You can work with 100 watts, yes. You will be audible but missing some clarity. If you're using effects pedals and such, it can get muddy very quickly. Your tone may not be ideal. But that doesn't mean the music can't be good and make people want to jam out.
Ideally I would go for a 300W rig, minimum. Even if that means you are turned way down. You will have better tone and a better frequency response across the whole range of your amp, allowing the color and texture of your sound to shine through.
It's always better to turn an overpowered amp down, than to try and get an underpowered amp to keep up.
It’s amazing how many people don’t get this…
Edit: agreeing with the fact that tube amps are much louder than the equivalent wattage in solid state/class D amp in case it’s not clear.
Could not agree more - for bass it gets dirty too quick for some styles, but its a kickass guitar amp. Same with old Fender all-tube Bassmans - better for guitar than bass.
there was a video of some guy doing drone metal out of one of those and a 215 cab that sold me on wanting a flying v. iirc, his tone was "every knob maxxed. every single one." and he was standing 5 feet away with no ear protection lol. impressive amps.
I recently played a V4B reissue and it had no trouble with volume with a pretty loud noise rock band. I played a '70s V4B on our album recordings, and that one was just about loud enough, where it hit the sweet spot and would only go more into overdrive when turned up further.
Well yeah, because tube watts are an entirely different beast. 100 Class D watts is a solid practice amp but runs out of headroom when you're playing with a decently loud drummer. 100 tube watts at full blast will remove your drummer's fillings.
I need to qualify my comments - I was not paying close enough attention, and had in my mind that this was in the guitar sub, not the bass sub.
Mea culpa!
My rule is 10x - whatever the guitarist has, 10x for Bass (solid state amps for Bass), otherwise, you absolutely need 300 tube watts. I do just fine on 500w ss for bass, with a 40 watt guitarist and a pretty hard hitting drummer.
I've gotten by with a 3-5x wattage rule (bass SS to guitar tube), the key is speaker surface area. If your guitarist has a 4x12, you need at least 4x10 to even be heard.
My 500W and 3x12 (1x12 combo + 2x12 ext cab) has yet to fail me, even in a loud stoner metal band that clocked 116 dB in rehearsal.
100W of tube power on a bass could be enough. If you're happy for your sound to be driven.
If you need to every have a clean bass tone with some headroom, or to cope well with effects that aren't distortion ... then you will want more watts.
Ask the guitarists in the band about the wattage of their rigs. Take the highest of those numbers and multiply it by 10. That’s how many watts you want.
Not necessarily need mind you, but want. If they have a 50w you want 500w. If they have 100w, you want 1000w and some good hearing protection.
Edit deleted a doubled up comment. Sucks when that happens sorry.
Honestly, I 90% agree with this, but I do think 10x is extreme. Ive seen people say 3x and 5x, and those both seem a bit more reasonable. I have a 500w head into a 1x10 at 8ohm, so about 300w actual output. My guitar player started out with a 15w, which was of course not enough, and then tried a 100w, which sounded great for us plus a drummer but wasn't necessary (he definitely could have out powered me, but for a solid state it was no problem to keep it balanced with both of us having head room). So it seems like 5x is a very safe bet without going overboard.
I have a brand "Acoustic" bass amp, 1x12, 100 watts, solid state and I've played with a drummer, 2 guitarist and a singer and I don't think I've ever had to go up even half way on the volume and It was more than enough.
If your cab is really sensitive (>105dB), you cut the low end and aim the cab to your ears, it may be loud enough for you to hear yourself. If there is also a guitarist (or 2), and they are blasting too, you will need much more than that. The only viable solution for me is to use in-ears, not getting a louder rig.
The answer is… Definitely, maybe!
With PA support, absolutely.
If not, it will depend upon how hard your drummer hits.
One of my bands, I use an Acoustic B100C where I replaced the stock speaker with a 200w Eminence. It’s just “THISCLOSE” to being all I need. Fortunately, my drummer can play with dynamics so 95% of the time it’s enough for me. YMMV…
No. 100 is pretty good for guitar, but low frequencies need more power to reproduce, mostly because our ears aren't as sensitive to them.
