how should i set up my amp for live situations?

[IcedEarth112]

i was talking to my friend the other day about my concert i played.. said my tone sounded like "high-end mash". this was my first gig and my amp was mic'd, though my amp itself was louder than the speakers it was mic'd through. i play a Peavey JSX through an avatar 4x12 with v30's and i dunno how the hell i should set my EQ.

for my show i had my treble at 1 oclock, mids at 11 oclock, bass at noon, gain at 2 oclock. master cranked, channel volume at about 9 or 9:30.. presence and resonance were both close to none.

i dunno what to do to make my playing stand out more without it being piercing in any sort of way. ive heard loads of times that you should always have lots of mids, and this is the most i can have it seems without my tone sounding like ultimate crap, and that your bass shouldnt be too high because thats the bassists job. so i dunno what to do, i play metal and i need to fix my tone! HELP ME!

 

[Tor]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

You could try and roll back the treble and gain..

 

[larry_emder]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

DO a thorough pre-gig soundcheck, get a knowledgeable friend with a good ear to listen in and tell you what needs changing

 

[suislidE03]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

Use some presence instead of treble, that can help alot of times. Dont back off your mids any more than now.. also mess with the master/channel volumes. Im not totally familiar with the JSX at high volumes, but it can make a difference. Tried new tubes?

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

Was there a sound guy at the gig ?

Some of the better sound-guys over here help a hellva' lot, and will quickly tell you if your tone suck. They will spend hours with the guitarists to help them sound much better.

Usually these "very-wise n'helpfull" guys are muso's, with decades of experience behind them. The younger blokes (in their 20's) are less helpfull, if any at all ! Sad . . .



BTW :

JSX = very nice amp you have !

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

The thing with the mids is that the V30s have so many that you can roll back your mids quite a bit without any problems.
Cranked EL34s + V30s = Mids royale.
But I would never turn presence so low if I want to stand out imo.

 

[IcedEarth112]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

yeah theres quite a deal of mids..

if i put any more presence it'll start being super piercing.. i'll try to turn downt he treble and up the presence later on today.. im swapping my el34s for 6l6's today too, just to try em out, not for good.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

in a live setting the hall, bar or theatre has a lot of bearing on what the overall sound will be like... some nights you will notice your bass from your stack disappear... other nights you like your sound so much you wish you could play there everynight.

That being said your job as a guitarist is to set up your amp so you like what you are hearing on stage... If you enjoy your sound you'll play better, trust me. Then it's the soundman's job to get the out front sound to sound good... But there is give and take from both of you as if you work together you can get the job done... some soundmen have asked me to crank a little more mids and or bass. some have asked me to cut bass and mids.... Depends.. the place will sound extremely different with a full audience then empty.. All those bodies suck up bass like a sound barrier

With most modern PA's in bars and stuff my 5150 with the 4x12 was extremely overkill.. The soundmen were telling me that they were hardly putting me in the pa mix because my amp was too loud coming off the stage. I was cranking it as the 4x12 was pointing at my legs and i was turning it up so i could hear it better but the sound was directional and pounding peoples ears in the front tables.

After that i started to use the 5150 head and a Marshall1x12 for club work, and kept the 4x12 for outdoor stuff and larger shows... i'd tilt the 1x12 back on an angle like a monitor... i have a few really nice amp stands for that. Basicly with the 1x12 pointed at my head i had a better controll of my sound and volume... plus the 1x12 was mic'd and most of my sound was being mixed in the PA like it should be.

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

I am kinda surprised to hear that. I rather like the JSX, and find it easy to set. It takes 6L6's or EL34's, so maybe it's your tube choice?

HMM was the amp perhaps used? bad preamp tubes? check on that.

I found the JSX to be versatile with a decent balance to the tone and not piercing. Also, I cannot attest to your friends opinions. Could he perhaps be off base?

Your settings sound fine. Keep all your dials at 12 oclock and work from their. Push up the bass a bit and then dial in the treble and presence last. See if you can get a balanced tone.

Remember V30s are a bit piercing, but that's how you get thru the band. Maybe the room was too live, maybe your bass player wasnt in the pocket and loud enough?

I was really surprised by this post.

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

It could be mic placement.....were you on the center of a speaker cone?

 

[IcedEarth112]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

hmm.. well seeing how people do suck up the bass maybe i should turn it up some?

 

[IcedEarth112]

Re: how should i set up my amp for live situations?

that couldve been it.. it was a small stage and i bumped into it at some point