Will a 150 watt amp be loud enough for a guitarist playing at a local park?

Question

I am an upcomming musician who is starting to play larger gigs. My band is in the process of booking a few nights at our local park (there is a stage there where most of the local bands play occasionally). Right now I am using an Ibanez 150 watt guitar amplifiar. It has been more than enough for our other gigs in gymnasiums and such, but I am not sure if it will have enough power for the park.

Answer 1

Well, aside from being a guitarist for over 40 years and a soundman for 25, I'm also a stage manager, and I have to tell you, the majority of musicians prefer small amp like the Fender twin reverb or Blues deluxe run through a PA so that the balance comes out right and so they can get a monitor mix that lets them hear the band as well. But what does Levon Helm know?

Answer 2

40 to 50 tube watts is ideal. A 65 watt solid state might be enough, but if there is another guitar player running a nice tube amp, you won't be able to cut through the mix, and your amp will sound like garbage. Some solid state amps are 2 channel, so they say 100 watts, but what the fine print says, is that it's 100 TOTAL watts, and it gets split into two channels, so you've basically got two 50 watt amps, which often times won't cut it for a band. I had a 150 watt solid state amp, which was two channels, so 75 watts per side, and it was just fine for a band situation. If your amp is a true 65 watter, then you should be ok. Best way to test this... Jam with the band before you go on stage. If you're loud enough for practice, then you're loud enough for a bar where they will mic your amp up for you and adjust everyones levels.

Answer 3

150 Watt Guitar Amp

Answer 4

You need to take into account that decibels are exponential. For example, the difference in loudness between 15 watts and 150 watts is the same as the difference in loudness between 150 watts and 1500 watts.

That means you can't get much louder just by adding a little more power. 300 watts is only a little louder than 150 watts. Other factors, such as speaker placement, background noise, etc., are likely to have a much bigger impact than the power of the amp.

Answer 5

150 watts is a powerful enough amp, however if the band are to play in an outdoor event it would probably be better to wire it through a P.A.

Answer 6

Should be. When your overall band sound is balanced as for your normal gig,get someone to listen and see how far the sound travels. U don't want it to go too far so that other park users aren't disturbed. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

I am impressed by your professionalism. We all know that even Metallica prepares their concerts after asking people on Y/A what kind of amplifiers (not amplifiar, by the way) they should use.

P.S. Ask someone in a band that has already been there.