18w Not Loud Enough

[Ombrenuit]

My 18 watt with a 1x12 (private jack, open back) isn't loud enough. I want a 2x12 closed back but I've heard discouraging things about Avatar and weber. I'd get an orange but I hate v30s and I would switch out the speakers. Trying to get the best value for my dollar - want to keep the price below $500 if possible. Would a 2x12 even make that much of a difference?

We're playing late 60s uncle acid type garage doom stuff. Amp is set to dirty and raped by a fuzz pedal sometimes.

[Mr. Foxen]

2x12 with equivalent or louder speakers will be louder. Looks like the Private jack is a pretty sensitive speaker though. 2x12 vertical will make most direccerence, higher and closer to your ears, that helps. Shouldn't be too hard to find a 2x12 box, or even make one.

[zachoff]

...and 18W isn't going to get super loud, anyway.  What do the other guys in the band play through?  I'm thinking you'll need a 4x12 or a more powerful head.

[Ombrenuit]

The bass player is playing through a hartke 100w. I'm trying to persuade him to upgrade. If he was playing through anything louder I doubt I'd be heard.

There's a Marshall jcm1960A with g12t-75s on Craigslist in my price range. Would that be worth getting? I'm not a big fan of scooped speakers.

[Ombrenuit]

Alternatively there's a 2x12 g12-t75 Rivera closed back for $350. I'm not familiar with those cabs, but aren't they good?

[Mr. Foxen]

G12-75 are boring sounding.

[VOLVO)))]

Cant go wrong with either. Id go for the Marshall. The 75s are good speakers, no doubt.

Oli Foxen - "He's from England, what more can I say?" :-D

[dunwichamps]

im not super found of 75s, i think 65s are nicer. Whether they be clones or originals.

[Ranbat]

Or, instead of spending a bunch of money, do you guys have a PA? Have you tried putting a mic in front of your amp and pumping it through the PA? Just a thought.

[dunwichamps]

could just pony up for a big 100W.

[liquidsmoke]

18 tube watts could be loud enough with enough speakers if you don't mind extra gain from the amp breaking up.

Check these guys out, I have their 2x12 diagonal slant-

http://www.stagecraftgear.com/servlet/the-template/products/Page

[dunwichamps]

18W will work if your bassist and or other guitarist scale with you but if the other guy is rocking a 100W on guitar or a giant bass rig ur fucked

[mawso]

micing it up is prolly the cheapest & easiest thing to do, depending on where you jam

closed back cabs will prob sound a lot better for the type of music you're doing tho

whether a 2x12 will be loud enough enough is impossible to say.  GT-75s are great sounding speakers if you can dial em in right - you usually need to throw in some extra mids and tame the highs on em.. if your amp has a TMB tone stack that's not very difficult to do.  IMO tho the 75s are probably a definite step down from your Private Jack, which is one of my fave speakers ever.

[Ombrenuit]

I think I'll go with the Rivera and replace / sell the speakers with what's on sale at avatar right now. I'll also talk to my builder and see what he can do about "upgrading" my 18w to a 30w+.

[dunwichamps]

that would most likely require a lot of work, new PT, OT, 2 more tube sockets.

[Ombrenuit]

Ah. Thanks for the heads up. I'd pay for the new transformers and sockets, but if it's like putting together a new head I'll just hold out to get something new built in the future.