Guitarists : Hearing yourself on stage ?
At last night's rehearsal we set up in 'stage formation' and it was a nightmare. A couple of the guys had family members along to monitor the sound in front, and at a balanced volume my guitar was inaudible to me - unplayably so (for me)
We eventually set up one of the keyboardist's spare monitors and that was better, but not as good as I'd have liked.
What do folk do to stop their guitar sound passing between their legs rather than getting to their ears ? Angled amp stand ? Beer crates ? Monitors ?
I looked at some amp stands and they'd not be man enough (it's an unusually large bodied 2x12 valve combo) or am I just not looking hard enough ?
Tim
Red ones are better.
Any combination of tilt stands, beer crates, extension speakers .... or ultimately PA/foldback solutions is the only way.
It's worse in gig situations - your sound pumps out into the soft body of the audience and never comes back !
EDIT: an empty 4x12 is bay far the best way in my experience (a loaded one would be better)
Last edited by jalapeno; 8th January 2008 at 10:54 AM.
Originally Posted by paultheoneyoulove
Even my cheapo amp stand didn't bat an eyelid at the Mesa F-50, which was excruciatingly heavy. I'm sure the chunky one from Studiospares would be quite happy with a 2x12.
We've come a long way from the Prime Minister's exploding cake. Or have we?
I used to use a couple of beer crates. I've since bought a Giraffe amp stand from Music Live one year, which rotates so the amp can be normal or tiled.
Winner winner, chicken dinner.
It's the height as much as the weight - mine is oddly tall and precarious when test-plopped on to somone else's stand. I'll have a nose around for various models.
Red ones are better.
Or here's another idea - has anyone used a personal monitor Iie taking the PA out of the loop in case it's a bit basic like - I'm thinking maybe I could slap my SM57 on it and run a short distance to a small powered monitor . . . ?
Red ones are better.
Don't be silly ..... That'd be ok for vocals, but you'd have to stand in one place to hear yourself.
Stick the fecker on two chairs ! Or tilt it back against a wall.
You should try to keep the stage volume as low as poss really. To get your guitar in a monitor wedge mic it up in the normal manner and then turn up an aux send on your guitar channel to the corresponding monitor wedge mix ... so typically :
guitar mic into channel 7 ..... aux send 4 feeds monitor amp & monitor or active monitor
Some cheap active monitors have a mic pre so if you don't use a desk with a spare aux send then you could just do that .... most desk will have at least 2 aux sends but the singer and backing singer will probably want them
The best approach is to get used to playing low on stage and hear yourself via the PA, basically the lower you can keep the backline the easier it is to mix
This all assumes you're mic'ing up the whole rig, yes ?You should try to keep the stage volume as low as poss really. To get your guitar in a monitor wedge mic it up in the normal manner and then turn up an aux send on your guitar channel to the corresponding monitor wedge mix ... so typically :
guitar mic into channel 7 ..... aux send 4 feeds monitor amp & monitor or active monitor
Some cheap active monitors have a mic pre so if you don't use a desk with a spare aux send then you could just do that .... most desk will have at least 2 aux sends but the singer and backing singer will probably want them
The best approach is to get used to playing low on stage and hear yourself via the PA, basically the lower you can keep the backline the easier it is to mix
A lot of us still don't, and use PA'd vocals and a backline (probably wrongly, as I freely accept for a better sound you're in essence completely right it, though a significantly more complex palaver than turn up/plug in / play).
Yeah good point
One thing I have noticed over the years is some amp \ cabs tend to sound louder 10 metres away than they do when you stand in front of them .... no idea what causes that but the little Tech 21 amps we use'ed to use tended to do that. The other guitarist in my band still use's a Trademark 60 but with a 4 x 12" cab to get over that problem
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