On 7/14/06, kelsey hudson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Andrew Lentvorski wrote:
> I can get a much more powerful guitar amp for a lot less money if it's
> MOSFET-based. The MOSFET amp is also more reliable.
This I won't dispute. Tubes are unreliable (when moved and repeatedly
powered on/off). Tubes are expensive.
> If I'm going for venue performance volume, I probably want a MOSFET amp.
> If I'm performing in a studio, I'd probably want a tube amp.
Whoa there cowboy! power output != volume output. "twice as loud" is
defined as an increase in sound pressure by 3 dB. It's not a linear
scale by any means; it's logarithmic. The amount of power to go up in
volume by 3 dB is roughly equal to 10 times the amount of power.
Alternatively, you can double the amount of speakers. But, this lowers
the total load impedance (amplifiers designed for a 4 ohm load really
dislike a 2 ohm load).
Psychoacoustics, which describes sensations such as "twice as loud"
disagrees with your terminology. It takes an increase in SPL of 10dB
to make a "twice as loud" sensation.
Mathematics also disagrees with you. A decibel is a logarithmic
measure of power ratio, and thus 3dB represents a doubling of power.
(10 log P1/P0). log(2) = 0.301
If you want to say "it takes 10 times the amount of power to sound
twice as loud" we would be in agreement. But you can't call that a
3dB increase in anything.
No, the real solution to venue performance volume is an external sound
reinforcement system (read: play the guitar through the PA and keep the
on-stage volume at a reasonable level). If the musician can't hear
himself, turn up the stage monitor. I've done both live sound
engineering and studio recording/mastering. It's not about raw power
output or raw volume -- it's how you shape and reinforce the sound you
have. A novice engineer with the best, top-of-the-line gear probably
can't do any better than a seasoned veteran using mid-range or even
low-end equipment.
So no, you always want the equipment that produces the best sound, not
the equipment that is more powerful/louder. The, "but it goes to 11"
argument is silly.
Unfortunately there seems to be an attitude in popular music that
"louder is better" up to the threshold of pain.
carl
--
carl lowenstein marine physical lab u.c. san diego
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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