# amp volume on stage



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

I am gonna try turning my amp towards the wall tonight and see if this helps and place a mic in the back of the amp.


----------



## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

marcos said:


> I am dealing with a band member that really has problems with volume on stage and was wondering if any of you have tried different techniques with your amp. I am gonna try turning my amp towards the wall tonight and see if this helps. Also, the band leader insists that we mic my amp in order so he can control FOH volume. I cant convince him that this only adds to the problem, Keep in mind, this is my country trio and i am playing Legion halls with a small Fender tube amp. Thanks for your input.


Get an amp stand that angles the amp up so it is pointed at you.


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Kerry Brown said:


> Get an amp stand that angles the amp up so it is pointed at you.


This and bring your amp volume to as low as you can.


----------



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Chito said:


> This and bring your amp volume to as low as you can.


Some nights if i turn my amp any lower it will be off buddy.LOL.


----------



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

marcos said:


> Some nights if i turn my amp any lower it will be off buddy.LOL.


I just tried facing my amp towards the wall here in the basement and placing the mic in the back of the amp. I may be on to something here that may work. Will find out tonight.


----------



## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

Can you hear yourself on stage in the monitors? If you can then a plexiglass shield works wonders. Just hang a dynamic mic in front and put the plexiglas shield up to control volume. I love how they let you turn the amp up and control bleed but in certain rooms it can be hard to hear yourself depending on the quality of the monitoring.

On a different note, they can live with the volume of the drummer but not with a small Fender amp? I’m not quite getting that. I could see the issue if you were blasting a twin, but maybe they are being a bit overly sensitive?

I feel for singers especially if stage volume is really loud, but unless you’re using a big amp the loudest instrument is generally the drummer.


----------



## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

What amp? Do you have it loud to get distortion? Many options to figure out what works. Many worship bands in the USA have a strict policy of no amps on stage. Google that to get some solutions.


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Thanks zdogma for reminding me about the plexiglass shield. I have one of those and I remember using them before. One of the best sounding recording of one of the live bands I played in, the sound guy put the plexi glass infront of my amp. That's when I got one for myself. 

@marcos I'll look for the plexiglass in the basement. It must be there somewhere. If I find it, you can try it out.


----------



## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

Attenuator?


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Found it!! It's a couple of plexiglass with duct tape.


----------



## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Maybe put the amp at the front of the stage and put the plexi at the back to keep the volume off the stage, but give the audience the sound to match the others.


----------



## GuitarPix (Jan 11, 2007)

If you’re micing the amp, my favourite thing to do now is lay it horizontally so the amp points straight up so it can be a bit louder without killing the front row. You have to lift it off the ground on a rack of some sort, I use my folding two wheel dolly that I bring it in on. Got this trick from Sue Folley in a local club when she laid her amp across the seats of two chairs. I know others do it as well. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

GuitarPix said:


> If you’re micing the amp, my favourite thing to do now is lay it horizontally so the amp points straight up so it can be a bit louder without killing the front row. You have to lift it off the ground on a rack of some sort, I use my folding two wheel dolly that I bring it in on. Got this trick from Sue Folley in a local club when she laid her amp across the seats of two chairs. I know others do it as well.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That might be hard on the speaker.


----------



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

zdogma said:


> Can you hear yourself on stage in the monitors? If you can then a plexiglass shield works wonders. Just hang a dynamic mic in front and put the plexiglas shield up to control volume. I love how they let you turn the amp up and control bleed but in certain rooms it can be hard to hear yourself depending on the quality of the monitoring.
> 
> On a different note, they can live with the volume of the drummer but not with a small Fender amp? I’m not quite getting that. I could see the issue if you were blasting a twin, but maybe they are being a bit overly sensitive?
> 
> I feel for singers especially if stage volume is really loud, but unless you’re using a big amp the loudest instrument is generally the drummer.



Great idea with the plexiglass. We dont have a drummer but we have a keyboard with beats etc.. What i did tonight really helped. By placing the amp towards the wall and placing the mic at the rear of the amp also it really made a difference. Seems like i might have it solved but will try the plexiglass that our friend Chito has. Thanks for your input.


----------



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Chito said:


> Found it!! It's a couple of plexiglass with duct tape.



Yes, i would love to try this out buddy. Give it to Moe next time you see him. Much appreciated and if this does the trick, i will make one.


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

marcos said:


> Yes, i would love to try this out buddy. Give it to Moe next time you see him. Much appreciated and if this does the trick, i will make one.


We're playing on Tuesday so I'll give it to him then.


----------



## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

marcos said:


> Yes, i would love to try this out buddy. Give it to Moe next time you see him. Much appreciated and if this does the trick, i will make one.


I like the idea. You could use a piano hinge instead of duct tape and it would still lay flat when not in use and be more stable. However, the duct tape would truly be Canadian.


----------



## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Gorilla tape is stronger. And it comes in clear.


----------



## cbg1 (Mar 27, 2012)

player99 said:


> That might be hard on the speaker.


I would not be too worried about the speaker. However if you are using a tube combo I would pay attention to possible overheating as there may be restricted air flow. Saw someone use this trick with a Marshall 4x12..... worked very well.

