What's the point of 100 watt amps?

[Eric***]

Man, lot of good info in this thread! IMO, it's mids that provide the punch to cut through for bass or guitar. Lose mid frequencies on both (like a lot of metal bands do), and it can become a woofy, mushy mess. Then, a band will compensate by turning up the volume on the 100 watt (or more for the bass) stack, creating a loud, woofy, mushy mess that becomes a roar of nothing but noise.

It's funny, 'cause at times I like big giant messes of sound, like in some...well, I'm not sure what they're considered (Black Angels, Darker My Love)...bands. I love the sound of the Big Muff on Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins, but that's the whole point of that pedal.

Anyway, I don't know if I have a point. I guess it's just that if you're actually going for a big fizzy mess a la fuzz tones, I think it can be pretty sweet if done right. But I know that wasn't really your point.

[Katastrophe]

It's funny, 'cause at times I like big giant messes of sound, like in some...well, I'm not sure what they're considered (Black Angels, Darker My Love)...bands. I love the sound of the Big Muff on Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins, but that's the whole point of that pedal.

Anyway, I don't know if I have a point. I guess it's just that if you're actually going for a big fizzy mess a la fuzz tones, I think it can be pretty sweet if done right. But I know that wasn't really your point.

You're right, in the right context, that "amp is about to explode fuzz sound" can be pretty cool. There are a few Smashing Pumpkins tunes that I dig for that very reason... Here's a "wall of sound" recording that I think they used some half stacks to good effect:



Note that the bass plays simply, but there would definitely would be something missing if he wasn't there.

[Eric***]

You're right, in the right context, that "amp is about to explode fuzz sound" can be pretty cool. There are a few Smashing Pumpkins tunes that I dig for that very reason... Here's a "wall of sound" recording that I think they used some half stacks to good effect:

Note that the bass plays simply, but there would definitely would be something missing if he wasn't there.

That was pretty neat. Thanks for the link.