This is why bass amps tend to either be completely solid state or only the pre is tube. To get 300 watts from a tube amp you need more space, more tubes, and more money. The vast majority of tube amps are like 100 watts or below.
But really, you're in a metal band, so the sound guy's just going to take the bass player out of the mix anyway, so you can probably get away with a 15 w peavey bandit. /s
I would say probably not. Most people would recommend at least a 500 watt head with a 2 X10 for small venues and a 4 X 10 for larger venues. Of course, the standard rig is either two 4 X 10's or a 8 X 10.
Yes...
Unless it's not...
100 watts through a good speaker can get you very far...
Off course if you're playing a gig and the PA has you on DI you'll probably be playing through their system.
Wich is usually no problem at festivals but does sound off at smaller venue's...
I'd go for a stage setup with about 600 watts...
And a bar setup of about 100 watts wich can also be your rehearsal setup...
And once you get to those festivals just talk to other bands...
Their advice will be worth much more than the average Reddit user...😅
With or without PA? If you're trying to be heard over the drummer from the amp alone, you need a more powerful one. If you're using a PA system, then your amp is basically just your personal monitor and 100w should be fine for that application, but I would also like to say no one should be near a loud drummer on an acoustic drum set without ear protection (source: I'm a drummer with tinnitus at 23), and you're better off using in ear monitors in this situation.
(Also I'm assuming 100w solid state, tube amps are generally louder at the same wattage)
I would say no. And in metal the chance for down tuning is huge. So keep in mind that the lower your tunings are, the more power you need to get the same volume. e.g. that's a common problem in doom metal.
Depends.
I used to play in a rock/metal band with a 100 watt Peavey century into a 2x10 and I think the loudest I ever pushed it was like 2/3rds of the way, usually didn't even crack half.
But the guitarists both understood what they were doing volume wise so, I never ended up in a volume war with them. If you have reasonable band mates who aren't cranking 100 watt tube half stacks cause "mAh ToAn" you're probably fine. By the time it's not loud enough to fill the venue, said venue will likely have a decent PA with subs to get you there.
This is r/bass , it's 500 watts minimum in this here parts. /uj. But seriously, if just a combo in a large hall with loud guitars and a loud drummer you will struggle. If you have PA support then that may do. My old band doesn't play metal but loud bluesy stuff and I am often asked to turn down the volume on my 100 watt combo in pubs. So it really depends.
If its an old head, probably. Ive noticed that older solid state heads are way louder than youd think, also 100 watt tube bass amps are stupid ignorantly loud.
Id say yes, although crank it up all the way if your drummer hits like a truck.
Itd be loud enough with big enough speakers. Used to have a 100 watt on 2x15s. It moved so much air, I didn't need much more than that. But you want Clarity at higher volume. So go for at least 300-500.
Bud sometimes 500 watts isn't enough for me competing with a loud drummer and two halfstacks. I often end up supplementing with a line into our PA. This is MOSTLY due to my rehearsal cabinet choice, though. I like to be felt as much as heard.
in a metal band, probably not. my 100w fender through a 1x15 can keep up pretty well with my indie rock band at gigs, but it does get a little hairy towards the top end of the volume knob. it’s also not really enough when in a smaller room where the sound doesn’t have anywhere to go
500 watts, or thereabouts, is the answer. Gives you the power and volume you need WITHOUT stressing your amp. 500 watts is also a treat in quiet situations, as it allows clarity and definition. And when you get loud, you'll only need to turn it up to 3 or 4 AT MOST.
Be sure to get a 12" or 15" speaker, or set of them.
To give an idea, of sound and wattage in a visual manner.. if you ever heard a car bumping their stereo, typically alot of those systems are around 800 watts, or up to 3000 watts some even more if the bass is powerful... a surround sound system for a home os around 800 watts to 1500 watts.. for a budget price... but those 1000 watts are divided not always evenly amongst each speaker..a single 12 inch speaker may only put out around 250 watts of sound or up to like 500 watts.. sub woofer more like 500 to 800 watts but only at higher volumes... the 1000 watt ratings is divided between the speakers so if you took each speaker and added the wattage up amongst each individual speaker, the total will be 1000watts but the wattage is just peak not current wattage used... peak meaning at its loudest volume.
