I want a Science Amplifier

[skullservant]

I've been having a bit of a hard time with the new Mig50 in the apartment, so I totally feel where Syl is coming from haha
I can't even really put the 20w Verellen I have in my apartment past 3... sigh....

[sylnau]

I like the high wattage too but sylnau just moved into a brand new urban and attached condo so noise complaints are probably a legit concern for him. Sadly.

As for 1/2 power options, should be totally doable but a step-down from 100W to 50W doesn't kill much volume in my experience. Usually just sounds worse. I bet syl would be after something in the 15-30W range...

My Bogner is 15w (not enough for a band)... 30w would be great in a band situation.
I always feel that more then 30w is overkill. I like that "over the edge of breaking" sound.

[MrNovember]

Those look great (very beautiful)... but 100w - 200w that's too much.
Do they have lower wattage, like 30w or something?

Lower wattage amp sound better to my ears.
30w is more than enough in a band situation.

100w-200w too much?

Different strokes for different folks I guess......


See I feel that higher wattage amps, especially 200w amps, sound fuller and have way more headroom. At the same time I agree that they can be overkill for certain bands, like my current one. I was using a 225w guitar amp for about a year now and I just picked up a 30w class A amp and it gets plenty loud enough for this band, but for the band I was in before this one it wouldn't have cut the cheese. It really depends on how hard your drummer hits and how you tune your guitar, the lower you go the more watts you need to push out the low end your adding into your sound, hence why bass amps are usually 2-300w.

Check out the Shiv; it's 30W!

I would rock the Shiv or the Mother any day. Especially in white tolex sides and a wood front panel I seriously think one of these may be my next amp. Thanks for sharing.

[Holy Schnikes]

I've been having a bit of a hard time with the new Mig50 in the apartment, so I totally feel where Syl is coming from haha
I can't even really put the 20w Verellen I have in my apartment past 3... sigh....

I hear ya, apartment/condo living is a BITCH when you're trying to blast guitar amps.

I bet that Mig50 wants to scream always, those are sooooooo loud. And yeah, my 20W Hovercrafts sound every bit as loud as some 50W heads I've owned. You never know how much volume you'll get with those low wattage heads until you hear it for yourself.

I like the high wattage too but sylnau just moved into a brand new urban and attached condo so noise complaints are probably a legit concern for him. Sadly.

As for 1/2 power options, should be totally doable but a step-down from 100W to 50W doesn't kill much volume in my experience. Usually just sounds worse. I bet syl would be after something in the 15-30W range...

My Bogner is 15w (not enough for a band)... 30w would be great in a band situation.
I always feel that more then 30w is overkill. I like that "over the edge of breaking" sound.

Agreed that 30W can be overkill when you play alone but once you get in a band situation, you'd be LOVING that extra wattage.

[Ancient Astronaught]

I like the high wattage too but sylnau just moved into a brand new urban and attached condo so noise complaints are probably a legit concern for him. Sadly.

That kind of situation definitely warrants a low wattage amp, I got my 30w to have something I can play through at night while the kids and baby are sleeping. The only other heads i own are 200w and they go from silent to loud with the slightest turn. Basically for home usage 30w is perfect, but in a lot band situations I still don't feel it would be loud enough, but that depends on alot of factors. I've mainly played with hard hitting drummers and I don't like amp breakup at all so maybe my view is skewed slightly.

[goroth]

I like 0.5 watt amps for home, and above 50 for band use. I think tubes have to work to sound good, and even an 8 watter when it is up and running is loud as shit (for home use).

I dig these amps' style.

[Ghost Hip]

I like the high wattage too but sylnau just moved into a brand new urban and attached condo so noise complaints are probably a legit concern for him. Sadly.

That kind of situation definitely warrants a low wattage amp, I got my 30w to have something I can play through at night while the kids and baby are sleeping. The only other heads i own are 200w and they go from silent to loud with the slightest turn. Basically for home usage 30w is perfect, but in a lot band situations I still don't feel it would be loud enough, but that depends on alot of factors. I've mainly played with hard hitting drummers and I don't like amp breakup at all so maybe my view is skewed slightly.

