a F-30 which is 22 watts (????) and the only real difference I hear is how quickly they break up.

 

The F-30 breaks up way sooner than the F-50, but both have enough volume to pretty much liquify an audience if I choose to.....

[Singin' Dave]

Well I just sold my Classic 30 to buy a Mesa Boogie, but I can tell you that it packs plenty of juice for almost all applications. I also used mine occassionaly with a 2x12 extension cab (a TopHat w/ 2 G12H30's) and it was HUGE in that config.

 

I would bet you'd be super pleased with the c30 head - very cool heads and through either a 2x12 or 4x12 you'd have PLENTY of gain on tap.

[Inazone]

The only obstacle I'm running into now is that the C30 requires 16 ohms, and none of my current cabs will do 16 mono . . . only 16 per side stereo or 8 mono. It's always something!

 

I was also surprised to learn that the Classic series is now made in China.

[Singin' Dave]

 

The only obstacle I'm running into now is that the C30 requires 16 ohms, and none of my current cabs will do 16 mono . . . only 16 per side stereo or 8 mono. It's always something! I was also surprised to learn that the Classic series is now made in China.

 

 

What speakers @ what ohms are in your cabs? I assume they could be rewired....depending.

 

Chinese mfr of Classics is news to me.....mine was a old USA tweed combo though.

[Scafeets]

I yanked two of the tubes out of my Carvin Nomad and run it at 25W mic'd. Still plenty of stage volume and great mix in the PA.

[Scafeets]

I yanked two of the tubes out of my Carvin Nomad and run it at 25W mic'd. Still plenty of stage volume and great mix in the PA.

[Inazone]

 

What speakers @ what ohms are in your cabs? I assume they could be rewired....depending. Chinese mfr of Classics is news to me.....mine was a old USA tweed combo though.

 

 

If I remember right, the speakers in my 2x12 cab are 16 ohm Sheffields. The 4x12 has Eminence speakers, but I can't recall if they are 16 ohm each or something else.

 

To be honest, the Chinese build is a bit of a turn-off. I had already passed on some other amps for that reason, and being that this is a fairly recent change according to Peavey, I would rather find something with a proven track record.

[rokn4jc]

As stated by others, 30W is plenty loud for most live gigs (mic'd of course).

The C30 doesn't start breaking up till around 5 or so, and that is VERY loud. If you need a bit of extra clean headroom on the clean channel, swap the 12ax7 in V1 with a 5751 and that will keep it clean longer (has less gain).

 

For older type metal (ie VH, Sabbath, 80's etc) the OD channel w/ a bit of a boost is plenty on the C30.

Now for modern metal, I don't know if you can get that low end chunk and hyper gain a lot of players prefer out of a C30 or not. Don't know, as I don't play that style at all.

I have been playing my C30 for about 12 years in a few different scenarios (jazz, blues hard rock etc) and never once have I ever thought, I wish I could get a little louder.

YMMV

[NewTruth]

If there is a PA, yes.

 

If there is not a PA, no.

 

Simple answers to questions...

[BATCAT]

 

If there is a PA, yes. If there is not a PA, no. Simple answers to questions...

 

 

For a small club, 30 watts unmiced is plenty.

 

And even for most medium-sized ones, it would almost certainly be loud enough unmiced... but unless the place has good acoustics, ANY amp will likely not sound that great, regardless of power.

[reaganomic6]

As long as you're mic'ed through the PA shouldn't be a problem. Get the amp up to ear level so's you can hear. I've also had guitar sent back through the monitors to help me hear.

[keithcar]

An 18 watt is enough for my band, our drummer is pretty dynamic and not over the top loud all the time. so it helps.

 

Its all about speakers and cabinets too, where the speakers are angled, open back cabs are less focused and tend to fill the whole room with sound at the expense of punch and tightness. and also speakers that are effecient, loud and cut thru the mix will help, V30's do it for me. With it being 18watts it doesnt leave me alot of head room for playing cleans at high volume though.

[wades_keys]

 

An 18 watt is enough for my band, our drummer is pretty dynamic and not over the top loud all the time. so it helps.

 

 

Keep in mind that a lot of amps are rated very conservatively (Peavey's are notorious for this, some Marshall amps too).

 

There's a "low watt" trend right now - I wouldn't be surprised to see repackaged 30 watt amps offered as 18 watt.

 

Hell, I've got a "15 watt" Fender practice amp that'll take your head off if you turn it past 4 - damn thing is probably pushing 25 watts at least...

 

If going solid state, you will need about twice the wattage as the equivalent tube amp. Edit: all things considered this is true the majority of the time - pros have pointed this out too but it's something i've run into myself with solid state amps from Randall, Marshall and ADA.

