Guitar amp watts needed for smaller gigs
This one is written by request.
A reader on Facebook asked:
I'm just curious how many watts do I need for small gigs and band rehearsals? And cheap because I'm just starting out.
One of the more affordable solid-state amplifiers is the Fender Champion 100. Very loud. This thing has twin 12-inch loudspeakers, and oh yes, it can push a lot of volume. It is easily as loud as most half-stack amplifier setups. It's also weighs 40 pounds (18kg) so it's not exactly a lightweight. This is a beefy amp.
Do you need 100 watts? In my experience, no. With solid-state you can get away with 60 and still be heard, but for anything lower than that, you end up with solid-state distortion - which is a sound you absolutely do not want.
I personally use a Line 6 Spider V 60. Previously I had a 100-watt Fender Frontman 212R, the predecessor to the Champion 100. The big Fender for me was just too big, too darned loud, and very annoying to lug around. The Line 6, while having only one loudspeaker and being 60-watt compared to 100-watt, suits me better.
Then again, for regular gigging it is better to have too much volume available rather than too little. There would never be a problem getting enough volume out of the big Fender. But with the smaller Line 6 60-watt, there might be.
Tube-type?
Not as many watts are needed for tube-type to push volume compared to solid-state, but to explain why that is requires a whole other article that I'll write later. For now, I'll just say I don't recommend tube-type for those starting out for one reason. Cost.
An example of this is the Fender Super Champ X2. Great tube-type amp? Yes. But at the time I write this, it's $50 more than the Champion 100 and not even half as loud. There is absolutely no way the 1x10 Super Champ will out-loud the solid-state 2x12 Champion. Not a chance. You want the most volume for the money, you get the Champion amp.
And then when you see the price of the Spider V 60, that's when you really start seeing the value of solid-state over tubes. Tube-type amps just can't compete pricewise when compared to solid-state.
Generally speaking, tubes always cost more than solid-state does and that's pretty much the way it's always been.
Used?
Given the fact new solid-state amps are so low in cost these days, you really don't save much buying used.
Granted, if you do come across an a solid-state amp with 60 watts or greater that's in good shape for real cheap, as in under $125 cheap, you can take a risk and buy one of those. But I wouldn't personally do it.
How many watts needed for certain gigs?
How many watts to go with depends on the rehearsal or gigging space.
For smaller rooms where sound can bounce off the walls, 60 watts is usually just fine.
For larger rooms, the amp may need to be lifted off the ground (such as stacking it on top of a box) for it to be heard, and you should be able to get away with 60 watts.
For larger rooms with wider open stages or outdoor gigs, at that point you need larger loudspeakers that can push more air, so 100 watts would be needed...
...if a drummer is present.
Fighting with the drummer
The one person you're fighting against for sonic space is always the drummer.
This means if you're playing solo as a street performer, you absolutely do not need a 100-watt amp. In fact, you can easily get away with a little 25-watt solid-state amp in a street performer environment.
But with the full band, it's the drummer that's the loudest thing in the room. Always. That's the guy you need to out-loud to be heard. If you have a drummer that really bangs the skins hard, you'll need to go for the 100-watt amp.
Parts guitars can look awesome
Some guitar parts out there look so darned good that "parting together" your next guitar may be what you want to do.
When you start seeking out guitar parts, you come across some really amazing stuff. It's amazing enough to where I may seriously consider putting together my next guitar from ready-to-install parts.
Above is one such example of how cool things get when you seek out Stratocaster type guitar bodies. Some have amazing appearances to them.
As for what I would go with, I like Telecasters and would love a fiesta red body or maybe vintage cream or maybe even gold. This is stuff I normally can't get from Fender or Squier with regular production models.
Will I part together a Telecaster using custom parts in the future?
I just might.
The coolest Ibanez guitar of 2018
And would you believe it's under $400?
Believe it. The Ibanez AX230T in Metallic Forest is it, and wow does this guitar get a lot of things right.
First, you see something ordinarily only seen on "Black Beauty" Les Paul Custom guitars, three humbuckers. If you look closely, you'll see the bridge side pickup has the adjustable poles positioned back while the other two are positioned front. This is correct.
Second is a Bigby-style vibrato system with "butter knife" arm. Also cool.
All the controls are placed out-of-the-way of the player so you never hit them while strumming. Very nice.
Green guitars are usually awful, but not this one. It's just the right shade and the metallic flake along with the pearloid pick guard really sets it off right.
Block inlays and bound fingerboard. Easy to miss, but it's there.
The front strap button is at the PROPER position at the tip of the top horn. No neck dive here.
Roller bridge? YES! This keeps the string in tune better.
I mentioned the Black Beauty Les Paul above. If you can imagine that with a Bisgby vibrato, that's basically what this Ibanez is - except it costs WAY less yet you still get a quality guitar.
