Headroom: The Secret of Tone | Low vs High Power Amplifiers
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
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100 Watt amps aren't louder than 50 Watt amps, the difference is Headroom which allows them to sound different for the same loudness.
Understanding headroom allows you to choose the right amplifier, get the best sound, and do it all at volume levels appropriate for your application.
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100 Watt amps aren't louder than 50 Watt amps, the difference is Headroom which allows them to sound different for the same loudness.
Understanding headroom allows you to choose the right amplifier, get the best sound, and do it all at volume levels appropriate for your application.
More from CSGuitars:
Gain access to exclusive content at: www.patreon.com/csguitars
Buy CSGuitars Merchandise:
csguitars.bigcartel.com/
Website:
www.csguitars.co.uk
Contact:
colin@csguitars.co.uk
CSGuitars I’ve been waiting for this video Collin as an answer for the “15w enough” video
Do you find Higher watt amps still have a strong place in the studio? (I also happen to have a self modified Bugera 333 infinium)
does using a power antenuator help when aimng for super high gain structured guitar tones? or is that only a volume leveling tool?
These videos that you're making that include comprehensive, yet simply explained, technical information are so very informative. I thought that I adequately understood headroom before. I wish I knew all of this earlier. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge so generously.
We're are you ?? What side of the planet
i recommend alnico speaker replacement for solid state amps ... they compress too, so it Does NOT keep the amp from clipping, but it's easier to listen for.
Step 1: Scoop all mids
Step 2: ??
Step 3: complain you're not being heard and you need a 300W amp head
There's a simple solution here: you just need MORE GAAAAIN
@@BestUsernameIGot you're clearly new to this, more gain wont help. You need 3 boss metalzones *everything* on max
😂
YOU WON'T BE HAIRED
Step 4: sound muddy af or increase volume.
I always love how you can explain and make a topic clear in 12 minutes when That Pedal Show can't (and actually make it more confusing) in 1 hour
😂
Can you do an episode on 10", 12", 2x10, 2x12, 4x10 and 4x12 speakers and their benefits, cons and uses?
Would add onto it 1x15 for bass players.
I second this
I often switch from 12" celestion-loaded speaker to 15" PA speaker, especially while playing single-coils for having more squeal on a top of _proper_ bass. "Classic-ness" of guitar cabs are somewhat overrated IMO.
4x10" are the most underrated cabinets for both for 6-string and bass guitar. 2x12" cabinets are great for portability and for thickening up single coil Strats.
Add 2x15 for Saint Dimebag RIP
This high-quality transfer of usable information is exactly why I come to this channel....well done Viking!
He’s a highlander! If you want a Viking, go to Ola Eglund
@@daro9582 Highlander--red hair .Viking---blond hair~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I feel like this video would have profited massively from sound examples.
I learn a lot from your videos. Thanks
One of your best instructional videos yet, along with the one on tubes/valves . Something a lot of people don't know is that if you use subs on your PA, by taking some of the load of your mains at their lower end, where the frequencies use the most power, you'll get more headroom on the mains. Even if you don't feel the need for subs, they can make your mains sound better.
Agreed
This video is several years ago but this fast becoming my new favorite channel.
Very comprehensive and clear as always. The charts help a lot in understanding and you even make learning fun. That's how an educational vid should be made, you're a great teacher, Colin!
Very informative !!
My example: I gig regularly. Clubs to festival stages. 99% of the time, my 30 or 40 watt tube amp, with a 1 x 12 speaker is more than I ever need. Volume on amp is almost always between 1 and 2. I run my amp louder at home practicing than I ever do on stage. With good PA's now, sound guys/girls don't want stage volume. I get all I need from the monitors.
Which genre do you play? Because I can tell that you need to at least out-volume the drummer in thrash/death metal, which requires about 50W on Guitars and about 300-500 on Bass. A PA with monitors sometimes does not suffice on smaller stages.
I'm in several bands, different genres, though none metal.
If you're playing without a PA, then yes, you might need some cranked amps. But any 1/2 way professional gig, from churches, weddings, clubs, on up, almost always has a PA with stage monitors. Mic the cabinet, and you don't need or want much amp/stage volume directly from the amp.
Outside of garages, and bedrooms, what I'm saying is most common, in my experience. @@ThrashingBasskill
Playing metal with a drummer does not require at least 50W, this is a myth that needs to stop being perpetuated.