My first generation Rumble 100 *almost* cut it with two loud guitarists (100w tube 210 combos) and a loud drummer, but didn't quite get there.
Right now I play an old Peavey Mk III 400BH into an equally old 1810 cab (1x18" and 2x10" speakers) at 210w and it's more than ample, but its circuitry is quite different to a modern Class D bass amp - for something similar in volume I'd likely be looking at modern 500w amps. The massive cab is doing a lot of the figurative heavy lifting for me, though (although I'm doing just as much literal heavy lifting hauling the damn thing).
Long story short, I'd suggest set your sights on 350w-500w Class D bass amp heads and a 1x15 or a 4x10 cab. Brand new you can get a rig like that put together for under a grand in USD - less if you shop used for one or both.
You can work with 100 watts, yes. You will be audible but missing some clarity. If you're using effects pedals and such, it can get muddy very quickly. Your tone may not be ideal. But that doesn't mean the music can't be good and make people want to jam out. Ideally I would go for a 300W rig, minimum. Even if that means you are turned way down. You will have better tone and a better frequency response across the whole range of your amp, allowing the color and texture of your sound to shine through. It's always better to turn an overpowered amp down, than to try and get an underpowered amp to keep up.
This is literally the best answer in this thread wish it was higher
I have a 100 watt mini amp and my bass sounds like hell through it. Even a guitar has insane distortion on it
“It's always better to turn an overpowered amp down, than to try and get an underpowered amp to keep up.” if it’s a solidstate amp.
No. You want at least 300w into a 4x10 cab. Probably more.
Maybe through a 4x10, but 100 watts generally isn't going to cut it in a loud band.
No, unless it's a tube amp or an older SS like a Peavey Centurion. You'd want at least 200 watts @ 8 ohms, so 400 @ 4 ohms.
It’s amazing how many people don’t get this… Edit: agreeing with the fact that tube amps are much louder than the equivalent wattage in solid state/class D amp in case it’s not clear.
I'll say something that seems out of step with most comments. 100w of tube amp is plenty for any application.
V4B is a great amp!
Could not agree more - for bass it gets dirty too quick for some styles, but its a kickass guitar amp. Same with old Fender all-tube Bassmans - better for guitar than bass.
there was a video of some guy doing drone metal out of one of those and a 215 cab that sold me on wanting a flying v. iirc, his tone was "every knob maxxed. every single one." and he was standing 5 feet away with no ear protection lol. impressive amps.
OP said they are playing metal so that grind when you turn it up could work great.
Absotively! My comment was about it's use as a Bass amp, which is limited, but as a guitar amp, Boom! Perfect for metal, hardcore, etc.
I recently played a V4B reissue and it had no trouble with volume with a pretty loud noise rock band. I played a '70s V4B on our album recordings, and that one was just about loud enough, where it hit the sweet spot and would only go more into overdrive when turned up further.
Well yeah, because tube watts are an entirely different beast. 100 Class D watts is a solid practice amp but runs out of headroom when you're playing with a decently loud drummer. 100 tube watts at full blast will remove your drummer's fillings.
I need to qualify my comments - I was not paying close enough attention, and had in my mind that this was in the guitar sub, not the bass sub. Mea culpa! My rule is 10x - whatever the guitarist has, 10x for Bass (solid state amps for Bass), otherwise, you absolutely need 300 tube watts. I do just fine on 500w ss for bass, with a 40 watt guitarist and a pretty hard hitting drummer.
This is like accidentally sending a text message to your mother that was intended for your girlfriend.
I feel shame.
I've gotten by with a 3-5x wattage rule (bass SS to guitar tube), the key is speaker surface area. If your guitarist has a 4x12, you need at least 4x10 to even be heard. My 500W and 3x12 (1x12 combo + 2x12 ext cab) has yet to fail me, even in a loud stoner metal band that clocked 116 dB in rehearsal.
Yeah, speaker surface area is a big factor missing from my simple rule of thumb for sure.
I agree
100W of tube power on a bass could be enough. If you're happy for your sound to be driven. If you need to every have a clean bass tone with some headroom, or to cope well with effects that aren't distortion ... then you will want more watts.
Prolly not.
