So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

Prozrenie

Prozrenie

New member
Guys, I ended up as a band leader in a new, very hot local band with lots of players, and I need very basic technical advice.

We are running our guitars through pedals into a snake that runs directly into a Yamaha sound board out in the audience, 32 channels with effects, and that goes out to a fat amp (no speaker on it) and from their to main speakers/monitoring. So right now we use no guitar amps, as it's all wired in to one system. Is that all wrong, then?

Here is what my very experienced sound man told me is better: each guitarist should have an amp, which in turn serves as his on-stage monitor, and then external to that guitar amp's speaker is a mike on a mike stand, and that then runs to the snake and thus into to the sound board. So rather than wiring the guitar in, you *mike* its amp. IS THAT CORRECT, FOLKS? Seems primitive to me as a non-comprehending newcomer, but I'll do whatever is right.

Sorry for the newbie-sounding question, but I really need your help. BTW I don't know what is a "stack," either. Many thanks!
 
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Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

Depends what your pedals are. If you are running some kind of amp simulator, your method would be fine. Exaples of there are the Line 6 POD ar the Vox Toneport. These allow you to plug straight into the PA without amps.

But the most common way of doing it is having a guitar amp on stage and micing that up, most people feel that this gives a superior sound, providing you have a good quality guitar amp.
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

Kyuss_Rock said:
Depends what your pedals are. If you are running some kind of amp simulator, your method would be fine. Exaples of there are the Line 6 POD ar the Vox Toneport. These allow you to plug straight into the PA without amps.

But the most common way of doing it is having a guitar amp on stage and micing that up, most people feel that this gives a superior sound, providing you have a good quality guitar amp.
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True. Don't go running out buying crap amps just because you need amps.
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

is it all wrong ? No.
is it the way to get the best sound ? prolly not.
Individual amps (assuming they are good ones) which are then miced will give you the best sound. However, a good preset on a POD XT (or any decent modeller) will still sound better than a crappy amp miced. Also, with a lot of players, the chances of someone moving their mic "by accident" or dramatically adjusting their amp volume or something like that go up. You could use di boxes like a red box) that give DI from the amp, which will lower some of these things.
But in the end you *might* get better sound going straight to the board. Of course this also requires good stage monitors.
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

Rushfan2112 said:
True. Don't go running out buying crap amps just because you need amps.
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very true. but i was assuming that you don't have amp emulating pedals, in which case you will probably sound terrible without an amp.
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

You must have at least a friend or two in the audience. Ask them: "Do we sound good or do we sound bad?"

Use that answer for your decision.
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

I say go out and buy a TUBE amp. This is an amp equipped with vacuum tubes, both your ears, your band and the audience will thank you as your tone will be much better. Mic the amp. If you go this route you will only need a 15W tube amp as the PA will take care of making sure it's loud enough for all to hear. The amp itself will be loud enough for you and the first few rows of people to hear if cranked.

A "stack" is a amplifier "head" and a speaker cabinet. The head contains the pre-amp and plugs into the speaker cabinet, which can have anywhere from 1 to 8 speakers, sometimes more. The most common speaker cabs are 1x12 (one 12" speaker), 2x12, 4x12, and 4x10 (4 10" speakers). The most common of all these is probably the 4x12. The guitar head plus one 4x12 is referred to as a "half-stack" and a head with two 4x12s is called a "full-stack".

Do you need a stack? Probably not. If you're looking at getting good quality at a good price, a 15W tube combo amp (amp and speaker all in one) will do you well. You can get good tube amps in the 15W-20W range for under $500 USD. Crate, Traynor and I believe Fender have tube amps in this size and price.

Good luck.
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

The way I always liked it setup is Guitar amp miked. mike for vox, monitor for each player. The sound guy should be able to give you in the monitor what you need to hear (I always liked the lead vocals, bass and bassdrum in my monitor). This is pretty much the way I as well as a lot of others prefer it. You can hear yourself thru the monitos and you can hear everything else as well.
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

Prozrenie said:
Guys, I ended up as a band leader in a new, very hot local band with lots of players, and I need very basic technical advice.

We are running our guitars through pedals into a snake that runs directly into a Yamaha sound board out in the audience, 32 channels with effects, and that goes out to a fat amp (no speaker on it) and from their to main speakers/monitoring. So right now we use no guitar amps, as it's all wired in to one system. Is that all wrong, then?

Here is what my very experienced sound man told me is better: each guitarist should have an amp, which in turn serves as his on-stage monitor, and then external to that guitar amp's speaker is a mike on a mike stand, and that then runs to the snake and thus into to the sound board. So rather than wiring the guitar in, you *mike* its amp. IS THAT CORRECT, FOLKS? Seems primitive to me as a non-comprehending newcomer, but I'll do whatever is right.

Sorry for the newbie-sounding question, but I really need your help. BTW I don't know what is a "stack," either. Many thanks!
Click to expand...


Wow.

Gotta start somewhere, I suppose.

Listen to your soundman friend. Assume that what he tells you is correct, even if it seems "primitive" to you.
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

Having said that, I dunno what the tube amp situation is like in Bagdhad...
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

even an old peavey bandit is probably better than going straight into the board unless you have a tone lab or something similar
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

Thanks a lot for all this, really appreciate it! How do we rehearse? With the air-raid siren nearby. I have a nasty little 15 watt Crate as a practice amp, about 1.5 feet X 1.5 feet in dimensions. I'm trying to figure out how to ship in a 220 volt tube amp to this most troubled of lands. First choice would be Marshall, as that's what I hear most about. Again, thanks! --P
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

Whatever you decide to do, do so with the knowledge that you have my full moral support whilst you melt insurgent faces with good old raunchy American rock and roll.
 
Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

Anewdefguitarist, our music is largely a mix of classic rock and blues, with some more recent high-er energy rock covers from 2000s. As to pedals, the lead guitarist and I both just use the universalist Digitech RP50. I don't have nuthin else, not a chorus pedal, nor fuzz, nor overdrive, but the guitars, board, amp, and speakers aren't cheap.

Based all this discussion, Ias thinking of buying an expensive (Euro-prices plus costly shipping) stomp box by Line 6 as a modeller for an amp, and I don't know how that would fit in with everything else: http://www.guitar-village.co.uk/pro...3264%2C+Guitar+Modelling%2C+New%2C+Inc%2E+PSU

I now see, though, that Line 6 has some less expensive offerings, too. I need European voltage so I would buy from U.K. and ship here to tinseltown via DHL.
 
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Re: So is this the way to amplifty my guitars??

sosomething said:
Whatever you decide to do, do so with the knowledge that you have my full moral support whilst you melt insurgent faces with good old raunchy American rock and roll.
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Thanks, that means a lot to us, Adam!
 
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