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Smallest (watts) rig gigged with?


markytbass
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[quote name='Shaggy' post='295267' date='Sep 30 2008, 11:31 AM']Didn't the Beatles play Shea Stadium with only Vox AC30's?[/quote]

Nah they had the bigger Vox amps :) and they were miced up
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mUXwnEWEnE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mUXwnEWEnE[/url]

However it didn't really matter as the audience was screaming at them through a million watts of throat

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I started gigging and rehearsing with a selmer treble n'bass 50 watt amp. In case this makes me sound like an old git, this was mid 1990's. It was loud enough to keep up with a fairly hard-hitting unmiked drummer, albeit with that "early Jack Bruce" style overdrive. If I'd actually wanted that sound at the time, it would have been great! As it was, I traded it in for an unexciting Peavey MK3 after a few gigs.

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Lowest rated amp used with a drummer on stage would probably be 150w Laney ProBass 20 years or so ago. Though I've used lower rated amps for other musical performances I'd not want to go back to using much less than 250-300watts... Just used to the headroom and less worry I suppose.

IMHO the greatest change in quantity of watts being used is probably more to do with higher wattage amps being cheaper to produce. Hence we can get access to more watts per £, so why the heck not use em. :huh:

<edit> I tell a lie... I started off gigging with a Marshall 100w Superbass but that spent more time being repaired than it did being gigged :)

Edited by warwickhunt
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My first amp was one of these:



25W of valves into a sealed 15". I didn't gig it but I leant it to a punk band at Uni that did. It made a very gnarly sound at gigging volumes!

I replaced it with a Peavey Sessionbass / 112MB which was 130W into a whizzer 12" which I gigged for a few years, occasionally with a 15" extension cab that made a huge difference in bottom and loudness. And then I went to a 1000W rig, and then 2000W. Now usually running fine on 550W.

Alex

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[quote name='OldGit' post='295746' date='Sep 30 2008, 06:48 PM']Nah they had the bigger Vox amps :) and they were miced up
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mUXwnEWEnE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mUXwnEWEnE[/url]

However it didn't really matter as the audience was screaming at them through a million watts of throat[/quote]

And it's well known that a throat watt is at least 3 times as loud as a watt :huh:

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I went to the trouble of loading my entire rig and basses onto a ferry, in the rain, to get across to an near derilict venue on an island near Kingston on Thames. This was in anticipation of breaking in my still boxed Genz Benz Shuttle only to discover the speakon cable I'd paid for hadn't been included. Had to play through a 30w Roland keyboard combo and only JUST managed to hear myself under the vocal monitors.

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[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='294957' date='Sep 29 2008, 10:35 PM']Realistically I wouldn’t gig with anything less than 300W – It’s not all about the volume, it’s also about the headroom.[/quote]
My 180W ashdown stack keeps up pretty well if i'm honest, but i am looking at getting something a bit better sounding/more powerful soon.

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The gig that made me get my own rig was a borrowed 50W Crate combo.

It was SO underpowered! The gig also suffered as it was a party (for someone I didn't know) and most people were content to hang out in the toilet and do charlie all night. Then night bus home!

I also played a gig in Brixton through a 25W FENDER (guitar) amp slaved through some other small guitar amp. Fun? Not really!

Can't wait to gig my new Roland DB500 (150W) to see if it's the lowest I can gig with happily.

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I played at an acoustic night using my fretless through a "Smokie" fag box amp, with a failing battery. Someone had promised to bring an acoustic bass but it never materialized. It sounded like an angry wasp in a coke tin and got quieter as the set wore on.
The most embarrasing thing I've done (musically!)
And it was a 90 mile round trip for no money. Still, could have been worse - only eight people in the audience instead of nine...

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