Skyze said:
how? Im saying I like 100watters, but if I chose to get a medium sized mesa thats under like $1k, Im stuck with only 50 watters (DC5, .50 caliber)
Will 50 be enough? Anyone play BIG shows (ie non stadium, but ~1000-5000 people) with 50 watt amps?
Moral of the story: If you are worried about headroom, get a Roadster or Road King. You can set up all your gain tones with 50watts and your clean with 100watts. The only problem here is that this costs a LOT of money new.
There is a cheaper alternative, something similar to what I run.
If it means anything to you, I'll describe my setup briefly. (You should definitely email MESA to double check, but I'm sure you can do the same thing with a DC100 as well)
I got a two channel Dual Rectifier used. I suggest you do the same. You should be able to find one for around $900 and it is easy to find a used marshall 4 x 12 to plug into. (I saw a marshall 4 x 12 on craigslist for $350 canadian last night) They really don't sound that bad. In fact, you can get some great tones from them.
OK, volume.
1) for loud outdoor gigs, I run my dual with all the power tubes in at 100watts. If volume still is a problem and I need headroom, I flip on the silicon diode rectifier which gives me ball busting power.
2) Mesas have awesome hardware in their amps. The trannies are super awesome which allows us to do this super cool thing: You can remove one rectifier tube (doesn't matter which one) and two power tubes from the amp to drop it down to 50watts. Now power tubes operate in tandem, so you have to configure your amp this way: Y X X Y where the inside power tubes are a pair and the outside ones are a pair. YOu can either have _ X X _ or Y _ _ Y. Any other configuration will damage your amp.
Now you have successfully pulled your tubes, it will change the impedance of your amp but that is ok. It is roughly half so you plug twice the resistance in to compensate. So, you run an 8 ohm cab from the 4 ohm output on your amp or a 16 ohm cab from the 8 ohm output on your amp and you should be set!
If 50 watts gets great tones for you at smaller venues, then great! If you need lower, you can do a further swap. It will cost extra money but it is worth it! I bought two THD Yellow Jackets and I run them with one rectifier tube and two EL-84 tubes plugged in. I leave the other power tubes empty. This drops the power of the amp down to between 15 and 20 watts, which results in a mini sized recto. The tonal effect is surprising with this change. Basically, the clean gets much warmer, kind of like a voxAC30. The crunch is awesome, but closer to EL-34s than 6L6s.
Ok, this is the deal. When you have a marshall 300watt cab or a mesa 240watt cab, 20 watts isn't enough power to get the speakers sufficiently working. As a result, the tone is anemic and doesn't thump at all. The solution is this: You need a cab that can handle between 40 - 100 watts.
-If you are simply set on a 4 x 12, A marshall 1960ax is a vintage looking 4 x 12 with 25watt g12m greenbacks. The cab can handle 100watts and as a result, it will sound much more ballsy.
-Some other (expensive) 4 x 12 options are Celestion Alnico blue speakers, which are only 15watts, super warm, and very efficient. This results in a 60watt 4 x 12 that will be probably the most money you ever spent on such a cab. It will also sound awesome with a 15 - 20 watt head.
-A cheaper option is to have a 2 x 12 or a 1 x 12 handy. If you use this sort of a configuration, it is far cheaper to augment the setup, especially used. An unloaded 1 x 12 thiele is a great option, since you can fill it with a v30 or G12T 75 for a modest power handling which makes for a ballsy setup. A recto 2 x 12 isn't too bad for medium power gigs, but the v30s are pretty tight speakers so you have to abuse them to get them to roar. I'd prefer two greenbacks for 50watts, but that is me. Generally, it is a good idea to have a cab that can handle a minimum of roughly twice the wattage that the amp in capable of producing.
If you go with this setup, you have two cabs: a small one for low power gigs, and a large one for loud gigs, like a 4 x 12 marshall or Mesa rectocab. YOu also have a box full of different tubes and are always yanking and replacing them depending on your immediate needs. If you are comfortable with this, you can get many applications out of the same gear.
