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amps: floor or stand?


Bluesidae

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It depends on the room and where I am. I've found that setting my Roland JC-50 on shag carpet muddies the tone, so if there's carpet on the floor I'll definitely want to get it up off of the floor. If I'm standing it's nice to have the amp on a stand pointed up at me so I can hear it better.

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For some reason I find amps sound really harsh if they don't have good contact with the floor. I put my combos on top of another speaker cabinet or on the floor and they sound great. On a little tripod stand, they sound really raspy.

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I always try and stand mine on something - normally just ask the bar for a plastic beer bottle crate or something similar. At home I've got it stood on top of my old dinosaur Peavey amp that doesn't get a lot of use any more.

 

Not only is the bass more responsive, but the closer it is to your ear then the easier it is to tell how loud you are - guitarists are always turning themselves up way too high because they have no idea how loud their amp is from 20ft away.

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Before lifting I try to put it back as far as possible, for 2 reasons.

 

1) You hear it better and get a better idea of how loud you are

 

2)My drummer wants to hear me and sometimes monitors suck or there aren't separate mixes so they are all vocals.

 

 

I never understand when I see people at clubs with amps 2 feet behind them..they keep turning up and everyone in the front has their fingers in their ears "but I can't hear myself". Then they lift it up, and it's still 2 feet behind them..the sound is hitting them in the butt. You're better off tilting than lifting.

 

You have about 10 feet of stage behind you. Use it. Many times I have my amp all the way in the back, tilted against the wall.

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Yeah, tilting is important. Currently, if the venue allows, I set my Nomad on top of its case and lean it against the wall, so it's elevated and tilted. Sound guys love this as it points the harsh stuff at the ceiling.

 

But, alas, sometimes the setup us such that I can't do this. In those cases I just place it atop its road case. If I hafta be close to it, it sucks, but if I can get far enough away, it sounds good and I can hear myself without being too loud. I'd like a stand but my amp is pretty big. Heaviest 212 combo I've lifted.

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I will add that I have two single 12 100 watt open back cabs. Both have a slight angle to the baffle boards. Depending on the stage I will stack them or run them side by side. I prefer not to have them stacked because I don't like having my ear getting the full brunt of the top speaker. Being angled cabs they work well on the floor as is.

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Before lifting I try to put it back as far as possible, for 2 reasons.


1) You hear it better and get a better idea of how loud you are


2)My drummer wants to hear me and sometimes monitors suck or there aren't separate mixes so they are all vocals.



I never understand when I see people at clubs with amps 2 feet behind them..they keep turning up and everyone in the front has their fingers in their ears "but I can't hear myself". Then they lift it up, and it's still 2 feet behind them..the sound is hitting them in the butt. You're better off tilting than lifting.


You have about 10 feet of stage behind you. Use it. Many times I have my amp all the way in the back, tilted against the wall.

I usually have mine 4-5' behind me and up off the stage floor about 30" and turned in about 45 degrees so that I can hear them fine(and truly know what my tone/volume are) and my bass player and drummer can also hear me w/o having to add guitar to our wedges.

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I played for years in my garage on the floor. When I finally started playing with a band I heard about tilting it up. That's when I started having ear problems. Wish I had never done that.

:confused::confused: Well aiming your speakers at your ears is supposed to be in conjunction with turning down. There should be less SPL onstage to damage your hearing if everyone can lower their volume some.

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Any preferences for 15W combos for home/small venues? I have tried both on the floor and on a stand. I seem to switch back and forth and I am not sure which I prefer. Thoughts?

I use a 5-10 watt tube head and my Valvetronix set to 15 watts and the master at about 5. And yes, of course I aim them so that I can hear them and know what I actually sound like.

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Exactly!! Amps on the ground give better bass response.

well, obviously. But only part of the perception is actual. Some of is just the fact that we all know that the higher the frequency, the less it will "corner". So if you aren't actually hearing your speakers fairly directly, much of the high frequency content is missing, leaving mostly lower, less directional frequencies. Plus, too much lowend from the guitars just mucks up your overall mix.

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If I'm using my combo I typically set it on a chair. Due to the ergonomics of most chairs this not only lifts the amp it also tilts it somewhat. I don't worry too much about any loss of bottom end...that's kinda what my bass player is for.

 

At practice it's on the floor but tilted. I prop it up with a fuzz pedal I'm not currently using:D

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A tube amp with 15 watts is kind of loud for home use...and tube amps really don't sound greater unless they are reasonably operating in their sweet spot.

Considering all that I leave mine on the floor as a sort of poor-man's attenuator. Reduces the volume slightly at the same level of output.

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