Why use PA system?

Discussion in 'Guitar Gear Talk Forum' started by DrSaurabh, Dec 13, 2005.

  1. abhijitnath

    abhijitnath Fighting GAS frantically

    Not necessarily..look at all the Fender Blackfaces and Tweeds that are de riguer in the blues world...they drive the speakers that are required for their sound..if you mike them it makes no difference whether its a 100W Marshall or a 18W Blues junior or whatever...line out wise also..if it has a line level out the signal should be clear enough for PAs.
     
  2. hindiRox

    hindiRox Banned

    Okie you are going beyond the discussion of INdian Guitar Amps..
     
  3. abhijitnath

    abhijitnath Fighting GAS frantically

    For a tube amp it isnt just volume thats the key...for example a 100W head is not twice as loud as a 50W..its just 3 dB louder.
    The difference is in the headroom..ie the volume it can be played at before the amp starts to distort and so on. Also the response is fundamentally different on different amps..ie its a question of the tone of 50W that you might prefer or 100W. And Chintan is right...a lot of high gain guitar players do use 50 watters as opposed to 100 watters.
    But I guess for your personal needs, where most of us dont use tube amps and the venues we play are also smaller (say a club or something), the wattage issue is immaterial as far as solid state amps are concerned. A 40 W amp will sound similar to a 15 W one most of the time, esp solid state Marshalls or Strangers or whatever.
    @Hindirox: Almost every guitar player mikes his amps in the studio using SM57s or 58s..form Van halen to Satch to Petrucci.
     
  4. chintan9

    chintan9 yay! i won the ipod!

    Not really.
    Get this into your head. "The wattage does not determine the quality of an amp"
     
  5. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    My preference is for smaller amps with cabinets meant for larger amps.
    That means having 4x12 for a 20w amp head.
    This way I am able to push the amp to its limit say 18-20w (which according to my prefences sounds better and less squishy squashy than 100w amp on 20 w level).

    Ofcourse, it is my preference, others will have their own. And this 4x12 miced by Shure SM57, which goes to the PA system for mastering.

    Doc, the choice of having 10/20/50/100w amp is entirely upto u, u go by the tone/overdrive and other paramters (whatever is available on the amp).

    Jimmy Page was known to use a 10w head in his early days.

    Infact, suppose (going by your initial question) if I am gigging with my huge 1000w amp (supposedly), then are u assured of getting the same sound throughout the auditorium/stadium/gig? The sound that will come to you on stage will be a lot diff from what audience get to hear.

    That is the reason why it is preferable to let the PA system do its job (sending the stage sound to the audience). And let the stage equipment (amp + speaker + mic) do its own job.
     
  6. nebuchadnezzar

    nebuchadnezzar G34r G33k

    When did I say anything about the wattage of the amp?.I was commenting on poor speakers...when I made that statement I had small amps like MG15CD..Peavey Transtube Rage III in mind..stuff you get in India usually...a well made 15W amp with a good quality speaker should sound quite good..

    @alpha1..thats what I had a doubt about ..is a 20W head powerful enuf to drive a 4x12 cabinet?Its obviously different than micing a 20W head driving a 8" speaker..that is where power will matter right?...
     
  7. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    Dont tell me that a 100w mated to 4x12 and operated at sound level requiring 20w cannot drive the 4x12 speaker system.

    Second thing to look out for is the intrinsic impedance of the speaker. A low output amp can drive a large speaker if the impedance (of the speaker) is low.
    c'mon man you are an electrical engineer, don't raise such BA/BCom (no offence to them actually) level doubts.
     
  8. abhijitnath

    abhijitnath Fighting GAS frantically

    I am deeply offended:)
     
  9. hindiRox

    hindiRox Banned

    ^^^ Ha ha ha

    Anyways what alpha1 says makes a lot of sense..

    Again personal preferenc.. I love to disturb everyone around so want it LOUD and CLEAR..
     
  10. chintan9

    chintan9 yay! i won the ipod!

    oops real sorry man. I think I quoted the wrong post.
     
  11. hindiRox

    hindiRox Banned

    Like always..
     
  12. chintan9

    chintan9 yay! i won the ipod!

    :shock:

    Look who's talking!!!
     
  13. hindiRox

    hindiRox Banned

    Thats why i dont quote posts.... :)

    No offence bro..
     

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