Lazerface Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 So i am wondering whats the smallest amp people get away with using for a small gig. I played tonight at a small hall/bar with about 60 people in the room, roughly 30x100 feet maybe even a bit smaller with my les paul jr and marshall class5 combo. With my amp volume at half and my guitar volume at half for rhythm and full on for leads i was drowning out my buddy's micro stack. 5 watts and a 10 inch speaker, can anybody go smaller than that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazerface Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Oh forgot to add there were drums and bass to, and my drummer hits those things HARD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 If your drummer hits hard. How come half volume was enough. When I played in a band in the 80's I used Marshall 50's full on and the drummer didn't need milking up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 This reads like you have the perfect size amp for what you are doing, for that size room. Â Guitar volume between half and full and getting more dirt as the volume increased without getting too loud is how I like to roll. Â Overall, I also think that the louder the drums and bass can be in relation to the rest of the band, the more I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I played a gig with my Marshall Class 5 - unmiked - once and it was really screaming - like at 12:00 on the volume with humbuckers. Â Not much overhead, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazerface Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Lashurst i dont know if youre patronizing me or my drummer but quit it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlashPerryBurst Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Lashurst i dont know if youre patronizing me or my drummer but quit it  Wow. Take a joke.  I once showed up to a venue about the same size with my 100w peavey head and 4x12 cab. I didn't realize how small the place was. The stage was absolutely tiny and it wasn't until about halfway through the gig, I noticed my drummer couldn't use one of his cymbals as my headstock was just above it. Was a great gig though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krock Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I remember once turning up to a corn exchange gig with a tiny amp expecting it to be miked up (they didnt) so I just got drowned out by drums (there were 3 drummers). Â Whats better, being at a small gig with a massive non master volume amp or a large gig with a tiny amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I remember once turning up to a corn exchange gig with a tiny amp expecting it to be miked up (they didnt) so I just got drowned out by drums (there were 3 drummers). Â Whats better, being at a small gig with a massive non master volume amp or a large gig with a tiny amp? Definitely big non master volume. At least then you can be heard and if you have a dirtbox then you're good to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 My "normal" small gig amp, is a Fender Blues Jr. (15 tube watts), as it's the smallest amp, wattage wise, I own. It's plenty loud, but not overpowering! Using both individual, and group "Dynamics," makes more difference, than amp size/wattage, mic'd or not!...IMHO, as always. Â CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I've used my old, modded Vibrochamp which has a nice 8" Weber in it on a few occasions, first at a festival where it was miked up then in a small club as half of a stereo set-up with a cheap old 15w bass amp. But even miked up an 8" speaker just doesn't sound as good, no bass. It was loud enough on the stand but you couldn't hear it properly out front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazerface Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Thanks for all the doubt guys, but my drummer does hit hard from all of his drumline experience, and the marshall class5 is freaking loud, so doubt all you want, but it happened and it sounded good. Â My normal gigging amp is a fender hot rod deluxe 40 watt 12" combo and i never have to turn it up past 4 even in moderately sized bars. Miking helps but the thing goes up to 12. I cranked it yesterday and boy is it loud and tasty sounding! Just crank the mids and the volume and let the p90s do the rest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazerface Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 The class 5 was not miked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bone Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 For the doubters, you really need to know the Class 5. They are a REALLY loud 5 watts, very very impressive (love mine). I've wondered for awhile if t would handle a small club with a full band, despite lots of guys telling me it wouldn't be enough, I really think it might. Seems like Laserface has tried it and found it to be fine. That said, if it were me, I'd at least have another amp nearby (in the car?) in case it wasn't quite enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazerface Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Yes tbone it is enough with a little headroom too, but it sounds best cranked anyways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Smallest I've used is my little 30 watt, 10" speaker solid state AE amp. It's enough in a small club, even unmiked, even with drums and bass. Â But then we weren't trying to raise the roof, either. Not too far, at least. The drummer was a "kid" that I think had played with my "baby" bro who's still under 40 - barely. Â But then again, I had the amp on a bar stool which put the sound up pretty high