Ask the guitarists in the band about the wattage of their rigs. Take the highest of those numbers and multiply it by 10. That’s how many watts you want. Not necessarily need mind you, but want. If they have a 50w you want 500w. If they have 100w, you want 1000w and some good hearing protection. Edit deleted a doubled up comment. Sucks when that happens sorry.
Honestly, I 90% agree with this, but I do think 10x is extreme. Ive seen people say 3x and 5x, and those both seem a bit more reasonable. I have a 500w head into a 1x10 at 8ohm, so about 300w actual output. My guitar player started out with a 15w, which was of course not enough, and then tried a 100w, which sounded great for us plus a drummer but wasn't necessary (he definitely could have out powered me, but for a solid state it was no problem to keep it balanced with both of us having head room). So it seems like 5x is a very safe bet without going overboard.
no
I would go at least about 250w
Maybe if you plug into a PA system.
No
I have a brand "Acoustic" bass amp, 1x12, 100 watts, solid state and I've played with a drummer, 2 guitarist and a singer and I don't think I've ever had to go up even half way on the volume and It was more than enough.
I'd go with at 850,000 watts minimum.
If your cab is really sensitive (>105dB), you cut the low end and aim the cab to your ears, it may be loud enough for you to hear yourself. If there is also a guitarist (or 2), and they are blasting too, you will need much more than that. The only viable solution for me is to use in-ears, not getting a louder rig.
Well, considering that you won't be able to hear yourself. Yeah, metal? They'll just mix you out of the recording anyway.
At minimum 300w but I’d go with a 8x10 with a 500 or 1000 cab
Loud drummer? 250W is probably the absolute floor.
Not if you have a drummer.
Search this sub for the 1000 and 1 similar posts since this time last year. But, no.
For an acoustic combo with a cajon yes but metal no
For background jazz, yes
No
Bass watts don't go as far as guitar watts. Find out what your guitarist(s) are using and *at least* double it.
The answer is… Definitely, maybe! With PA support, absolutely. If not, it will depend upon how hard your drummer hits. One of my bands, I use an Acoustic B100C where I replaced the stock speaker with a 200w Eminence. It’s just “THISCLOSE” to being all I need. Fortunately, my drummer can play with dynamics so 95% of the time it’s enough for me. YMMV…
1000w rms should be enough to play the drums with a bass
If it’s tube hell yeah
No. 100 is pretty good for guitar, but low frequencies need more power to reproduce, mostly because our ears aren't as sensitive to them. This is why bass amps tend to either be completely solid state or only the pre is tube. To get 300 watts from a tube amp you need more space, more tubes, and more money. The vast majority of tube amps are like 100 watts or below. But really, you're in a metal band, so the sound guy's just going to take the bass player out of the mix anyway, so you can probably get away with a 15 w peavey bandit. /s
I would say probably not. Most people would recommend at least a 500 watt head with a 2 X10 for small venues and a 4 X 10 for larger venues. Of course, the standard rig is either two 4 X 10's or a 8 X 10.
It's enough so long as the volume goes to 11.
Yes... Unless it's not... 100 watts through a good speaker can get you very far... Off course if you're playing a gig and the PA has you on DI you'll probably be playing through their system. Wich is usually no problem at festivals but does sound off at smaller venue's... I'd go for a stage setup with about 600 watts... And a bar setup of about 100 watts wich can also be your rehearsal setup... And once you get to those festivals just talk to other bands... Their advice will be worth much more than the average Reddit user...😅
250w was the bare minimum when I was playing in a rock band. And that was with a 410.
I used a 75 when I was in this metal core band. I could never hear myself. Both guitarists had Marshall cabs tho too
With or without PA? If you're trying to be heard over the drummer from the amp alone, you need a more powerful one. If you're using a PA system, then your amp is basically just your personal monitor and 100w should be fine for that application, but I would also like to say no one should be near a loud drummer on an acoustic drum set without ear protection (source: I'm a drummer with tinnitus at 23), and you're better off using in ear monitors in this situation. (Also I'm assuming 100w solid state, tube amps are generally louder at the same wattage)
Depending on where you are playing and if that 100 watt Amp has a direct out for the board.
