Turn it up... amp rant!!!

[sambencuda]

Sorry I couldnt make it last week John. I did get your email.

I think you should try a power brake. If you are also having an issue hearing yourself, add another cab (2x12? 1x12?) and have it facing you. We played a few places when we were in Chase together and you had that Mark III purple strip? sounded good then. But then again, we did whatever the hell we wanted didnt we?

[jgcable]

yea.. all great ideas. This volume thing really has me baked. I think alot of the problem that soundguys have lately is many of the bands that play locally have small gear. I can't tell you how many guitar players show up with little combo's. Most of them are SS or modelers. I can hear the difference but the crowd can't. I like the sound that comes directly out of my amp to be LOUD. Not band away loud, but you guys know what I mean. What I mean is hitting that sweet spot in the amp where everything sounds great. On my Mark III that is around 3.5-4 which is pretty loud. The Legacy I had prior to this was up around 2. The only tube amp recently that I was able to turn up was a 50w JCM900 MKII Super Reverb head.

[hippietim]

My Axe-FX sounds flippin' fantastic so I run direct now. I just have a dedicated monitor on stage (FBT Verve 12ma). I can almost carry my rig in one trip from the car.

[Shawn Lutz]

Either have your drummer hit harder so yo can turn up or just tell the crowd to be louder so you can turn up louder

[Dreamland_Rebel]

i used a Mk III (blue stripe) for years and i always had the same problem... until i switched to Marshall w/ OD pedal. now i can get as loud as i want or hold back and maintain relatively the same sound.


save the MK III for outdoor shows and the studio. go back to the 900 for club gigs.

[jgcable]

i used a Mk III (blue stripe) for years and i always had the same problem... until i switched to Marshall w/ OD pedal. now i can get as loud as i want or hold back and maintain relatively the same sound.


save the MK III for outdoor shows and the studio. go back to the 900 for club gigs.

Yea.. the Mark III is crazy loud. Incredible actually. When that amp is at a volume level that sounds good its paint peeling off the walls loud.

[ken361]

For stage presence use dummy speaker cabs, I seen a big time band do that but cant think of there name at the moment

[roodyrocker]

My Axe-FX sounds flippin' fantastic so I run direct now. I just have a dedicated monitor on stage (FBT Verve 12ma). I can almost carry my rig in one trip from the car.

Yup, thats the setup right there! I just found another QSC HPR122i powered monitor on the used market. Its on its way to me so I can use it with the one I already have and my Axe-Fx Ultra in stereo

[Chad]

I was doing a search for "AxeFx" and came across this thread. This is exactly where quality modeling gear like the AxeFx comes into play. Folks are still trying to use gear that was designed for ancient (lol) times when PA systems were nowhere near where they are today and wonder why the run into problems.

The AxeFx is extremely versatile. Sounds great. Compact. With a stage PA monitor or IEMs, you are hearing basically the same as FOH, so you are hearing what the crowd is hearing. Minimal or no stage volume issues depending on your setup. Along with that, no hot spots (i.e. one member of the crowd's ears are bleeding while other crowd members can't hear clearly/evenly).

I've been selling a lot of my gear. Moving to the AxeFx and a powered monitor was a bit hard to initially grasp because it is so totally different from traditional guitar amp setups.

Really, I think with time, 4x12s and 100/50 watt tube amps will be only used by bands playing arenas with a road crew.....and folks resistant to change who want to deal with all of the "traditional" problems......and folks who want to shake the walls in their home or studio.

While I'm at it, I also think there will be more of a move to e-drums as well. Acoustic drums run into the same problems. However, there is a major visual element with acoustic drums that will prevent rapid change. Modding an acoustic kit to operate electric is an option.

[nor]

Back when I was gigging my MKIII 3-4 nights a week, I would turn my 4x12 around facing backwards. Took awhile to get used to - I used a small 8 ohm wedge if the monitor system was 'challenged' - but could crank the Boogie to about 4.5-5 to hit the sweetness.

