Re: Looking to buy a bigger amp

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"PatK" <pkincaid@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:4602d172$0$28142$4c368faf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mike Rieves wrote:
"Brian Running" <brunning@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:8%cMh.5984$tv6.5394@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm looking to get a bigger amp from what I have now, which is a 50 watt 12 inch speaker Crate amp that I've had for about 10 years. I've used this amp at home just to practice and it's okay for that, but I want to get something the next size up with a bit better sound. I don't want to spend a lot of money for what I'm going to get, maybe in the $300 range or so. I just was wondering if there were any recommendations of what to look for or even what to avoid?
What's it going to be used for? If you ever plan to play out in a band with it, then keep saving your money until you can get an amp in the 300-400 Watt range. Anything between 50 Watts and 300 watts is only going to be a temporary measure, you'll be sorry you didn't go bigger.
Brian is right. Because of the way our ears work, it takes a huge increase in amp power to acheive a moderate gain in perceived loudness. Assuming equal speaker efficiency. a 300 watt amp will only be around twice as loud as a 50 watt amp or a bit more, even though it's six times the power.
Maybe I need to rethink what I'm looking for. The Crate that I have now is okay, but it doesn't have much in the tonal area, especially the ability to change the way it sounds. I would like something that has better tone, but also something that is more versatile. Wattage is important I know. I've played with this amp in my church choir but you really needed to strain to hear it.

Pat

Sorry to add more variables, but does your bass have different tonal qualities depending on where the volume control is set? Mine does, and it's significant. If I set the volume control around 1/3, and crank up the amp to compensate, I get a different sound than if I turn the bass all the way up and turn the amp down.

I'll leave it to you to think about how this might affect your shopping experience, especially if you buy online.



I guess my original thought was that if I found something locally, I could buy the same thing online for cheaper. But if that's not necessarily the case, then I would rather buy locally. And yeah, I know what you're talking about as far as the volume knob affecting the tone. It does, but I guess I'm just not fond of this amp's sound, regardless of what I can do with it. I've had 10 years to mess with it, after all. :)

Pat
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