Do any of you run across a PA at home?

[PowerTube]

I realize that this concept might seem a bit crazy, but it's something I've been thinking about lately. I've always found that my amps have not only the best sound, but also the best response at low volumes. My old Line 6 Flextone II is seriously the best guitar tone (for me) that I've ever heard.

But, once it's turned up, it becomes like a different amp. The sustain is less and it loses the warmth I love. It becomes more harsh and, for lack of a better term, "stodgy." Every amp I've ever owned has done this, including a couple of "mighty" 100-watt Marshall tube amps.

So for that reason, I'm considering a small home PA to mic it across. I'm not looking for ear-splitting volumes; just a nice room level. I want to go about 300 watts, just so there's plenty of headroom. I'll probably use two mic's with two different placements for a fuller sound.

I was mic'ed across a PA some years ago and I really liked the fact that I could have my sound at a higher volume without changing the characteristics of my amp.

So anyway.... any of you doing this? Advice?

By the way, the PA might be used for some other things like streaming music, etc.... Bluetooth is a plus.

[pianoguyy]

first, a comment about the latest site design -

this post is not showing up in latest activity.
it is not showing on the home page. Home page has the last post for Amps and Effects on 9/20. Nor is Amps and Effects highlighted as having unread posts.

But
it does appear when I open Amps and Effects. But not as an unread post.
I happened to have seen the post on the Latest Topics box on the right hand side.


It makes me wonder what other stuff we are missing.

[pianoguyy]

for me -
the words 'pa' and 'home' are meaningless. but i admit to being not normal in that respect.

there is nothing wrong with doing it this way at home. in fact, many people do it live because they do it at rehearsal.
personally, in the past, except when backlined, I used the same amp at the same volume at home as i did live, but it was mic'd live. A Bandit 65. Not small, but not over large.

today, i use a "pa" because I run a modeler. not because I am putting a mic on a small amp.



doing it your way, the one thing you will run into is this -
tone creation
are you creating based on the amp tone, or the mic'd amp tone coming out of the pa
because the next step, after creating home tone, would be converting it to a live tone. are we going to mic the pa, which is a mic'd amp sound, or are we going to mic the amp.
i mean, you can see where the problem may occur.

[PowerTube]

today, i use a "pa" because I run a modeler. not because I am putting a mic on a small amp.

Sorry, but I don't quite understand this sentence.

doing it your way, the one thing you will run into is this -
tone creation
are you creating based on the amp tone, or the mic'd amp tone coming out of the pa
because the next step, after creating home tone, would be converting it to a live tone. are we going to mic the pa, which is a mic'd amp sound, or are we going to mic the amp.
i mean, you can see where the problem may occur.

Well, there really isn't any "live" sound for me. I'm not in a band and I don't perform in public. What I'm after is to take the low volume sound of my amp, which I love, and give it a bit more volume without losing that sound. So, rather than turn the amp up and change its sound and behavior, I want to leave it as-is but have it a little louder and spread out more.

Make sense?

[PowerTube]

first, a comment about the latest site design -

this post is not showing up in latest activity.
it is not showing on the home page. Home page has the last post for Amps and Effects on 9/20. Nor is Amps and Effects highlighted as having unread posts.

But
it does appear when I open Amps and Effects. But not as an unread post.
I happened to have seen the post on the Latest Topics box on the right hand side.


It makes me wonder what other stuff we are missing.

This thread also still shows 0 responses until you click on it.

Toejam, are you listening?

[pianoguyy]

site update -
i logged in, the home page has no sections highlighted as having unread posts. Amps and Effects still shows 9-20 on the home page.
When I open Amps and Effects, it shows 0 responses and 19 views to this topic.

[pianoguyy]

now, to the topic at hand....

if this is just for home use, rock on, do what you gotta do. mic the small amp and have at it. easy peasy.

in fact, it gives you many more options....
for example, since you mentioned playing pre-recorded music through it....
instead of buying guitar gear, have you considered simply upgrading your home stereo. In my youth, I played my keyboard through my stereo for years. Admittedly, I was lucky enough to have a father who had a nice stereo instead of some wal-mart stereo-in-a-box system. But it is definitely an option for you. Add the bluetooth/usb/hdmi/etc to the home stereo instead.

*I will warn you about bluetooth. It is time-delayed.


Does that, maybe, make more sense? To upgrade the home entertainment system, and play your guitar through it. Rather than upgrading your guitar rig, and then playing your tv through it.

Sorry, but I don't quite understand this sentence.

I don't know you, therefore I don't know what you know. So forgive me if I am "dumbing it down". But for the benefit of everyone:

I use an amp modeler. Which is different than a modeling amp. They are similar, but are not the same thing. An amp modeler uses just the technology. Basically, a modeling amp is an amp, like any other amp, but with the amp modeling technology added to it. Typically, modeling amps use very basic amp modeling technology. Whereas amp modelers can be very advanced, or basic, or anywhere in between depending on how much you want to spend.