I know metal heads feel emasculated when they don't have the largest equipment with the biggest numbers, but it's entirely unnecessary and a problematic mind set to be in.
@@ScienceofLoud I don't know what it has to do with getting "emasculated ", so please don't charge at me. One of my guitarists ended up with sending a 50W amp back because he could not keep up. But I'm not sure if he didn't get something wrong, he is between novice and advanced player so maybe there was a different problem as well. I myself find 100W tube amps ridiculous for anything (also because I have to help them carry this heavy crap from the van to the venue, wish they would go for a bantamp or kemper)
John Bonham was a loud drummer. At practice, Jimmy Page used a 7 watt amp.@@ThrashingBasskill
Hey, great video here ! Best sponsor placement on the whole internet !
The animations are really helpfull, maybe some sound example of headroom distortion could have helped, but I understand that playing an amp on the maximum volume in s flat isn't the best idea.
And also, Patreon Squad !
As always, your presentation style is fantastically easy to understand. Something that you do that really sets you apart is always sticking to non-ambiguous terms and never accidentally slipping into the slang that is so commonly used. For instance, the way you always use "clipping," "gain," and "distortion" only by their textbook definitions. Keep up the good work.
Scottish accents are THE BEST!! I could listen to you read a tech manual all day LoL Really great video and audio lesson! Keep up the fine work!! Salutations from Miami, Florida!
His “sound” is what keeps me coming back. And ofcourse, the knowledge he shares also.
Thank God for subtitles
All the mids, all the headroom!
Wait for everyone else to complain they can't hear themselves.
Hey, great video!
Here is a question for a TATA: What is "sag" and "Bias" that I see a lot of people talking? I also see controls for this on amp modeling plugins.
Not 100% sure but Bias seems to be tied with headroom. Higher biases drive the tubes harder. Lower bias reduces the flow of current to the tubes.
Sag refers to the drooping of the power supply voltage in response to large transient signals crossing the headroom threshold.
Marcos Roberto - think of biasing an amp like adjusting the “idle” on a car
Bias changes the maximium headroom on the input side of the tube and so in a sense it also changes the headroom of the amplifier. More in depth: tubes are actually really bad at amplifying cleanly which suprisingly sounds pleasant on human ears, so the negative voltage swing and positive voltage swing is amplified differently. Bias voltage changes that behavior by adjusting the signals "middle point" to either more linear (cold) region of the amplifying curve or to more unlinear (hot), which also means there will be more idle current and tubes lifespan might shorten.
I hope I remember those correctly, there has been awhile since I read the Merlins book about designing guitar valve preamplifiers.
They're terms that relate to tubes and the wonky things that go on when you send electricity through a vacuum tube
@@colt.thrower kinda right. You have to include that most of the time that sag is because the tubes are failing to be able to drive the signal efficiently so they dip out, but yeah at the same time you can have the same settings and if you have more Headroom it won't matter the same settings on the same tubes will do the same thing because apparently there are stages of tubes and tubes dedicated directly 2 powering the main signal and then other tubes dedicated to tone and possibly preamp volume before the power tubes? I don't know I know a lot about it and I still don't know very much about it. and I've successfully owned like four different tube amps LOL
I look at it simple. Clean and loud. A good amp is Clean and loud. Great video.
Any company who sponsors you is a wise company, judging from the ad breaks in your videos as of late.
I think you have to be the most clear guitar-stuff-explainer out there. Thanks for doing what you do
Colin, you've just solved a problem with my Peavey 100W VIP3, when using an acoustic guitar. The power amp would really break up unless I turned the treble right down. Guess the higher frequency transient peaks were too much for it and the FRFR speaker only revealed the problem. So I just put a Compressor in the chain, like you suggested, et voila! The problem never shows using a normal electric guitar, presumably because the frequency response tails off much more than an acoustic. Thanks very much!
I make music for 25 yrs now...and just for the last few years I discovered all these tonal secrets...gain, mids, wattage, etc...when I was younger there was no Internet, and no Collin...so thx dude for opening up my sound horizon....now I play a 50W head with a fair amount of mids and rather low gain...and my guitar blows everything from the stage...and after every gig some people run up to me, and tell me, what a phenomenal guitar sound I have...fat, mighty, clear...so kids listen to guys like CSGGuitars...you will just benefit
Colin,
Your videos rule. I love the in depth technical explanations. You know your stuff, and that you want to teach it to me without watering it down too much is awesome.