This is without a doubt the coolest Ibanez of 2018. Yes, there are plenty of more expensive Ibanez models out there, but few as cool as this one.
1970s glam rock was always better than 1960s hippie garbage
I got asked this question and said it would take an entire article to voice my opinion on it, so here it is.
This was the specific question:
Which is your take on seventies glam rock? Personally, I think it's way better than 80's hair metal crapola.
I'll first say that I don't consider '80s hair metal to be 100% bad, as there were a few songs that were really good musically. Still of the Night by Whitesnake is an example of really good hair metal, mainly for the reason it's actually '70s glam rock cleverly disguised as '80s hair metal.
Whitesnake originally formed in 1978, and in the mid-1980s decided to modernize their sound. From that, their biggest hits happened, and Still of the Night is one of them. Big sound and perfect '80s tone with David Coverdale putting a masterful lead vocal over it.
My favorite part of the song is the outtro from 5:17 to end. A synth is dropped in at 5:55 to fill the space and wow, does it work well. The repeating chord progression is also nothing short of incredible.
Okay, let's talk about the '70s
Take New York Groove by Hello. This is one of my favorite 1970s glam rock songs. Those who are fans of this era all think this is a song by Ace Frehley of KISS. Nope. Never was. It's a Hello song.
The best thing I like about '70s glam rock is that it's not '60s hippie garbage.
I do not like hippie rock. Call it freedom rock, call it hippie rock, call it stoner rock, call it acid rock, call it whatever. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of late '60s junk. All you have to do is listen to Who's Next (1971) by The Who to understand how much that absolutely stomps the '60s trash.
And yeah, I know, some of the "best" guitar work ever recorded came from the late '60s. That doesn't change my opinion.
Another one of my '70s glam favorites is All the Young Dudes. David Bowie wrote this song and Mott the Hoople released it in 1972.
This song is a total triumph. It's very emotional lyrically and musically. Even if you know none of the lyrics, this just works so well for what it is. Everything in this song "cries". It is amazing.
Bowie never meant for the song to be a glam masterpiece, but that's what it ended up being. I'm personally very okay with that. This is '70s glam rock at its finest.
And of course you can't talk about '70s glam without a mention of T. Rex's 20th Century Boy from 1973.
This song has been covered so many times by so many people it's ridiculous. Heck, there's even a rockabilly version of it in the movie The Truman Show. But of course this lends to just how catchy this song is.
20th Century Boy has a sound that's gritty and dirty. Fuzzy guitars, very '70s doubled-up vocals (this happened a lot back then), compressed-everything... and it works. This studio recording is only a sound you could get there and never be able to replicate it live. The song was made for radio. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Do I prefer '70s or '80s glam?
I have to be in the right mood to listen to glam no matter the era, and I can only take it in short bursts.
Glam is purposely meant to be over-the-top, sugar laden stuff... and that's something I can't listen to every day. I consider glam the same as junk food. Nice to have once in a while, but not every day.
But if I had to give an answer, my nod goes to '70s glam over '80s, but only by a little. And it's only because '70s recordings to my ear have more of an organic sound to them.
Ibanez Roadstar II is a very good lower priced vintage guitar
Most guitars from the 1980s suck, but this one doesn't.
Most vintage guitar buyers shy away from electric guitars made in the '80s because a lot of them were just plain crap across the board. To put this in perspective, the modern low-cost Ibanez GRX20 is made better than most of the '80s garbage.
The '80s was of course the era of glam rock, so most guitars were built for shredding. However, there were a few guitars are there that didn't fall into that trap, and that's where the Ibanez Roadstar II really shines.
Roadstar II models from the early-to-mid 1980s were made in Japan, feature a neck that's slimmer but not paper thin, and came in several pickup configurations such as SSS, H/S, HH and HSS.
The bridge, tuners and even the strap buttons are on the chunkier side which does add to their longevity, but that's not the reason they've lasted as long as they have.
The main reason near-mint examples of these guitars exist today is because so many players ignored them at the time they were new. They're not flashy nor do they have any crazy shreddy-stupid hardware. That's not what players wanted in the '80s - but it is what modern players are looking for now.
And the best part? Really nice Roadstar II axes can be picked up from $300 to $500 in very, very good shape.
Bear in mind these are mid-1980s guitars. For a 30+ year old axe with solid construction that plays great, sounds great and was barely played if at all, that's a steal.
If you were looking for something vintage where you really get a good bang for your buck, seek out a Roadstar II like the one seen above. You'll really like it. If you don't want to deal with a vintage guitar (and I wouldn't blame you,) go for a new GRX20, or for something slightly better without breaking the bank, an Ibanez GRG guitar.