Amplifi 150 questions...

[symmetry]

Hi
So i'm considering purchasing an Amplifi 150. I've read a lot of reviews on this thing, both positive and negative, and i still have a couple of questions i was hoping someone could answer for me.
 
1. So just how loud is it? This is difficult to answer because everyones idea of loud is different. One would think, being 150W, that it would be ridiculously loud when compared to, say, the 100W JCM800, but i've heard that a tube watt is not the same as a tranny watt. So on full, would it drown out an unmic'd drumkit in a room? Could you gig with it in a large room over a backing track? Is it similar to a JCM800 on (say) 5?
 
2. Can you play it without the tablet, and still get some good sounds? I already have a tablet for backing tracks and songbook, thinking of another for a PA, and now another one for the Amplifi? There would be more tablets on stage than guitars... (Would rather not use one tablet and flick between apps). So ideally, i would like to set it up at home with the tablet, but then save all the effects into the footpedal to use onstage, and not even have to take the tablet to the gig. Is this do-able? If so, how many different effects could you use this way? And can you simply turn the effects off with the footpedal in order to use other existing pedals (currently running a pedal board)?
 
Any advice would be appreciated.

[chuckonn]

You can store Four sounds at a time on the AmpliFi unit itself, which you can tweak manually when you play live. This does not require bring connected to a tablet. You can also use the the saved library of sounds on your tablet when you open the app and Bluetooth to your amp. That will give you a very large bank of sounds that you have downloaded and saved.

 

As for volume, it is loud, but not 150 tube watts worth of loud. Since it is a hi-fi stereo amp, I get best use out of it in a band setting by using a microphone on the 12" speaker. That is when I use the standard guitar input. If you use the Aux input, you can engage the 5 way speaker system, but remember, the guitar frequency range is not wide enough to make full use of the range of all the speakers. Lastly, you can run a line out to your PA, if that is needed.

[Triryche]

You can store Four sounds at a time on the AmpliFi unit itself, 

 

Actually the AMPLIFi holds 100 presets, 25 banks of ABCD, but you need one of the compatible foot controllers or the AMPLIFi Remote app to change banks.

[symmetry]

I get best use out of it in a band setting by using a microphone on the 12" speaker. 

 

That is my plan for it too. Out of curiosity, what mic do you use for that? I was planning in getting the SM57 for that job. 

 

Lastly, you can run a line out to your PA, if that is needed.

 

If that's the case, why mic it at all? 

 

I only ask because, up til now i've simply plugged the acoustic guitar straight into the PA for gigs. But we're moving into electric guitars now, hence the Amplifi150. 

So given the choice between mic'ing an amp to the PA, or just lining out an output from the amp into the PA, what produces the best results?

 

Thanks for the info.

[chuckonn]

My "best results" were not my only results. A mic combined with the line out is optimal, and lets you mix them to get the sound you like. I found the line out by itself to lack the warms and character of the mic, but you might like it better.

 

Using the Shure SM57 is a classic solution that is time tested and hard to beat.

[symmetry]

It never occurred to me to blend the mic and line out signals. Looks like i have some experimenting to do.

[jdavidboyd]

There's no 'line out' jack, y'all must be referring to the headphone jack?  And that cuts out the signal to the speakers...

 

In other words, you can't blend the signal between the mic and line out.

 

Unless, by line out, you're talking about the USB out, and have some kind of device that converts that to a suitable input for a PA.  Is there such a device?