Thanks.
THE best channel on you tube for the electrical aspect of electrical guitars and their amplification
As a person educated in AF electronics by a Government Department in charge of shipping sound around the country i.e The NZ Post Office, which was in charge of telephony in those days, and as a long-time dabbler in guitar playing, I would like to say that this is the best explanation of audio amplification as it relates to level distortion I have ever heard.
And, may I add, I didn't watch this vid at random: I find this whole channel admirably informative, and above all, full of succinct factual information without vague references to mythical properties of electronic equipment.
That is; just the facts, no shit. Thanks for educating those who don't have an electronics background, I think you do a great job!
dude. im just now discovering your channel. this is my 4th one now. waiting on the ads to finish. bro, im loving the geeky nature of this channel. this is exactly the style of things i like chatting about with folks. plz keep these coming
100w heads will feel and produce atmospheric pressure. I use some audio dynamics processors to regulate my sound. I have seen my light bulbs unscrew themselves in my jam room, and extinguish cigarettes when entering. It's awesome being loud beyond limits
I love your channel! So much fantastic info delivered in a compact format and 100% comprehensible. And I love your Scottish accent..."peckups" is a favourite 😊
1:37 Big up twoset violin ❤
Colin, between you and Uncle Doug, we have everything we need to understand our amplifiers. Thank you for such a clear analysis if average vs. peak power.
1,000 x ...YES! The main reason I got my Laney IRT60H with matched 2x12 cab was for headroom. The options on the IRT60H are insane and lends itself to meticulous tone shaping with just the bare amp...but it is more than capable of being a pedal platform amp (clean channel used exclusively)! Using it in this way is a tunnel vision approach for sure, but it's just damn good with my extensive board and stereo amp setup. When high gain is necessary, I never encounter that annoying squishy fizz. My other amp is a 50W Boss Katana MKII btw
I already had a rough concept what headroom was in my head but this video really helped me structure and categorize it in a helpful way, so thank you very much for this!
fantastic job with the animations. Never miss a video from you.
as a man who has listened to pure preamp tone through a pair of decently flat Sennheisers, I can vouch for it being one of the most painful experiences ever
Try the DI out from an early 80s marshall. Downright awful.
1:37 twoset violin cameo
"And if you've found out that you bought the wrong thing" go sell it on REVERB. Gr8 info Collin, thx!
You rock ... good info. I want my walls to shake ... and my earth to quake! 5150III 50W with two 2x12 got me there. I can feel it. Love it!!!
I took 2 semesters micro electronics in university and wished I had ur vids to watch back then. This is all basically application to the signal theory I learned back then. They would have been a nice companion to it. Excellent vids!
This is where you live, dude. Loves these videos and your special way of explaining things.
I'm using a Peavey 120/120 bridged to 240 mono to keep my high gain articulate at gig volumes right now.... It's GREAT.....
Here's a sample.....
Michelle Taylor in Scotland uses one Blackstar 10AE 10w combo amp for her gigs and recently has added a 112 extension cab. she said that she runs the volume and master at 12 noon and it works just fine.
Finally, an explanation I can understand! Super-clear, excellent video. Thank you.
Fantastic, concise explanation, as usual 😊👌 love your channel
But you can love the distorted sound of your amp too ;)
Very good video. I really enjoy the clarity of your explanations, in all of them.
Colin you're like the ideal physics lecturer + rock n roll realness! Top work, 100% facts 😀
So you're saying not all situations require Meesa bohgie?
Great video, thank you! And like i saw someone say before, the animations help a tonne
Two Set Violin!!!! 🤘🏼
Great video Colin! I've always preferred amps in the 30-50 watt range, as I feel they give me the best middle ground between those (sometimes) desirable effects associated with pushing the power amp into over drive, and clean integrity of tone. And its part of the reason I usually run my Mesa Mark IV in half power mode.
The extra headroom keeps the low frequencies nice and full. I had a TH30 that could switch down to 7 watts. At 7 watts it was just as loud but it had much less bass.
