Smaller amps in larger venues?
- Thread starter Dills
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MDS
New member
Re: Smaller amps in larger venues?
There was a lengthy...umm...discussion about this a month or so ago. There are definitely too camps, but tons of guys do just fine playing large venues with a small mic'd amp. Others feel that you need 4 to 48 12 inch speakers to get a good/big sound. Personally I've never liked bringing all that gear to a gig so I've gone the small route, occasionally bringing an extra cab for stage monitoring or extra dispersion.
I don't think you should feel you HAVE to get a stack or similar to do pro shows. Plenty of pro work is done with small rigs hooked up to big PAs. If you have the means and interest in going bigger, try it out and see how it feels, but don't let marketing or peer pressure make you feel it is a necessity to break out of "amature" status.
Mike
There was a lengthy...umm...discussion about this a month or so ago. There are definitely too camps, but tons of guys do just fine playing large venues with a small mic'd amp. Others feel that you need 4 to 48 12 inch speakers to get a good/big sound. Personally I've never liked bringing all that gear to a gig so I've gone the small route, occasionally bringing an extra cab for stage monitoring or extra dispersion.
I don't think you should feel you HAVE to get a stack or similar to do pro shows. Plenty of pro work is done with small rigs hooked up to big PAs. If you have the means and interest in going bigger, try it out and see how it feels, but don't let marketing or peer pressure make you feel it is a necessity to break out of "amature" status.
Mike
dr.barlo
New member
Re: Smaller amps in larger venues?
I used to have a mesa dual R, sold it! Now I have 2 amps, and they are great for what I like, a blues jr., and a bassman 59RI. I am always looking for the right JCM800, maybe one day I will get that as well.
But huge amps? No way, I am not going there again.
B
I used to have a mesa dual R, sold it! Now I have 2 amps, and they are great for what I like, a blues jr., and a bassman 59RI. I am always looking for the right JCM800, maybe one day I will get that as well.
But huge amps? No way, I am not going there again.
B
TwofacePimp
New member
Re: Smaller amps in larger venues?
As long as you have a good soundguy and enough time to soundcheck, IMHO you could get by with a small amp and hear yourself through the monitors. You can get great sounds out of small amps, and many times they sound better than the bigger ones. However, good soundguys and adequate soundchecks are luxuries that most guitarists don't always have, and most have learned to live without. Even if you have them most of the time, I don't think that anyone has them all of the time.
As long as you have a good soundguy and enough time to soundcheck, IMHO you could get by with a small amp and hear yourself through the monitors. You can get great sounds out of small amps, and many times they sound better than the bigger ones. However, good soundguys and adequate soundchecks are luxuries that most guitarists don't always have, and most have learned to live without. Even if you have them most of the time, I don't think that anyone has them all of the time.
Norman_T
New member
Re: Smaller amps in larger venues?
By all means go and get big 4x12 cabs but as you are already humping a lot of gear this will be a real killer at the end of the night when you will have to pack this all up and go. As you have a PA then I presume that you are also putting the rest of the band through it as well and then balancing them correctly? You should be having some sort of monitors so that you can hear what the front of house is hearing or whatever suits your individual taste.
I think you answered your own question really. Generally speaking if your amp can get over the drummer in your band (up to 30W) then you are fine - I am talking tubes here by the way and you have a good stage sound with the rest of the band. You will be getting the power tubes working and getting that creamy sustain tone that only comes about when you can open them up. Anything more and frankly you are not using the amp as it was designed for and you will then have to compensate with having more pedals. S/S amps need to have more power.Dills said:
By all means go and get big 4x12 cabs but as you are already humping a lot of gear this will be a real killer at the end of the night when you will have to pack this all up and go. As you have a PA then I presume that you are also putting the rest of the band through it as well and then balancing them correctly? You should be having some sort of monitors so that you can hear what the front of house is hearing or whatever suits your individual taste.
mrfjones
New member
Re: Smaller amps in larger venues?
i do not have to deal with a large amp myself, i play a smal 1x12 20 watt tube combo and i love it. Great sound in a movable package. With that said a friend of mine that is about to break on to the national scene used the have an orange ad30tc half stack. He sold it and got the combo version ofthe same amp. His band likes it more and it is easier to move. it was a win win situation for him.
i do not have to deal with a large amp myself, i play a smal 1x12 20 watt tube combo and i love it. Great sound in a movable package. With that said a friend of mine that is about to break on to the national scene used the have an orange ad30tc half stack. He sold it and got the combo version ofthe same amp. His band likes it more and it is easier to move. it was a win win situation for him.
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