penningtron wrote:

Garth wrote: Almost always better than underpowering the speakers for sure.

An aside but can you expand on this? What's 'wrong' with underpowering a speaker if you're not looking to drive/compress it?

No it doesn't really make sense on the surface, does it? This reddit thread sums up the "folk knowledge" other, more experienced sound guys have always imparted on me...but still not conclusive beyond "some [seemingly knowledgeable] guys on the internet."

This may be more applicable for live sound applications though. I know frequently a guitar speaker cab can be rated to handle a lot more wattage than a head (especially tube) is rated to deliver.

The output of an underpowered (solid state) power amp can be driven more easily into clipping when trying to coax more volume from it. Clipping will drive the speakers similar to DC and overheat the speaker.

A power amp (for sound reinforcement purposes, at least) very rarely, if ever, puts out its nominal wattage. In normal use it actually probably puts out, on average, way less than you think. There will be occasional transient peaks, on which case having an amp with more headroom can reproduce the peaks properly instead of clipping.

Adam P wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:02 am The output of an underpowered (solid state) power amp can be driven more easily into clipping when trying to coax more volume from it. Clipping will drive the speakers similar to DC and overheat the speaker.

Ah ok I think I get what you and Garth are getting at. I'll often run a teeny portable or practice amp into a full range cab at home, not to squeeze more volume out of it but because I don't like the sound of the teeny speakers that blooze dudes like to crank at home. As I'm not cranking it hoping to get speaker coloration I probably won't worry about it for now.

penningtron wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:27 am

Adam P wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:02 am The output of an underpowered (solid state) power amp can be driven more easily into clipping when trying to coax more volume from it. Clipping will drive the speakers similar to DC and overheat the speaker.

Ah ok I think I get what you and Garth are getting at. I'll often run a teeny portable or practice amp into a full range cab at home, not to squeeze more volume out of it but because I don't like the sound of the teeny speakers that blooze dudes like to crank at home. As I'm not cranking it hoping to get speaker coloration I probably won't worry about it for now.

As Garth pointed out, it’s more applicable in sound reinforcement applications. Speakers intended for guitar are almost certainly robust enough to handle distorted inputs, generally speaking. I’d suspect one is more likely to damage a guitar speaker by over-excursion due to high power transients than by melting a voice coil with a clipped input signal.

Speakers and speaker cabs are rated for efficiency typically specified as a dB level measured at 1 meter distance when fed an input signal at 1 watt (aka 2.83V into 8 ohms). If you have a way of measuring the amp’s output with a constant input like a 1kHz sine wave, I think you’d find a speaker with an efficiency in the mid to upper 80s dB @ 1W/m is surprisingly loud with 1W coming out of the amp. Putting even heavily distorted bursts of output into a speaker at modest voltages probably will not do much to damage it.

Little late to the game, but I ran a shipping retail store for a few years in my early 20's. Quality cardboard boxes are exceptionally rigid, as long as they are packed tight inside. Rule of thumb, you want at least 2" around the entire item, and packed so tightly that it cannot shift or move at all. Also enough packing so that the box is tight to close up, taped well. If you can shake the package and hear or feel ANY movement, open it up, put in more packing until it CANNOT move at all. if you do this, that carboard box will be able to hole a tone of weight without crushing the box and your package will almost definitely get to its destination intact, even after UPS does their thing to it. 1 out of 100 packages I did insurance claims for were caused buy UPS mismanaging, they other 99 were denied because of insufficient packing.

As bad as they are, Styrofoam peanuts are the absolute best at packing the void in a box, because they push back when crushed. The Biodegradable version are not great, because over time, they flatten and allow the contents to shift. The large air bubble stuff is the worst because if it pops, you basically have an unpacked package that can be crushed easily. Sucks to se Styrofoam, but if you have something fragile to ship, its really the best solution. Pro tip, line the box with a large plastic garbage bag before putting in your item and the peanuts so that after the item is removed, the peanuts are already bagged up and easy to remove, save for another shipment. Also, wrap any electronics in bubble before pouring Styrofoam peanuts in there, if they do get crushed, they put off a lot of static, which isn't good for electronics, especially computers, ETC...

Sorry for the long post, but countless hours on the phone with UPS/FedEx, DHL insurance claims will make you a real snob about packing. They all will deny any claim if the package is deemed under packed.

Anyone have experience with the Strymon stuff, specifically the Volante?

It seems nice - almost too nice - but I've got some extra cash after selling a few things and that Volante seems like it can do pretty much anything...

Ignore.

four_oclocker_2.2 wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 3:27 pm Anyone have experience with the Strymon stuff, specifically the Volante?

It seems nice - almost too nice - but I've got some extra cash after selling a few things and that Volante seems like it can do pretty much anything...

I scored a Flint last year. The reverb is serviceable. The tremolo circuit absolutely shines in the best way. Using an expression pedal to increase the wiggle really lends authenticity to playing 'Rumble.'

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A greater dynamic range than...what exactly?

So yes, it's pretty normal (and desirable) to feed speakers with amps that put more power out than they're rated for.
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I believe what I was trying to say, and i'm not even sure I'm using the right nomenclature, is more wattage would mean there is more “space” between the nominal operating level and when the would clip. If that makes sense but you and Adam P have put my mind at ease. Thanks.

Mickey242 wrote: I believe what I was trying to say, and i'm not even sure I'm using the right nomenclature, is more wattage would mean there is more “space” between the nominal operating level and when the would clip. If that makes sense but you and Adam P have put my mind at ease. Thanks.

I"d say GENERALLY SPEAKING, yes? But there's a LOT of other variables to consider throughout the signal chain where distortion and clipping can be introduced.

If we're talking about guitar amps, then there's a lot of amps known for tons of clean headroom - a Fender Twin Reverb (especially silverface) is usually the first one I think of in this department. You could also consider using higher-wattage bass amps although you may find some of the voicings to be a little strange for guitar.