I'm no expert, but I don't think these power switchings accurately simulate lower wattage. I might be wrong, but I believe that if they made a TH30 with 7 watts in a standard way (using a different output transformer, etc.), it would sound different from your TH30 switched to 7 watts (which they achieve by lowering the voltage, I think).
It would be interesting to compare the 'same' amp with power switching to its little brother (like a big 100w switched to 50w vs. a true 50w). My point is that switching from pentode to triode or lowering the volume changes the character of the amp too much to sum it up as just a difference in headroom.
I looked online but can't find your sponsor. I typed exactly what you said, "rWeevearb"😆 This video is perfect as I'm looking to pickup my first tube amp and had NO clue watt was watt(Ha! Dad jokes rock!).
You have a great way to dumb it down so lunkheads such as myself can understand it. Thanks! Now, back to trying to find this "rWeevearb" you spoke of...
Awesome stuff, you choose topics no one else talks about on UA-cam. I’ve been a musician for 15 years and still learn a lot from your vids, thanks for that.
As always, and as I have come to expect, a clear, and sensible presentation. Nicely done.
The only missing component (though something I'd expect to see from you in a future video) is the power-handling capacity and headroom of the speakers involved. All speakers have a "linear operating range". That is, a zone within which the power applied from the amplifier yields the frequency response depicted in the spec sheet. Anything either below or above that linear operating range may yield something quite different. Going substantially above it yields "speaker breakup" and potentially voice-coil blowout. Worth discussing how maximum power-handling is modified by how many speakers divide up the output power among them, the impact of their wiring on load-impedance and output power, and how this might affect the behaviour of both the amplifier and speaker/s. I would look forward to your thorough common-sense discussion of such matters, and trust you to do a bangup job of it..
Very informative video!
Your videos are always so good and easy to understand. You channel should be an example for all the content creators :)
Colin, I swear it's like you monitor my UA-cam searches. The last few days I've been looking at the Headrush Gigboard and have been wondering why people were pushing frfr speakers to go along with it. BOOM! Along comes my brotha with the explanation. Thanks Colin!
Perfectly explained, finally I understand this! Thank you
Btw, your drums playing on Nirvana's "Bleach" was amazing! And you didn't even aged!
Dude! You are becoming ridiculously Adept at giving presentations that are not only technically proficient but interesting at the same time. You could probably make a whole lot more money for yourself as some sort of a factory rep for musical equipment or maybe even an engineer. Thanks for the excellent video brother!
A Ph.D in physics gives you a few transferable skills ;)
By far the best explanation I've seen on UA-cam. Massive props, man!
basically my favorite guitar channel.
Super happy I found your channel! Thanks for awesome content.
I'm a guitar player only to the extent that I own the cheapest one in existence and have learned a few chords.
But I'm really interested in getting down to circuitry when it comes to my main instrument, piano/keyboard/synthesizer. The info your channel provides is incredibly helpful, and the stuff it doesn't cover in minute detail is addressed at least enough to nudge me in the right direction to learn more--cheers for that!
This was stellar, Collin. Perhaps one of your finest TATAs
One of the cleanest” explanations in the web, congrats and thank you! Cheers from Portugal. Nuno
Best explanation I‘ve ever heard. Thanks a lot!
Thank you for the video! Great information and it gives me direction on what to buy and use going forward!
I was interested primarily in getting a beautiful clean tone out of my 76 fender mustang so I went with a fender champion. 100XL. Couldn't be happier!
Awesome! A lot of the things you talk about on this channel I already know from experience but now I understand the how and the why.
Really appreciate the timer on the ad part.
You did it again, Colin. Potentially difficult subject beautifully explained. 👍🤘
Definitely in the top 3 guitar channels on UA-cam
it's ridiculous just how much I enjoy the ads! :D
Man... I have a Traynor YCV40 and I've always considered it a 40 watt "clean amp". Then I got a load box and I tried pushing the clean channel over 3. At 4 it gets slightly hairy. At 5-6 it gets hot. At 7-8 it's crunchy as fuck, and at 10 it's basically the distortion channel of a low gain amp. You put an OD through it and it sounds like a very good classic rock amp. The distortion channel, with a boost and the right IR, can very well play some 80s thrash metal. Maybe not the perfect tone, but a very good one. I had that amp for over 15 years, and I've never really gave it the love and recognition it deserves.
that should be the official reverb ad. thank you.
