Going direct. Do I need a power amp?

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Going direct. Do I need a power amp?

Fair enough... I have never seen it. I've heard good tone, but never amazing tone. I was house engineer about a year ago for a moderately successful modern rock group... rhythm guitar player was using Egnators and lead guy was using an Axe FX straight to house. The rhythm guitarist had much, much better tone. It was one of the most flagrant examples I've seen.

But once again that's your opinion. And the audience doesn't care. The audience just wants to know if they're going to play [Hit song]. I will say Egnators are fantastic amps, but I don't think the difference between tube and modeling is that stark anymore. On top of the fact that load in for the lead player takes like 16 seconds vs loading in the amps and cabs.

Don't get me wrong, I do love having a cab on stage because I enjoy stage volume (most PA speakers aren't aimed for the first few rows) and I enjoy using controlled feedback. But I know I can go direct and not have any real issues with tone.

[Jacew]

Re: Going direct. Do I need a power amp?

You've never heard epic tone going direct, but I have. For me, volume doesn't equal tone. Tone is subjective, and in the world of modeling rigs and amp simulators, tone has become a series of 1's and 0's. Analog isn't always best.

Most perfect live tone i've heard was Accept recently. Kemper direct, if I'm not completely mistaken. Right with the start I thought it was just too perfect sounding (I had to check internet after the show, because I was sure it wasn't real Marshall). I couldn't really get past that...

No. Things were better before digital. It's just too easy to overdo it and lose the grit that makes rock great.

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Going direct. Do I need a power amp?

Most perfect live tone i've heard was Accept recently. Kemper direct, if I'm not completely mistaken. Right with the start I thought it was just too perfect sounding (I had to check internet after the show, because I was sure it wasn't real Marshall). I couldn't really get past that...

No. Things were better before digital. It's just too easy to overdo it and lose the grit that makes rock great.

So what you're saying is that the best live tone that you've ever heard was from a Kemper direct into PA, and after you realized that, it was no longer the best live tone that you've ever heard? That seems biased as hell.

[Jacew]

Re: Going direct. Do I need a power amp?

So what you're saying is that the best live tone that you've ever heard was from a Kemper direct into PA, and after you realized that, it was no longer the best live tone that you've ever heard? That seems biased as hell.

By perfect, I mean tone that just sounds "like a record". I know studio guys are always aiming for that perfectly balanced, smoothed tone, which often flattens out the modern albums. Iron Maiden is one of the best examples of good studio tone in 21st century, simply because their producer is aiming at the classic grittier tone.

When I hear that Balls to the Wall riff live, I don't want it to sound like on album. I want to feel that Marshall scream. It's hard to explain, but I felt there was something missing. I had to check out and found the culprit.

Fun fact: The best sounding Ramones album I've heard has been, and is, the c-cassette in my Toyota Hilux. With all stock audio gear. It just sound incredibly "authentic", in a lack of a better word.

[some_dude]

Re: Going direct. Do I need a power amp?

One thing to consider is that if you go direct you're at the mercy of the house monitors and monitor mix.

In my band both the keyboard player and myself (bass) run direct, and we both carry our own amps for stage volume. Both of us have been burned by less than ideal monitoring and it causes problems for the rest of the band when we can't be heard.

My acoustic player has stopped running direct and now uses a mic'd guitar amp because we got tired of not being able to hear him on stage. Sounds better too.

If you have a dedicated soundman/rig and/or using in-ears then everything changes... but if you're playing local dives with whatever the venue has on hand then I like to retain as much control of my onstage sound as I can.

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Going direct. Do I need a power amp?

By perfect, I mean tone that just sounds "like a record". I know studio guys are always aiming for that perfectly balanced, smoothed tone, which often flattens out the modern albums. Iron Maiden is one of the best examples of good studio tone in 21st century, simply because their producer is aiming at the classic grittier tone.

When I hear that Balls to the Wall riff live, I don't want it to sound like on album. I want to feel that Marshall scream. It's hard to explain, but I felt there was something missing. I had to check out and found the culprit.

Fun fact: The best sounding Ramones album I've heard has been, and is, the c-cassette in my Toyota Hilux. With all stock audio gear. It just sound incredibly "authentic", in a lack of a better word.

This is a problem only for musicians who see a band live. I don't really care if they play through a cardboard box as long as the show is good and I can hear everything.

[Alonso Ortega]

Re: Going direct. Do I need a power amp?

Yeah, I think i'm gonna save a few more bucks and get a nice combo maybe with one or two 12"'s