For me, everything between the guitar and the pa is just microchips. No more amp.
I mean, imagine load in, set up, soundcheck, tear down, and load out - they all take 5 minutes instead of 5 hours. It all fits in the passenger seat of a sports car (no more truck/van/station wagon needed). And my sound is perfect every time.

But the drawback is - no more amp. How do I hear myself. Live, I use stage monitors (or ear monitors, depending on the job). But at home, then what. You shouldn't use a guitar amp because it will "color" the tone. So you need some sort of "flat" system to hear the uncolored sound of your modeler.
Many people use what is called FRFR. Which are basically pa systems. Or maybe studio monitors. They are the plain, bland, speaker systems that allow us to hear what we are putting into it. Where as guitar amps provide the tone.
One way to think of it is - playing a cd in your car and in my car and at home... they all sound the same. But playing your guitar through a Fender or Marshall or Peavey... they all sound different.


When I say I use a "pa" at home, I have an old pair of JBL Eon monitors. It is certainly not what I think of when I think of a pa, but it could be - particularly for those who can get by with a pa-on-a-stick.
I have them on the ground to replicate stage monitors. I can run my modeler directly into them - and I do if take them somewhere. But I run a small mixer that also allows me to hook up a few other channels so that I can use a mic, keyboard and mp3 player as needed.

[PowerTube]

now, to the topic at hand....

if this is just for home use, rock on, do what you gotta do. mic the small amp and have at it. easy peasy.

in fact, it gives you many more options....
for example, since you mentioned playing pre-recorded music through it....
instead of buying guitar gear, have you considered simply upgrading your home stereo. In my youth, I played my keyboard through my stereo for years. Admittedly, I was lucky enough to have a father who had a nice stereo instead of some wal-mart stereo-in-a-box system. But it is definitely an option for you. Add the bluetooth/usb/hdmi/etc to the home stereo instead.

*I will warn you about bluetooth. It is time-delayed.


Does that, maybe, make more sense? To upgrade the home entertainment system, and play your guitar through it. Rather than upgrading your guitar rig, and then playing your tv through it.








I don't know you, therefore I don't know what you know. So forgive me if I am "dumbing it down". But for the benefit of everyone:

I use an amp modeler. Which is different than a modeling amp. They are similar, but are not the same thing. An amp modeler uses just the technology. Basically, a modeling amp is an amp, like any other amp, but with the amp modeling technology added to it. Typically, modeling amps use very basic amp modeling technology. Whereas amp modelers can be very advanced, or basic, or anywhere in between depending on how much you want to spend.


For me, everything between the guitar and the pa is just microchips. No more amp.
I mean, imagine load in, set up, soundcheck, tear down, and load out - they all take 5 minutes instead of 5 hours. It all fits in the passenger seat of a sports car (no more truck/van/station wagon needed). And my sound is perfect every time.

But the drawback is - no more amp. How do I hear myself. Live, I use stage monitors (or ear monitors, depending on the job). But at home, then what. You shouldn't use a guitar amp because it will "color" the tone. So you need some sort of "flat" system to hear the uncolored sound of your modeler.
Many people use what is called FRFR. Which are basically pa systems. Or maybe studio monitors. They are the plain, bland, speaker systems that allow us to hear what we are putting into it. Where as guitar amps provide the tone.
One way to think of it is - playing a cd in your car and in my car and at home... they all sound the same. But playing your guitar through a Fender or Marshall or Peavey... they all sound different.


When I say I use a "pa" at home, I have an old pair of JBL Eon monitors. It is certainly not what I think of when I think of a pa, but it could be - particularly for those who can get by with a pa-on-a-stick.
I have them on the ground to replicate stage monitors. I can run my modeler directly into them - and I do if take them somewhere. But I run a small mixer that also allows me to hook up a few other channels so that I can use a mic, keyboard and mp3 player as needed.

Thanks for the info, and I do know what you mean about coloring the tone.

I have two main goals here:

1. Get (a little) more volume while keeping the same tone and response from the amp. I've never really liked how most amps change in feel when they're turned up. I want to keep the same sound and feel of the amp while letting the PA do the work of taking it a bit louder. No ear-splitting volumes at all; just a bolder sound presence.

2. Spread the sound by using two PA speakers. I'm already running across a pair of 4x12's and that gives some nice spread and ambience, but again, if I turn it louder it'll respond differently.

By the way, I'm going to PM Toejam about the craziness on the post count.

[pianoguyy]

permanent installation (such as "only for home" use) is easy. the rule is - do whatever you want/need to do.

it is when someone, like me, are at home, other home, studio(s), kitchen with a recorder, road, venue, bar, hotel, bus, van, plane... where one needs to be more concerned about what can and can't be done. to achieve tone.
I mean, my dad's home stereo that I talked about - it wasn't going to be easily moved. Nor would it be practical to do so.

it is sort of the same thought process as to why restaurants have better sound quality than venues that host bands as their main source of income. The restaurants will design/install a system, make it sound good and then never touch it. Where as other places have different gear moving in and out 3 times a week, never the same gear twice (until a band comes back a 2nd time).