[nor]

You may want to consider some Weber Beam Blockers, or something similar. I have zero experience with these, but they may reduce the on-axis spike and allow you to drive the rig a bit harder.

[Rich#6]

I can't say anything about the band side of things but I can from a venue standpoint. I work for a 1800+ seat theater. We are on the wimpy side of bands that we book. The heaviest that we have had since I have been here are loverboy, Foreigner, joan Jett, and Brian Setzer. All of whom are happy with not cranking their amps(they are louded then my boss and board members would like - hehe! but your ears won't be ringing for days) because the sound system does a great job of letting everyone hear the show at the same volume. The sound system we rent depending on the number of speakers costs between $250,000 and $400,000 if we were to buy it. The last artist that cracked his marshall stack caused may people to leave and ask for refunds. They also sounded like shit so I was told. FYI my theater is considered accoustically perfect too. Tommy James and the shondels was the artist if anyone cared. Setzer for part of his show if not all was playing through a medium sided combo amp. So even for our size stacks are overkill.

[skintaster]

I was doing a search for "AxeFx" and came across this thread. This is exactly where quality modeling gear like the AxeFx comes into play. Folks are still trying to use gear that was designed for ancient (lol) times when PA systems were nowhere near where they are today and wonder why the run into problems.

The AxeFx is extremely versatile. Sounds great. Compact. With a stage PA monitor or IEMs, you are hearing basically the same as FOH, so you are hearing what the crowd is hearing. Minimal or no stage volume issues depending on your setup. Along with that, no hot spots (i.e. one member of the crowd's ears are bleeding while other crowd members can't hear clearly/evenly).

I've been selling a lot of my gear. Moving to the AxeFx and a powered monitor was a bit hard to initially grasp because it is so totally different from traditional guitar amp setups.

Really, I think with time, 4x12s and 100/50 watt tube amps will be only used by bands playing arenas with a road crew.....and folks resistant to change who want to deal with all of the "traditional" problems......and folks who want to shake the walls in their home or studio.

While I'm at it, I also think there will be more of a move to e-drums as well. Acoustic drums run into the same problems. However, there is a major visual element with acoustic drums that will prevent rapid change. Modding an acoustic kit to operate electric is an option.

While I don't see big amps completely going away for non-arena bands, I think that a lot of players are, or soon will be looking into smaller amp options. I'm not getting rid of my half stack anytime soon, but I have a feeling that my 20 watt Egnater is going to get used a lot when I play shows. Some of the new small amps sound really good, are easier to move, and are more "club PA friendly".

As for the newer modeling amps, they're getting better with time, and I think we'll see more and more players using them live. I love real tube amps, but I don't think 99% of people listening at a club can really tell the differences between modeling amps and the real deal... At least with most rock music.

Heh...Honestly, I'm not sure if most non-musician audience members can hear a lot of the things that serious guitar players tend to fret about, especially when it's all mixed in the context of a full band.

[roodyrocker]

The only downside to my Axe-Fx was my singer was mad because there was no "visual" wow to it on stage because the 1/2 stack was gone. I had the Axe-Fx in a small rack and the QSC powered monitor on a stand facing the drummer. Took me 5 minutes to setup. One XLR cable going to the QSC on stage and another to the front of house PA plus guitar cable. Done!
We're in an 80's band and my singer was complaining that I need the big amp on stage cause there was practically nothing behind me. Our drummer thought it was the best guitar sound he's heard. And btw, last weekend we ran sound for another band playing a huge hall and all they used were small combos onstage. We mic'd everything up and out front it sounded as loud or as soft as we wanted to dial it in at. If the sound system is done right you can use as samll an amp as you want.

[tonemonster]

I agree most whole heartedly.

That's why I bought the F-30. However, it's still loud as FUCK!! (and trust me, FUCK is very loud).

I agree with your agreeance. FUCK is loud. and the F30 is loud as fuck. I have one. that bad little mutha can hang.