15 or 30W The On Going Battle...

[Scruffie]

Right... So I know what Tube Head I want, i've known for some time, it comes in either 15W or 30W (It's one of these new small heads with Cathode/Triode switch) I don't have the cash right now but i'm thinking of flogging alot of very rare DIY stuff I have to cover it but I digress...

This is gunna be my first proper Tube Amp and hopefully my last for a long time (The amp is perfect for me, Sparkly Cleans, Nice Crunch Right up to Dirty Metal) I've only ever gigged with Solid State or borrowed amps so... I know 15W will cover a gig (Rush manage!) but it wont cover every gig, depends on drummer, area playing, do they have a decent PA so on.

But, will 30W really make that much difference? It's £100ish more (although that does mean it's handwired in the U.K. rather than assembled abroad on PCB) which I could really do without spending right now, i'm not actually gigging at the moment, just about to start a new band in a few months with a friend and i'm thinking... with that Extra £100 I could probably buy some cheap PA system second hand anyway if I needed and just lug it with me, or just not spend it in general which would be nicer, the general rule of thumb being 10 times the wattage to be twice as loud, 30W over 15W doesn't seem such a big deal to me but I don't wanna make a mistake with this amp, they have all the same features and tones, it's just the volume I have to consider and I haven't really played the difference at full volume.

So, Ideas?

Edit: Oh, one more thing that might change it, apparently the hand wired ones aren't always... all that well made, that's not a huge deal as I can service it and do repairs but I think i'd trust the abroad PCBs to be better straight out the box and probably hold up for longer but possibly trickier to repair.

[pillof]

I'd go for 30W.

I used to have a Vox AC15. It's loud, but not enough headroom for distortiony fuzz. ie: Big Muff or any other heavy bottom dirt.

I still have a blackheart 5w with me, but granted I use that amp as a huge fuzz pedal...

I'd look for something at least 30w if it's British voicing amp.

[Scruffie]

I'd go for 30W.

I used to have a Vox AC15. It's loud, but not enough headroom for distortiony fuzz. ie: Big Muff or any other heavy bottom dirt.

I still have a blackheart 5w with me, but granted I use that amp as a huge fuzz pedal...

I'd look for something at least 30w if it's British voicing amp.

It has British & U.S. Voicing Inputs and takes pedals like a beast.

[tuffteef]

ill take that samich


p.s flog away dibs dibs dibs

[Scruffie]

ill take that samich


p.s flog away dibs dibs dibs

You can't handle my Samich! Om nom nom nom nom...

Haha, well i'd like to keep the flogging stuff really... i'm weighing up if loosing it is worth it... and it wont be cheap stuff, it's the teeth i've pulled from Hens mouths.

[Mudfuzz]

More bigger is always better.

[Fuzzy Picklez]

30 sounds good to me.

[univalve]

15W!
With big tranny i love (fuzz with) power tube clipping

(i play currently 15 Watt with my band - no probs )

[Mudfuzz]

When ever I have to play with a guitarist with a 15watter I can't get my amp up past 1.2 G and 2 M without sniveling... "you're loud wahhhh"

[pillof]

really get interested in the amp you speak now...would you mind telling what exactly the amp is?

I'd go for 30W.

I used to have a Vox AC15. It's loud, but not enough headroom for distortiony fuzz. ie: Big Muff or any other heavy bottom dirt.

I still have a blackheart 5w with me, but granted I use that amp as a huge fuzz pedal...

I'd look for something at least 30w if it's British voicing amp.

It has British & U.S. Voicing Inputs and takes pedals like a beast.

[Noise...]

I'd go 30w. You can always turn it down, but when you're bogging out with a smaller amp you can only turn it up so much.

Plus, you're only talking 100 pounds. For a "forever" amp, that's nothing.

[hclapp219]

What kind of cab would you be playing it through?

[RossCanyonsofstatic]

I play a 15w in one band but only because there is no drummer it would never have the headroom I need for a full band
Go with 30w unless you plan on only using it at home

[Scruffie]

What kind of cab would you be playing it through?

Probablyyy build my own, so it could be anything.

I'd go 30w. You can always turn it down, but when you're bogging out with a smaller amp you can only turn it up so much.

Plus, you're only talking 100 pounds. For a "forever" amp, that's nothing.

It is when you're poor

There was the quality issue to worry about too, the cheaper one will probably be more reliable night after night... however pushing it night after night probably wont help it either.

When ever I have to play with a guitarist with a 15watter I can't get my amp up past 1.2 G and 2 M without sniveling... "you're loud wahhhh"

My Bassist wants to get 150W Solid State so not huge...

Looks like i've been told though, buy the 30W, I had a feeling that would be the case... anyone wanna buy an extra kidney?

[culturejam]

If you look at the math of loudness vs watts, the different between 15w and 30w isn't that significant. That is, of course, max volume output.

You may find that 30w will give you noticeably louder clean tone. But if you're cranking your amp a lot, 30w will only be about 3db louder than 15w. In other words, not that much difference.

If I recall correctly from previous loudness vs watts discussions, you need to 10x the watts to double the loudness.