best 'power' rating for miced amps.

makepeace

this topic kind of speaks for itself. i have a mate who's looking to buy a valve amp in the fender 'tweed' genre. he plays gigs and always has his amps (that he borrows) miced up. just thought i'd ask if a low wattage amp (1w-5w) or a medium wattage amp(5w-20w) would be better when playing miced, all things considered.

cheers

MikeM

Well, push pull tone is different from single ended.. I don't know what'd work but I'd aim for 15watts and add a vvr.

ActionArnie

Depends whether or not you need to hear the amp on stage or if you are going to put the amp through the stage monitors. I personally haven't experienced high quality stage monitors but what I have experienced make my amp sound really tinny so I like to use only the amp to hear myself. I'm not sure 5W would suffice, I've got a JCM600 (60W) with 2x12's and I have to run it at about 2/3's volume to hear myself over my drummer. Admittedly its not the loudest 60W amp and it prolly needs new speakers, but still.

MIKA-the-better-one

I mic my 50 watt bassman...... at shows.... but I dont put it in the moniters.. as its plenty loud for me onstage.......

I would say 20 watt----- 30watt

MoJo-JoJoe

Fender Pro Jr will do the tones you mentioned and at 15 loud valve watts will be heard on stage.

TomCat

I run my 8 watter on stage mic'ed up and it keeps up with cleans (Just). This is in a church situation though where the stage is well treated acoustically and the stage levels are not too high.

I would recommend 15 to 30W if you want cleans and be able to hear yourself as well off the amp.

makepeace

Thanks guys. So there are no issues with mic sensitivity or anything like that? I can see how the main issue then is monitoring.

Sidecar

Definitely, It really depends on the type of gig, how loud the stage monitoring is, and how big the stage is. I would say a 30W-60W would be ideal. Larger stages *might* come with better monitoring, but using the amp as a monitor is always the best.

Mo-Facta

makepeace wrote: Thanks guys. So there are no issues with mic sensitivity or anything like that? I can see how the main issue then is monitoring.

If you're asking whether you run the risk of overloading the mic, then I would say no, there shouldn't be any problem like that related to mic sensitivity. Mic sensitivity is measured in mV/PA (milli-volt per pascal) and is usually used to determine what SPL (and thus voltage level) will overload the microphone's preamp components. Most microphones used for miking guitar amps can handle a large amount of SPL (anywhere from 120dB upwards) and I'd wager that the loudest stacks would have a hard time overloading them. Mic sensitivity also helps you figure out how much gain you will need from your microphone preamp or if the mic puts out too much voltage for the input gain limit of your mic preamp. Thus, it is actually a matter for the sound engineer (or you if you do your own sound) to make sure there is enough gain to the mic so you can fold you back through the monitoring system so you can hear yourself, no matter what the size of the amp. Although, I would say that having an amp that has a bit more headroom is great when monitoring is less-than-great.

As far as your original question goes, I would say that you could mike any amp! The real question is, what size amp meets the needs of your friend and the requirements of his gigs? I've heard 5 watt valve amps sound great live, miked up and all. Then again, it was a small room, chilled music and a small PA system. If he's playing medium to large size venues, I'd agree and say get something in the range of 30 watts or maybe even 50 watts. It's plenty loud and if you get an amp with variable output power you can always attenuate the output power to something more usable.

Hope that helps.

Cheers ?

AlanRatcliffe

Good advice so far. Having an amp that can hang with a drummer (before it's miked) onstage with you is essential unless you are assured of always having a very good monitor system and soundguy.

I also find 15 - 30W to be perfect, depending on the specific amp. Vox AC15 or a Fender Deluxe (22W) are perfect for hearing yourself on stage when they are dialed into their sweet spots.

There are exceptions - if you're playing with another ~~idi~~... guitarist who insists on having a cranked 100W Marshall stack onstage (you know who you are ?) you have no choice but to match them or not hear yourself. If you get all your dirt from pedals it's possible to use a much bigger amp and just turn it down to the level you need (very flexible, but not quite the same experience).