Is a 50watt amp big enough to gig with sufficiently?

Answer 1

There are a lot of factors that could affect the answer to this question, but generally speaking, 50 watts for a guitar should be plenty for most small to medium sized venues.

Many people assume that more watts equals more volume, but while this is true there is not a linear relationship between wattage and volume. A good rule of thumb is that doubling wattage roughly increases perceived volume about 3 decibels, roughly the perception limit (in other words, you would be able to say that one is louder than the other), and this assumes you're running them at full power.

Other factors to consider are the speaker quality (more efficient speakers are typically louder at the same amplifier level), whether or not you're using a solid-state or a tube/valve amp (tube amps are also typically louder), and whether or not the club has a PA and will mike the amp. In practice, a lower wattage tube amp, even 5 to 15 watts, may actually be better. A 15-watt head can be used to power a full 4x12 speaker cabinet (this would probably be too loud for many clubs), depending on the make. The tone of the guitar will be affected by the level of the amp, and for much Rock Music, playing a smaller amp at higher levels will achieve better tone, overdrive, and distortion than playing a larger amp turned down.

Please note that this answer is assuming the question is in reference to an Electric Guitar! For example, 50 watts would not be sufficient to amplify a Bass Guitar for the same size gigs.