FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Stack Marshall

Question:
My question is simple. What do u guys recommend / think it is better, a 50 watt tube Marshall half stack (Marshall 50 watt tube head and a 4X12 cabinet) or 100 watt Marshall half stack (Marshall 100 watt head -NOT tube- and a 4X12 cabinet). I guess what I really mean is 50 watt tube versus 100 watt regular (not tube).

Answer:
Higher wattage does not necessarily give you more volume. If you had two non-master volume tube amps, one 50 watt and the other 100 watts, the biggest difference whould be that the lower wattage amp bould break up (distort) at a lower volume than the 100 watter. If you like clean, undistorted sound go with the 100 watter. If you like distortion go with the 50 watt model. As for solid state amps..you would need about 150-200 watts to remain clean at higher volumes. Solid state amps do not distort well so if you want to use distortion I say use a tube amp. The lower the wattage, the lower volume it will distort at. I've seen this argument on here before, though it was 50 watt tube vs 100 watt tube. My opinion has always been that 50 watts is more then enough wattage for most playing situations. If you're trying to drive a couple of 4x12 cabs then you're going to need more wattage, however, in terms of volume 50 watts is plenty. This argument, however, really doesn't apply in this case since your talking about SS vs Tube. The real argument here is, should you get the tube or the SS. My personal opinion is, get the tube. You get a better sound to begin with and you have better control over distortion, IMO. It really depends on which one sounds better to you, that should be the determining factor. If you're concerned about volume levels then it's probably 6 one way, half a dozen the other. The tube rig is going to give you all the volume you need. I've had allot of 50 watt heads and combos and I've never been in a situation where I ran out of volume.