General Music Chat

Our classic rock 4 piece (power trio+lead vocals) is about a month away from gigging, and the plan is to run a cranked 15-20 watt amp and mic it. Hopefully this eliminates the problem of "too loud" complaints from people in the front couple of tables, and "we can't hear the guitar" shouts from the back of the room. Unfortunately I'm gonna have to flip one of my higher power combo amps to get something smaller. Bye bye Twin Reverb

You could always run a D.I. through a dummy load, bypass the speakers altogether. Or, Hell, a Line 6 Pod can emulate all sorts of amps and go direct to PA. That is what Geddy Lee does nowadays.

Shame you cannot hang onto the Twin.

YEah...I'd definitely KEEP the Twin. I'm still pissed at myself for selling mine 25 yrs ago!

There are a bunch of lil pod-like amp modellers out there that you can run direct through the PA, & many of them aren't all that expensive. Amazing lil thingies, they be!

Our classic rock 4 piece (power trio+lead vocals) is about a month away from gigging, and the plan is to run a cranked 15-20 watt amp and mic it. Hopefully this eliminates the problem of "too loud" complaints from people in the front couple of tables, and "we can't hear the guitar" shouts from the back of the room. Unfortunately I'm gonna have to flip one of my higher power combo amps to get something smaller. Bye bye Twin Reverb

Yep, I have been doing that for a while now. I still have the 64 Super Reverb but it doesn't get out much. Find yourself a good Deluxe Reverb or a small Mesa and you won't look back. "Just right" volume levels to run with a drum kit and a little guitar mixed through the PA eliminates the problem we have of a highly directional sound. Now everyone can hear the guitar but it is not up in anyone's face.

Another benefit is that your are only drawing 2 amps of AC power instead of 10 amps so you are no longer sucking the stage power dry.

Dajax ... that's what most of the guitar players that I play with are doing, so they can get their tone without the volume ... you can also add a bit into the moniters on the other side of the stage if the system can do that ... I'd mic it over a DI ... you get better sound.

Recently bought a Fender modler called G-Dec. The 30watt model has line out or you can mike it.

Gets a lot of sounds - enough to please most. And if you crank it its a lot noiser than I would have expected.

Saw several at the store (used) for less than 200. Note - newer ones have USB interfaces instead of MIDI. A bit easer to use the fancier features.

regards
Talbot

Dajax ... that's what most of the guitar players that I play with are doing, so they can get their tone without the volume ... you can also add a bit into the moniters on the other side of the stage if the system can do that ... I'd mic it over a DI ... you get better sound.

I think you're right P-82 about the mic over the DI...I have an original Tech 21 Sansamp, which sounds nice (the solos on All Along The Watchtower on my player are a Gretsch going thru it direct to recorder), but what I'm using at rehearsals is my Fender Champ mic'ed into the P.A. and it sounds fantastic. But in the rehearsal the P.A. bins are aiming at us from the sides, and in a gigging situation I'm worried about hearing myself when I'm playing behind bins facing the audience...I guess maybe your moniter suggestion would solve this, but we still haven't really worked out how many moniters, and where they will sit yet

Two combo amps I may check out on Saturday, that are in the power range I'm looking for...

http://capsulemusic.com/retail/detail.asp?ID=5169

http://capsulemusic.com/retail/detail.asp?ID=4226

small Mesa and you won't look back.

That's my rig, it works just fine when the drummer cooperates.

I can coax my Nomad to do pretty much what I want utilizing the combination of SOAK and VOLUME knobs.

From living room gigs to outdoors. Feeding the PA as needed via the CAB VOICED OUT jack I get the sound I want to the mains and stage monitors without having to mess with another mic.

you can also add a bit into the moniters on the other side of the stage if the system can do that

Yes. A little guitar in the monitors and everyone can hear you without blowing their ears out. With a Deluxe Reverb I use a mic. With a Mesa F30 I often use the cab voiced direct out. It does sound very good.

Another suggestion when using a small combo on stage: Point the amp directly at you either with tilt legs or use an amp stand. This retains the interaction between the tonewoods in your guitar and the amp and thickens your sound. It is surprising how much difference it makes when our strings and woods interact with the speaker. Much fuller tone with better sustain. It is the seasoned musicians trick to replicate the effect of standing directly in front of a Marshall stack.

You can also get a power soak and KEEP the twin reverb...no way I'd let that amp go. I have one and unfortunately I can't use it with my super Reverb because it's 2 ohm, my power soak (Tom Scholtz rig) only does 4 and 8 ohm.

You can also use the Champ, mic it and run it back through the monitors. I've done that, my Champ worked quite well. Unfortunately it decided to commit suicide recently - again - and I have yet to come up with the cash to fix it. It's a great sounding little amp, but not enough volume for onstage use, unless you run it back through the monitors. But then you can hear it, and it sounds excellent. I also ran mine through a 1x12 cabinet to get a bit bigger sound. The little 8 inch speaker doesn't pump out enough bass for me.

Smaller amps work great.

In my arsenal I have a 20 watt tube Mesa Subway Rocket, and it is great miced.

Most of the time I still use the big boy thou, LOL! Mesa Triple Rec with a 4x12 cabinet, but I set the overall volume really low and let our pa carry the guitar. A few gigs ago a freind sat in and made the comment your guitar sounds great out front, but when I was standing there playing I could barely hear it. LOL

That little 20 watter is a monster for its size, 1 10 inch speaker and I can play up to a 200 seat room with or with out being miced.

Its really all aobut getting your tone at a mangeable volume no matter what you use, just because you play a huge amp doesnt mean it sounds great in the room cranked to the moon.

I have a Sholz Power Soak and a Weber, but i rarely use them anymore, if you happen to be playing an older non master volume type amp thou, I dont know how you can gig without one. I do have an older Sunn Model T head that I cant gig with because its just too loud without a power soak.

Remember its all about the tone, figure out how to get your tone at all volume levels and you should be good to go.

Won't doing a power soak burn out your transistors?