 

My solid state power amp at 60 watts is about where a 30 watt tube combo would be volume and projection wise...

[wades_keys]

also one thing about watts - its a power rating which correlates with resistance and heat - spread that same amount of power across a lower resistance and your effective volume drops dramatically.

 

A "15 watt" amp driving one 16 ohm speaker is going to sound "louder" than the same 15 watts driving 4 speakers wired in parallel.

 

I wouldn't want to drive a 4x12 with less than 30 watts unless you are micing through the pa - consider that a monitor at that point. (Which is fine for a lot of situations)

 

Edit: before you guys jump all over me - our drummer hits like Bonham at times so the extra headroom is needed for those moments.

[mrcpro]

A Deluxe Reverb, cranked, is LOUD. Probably too loud for most onstage applications!

 

Yeah no kidding. It wasn't my usual band... I was just filling in for a few weeks. He'd tilt it back and mic it too. I could clearly hear him from across the stage, with drums and bass in between. I was amazed... as a keyboard player it was my first exposure to the concept of using a low wattage tube amp cranked in a loud band for the lead, and as I said before... it was sweet. I'm sold.

 

This band would make my ears ring. These days that takes a lot because I've lost most of my hearing from years of constant gigging. Very popular band... they made it work.

[keithcar]

 

Keep in mind that a lot of amps are rated very conservatively (Peavey's are notorious for this, some Marshall amps too). There's a "low watt" trend right now - I wouldn't be surprised to see repackaged 30 watt amps offered as 18 watt. Hell, I've got a "15 watt" Fender practice amp that'll take your head off if you turn it past 4 - damn thing is probably pushing 25 watts at least... If going solid state, you will need about twice the wattage as the equivalent tube amp. Edit: all things considered this is true the majority of the time - pros have pointed this out too but it's something i've run into myself with solid state amps from Randall, Marshall and ADA. My solid state power amp at 60 watts is about where a 30 watt tube combo would be volume and projection wise...

 

 

 

if you ask me, its all in the way they rate the wattage. Some low-wattage tube amps are rated RMS clean, after the power amp breaks up and its at full bore it could be almost pushng twice as many watts.

 

bottom line, wattage is not a very good indicator for the loudness of an amp.

[wades_keys]

 

if you ask me, its all in the way they rate the wattage. Some low-wattage tube amps are rated RMS clean, after the power amp breaks up and its at full bore it could be almost pushng twice as many watts. bottom line, wattage is not a very good indicator for the loudness of an amp.

 

 

I think you're right - solid state power amps are designed to remain clean as long as possible as the distortion is nasty...

 

A good general rule of thumb is to double your wattage if going to solid state.

[phatster]

A little off topic perhaps but I augment my 30 watt Genz-Benz Black Pearl with a Rivera sub....having the primary amp handle the mid/high notes really cuts through and you get a very natural low end{not boomy}.You could easily get by with a 15 watt amp with this set-up.More costly but a superior sound in my mind!!

[PeteyTwang]

even a Gibson Goldtone GA-15RVT!

 

Aloha Aloha!

 

I have found and been tempted by one of these

How do you like it? Should I go for it?

[MrKnobs]

 

if you ask me, its all in the way they rate the wattage. Some low-wattage tube amps are rated RMS clean, after the power amp breaks up and its at full bore it could be almost pushng twice as many watts. bottom line, wattage is not a very good indicator for the loudness of an amp.

 

 

The standard is watts at 1 kHz with 1% or 5% THD. Anything else is likely an attempt to lie.

 

Terry D.

[Lee Flier]

The standard is watts at 1 kHz with 1% or 5% THD. Anything else is likely an attempt to lie.

 

Yeah, but since most people "lie" the specs don't really mean a whole lot.

 

I always just go play the amp and decide if it's loud enough to do what I want... not to mention if it sounds good or not, which the specs also can't tell me.

[ggm1960]

 

Part of the reason I'm looking at the new Classic 30 is that for years I've been using an ART Tube EQ on my pedalboard, which runs a single 12AX7 tube and warms up my analog distortion pedal nicely. Unfortunately, the ART stuff is getting old and showing its age, so I'm thinking that a tube head with a nice clean channel or mild overdrive of its own could offer me the same benefits as the current arrangement. Thanks for all the replies!

 

 

What's the problem with the gear you've been using? What do you mean showing it's age?

[nerol1st]

Depends on (In my opinion) your tastes. But yes 30 watts of tube power is fuggin loud.

 

I love low watt amps, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't want one for metal. An AC30 is a beautiful thing but I wouldn't play one in a metal band.

 

My 2 cents