for the place, and as far as I could hear, it was keeping up and maintaining some good mids, if not a deeper sound - but that fit what I was playing fairly well. Â I think a lotta the "trick" to sound, especially in a saloon that ain't shaped like a theater stage, is speaker placement. My amp was closer to the front than the drums, PA and the other amps. The other amps and even the drummer were kinda blocked by a pool table, IMHO. Â m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Â So in my experience and I do not own the Class 5; it would appear to be not my first choice for a gigging amp. Â Yeah, I wouldn't suggest it. I have a Deluxe Reverb and an Egnater Rebel and they're the right size for me. They're about 20 watt amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanH Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Doesn't some of this also depend on what type of music is being played? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lespaulj45 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I noticed not one response has paid any attention to the building/room you are performing in. Room acoustics will be a big factor in percieved sound,hence the need for PA, mixing boards and the like.I have been in sleezy dives that sounded great with 30 watts and I have been in other less than great halls that needed a ton of power-One size does not fit all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I noticed not one response has paid any attention to the building/room you are performing in. Room acoustics will be a big factor in perceived sound,hence the need for PA, mixing boards and the like.I have been in sleezy dives that sounded great with 30 watts and I have been in other less than great halls that needed a ton of power-One size does not fit all! Â Very true...and, speaker cabinets are more of a consideration (to me, anyway) than big watt amps, in small venues. People often complain about small amps sounding "boxy" or with no bass, etc. Use a better speaker cabinet! That way, mic'd or not, you can crank the amp up, to it's "sweet spot," without losing speaker fidelity. For example, a 15 watt amp into a 1X12, 2X12, or even 4X12 closed back speaker cabinet. Vox, Orange, and other's, make nice 15 watt amps heads, than can be used with any speaker cabinet. Even bigger open back cabinets, would be better, than most small cabinet "combos!" Someone here, took his Fender Blues Junior, and made a new combo cabinet, with 2-12's in it. He stated (as would be expected) that it "came alive," after that. It wasn't that it was louder, as much as much tighter, and more efficient, with the 2X12 cabinet. Just some thoughts... Â CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Lespaulj45... Â I thought my note on amp placement hit some of that. Â I'm a true nut on speaker placement, use of a PA, etc., to get away from the bash of noise we put out in the olden days with tube amps and a portable tube PA of the day. Â In those days we were plenty loud enough, but in retrospect it was pretty hashed up by the time that the sound went through a basketball court-sized auditorium. We just didn't know better. Ditto in saloons of various sizes, etc., etc. The available equipment today at some awfully decent prices are stuff we could only dream about. Â That's one reason I've sometimes sounded "grouchy" on here with the idea of bigger instrument amps when it seems to me that better PA systems and speaker placement are the real answer to having a real band sound 'stedda thumping noise... Â What's almost worse than the halls where you need more power is the place where the echoes and sound reflections turn anything on a bandstand to mush... Â Bottom line to me is that I think we've gotta think about what an audience will hear more than what we think we're hearing out of our amps - and that's regardless of style of music we're playing. Â m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I have the perfect amp for your needs,it's a Traynor TS-15,the beauty of this amp is that it has a 3 position rocker switch that sets the Wattage at 5,10 and 15.Although the amp is SS it sounds incredibley tubelike as that was the end result wanted by Pete Traynor who spent 6 years designing it.Sadly they don't make it anymore but they show up on ebay pretty often.You could also look into the Vox Valvetronix amps,you can set them for 1,5,15,30W and up depending on the amp model.I have the AD120VTH and on the 1W setting I can get incredible cranked JCM 800 raunch at living room volumes and with vol and gain at the front of the amp and a master volume any kind of overdriven or clean sounds can be had at any volume.These amps also have unbelieveably true to life amp models as well as spot on effects modes especially the modulation modes such as Uni-Vibe,rotating speaker(Leslie)phaser and flanger as well as tremolo and vibrato.The delay section is also true to life emulating tape echo etc. You can pick up used examples of these models pretty cheap and they have bullet-proof dependability.The Marshall Valvestate is also worth a look-not quite as good as Vox but definitely second best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lespaulj45 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 As I am much older now and dont care to carry around 75 + lb amplifiers, I bought a Montgomery Wards "Airline" combo amp in the early 60's which I recently had restored by the local amp god around these parts- This tiny amp puts out the sweetest tone of any of my five amps-mike it up and it is outrageous-tone,tone,tone. Give me the good 'ole days anytime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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