So @Jazzbass19 gave me a fabulous segue into putting speaker size and count together so on to the next subject… HOW DOES ALL THIS WORK TOGETHER.
We are going to apply some easy math here to show how it works. The numbers ARE NOT accurate, they just demonstrate relationship.
Let’s say you play with a clean signal, no effects. You like a punchy tone as in the example provided by @Jazzbass19. After much weeping and gnashing of teeth you discover that you like the natural characteristics of 10 inch speakers so you have a 110 in the music cave rated at 100 watts. You have a drummer friend that invites you to play a gig in town at the local community center. You grab your gear and go downtown to do sound check. You discover that nobody can hear you because you just don’t have enough power to be present in the mix. The guitarist, for some strange reason has a 300 watt 115 bass amp. You hook that up and find that you are in the mix quite easily volume wise but you just don’t have the crispness that you get with your 110. You finish the set with a tone that you don’t like but you had fun and the crown didn’t seem to know the difference. The band liked you and you get asked back in a few weeks to do it again. You had a blast so you accept the invitation.
Now back at the music cave you realize you have a problem. You need more amp. Off you go to your local music store with your bass. You plug in to several amps and strike up a conversation with the salesman. He points you to a 410 amp that is the same brand, same series as your 110 but it’s rated at 400 watts. (4x100=400) time goes by and you show up to the gig with your 410 and play. The experience was phenomenal. You sounded like you wanted to sound and you were heard with no problem.
This scenario highlight the basics of why somebody would want a certain configuration of amp. The 115 you played on the first gig had plenty of power, it just wasn’t right. I wasn’t you. So obviously it’s about more than power. The 410 you bought gave you a much better experience. It sounded and acted like your 110 because it was the same brand with the same characteristics so it produced the TONE you wanted at an adequate power level. Let’s continue our story…
Some time and a few gigs later, you pop by your drummer friend’s house and the guitarist with the 300 watt 115 is there. It turns out that guitarist has a cousin who plays a 5 string bass. The cousin invites you to try your hand with a 5 string so you sit down and jam with them. You decide you like the rumble of the B string and you notice that that 115 actually sounds pretty good. Later on you are back at the music store talking to the same salesman and you buy a 5 string bass. you take it home and plug it in to your 110 and play and discover that it sounds like crap. So you jack with your EQ trying get the rumble to come out and it just isn’t happening. You plug into your 410 and jack with that EQ. It’s a little better but still sounds nothing like the 115. This can’t be. Both the 410 and the 115 can do the same thing, right? So you get on the internet for some research and you discover that the low freqs on the 5 string are pushing the bottom of your 410 freq envelope you hardly push on it at all and it flubs out. some additional research reveals that the same company that makes the amps you already have also offers a 212 amp that offers 500 watts and a freq range that will accommodate the B string. Off you go to the music store with both of your basses in tow. The same salesman sees you coming and already has a good idea what you are after so he takes you to where the 212 is already plugged in. You play both basses through the amp and find that it sounds good on both guitars with only some minor tweeking. You strike a deal with the sales guy and trade your 410 in on the 212. You continue to gig, get a record deal and move on to fame and glory and live happily ever after.
What all can you take away from this story based on everything you’ve read throughout this thread?