I like my amp sound better "off axis"

[JammerMatt]

With high gain. When I sit directly in front of it, it can sometimes be harsh. If I move a little left, right or above, it mellows it out just a tad and sounds great. Not just my current amp... any amp. I remember a time I would toss a pillow near bottom half of the speaker, and I liked that, too!

Am I wierd?

-Matt

 

[V-Spot]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

Nope, not at all. For me, if I stand anywhere where I'm facing the exact middle of the amp, whether im 2 feet away or 20 feet away, it sounds like the midrange and treble knobs are cranked to 10, but if i move to the right or left, everything mellows and evens out, and I get an awesome tone.

It all has to do with sound projection.

 

[muttonchopsrule]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

i definitely see where you're coming from. i think most, if not all amps have the tendancy to do that, i know my mesa does. i try to just tame the treble/presence a little bit, but of course it depends on the situation. on stage with a full sound system, i dial in the way i want it to sound just in front of the amp where the mic is placed, because that's what everyone is going to hear. for smaller shows/practice sessions where the amp isn't mic'd, i try to dail in some piont in between, where it might sound a little too dark if you go to far to the side, but at least it isn't overly harsh directly in front.

 

[JammerMatt]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

Nope, not at all. For me, if I stand anywhere where I'm facing the exact middle of the amp, ... and I get an awesome tone.

Exactly.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

I really don't care about the well being of my audience, i usually just dime the treble on my DRRI with my middle strat pickup and spike away.....j/k, i get a small number of gigs as it is, i can't afford to get a bad rep with crap tone!

 

[Quencho092]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

duct tape!

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

If I stand directly infront of it, it's harsh and annoying, as well!

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

Me too. Unfortunately, with an 11 piece band, there isn't always room to get some air around your onstage sound...

 

[suislidE03]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

Yea if you guys can imagine what a naturally bright laney amp sounds like going through two G12T-75s at full distortion... Just dont stand in line with the speakers Its not that bad, but it just doesnt sound very good. I keep wanting to get some dif speakers for this thing but i never have the cash and i still dont know what to put in them. Preferably something not expensive :laugh2:

 

[Rich_T]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

duct tape!

Does that really work?

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

I don't think different speakers are really going to make a difference. I think it's an inherent(sp) trait of speakers, that they are the most trebly in the very center. There was a company making a product that I can't recall that supposedly diffused that sound that's so harsh right in front of the speaker, and made it so that that harsh sound didn't happen. All you did was attach it somehow and it was really cheap, like $20-$30.....maybe I should try to find it again

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

ah, I found it!! It's the Weber Beam Blocker!

The Weber Beam Blocker

 

[JammerMatt]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

ah, I found it!! It's the Weber Beam Blocker!

Ah, interesting product. I guess I was way ahead of my time using a pillow!

Okay, this leads to my next stupid question. I notice when I go to shows (I don't gig) that the mic is pointed directly at one of the speakers. If this harshness is bothersome to not only myself, then why are they doing this? Could this be the reason that I rarely hear live guitar tone that I really really like?

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

Ah, interesting product. I guess I was way ahead of my time using a pillow!

Okay, this leads to my next stupid question. I notice when I go to shows (I don't gig) that the mic is pointed directly at one of the speakers. If this harshness is bothersome to not only myself, then why are they doing this? Could this be the reason that I rarely hear live guitar tone that I really really like?

It's possible, whenever I mic guitar amps, I typically mic off center, to get away from that harshness, and if I need to add any treble, I do so after the fact. The fact is if I start with a slightly mellower tone, it's easier to fix. It's a lot harder to fix a tone that is all spiky and trebly

 

[Rich_S]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

I was over at a guy's house a couple weeks ago, and he showed me SVR's Live at the El Mocambo, which I had never seen before. I noticed that one of his 4-10 amps in the backline had a spot of duct tape on the center of each speaker.

My first thought was, oh, the forerunner of the Weber Beam Blocker!

 

[tone4days]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

i like to put my combos on uptilted stands .. i tweak my tone until it sounds good to me where i'll be standing, which is pretty much 'on axis' ...

when i use my (2) 1x12" cabs, i stack one on top of the other ... getting the 2nd one off the ground seems to take some of the excessive 'woof' out of it .. this makes it more 'off axis' to my ears, but again, i adjust it until i like it where i am

i figure that once it gets mic'd and the soundman EQs me, i wont have any real control over what the crowd hears anyway, so i suit myself ... i also do not play that loud, so i do not have a problem bleding into the mains

 

[chill]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

I notice when I go to shows (I don't gig) that the mic is pointed directly at one of the speakers. If this harshness is bothersome to not only myself, then why are they doing this? Could this be the reason that I rarely hear live guitar tone that I really really like?

Could be the guitarist sets it to sound good to his ear many degrees off axis, which sounds bad right at the mic. Best way to cure it is to stick your ear on axis when you're tweaking your settings so you get a good mic'd sound, which should sound a bit less high-endy off axis.

For jamming in a room, I usually set the amp to sound good off-axis. For recording, I set it to sound good on-axis, or wherever the mic will be.

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

I've known several guys (Jonny Lang was a big name I saw do this live) who aim their amps STRAIGHT up that way nobody is in the direct line of fire, so to speak. Sounds like a decent idea. maybe I'll try it one day. When Mr. Lang did it, he had his Tonemaster cab lifted up on flight cases so it was above his head and aimed straight up....sounds a bit excessive, but interesting none the less

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

My Marshall 4x12 sounds harsh standing direclty in front of it. I don't have to get much off axis to make it sound better. 20 feet away I only need a few degree's. That weber beam blocker is interesting.

 

[JammerMatt]

Re: I like my amp sound better "off axis"

I've known several guys (Jonny Lang was a big name I saw do this live) who aim their amps STRAIGHT ....sounds a bit excessive, but interesting none the less

When I last saw Lynch, he was playing some old school Marshall Super Leads, or whatever, but they were non-master volumes I think. Anyway, it was a very small venue, and he had his amps pointed BACKWARDS (that's why I'm not sure of the models). Probably did it to avoid killing everyone in the front row. Didn't care for his tone that night... on-axis I bet.