From what I have read, when you double an amps wattage you get an additional 3 decibels. I play in a hard hitting heavy band as well. I like my pedals to do the distorting. My Classic 50 gets pretty fucking loud without breaking up. I played a house show recently in which I had my input volume on 3/12 and my Master at 7/12 (so not even at half power) and that was enough to cause ear damage for the next day or so. Now lets say a 200 watt amp has the same ratio of clean to breaking up as my 50 watt amp. And I push both amps to be as loud as possible while still staying clean. The 200 watt amp will theoretically only be six decibels louder.

If I play a big venue, they're probably micing my shit. And seeing as my 50 watt is already kicking ass and staying clean at less than half power... it is a bit difficult to justify spending that much money on a high wattage amp if I am not going to be using that extra power. I'm not in MBV or Sunn O))) you know? NOW WITH THAT SAID...

I totally am gasing for a Street Sweeper.

[backwardsvoyager]

At that point, an increase of 6dB is a considerable increase in volume.
It's a complicated area... especially when you consider that perceived loudness will vary depending on which frequencies are being amplified, which can vary from amp to amp.
I personally haven't found wattage to be a useful indicator for me, I bought a 50W tube head thinking I'd never need more than that but at band volumes I can't always get it sparkling clean..
This would be a lot easier if we WERE all in MBV or Sunn 0)))

[Ancient Astronaught]

I was gonna write up a whole thing about DB's and measurements, ability to reproduce low end based on wattage, and watts into the amount of speakers, but theres all ready so many threads on the internet covering that. Google is our friend, and simultaneously our enemy

It is really up to your needs and desires, yes I have 2 200+ watt amps but I don't always use them. In my current band I use my lil 30watter as its all I need in that situation. But When I'm doing 125+ DB stage volume drone in Drop F and need two amps to push 10x12's and 5x15's with as much bass as they can handle I need all those watts.

It's horses for courses. The only thing I'm saying is that a 30w head is not going to work in every band setting. But I most definitely don't look down on those that do use them, cause hey I am one!

[GardenoftheDead]

The Shiv looks appealing.

[Achtane]

I pretty much only want a Street Sweeper because Godflesh.

[psychedelicrelic]

The Shiv looks appealing.

[D.o.S.]

I pretty much only want a Street Sweeper because Godflesh.

srs: I saw that and was all "DUDE THAT HAS STREETCLEANER TOANZ I MUST HAVE IT."

[AngryGoldfish]

sometimes i really want a boutique amp but most of the time i just don't get it... how can they possibly be worth that much money?

I don't know whether the dude is full-time at it but it can cost a shit-ton of money to run an amp company and live off of it. Some would say more than a pedal company, at least compared to the guys that simply build clones in their converted loft space.

I actually think it makes much more sense to spend more on an amp than a string-thing.

+1

I emailed about a 100W head in late 2011 and I think he quoted $1500, pretty good price for sure.

That's a highly competitive price. 2011 was before many companies increased their prices though. I'm not saying he has raised his prices, but very few could maintain their level of production and live off of what they were making from the amps.

I like the high wattage too but sylnau just moved into a brand new urban and attached condo so noise complaints are probably a legit concern for him. Sadly.

As for 1/2 power options, should be totally doable but a step-down from 100W to 50W doesn't kill much volume in my experience. Usually just sounds worse. I bet syl would be after something in the 15-30W range...

You're dropping around 2-3db by cutting the power in half from 100 to 50. That's hard to hear in a band context. You'll notice a change in feel and tone mostly, but at low-medium volumes you won't be able to tell much of a difference. At max settings you'll notice a difference when compared via recordings, but in the room right then and there, you might fail a blind test depending on the amp. It's all about feel when it comes to switching between 50 and 100 watts, and clean headroom. That extra clean headroom means extra bass, which means more oomph, and for some that's a great thing.

[THEBEERHAMMER]

I pretty much only want a Street Sweeper because Godflesh.

srs: I saw that and was all "DUDE THAT HAS STREETCLEANER TOANZ I MUST HAVE IT."

Streetcleaner blows ass hymns is where the toanz at.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkXKOadsf7g[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yCQhX4ks4k[/youtube]