You might consider one of these 12" Beam Blocker (4" Dome) 

Good luck with the volume warz


----------



## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

marcos said:


> Great idea with the plexiglass. We dont have a drummer but we have a keyboard with beats etc.. What i did tonight really helped. By placing the amp towards the wall and placing the mic at the rear of the amp also it really made a difference. Seems like i might have it solved but will try the plexiglass that our friend Chito has. Thanks for your input.


That makes more sense. Good luck with the plexi shield, if you need plexi sheets they have them at Home Depot.


----------



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

zdogma said:


> That makes more sense. Good luck with the plexi shield, if you need plexi sheets they have them at Home Depot.


Thanks buddy.


----------



## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

player99 said:


> That might be hard on the speaker.


Why would it be hard on the speaker?


----------



## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

L&M sells a 4 piece plexi shield along with a couple of sound absorbing panels. I have two and they work great.


----------



## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

vadsy said:


> Why would it be hard on the speaker?


I was reading a thread somewhere asking which way to lay an amp down when transporting it. Ted Weber had told someone and was quoted to say the amp should be transported with the face down (magnet up). The reason being if it's the other way the speaker will be bumped to move in an unnatural way that can potentially damage the speaker. I understood it to mean the speaker cone is not designed to move very far back into the basket (towards the magnet) but is designed to move out of the basket or away from the magnet. So I am taking this info and applying it to the idea of laying the speaker face up (the way Ted Weber said not to transport it) as potentially being bad for it. Maybe, maybe not...

Edit: I would assume if the amp can be transported upright on it's feet (the way it would sit on the floor) that would be the best way. But if it is going into your trunk or space it tight it may have to be laid down. Then it should be face down.


----------



## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

I don't no 12 watts in a big room like a legion and your band mate has trouble with volume. Maybe he is in the wrong game. Ear plugs would be a good option for your band mate.


----------



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Distortion said:


> I don't no 12 watts in a big room like a legion and your band mate has trouble with volume. Maybe he is in the wrong game. Ear plugs would be a good option for your band mate.[/QUO


----------



## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

My preference is not to mic, if I can get away with it. Running the guitar through FOH just adds to the amount of guitar in the mix - it's all cumulative. I rather get all that guitar level from my amp on stage if I can --- unless I need to use mic/reinforcement for coverage or the size of the audience, which happens a lot less than half the time.

As far as stage volume, it's pretty much dependent on the drummer. I've played in some bands that weren't that loud on stage, and I've played in some that were pretty crazy loud. I prefer to start quieter and work our way up there through the night. IMO, the better the drummer, the more dynamic he can be without beating the shit outa his kit. If I'm in a situation where a 30 - 35 watt amp won't cut it on stage, it's probably not the right situation for me anymore.


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I prefer to mic everything and keep stage volumes to a minimum.

We used to side wash our guitar cabs, aimed so that when you were at the mic, they were not aimed at you, but when you took one step back from the mic, you were right in the sweet spot.

Putting everything in the FOH mix is the only way I know of to ensure people in all parts of the room hear a complete mix.

Guitars cabs are very directional. If your guitar isn’t coming out of the mains there’s a very good chance some people are getting too much guitar and others can’t hear you at all.

This is also why mixing in stereo with wide panning is not great for most people in the audience.

These are just my opinions of course.

Modelers and IEMs take the idea to the next level.


----------



## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

IME, it's dependent on the size of the room and audience. If I'm barely loud enough to keep up with the drummer and I'm already just about too loud for the room, mic'ing isn't going to help. I don't want to turn down have to hear my amp through my monitors. And to me, in these smaller rooms, with the amps being heard off the stage, that gives the band the appearance of having some stereo spread and not point source. In most of the cases, we are also mixing off the stage and the KISS principle applies.

Of course, all of this goes out the window if we're in a large enough place to require better coverage and a dedicated soundman. That happens less and less every year, though.


----------



## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Chito said:


> This and bring your amp volume to as low as you can.


OR make sure there is none of your guitar in the monitors. Like either or. This avoids mutliple out of phase sources of the same sound (which makes for comb filtering and general muddiness making you not able to hear what you are playing.

My personal preference is to have nothing amplified going through the monitors, ideally just kick and vocals (barring anything direct only like unamped keys, or acoustic instruments). Then contrary to modern 'best practise' put the amps behind the drummer vs out front.

This all assumes standard wedge monitors - if using in ears then none of this applies.


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Pointing speakers is vital, but lots of bands spend endless hours on their PA and ignore their amps. Regardless of my volume, but to accommodate low stage volume, I preferred a combo on/with an extension cab in my last band. The extension cab was often pointed over/back at the drummer who would complain about too little guitar in the monitors, the combo was most often angled and tilted to side wash (or at least partly so) the stage. If I mic'd, and I generally did, I liked an Apex harmonica mic since it hung from a cord over the amp facing the speaker, was designed to take massive volume (if need be) close up, and seemed EQ'd for the purpose. It's an odd choice but it worked, built like a tank too. On small stages a mic stand in front of the amp is just one more thing over which to trip. If I was using a two amp system the second amp would be pointing slightly off axis with the first, no extension, almost full-time clean.


----------

