4 watts can be loud enough!

[Rozz]

Hi all,
I just read Andy and Les Paul Lover’s last post on the technical thread, (TH 30 – 50% output;

Les Paul Lover wrote:
7w is really loud already.....

Certainly is. 5W through a decent guitar speaker is about as loud as a good trumpet played hard. Not quiet then...


Andy. )


but I thought I would mention this here. It surprised me, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been.
I have a little Vox AC4C1 (bright red ) 4 watter that I use for practice or recording and I sometimes take it to gigs for warmup. We played a small pub private venue room the other day, only maybe a 50 people venue max (birthday party, pretty full) and I happened to have the AC4C1 with me. The guy who’s birthday it was loves Zeppelin (like me), so we played a lot of their stuff. I also had my TH30 combo with me with an Orange 112 cab. On a whim, I connected the Vox to the 112 and set up with that. It was easily loud enough for this venue (which couldn’t be too loud, but loud enough to rock). So the TH30 combo took a back seat for this gig. I don’t think I have heard a better “Custard Pie” sound from me. I will certainly bear this in mind for the future. As I say, maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised really.
Rozz

[Les Paul Lover]

Yeah, I used to have an AD5, it was pretty ridiculously loud really. I could just about practice with a drummer, but I couldn't get a volume boost of it as it was pushed pretty hard then.

The AD15 does solve that for me though.
I can play with drummers and still have volume to spare.

I wouldn't mind another AD5 another day though.... Best small wattage amp I've ever owned.

[a.hun]

It is sometimes surprising. Played a jam session on Saturday. (Was really great, proper jamming, not just tired old blues and covers!)

The guitar amps brought were all small solid state combos (1x8" sort of thing, some even smaller), and it was plenty loud with everyone well audible. I was playing bass through a small 30W Peavey guitar combo - a Backstage, actually a surprisingly cool wee amp normally. Unusually for a Peavey though it seemed rather ill which was a pity. Even at low gain / volume settings it was distorting, though in actually quite a nice way. So i just rocked it up on bass and we had a great time anyway. Looking forward to seeing / hearing some video which was made there. (And next time I'll take my own 50W 1x8 Micromark combo to get proper bass sounds. That thing always amazes everyone. Even me and I should be used to it by now!)

Small valve amps through decent speakers can indeed get really loud though. My old 10W TOA PA amp (sort of thing they'd have used for church hall bingo afternoons) makes for an absolute killer guitar amp even through my 1x12. Put through a 2 or 4x12 it is just crazy. And of course it is half as loud as a 100W head through the same speaker(s) would be, people forget but that's exactly how decibels work!


Andy.

[caldurham]

my current favorite amp is the little 1 watt randall diavlo rd1. for 1 watt it's louder than expected and sounds killer. i'd also love to get an ad5. i am trying to amass an army of small low watt amps.

[megalithic]

I have a Fender Greta, 2 watts. I can crank it all the way up with the tiny stock speaker, but as soon as I hook it up to any real cab, it's way too loud to crank and not experience eardrum pains.

[jojo68]

My OR 15 def doesn't keep up with my drummer. All good tho, he's great and I enjoy playing LOUD

[apocalypsedude]

Fantastic! I'm looking at getting an AC15, did you have to use an overdrive pedal with the AC4 to get Zep tones?

[Rozz]

Fantastic! I'm looking at getting an AC15, did you have to use an overdrive pedal with the AC4 to get Zep tones?

No, not really, but the VOX was pretty much cranked in volume and gain though. (Bass full, treble at 12. My strat is bright and it is a VOX top boost circuit I believe). I did use a very mild boost using my vintage microtubes pedal, so that I could cut through a bit when needed. The VOX didn't much like any added distortion at those settings. I rolled off the strats volume when I needed to clean it up a bit and then use the boost. Bear in mind though, I wasn't looking for accurate reproduction of Zep tone for each number, but, it fell really lucky for Custard pie. I didn't need the boost for that with the VOX cranked. If you think that tone, that's what I got. I bet the AC15's are good.