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LOUD ON STAGE,my 2 cents...

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1/12/2000 10:05 AM

Amund Blix Aaeng

LOUD ON STAGE,my 2 cents...

After 17 years as a guitarist something still troubles me, soundmen almost always complain on us guitarist for playing too loud on stage. But everytime I go to a concert with a guitarist playing at a low volume on stage, his/hers sound is thin , wimpy and you do not hear his/hers solos. When I`m playing I usually use my 68`50w plexi or a JTM 45(plus echoplex,t.c.chorus,Chandler Tube Driver, Fuzz Face,MXR Dynacomp and Expandora) I play fairly loud (volume around 5), other bandmembers have no problems with it. BUT, those soundmen hate it, I usually smile and turn down at soundcheck,then back to normal volume when the gig starts(they hate that too, I can understand that) I have a Hot Plate, but more than two clicks on it, the tone disappears. I usually play in clubs (150-500 people) My last gig I actually used two Budda Verbmasters(18w, loud)in stereo with two Marshall 4x12`s.Thats 10 12`s playing at once!!
The sound was BIG and fat. And you know what?
The soundman didn`t complain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is why: Ten speakers spread the sound out wery evenly, actually a combo with one 12inch speaker at the same volume would kill the person in front of it(almost).the sound man had no problems with the guitar overpowering the band, the guitar was loud but with a nice even sound.
So get some more speakers and PLAY LOUD (leave those 100w Plexi`s at home, though....)

1/12/2000 10:22 AM

Amen to that Amund. I can never understand why soundmen seem
incapable of backing-off the input gain on the guitar channels a little- surely then it doesn't matter if your cranked on stage! One thing I have recently discovered about getting killer tone on stage with my JTM45 head (via 2x12 celestions)is to only use one of the amp inputs instead of linking them together. That way, I can get the amp cranked sufficiently for awesome tone and not make ears bleed. Can you do that with a Plexi successfully?
Chris

1/12/2000 10:55 AM
GFR	I think the problem is if the guitar is too loud it can leak through the other microphones on stage, and then it would be a nightmare to get a decent mix.

1/12/2000 11:07 AM
A.S	On a small stage leaking could be a problem. Has anyone tried a H&K Red Box? It´sa line out device and I think you hook it up between amp and cabinet. A.S

1/17/2000 2:12 AM

I've used a H&K Red Box for about ten years now. I hear my Boogie cabs onstage so I'm not sure exactly what it sounds like out front, but from soundboard recordings it sounds fine to me. Another use: I recently recorded fat distortion tracks for a Christian CD. The producer was looking for a sweet thick tone and melodic leads. I tried my strat thru my rig, and a couple of Fenders in the studio, but for some reason the ballsy tone in the booth sounded thinner on the recording. We ended up using (plexi-purists leave now)a Zoom 1010 pedal with no FX direct into the H&K then direct to the board. Not only was it the sound we were looking for, I could sit in the booth to record my tracks without headphones!However, I must admit for recording clean guitar it does color the sound and is not the way to go...

1/12/2000 4:12 PM

The real problem with loud guitar amps in small-to-medium size clubs is that the amp itself can compete with or even overpower the PA mains. This requires the soundperson to keep the guitar mike (or direct box feed) completely out of the PA mix. At this point, the soundperson has no control of the guitar volume level or EQ, relative to the rest of the band.

In my experience, soundpersons like it when guitarists use combo amps that are tilted back so that the player, not the audience, receives the brunt of the direct amp sound. They like it even better if the amp is placed to the side of or in front of the player (like a monitor).

1/15/2000 1:05 AM
rex	i like to play laoud so i can feel my music because my music is my life and my sperit is what makes my music my life and my spirit but tony said ishould turn down because im to loud but he doesnt understand taht when i started megaforce we were suposed to be loud so our spirit can come through in our music and our life is our spirit and he doesnt understand this

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