Clearly explained, with confidence and fun? Jees, you're getting above yourself! Great video, clear and concise.
As a physics major and guitar player, your videos are a brilliant and are a joy to watch! Keep it up!
If it's too loud, you're too old!
great video, Mr. Scott.
Would have wished for a small digression why bassists usually need way more headroom than guitars but awesome tutorial as usual!
to reproduce the low end properly. think of it like this: more headroom = better reproduction of all frequencies cleanly, cus the audio spectrum isn't linear and very low frequencies are hard to amplify cleanly.
@@kyzrvlhlm1995 Haha, I know the answer to most of my questions I'm posting here but I know that there are many others that don't and are too afraid to ask (like me when I started). But thanks for your answer, I bet it will help! :D
This is why ALOT of guitarists use bass amplifiers.theyre not as loud and have more headroom.also why ALOT of bass players use " guitar" effects. They trigger harder on lower frequencies and you get " more efect" in the mid range...where most modulation effects sweep peaks.
@@earlycuyler2295 Wow, THIS is something he definitely should make a seperate video about! :D BUT on the pedals: It depends. Darkglass for example recently released a pedal that is able to only distort the high end while leaving the low end clean. This is important to many (and a studio mixing technique) so that the lows don't get muddy.
@@earlycuyler2295 I have never ever heard of a Guitarist using a bass amp.
Excellent presentation. The graphics made the situation quite clear.
old audiophile, new musician here. SO many musicians don't get this. ive been trying to explain it to friends comparing my audio amps to guitar amps but they don't quite get it . but comparing a PA amp (similar to an audiophile amp) to a guitar amp was GENIUS !
Excellent presentation. You could give lectures 🤘🏻
This is THE best explanation of this idea. Thanks Colin.
Massive thanks on your thoroughness as a massive fan of metal to now acquiring & learning the instruments i've always needed.
you are a genious man! thanks!
Somple and to the point. Love your videis dude. Greets frim Canada.
Honestly, that was a fantastic video. Thanks!
Great video Colin ...but there's one part of the power factor that needs to be discussed - Watts does not = "how loud " until the load SPL of how many dB/W is factored in and other limiting load factors like impedance. Headroom can also be killed off when more speakers are added across the output of an amp. Have a speaker system at 78dB/W at 1 mtr will sound quieter than a load that is capable of, say, 112dB/W ....as designers we take this into account.
You get no headroom in skinny jeans.
LMAO
Like a cheap Hotel....no Ballroom.
@@jeffarcher400 hed... Geeve Me Hed ye stenchy wenchy...
Underrated comment 😂😂😂
but... do they go to 11?
bro, i love your episodes, i learn so much!! Thank you! another "like" from me :)
Very informative! Easy to understand explanation, thank you
I love your videos so much, everything is explained so elegantly
Wish the 18 year old me had had the chance to watch this video... Back in the day I use to thing that wattage meant volume exclusively... Great explanation of the concept!
Thanks for the magical explanation of why my bose headphones sound fuzzy when plugged to my amp!👍
Great video! Exactly the type of explanation I was looking for!
This explains why my old 30w amp didn't sound good unless I cranked it up to max. I always wondered about that lol
Very clear and informative video, and nice graphics too. Well done, Colin!
love your vids you tells what we actually need to know
Ah here it is. Perfect
Great video thaks! Takeaways - 1. Compression is your friend. 2. I understand now why my Roland JC120 was build with so much wattage. It was to maintain that legendary clean sound via massive headroom! When I got it in my youth It just seemed that 100W amps was what everyone was getting ! lol (80's). 3. My other takeaway is this and please correct me if I'm wrong: It's crucial to mic your combos/cabs to a PA vs go Direct to PA from the amp to avoid some of those issues you discussed regarding FR Speakers. Now what about going direct with some of the new amp/cab modeling devices these days? I would imagine that that would work fine since those freq ranges have already been limited in the same fasion as a guitar speaker would.. (perhaps that was one of your points)
You go above and beyond, man. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
LOL, oh man the Reverb ad was hilarious!
I always learn something from these vids. Nice work
i design amps with intentional and variable headroom limiting, this gives a nice, more natural power amp clipping sound instead of preamp clipping, while retaining the low volume levels.