eSGEe
Ferengi Ambassador of Trade
most powerful tube amp?
- Thread starter eSGEe
- Start date
Col Mustard
Ambassador of Perseverance
From this performer's point of view, the best amp is the one that sounds best at low levels
which are appropriate to use in a concert venue. The best amp is the one with an XLR out
on the back, so that the signal goes to the board for mixing properly with vocals and acoustic
instruments. In such a mix, the amp's onstage level is to be a stage monitor, no more...
>or maybe a little more, as any sound man will tell you. Our amp levels seem to increase...
dunno how that happens. When everyone tries to "cut through the mix," there is no mix and
the sound goes to hell.
Imho, the only time there is a mix is when everyone is trying NOT to cut through the mix, but
to take their place in the mix and play music together. When it's your turn for your solo, kick a
pedal or flip to yer dimed out bridge 'pup and let fly. After yer solo, you resume your place in
the mix.
People will disagree with me if they think that their amp's speaker tone is crucial to their individual sound.
All I'll say to that is that it's not about anyone's personal tone, it's about the song's tone, which
comes from the mix. Miking your amp might be the solution to this of course, to give your amp some headroom and to also give the soundman control over the mix. If you're going to mike your amp (for the sake of the song) then maybe you don't need a huge and heavy one. If you play loud enough to cause tube distortion with no pedals, you might not be able to be part of a mix. I actually never play like that, so I have no experience with mixing high gain sounds. *shrugs
But I HAVE heard a lot of bands that had everybody flailing away at distortion levels, and using pedals without regard for what their band mates might have running, and the singer was tearing up his throat at career ending levels, and the whole thing sounded like mush. That's what I associate huge powerful amps with. When something overdrives my eardrums, it sounds like
mush to me and I have to walk away. I like exciting music, but I have my limits. I learned this
the hard way, of course.
which are appropriate to use in a concert venue. The best amp is the one with an XLR out
on the back, so that the signal goes to the board for mixing properly with vocals and acoustic
instruments. In such a mix, the amp's onstage level is to be a stage monitor, no more...
>or maybe a little more, as any sound man will tell you. Our amp levels seem to increase...
dunno how that happens. When everyone tries to "cut through the mix," there is no mix and
the sound goes to hell.
Imho, the only time there is a mix is when everyone is trying NOT to cut through the mix, but
to take their place in the mix and play music together. When it's your turn for your solo, kick a
pedal or flip to yer dimed out bridge 'pup and let fly. After yer solo, you resume your place in
the mix.
People will disagree with me if they think that their amp's speaker tone is crucial to their individual sound.
All I'll say to that is that it's not about anyone's personal tone, it's about the song's tone, which
comes from the mix. Miking your amp might be the solution to this of course, to give your amp some headroom and to also give the soundman control over the mix. If you're going to mike your amp (for the sake of the song) then maybe you don't need a huge and heavy one. If you play loud enough to cause tube distortion with no pedals, you might not be able to be part of a mix. I actually never play like that, so I have no experience with mixing high gain sounds. *shrugs
But I HAVE heard a lot of bands that had everybody flailing away at distortion levels, and using pedals without regard for what their band mates might have running, and the singer was tearing up his throat at career ending levels, and the whole thing sounded like mush. That's what I associate huge powerful amps with. When something overdrives my eardrums, it sounds like
mush to me and I have to walk away. I like exciting music, but I have my limits. I learned this
the hard way, of course.
Great words, Col.
I play at high gain levels, but remain comfortably in the mix. The solution?
An isolation box off-stage.
Put yer favorite speaker in the cabinet, run your amp to the speaker, crank yer amp, mic the speaker in the iso-cab, run the mic to the mix.
I got my tubes cranking like I want through the speaker I want.
The amp sound is not flooding the stage so the rest of the band isn't getting hammered and the sound guy can control the mix.
Everyone's happy!
bea
AmBASSador of the F Clef
It may have been the most powerful but it wasn't the loudest.
There has also been a 400 with 6 KT88. But those 200W monsters are already real beasts. Mine - a clone of the above - also has a DI-out:
200 Watt Marshall Major...
Lot's of high gain techniques, Smitty has pointed out several. On small stages/venues, I would sometimes turn the amp towards the wall and erect a drum screen behind it....this allowed me to drive the amp hard and yet control the stage volume....Bonamassa uses Plexiglas shields to control stage volume and try, to some degree, to control his penchant for UNPOTTED pickups...
Last edited:
Unspotted?
I'm guessing you meant to type, "unpotted" and the device you're using autocorrected it to "unspotted"?
If not, what are these mysterious unspotted pickups of which you speak?
Do tell!
