Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

[man-in-moon]

I’ve been moving my amp around in my room to see if it sounds better in different locations. Right now I have it sitting on a wood table about 2.5 feet off the floors and in a corner. I don’t have it against the wall. That seems to have opened up the sound some. We are having to do some remodeling and I had to move some stuff into the room where I play. And it changed the sound in the room.
I went from a completely open 12’x12’ room with carpet floor. To a hardwood floor 2 roller toolboxes against the walls and a few tables taking up space.

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Hell yes it does. Just about any kind of speaker be it a guitar amp or a hi fi speaker will sound more "open" and balanced if pulled away from the walls. Sticking a speaker in a corner reinforces room resonances. In your case being a 12x12 square you're gonna have a wicked resonance at around 93Hz - F# and multiples. Big solid objects like your tool boxes can help to break up resonances by diffusing the sound. And of course carpets and stuffed furniture absorb sound. A nice balance of each will help improve the room sound.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

ABSOLUTELY IT DOES!!
I have had to run just amp often in Churches in particular playing out to fill the room because there was not enough PA. It is absolutely critical in many case if you want to get a decent sound!!
Example is this one from last Christmas where we did Worship at a brunch in our fellowship hall.
Subway Rocket unmiced recorded off the camera mic and sitting on a small table up off the floor behind me.

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Yes - especially if it's an open-backed cab. Recording studio geeks can tell you there is a complete science to amp (and mic) placement in a room.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Yes - especially if it's an open-backed cab.

Word. My guitar room is a 10x10 room. I brought my 1x12 (open back) upstairs, larger room, hallways, higher ceiling, etc... and while it didn't sound as loud as it does in the smaller room, it sounded bigger. I also got a ton of reverb and echo I don't get downstairs.

Bunch of junk was rattling, too

 

[Mincer]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Yeah. Another good experiment is to try the amp in one place, and walk to different places in the room. Room materials make a big difference, too (rugs, drywall, tile, glass, etc).

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

I always thought it did but wasn’t sure if it was my mind playing tricks on me. One of my buddies says it’s all in my head. So far I have found I like the sound better when it’s up off the floor. With the table being wood it is transferring the vibrations to the floor. But at the same time it’s not as bass heavy I guess would be the correct wording. We put a ceiling fan in the room and I did notice with the amp higher up when the fan is on that is a oscillation to the sound. Once I figure out how to get rid of that I think it should be good to go.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Turn the fan off.

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

I have been but with the tubes cooking plus our Alabama heat it gets over 90 degrees in there.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Put it in a kitchen chair
Face it toward a corner

I call this position
BAD AMP

 

[Mincer]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Put it in a kitchen chair
Face it toward a corner

I call this position
BAD AMP

This actually works well for recording, too, using several mics around the room.

 

[blaise.brown.7967]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Hell yes it does. Just about any kind of speaker be it a guitar amp or a hi fi speaker will sound more "open" and balanced if pulled away from the walls. Sticking a speaker in a corner reinforces room resonances. In your case being a 12x12 square you're gonna have a wicked resonance at around 93Hz - F# and multiples. Big solid objects like your tool boxes can help to break up resonances by diffusing the sound. And of course carpets and stuffed furniture absorb sound. A nice balance of each will help improve the room sound.

Bookcases too, filled with books.

Sent from my LGMS330 using Tapatalk

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Yes!


Put your amp blasting out of the corner of a room and be amazed by the boomy weirdness than cannot be EQ'd away.

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Makes more of a difference in some cases than the model of amp even.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Does amp placement in a room make a big difference?

Short answer -makes a HUGE difference. the point at which the speakers sound wave propagates affects the placement of reflections, absorption, and transmission and the modal build up of standing waves etc etc.