What's the point of 100 watt amps?

[Duffy]

It can be very useful to have a big tube amp when you are playing outside and the sound man working the PA doesn't give a shi# about your sound and he keeps turning you down. You can turn up your amp and get to where you want to be.

Also, you may "need" a big amp to drownd out a belligerent loud drummer. You also might be in a super loud band - the house is not going to let you blow up their expensive PA, as has happened many a time.

A big amp isn't for everything, absolutely, but it is sure fun to crank one up once in a while and really roar, if only for your own pleasure.

And believe it that Bonamassa has his reasons for needing big amps; like Deeaa was saying, and so on.

[NWBasser]

Also, you may "need" a big amp to drownd out a belligerent loud drummer.

.

I would take exception to this. If you feel the need to drown out another musician, then you are in an adversarial band situation where nobody is going to be happy and you won't be making good music.

If you want to be a super-loud superstar, then forget about being in a band.

When a guitar player drowns out my bass, then I figure my contribution is not needed and I pack up and walk. The only way I'd put up with that is for loads of $$$. Pay me enough and I'll smile and plunk root notes all day while you wank away at top volume.

[Ch0jin]

Pay me enough and I'll smile and plunk root notes all day while you wank away at top volume.

Hey that sounds like heaps of fun! How much do I have to pay exactly? I hate it when bass players step all over my non-stop solo's with their fancy scales and such.

(joking)

[deeaa*]

I would take exception to this. If you feel the need to drown out another musician, then you are in an adversarial band situation where nobody is going to be happy and you won't be making good music.

If you want to be a super-loud superstar, then forget about being in a band.

When a guitar player drowns out my bass, then I figure my contribution is not needed and I pack up and walk. The only way I'd put up with that is for loads of $$$. Pay me enough and I'll smile and plunk root notes all day while you wank away at top volume.

I don't want to sound like an *** or aggravate or anything, but seriously, I don't get your approach.

Would you not play with, say Jimi Hendrix or Joe Bonamassa if they insisted on playing louder than hell? Does everybody in a band have to be equal, would it not be good to have a superstar in the band whom others accompany, more or less?

I don't think it basically matters usually - if someone is a louder player, you arrange monitoring so that you hear yourself. You talk with the others, and make a joint decision, you have a band meeting, you make the best of it. But I don't believe it's good to force everybody into some mold just for some minor detail like that, or leave because of it. I'd be concerned of ever getting to be in a good band if I was so eager to jump out at such a small trouble detail.

I've been in dozens of bands, and the best ones always were the ones that didn't have the best players or best volume appreciations of others etc. but great unity and feel and whatnot.
And despite it pains me to say this because I really don't wish to say anything annoying or insulting - but the truth is that if there's anyone in the band who's expandable, it's the bassist. Pretty much any band I've ever been in, it's been more of a case of just making sure the bass doesn't rumble too much and is about on time, that's all that is needed and cared for. Many a band of mine has swapped bassists for whatever reason, and it hardly has mattered usually overall, but you can't change any other member like a guitarist or singer or drummer without changing the band sound and feel drastically. Bass is a support instrument, and 90% of time it should only be noticed if it's missing, not as a separate instrument all the time.

Not that I don't appreciate a great bassist, but to be honest in a band meeting situation if a bass player complains about too loud a guitarist, well, he's not going to get much support from the rest of the band I fear, unless it's really really loud a guitarist. I know because I've been a bassist in a touring band. Many a time I didn't hear myself at all either, but it was rock music so the guitar is the king. I've had a superb, totally professional bassist who made his living on playing bass entirely in my band, and he was excellent, but when he had to quit we took a guitar player to spank the bass instead thru an old guitar amp, and it was just as good from band perspective and we made some of our best stuff after that.

Many times people - especially good/exceptional players - can be too loud or have some other issues. But I don't think that makes for bad music, quite the contrary. If everybody needs to be constantly happy about their sounds and volumes and overall just too much worry about such things, or change band members based on any similar issue etc, well, I don't think _that_ makes for making good music either.

Of course, it could be the bassist who's the superstar too! The friend pro who played in my band a few years has his own jazz bands, in which he's basically playing leads on bass as well and in that, HE's the star and the guitarist just supports him.

Our other guitarist drowns me quite completely at times, many a times, but I don't mind, as long as he's keeping it down at least in some spots that matter. Same with vocals, I have practically never been in a band where I could hear the vocals well in rehearsals, because the PA stuff is expensive and had to get loud in a small room without feedback.

So to sum it up...yeah it sucks if some person/persons are drowning the others with volume, but I don't see it as black and white - sometimes it's good for the band, sometimes someone needs to be loud, and in any case it's just a matter of arranging monitoring and / or talking about how to correct the problem. Maybe the guitar amp can be turned to other direction and he can play in front of it a little farther off or something, or maybe the band can get an ear monitor for the bassist...it's just technical and not a good reason to just leave a band, IMO.

[NWBasser]

I don't want to sound like an *** or aggravate or anything, but seriously, I don't get your approach.

Would you not play with, say Jimi Hendrix or Joe Bonamassa if they insisted on playing louder than hell? Does everybody in a band have to be equal, would it not be good to have a superstar in the band whom others accompany, more or less?

I just re-read this and thought it would be worthwhile to offer some clarification on the matter. What I was referring to earlier is getting completely drowned out to the point that the bass isn't even heard. Why bother even playing if that's that case? May as well sit around and drink beer.

I didn't mean that everyone had to be at parity volume although that's my general preference. I could handle playing with a much louder guitar as long as I could hear myself too.

Listening to Hendrix or Joe B, and you can hear some bass.