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Difference in 100 watts vs 200 watts Tube


chubrocker

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OK, besides some headroom, what difference in volume am I "REALLY" going to notice in a 100 watts Bass head vs. a 200 watts bass head? Both are all-tube heads.

 

I know that 100 watts is not mucher louder than a 20 watt amp, blah, blah, blah. But perceptually to the ears, will the 100 watt amp be about 75% as loud as the 200 watt amp---or something like that?

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Originally posted by chubrocker

OK, so 200 watts will be about 30% louder? Am I understanding that about right? I'm not very knowledgeable on db variance, etc.

 

 

Yeah, 30% with everything at 10 assuming both amps are the same aside from wattage. If the 200 carries its weight badly, it may or may not be any louder. The 100 watt amp may be louder if it is hyper-efficient compared to the 200.

 

When you back it off to useable levels it'll be much less of a difference, though the 200 watt amp may push your speakers a little better and give you more volume that way.

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Originally posted by chubrocker

OK, besides some headroom, what difference in volume am I "REALLY" going to notice in a 100 watts Bass head vs. a 200 watts bass head? Both are all-tube heads.


I know that 100 watts is not mucher louder than a 20 watt amp, blah, blah, blah. But perceptually to the ears, will the 100 watt amp be about 75% as loud as the 200 watt amp---or something like that?

 

 

isn't 6dB double?

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There are so many different variables with this, that it probably won't make much of a difference. For example, cranked up, a 200 watt Marshall Major isn't much louder than a regular 100 watt plexi because the plexi puts out roughly 180 watts @ 10% distortion, whereas the Major's ultra-linear transformer doesn't allow it to put out much more than 200 watts, clean or distorted. This varies from amp to amp, of course. Another example is my 60-watt Sunn is just as loud as some 100-watt Marshall heads, for guitar or bass.

 

Which two heads are you comparing anyways?

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I had a 100W '68 Marshall Super Bass that sounded like Led Zeppelin if you played a guitar through it, but didn't seem to do much with a bass (bland tone, not a whole lot of volume). I was surprised. My Traynor seems to have more volume and better tone, although it doesn't have much more rated power than the Marshall.

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Originally posted by Detox

I had a 100W '68 Marshall Super Bass that sounded like Led Zeppelin if you played a guitar through it, but didn't seem to do much with a bass (bland tone, not a whole lot of volume). I was surprised. My Traynor seems to have more volume and better tone, although it doesn't have much more rated power than the Marshall.

 

 

This is where those "other" factors come in.

 

Though Chris Squire ran a Super Bass and SVT combo for years (and still does) to get his sound.

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Originally posted by Detox

I had a 100W '68 Marshall Super Bass that sounded like Led Zeppelin if you played a guitar through it, but didn't seem to do much with a bass (bland tone, not a whole lot of volume). I was surprised. My Traynor seems to have more volume and better tone, although it doesn't have much more rated power than the Marshall.

 

 

Those Super Bass heads don't have alot of character until you crank them Lemmy-style. And trust me, I don't think he complains for a lack of volume.

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Originally posted by The Ox



Those Super Bass heads don't have alot of character until you crank them Lemmy-style. And trust me, I don't think he complains for a lack of volume.

 

 

 

 

Maybe so, but I'll stick with the Tray. It might have been interesting to A/B them, but I traded the Marshall away a long time ago.

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Originally posted by chubrocker

Well, I might be comparing apples to oranges---but I was debating on a Traynor YBA200 vs Peavey Classic 50/50 (or 120) with a preamp (Bass POD at first, tube preamp later when funds are better).

 

So grab a hunnert-watter, come on up and try it. We'll A/B them!

 

rig1.jpg

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