From gabru@comsec.net Sun Apr 15 10:32:58 2012
Subject:Re: Guitar amp watts vs PA watts? help me to understand

There are input watts (the power drawn from the mains and, output watts, the power that drives the speakers. The difference between these is the efficiency of the amp which varies from class to class. SPL (Sound Pressure Level) is the acoustic output (Acoustic Watts) of the speaker system and based on its own efficiency factor has no real bearing of the other electrical measurements. Based on this your guitar players logic was flawed. Let your ears be your guide!

From: CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com [mailto:CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Dave
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2012 8:22 AM
To: CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CWSG] Re: Guitar amp watts vs PA watts? help me to understand

I'm not technically able to explain but in a nutshell, there are different classes of Amp types. Class A, B C, D, AB, H, G etc. Essentially they use different technology to amplify a signal. Using wattage as a measure of output between the different types is comparing apples and pears. Class A amps produce the most output per wattage but they are also inefficient in so much as they consume lots of power and produce lots of heat. Here's a technical explanation if you want one:
http://forum.qscaudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=2752&sid=3c10afd780575cd8f5963985152b7980

UKDave

--- In CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com, "ccmacdon" > wrote:
>
> First a little background, last night, my 11STEPS band was playing at a small venue and our "stage" was a tiny 9'x 9' square surrounded by glass on two sides, and we were playing in an oddly shaped room where we point directly at the bar and the bulk of the seating is in a separate room beyond that. Needless to say it's very tough to get a good sound. Normally we don't put instruments through our PA, we just have a small Mackie PA with 6 inputs and all 5 of us sing, so for small venues our instruments are all live off the stage.
>
> However, last night my guitar player (great guy, great player and we get along very well), brings the loudest boutique amp he's ever used, AND decides that he's going to mic his amp and run it through the remaining channel on the PA. At this point, being the outspoken individual that I am, I initiated a discussion as to whether or not this was appropriate, and the discussion turned into a debate and blah blah blah.. but thankfully we're still friends ;-)
>
> Anyway now the real question.. My guitar players argument for putting his amp through the PA is that his boutique guitar amp is only 10 Watts, and my QSC K10's are 1000 Watts each (1000x2)... So being completely unprepared for this simple logic, I didn't win the debate..
>
> Now I know that my K10's don't have 100 times the volume of his amp, and in reality last night there were times when I couldn't hear myself, and I was playing a full chord and he was sustaining ONE NOTE... so can someone help me to understand the difference between these low watt, highly efficient, boutique amps, vs my QSC's so that I can debate this more intelligently.. There are obviously different ways of translating watts into actual volume. I need to understand this..
>
> HELP..!!
>
> Oh yes one last request.. IF it is possible, an explanation in laymans terms please.. I am old, and I don't have much room left in my short or long term memory, and a 10 page explanation will be a complete waste of time.. thanks in advance, and whoever answers this question for me will be my hero for the rest of the day.
>
> Craig
>

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