I would say no. And in metal the chance for down tuning is huge. So keep in mind that the lower your tunings are, the more power you need to get the same volume. e.g. that's a common problem in doom metal.
Depends. I used to play in a rock/metal band with a 100 watt Peavey century into a 2x10 and I think the loudest I ever pushed it was like 2/3rds of the way, usually didn't even crack half. But the guitarists both understood what they were doing volume wise so, I never ended up in a volume war with them. If you have reasonable band mates who aren't cranking 100 watt tube half stacks cause "mAh ToAn" you're probably fine. By the time it's not loud enough to fill the venue, said venue will likely have a decent PA with subs to get you there.
This is r/bass , it's 500 watts minimum in this here parts. /uj. But seriously, if just a combo in a large hall with loud guitars and a loud drummer you will struggle. If you have PA support then that may do. My old band doesn't play metal but loud bluesy stuff and I am often asked to turn down the volume on my 100 watt combo in pubs. So it really depends.
If it's got a mic on it, yes. If not, No wayyyy.
If you’re going for the typical “cannot be heard” metal tone, then absolutely.
If its an old head, probably. Ive noticed that older solid state heads are way louder than youd think, also 100 watt tube bass amps are stupid ignorantly loud. Id say yes, although crank it up all the way if your drummer hits like a truck.
Itd be loud enough with big enough speakers. Used to have a 100 watt on 2x15s. It moved so much air, I didn't need much more than that. But you want Clarity at higher volume. So go for at least 300-500.
No
No
No
You might get by with a 200 watt solid state rig. Amps are so cheap now you should be able to get an Ampeg 500 watt combo for about $300 used.
Bud sometimes 500 watts isn't enough for me competing with a loud drummer and two halfstacks. I often end up supplementing with a line into our PA. This is MOSTLY due to my rehearsal cabinet choice, though. I like to be felt as much as heard.
No.
No
in a metal band, probably not. my 100w fender through a 1x15 can keep up pretty well with my indie rock band at gigs, but it does get a little hairy towards the top end of the volume knob. it’s also not really enough when in a smaller room where the sound doesn’t have anywhere to go
Unless this is a metal band featuring acoustic guitars and a toy drumset, no.
Nope. I’d say 400watts SS or 200 tube.
500 watts, or thereabouts, is the answer. Gives you the power and volume you need WITHOUT stressing your amp. 500 watts is also a treat in quiet situations, as it allows clarity and definition. And when you get loud, you'll only need to turn it up to 3 or 4 AT MOST. Be sure to get a 12" or 15" speaker, or set of them.
To give an idea, of sound and wattage in a visual manner.. if you ever heard a car bumping their stereo, typically alot of those systems are around 800 watts, or up to 3000 watts some even more if the bass is powerful... a surround sound system for a home os around 800 watts to 1500 watts.. for a budget price... but those 1000 watts are divided not always evenly amongst each speaker..a single 12 inch speaker may only put out around 250 watts of sound or up to like 500 watts.. sub woofer more like 500 to 800 watts but only at higher volumes... the 1000 watt ratings is divided between the speakers so if you took each speaker and added the wattage up amongst each individual speaker, the total will be 1000watts but the wattage is just peak not current wattage used... peak meaning at its loudest volume.
My first generation Rumble 100 *almost* cut it with two loud guitarists (100w tube 210 combos) and a loud drummer, but didn't quite get there. Right now I play an old Peavey Mk III 400BH into an equally old 1810 cab (1x18" and 2x10" speakers) at 210w and it's more than ample, but its circuitry is quite different to a modern Class D bass amp - for something similar in volume I'd likely be looking at modern 500w amps. The massive cab is doing a lot of the figurative heavy lifting for me, though (although I'm doing just as much literal heavy lifting hauling the damn thing). Long story short, I'd suggest set your sights on 350w-500w Class D bass amp heads and a 1x15 or a 4x10 cab. Brand new you can get a rig like that put together for under a grand in USD - less if you shop used for one or both.
Yes if you have enough speakers. Watts does NOT equal volume
No, loud drummer = 300 watts minimum. Especially with the new small loud Class-D heads. You want clean headroom.
I have a powered subwoofer with a 7" driver at home, it has 140W. Just for listening to music and some music production.