Re: How much does increasing wattage increase volume?
- From: Benj <bjacoby@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:22:43 -0700 (PDT)
On Mar 31, 4:03 pm, Jim Carr <newsgro...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I have no idea if more efficient cabs means a sacrifice in low
frequencies, but I do believe that when people want the bass louder at a
gig, they're not so much talking about the stuff sitting down around
40Hz but the more easily distinguishable frequencies one or two octaves
up from there.
The "sacrifice" in low frequencies generally has to do with the cab
size (and driver effeiciency). Here's a couple of things to keep in
mind. First there is "theory" which says that doubling the power will
make things 2dB louder. That is true and 2dB is about the smallest
change in loudness that the ear can detect. So that says don't expect
much from doubling the power.
But there is theory and there is practicality. In my experience a
couple of things can make a big difference. And one of them is more
power! There is not a lot of loudness difference between my 200Watt
Fender amp and the 1000 watt rig. yeah, it's a little bit louder when
maxed out, but really not THAT much! But there is a HUGE difference
in the "impact" the rig makes on the listener. The big rig gives you
this in the gut, pants-flapping, type feel while the smaller one is
just sort of you run of the mill bass amp. So as Speedy used to say,
"there is no substitute for "cubes"...er Watts in bass playing...
And another point. Cab size. Virtually ALL the heavy watts in bass
playing is going into the lowest frequencies. They suck power like
HOGS! So it's not just overall cab or driver efficiency that makes a
difference, but how efficient the cab is at the LOWEST frequencies.
And there the rule of thumb tends to be if the cab is small, the deep
frequency output will be way rolled off! And heres the catch: since
the cab rolls off deep lows, you naturally compensate by cranking up
the EQ which of course, sucks much more power from your amp! Clearly
the answer is not only more power but a MUCH larger cab even with the
same speakers in it.
Go look at some Thiele curves for a standard driver and vary the cab
size. note how a huge cab really cranks up the low end output.
And lastly I ALWAYS try to run my amps with drivers that are 4 Ohms
(or what ever gives max output from the ams). Why throw that power
away? It's nuts. I've got a Carvin 100 watt PA amp and the PA
speakers I've got for it are some tiny 8 Ohm jobbies. Talk about suck!
The thing has like next to no output. Answer? same as yours. Large
cabs. Proper Ohms for max ratings. Efficient drivers (expensive!).
And by the way, the "headroom" question raises another important point
while bass playing. What you want is a amp with a great sounding soft
limiter. My Fender amps have that. Therefore, you can jam the signals
up against the limit without sounding too nasty. Amps that hard-limit
are the pits! Unless you have a compressor, they force you to keep
your levels WAY down below max so you can have some headroom. That
REALLY cuts your output volume. So if your amp doesn't have a nice
soft limiter, start thinking about a decent compressor or other such
limiting device to get your power back.
Good luck.
.
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