Setting the guitar/amp volume

[dfunk]

When setting the volume for guitar should I set the guitar volume at its max and readjust through the amp? Does it really matter? More lame questions like this coming soon.

[Mark Wein]

There are no lame questions! :)

Setting your level depends on the equipment you have and playing situation. I have an old tube amp I use the most and I usually set it to about 3ish (its pretty loud) to get a good clean sound and then pedal in my distortion. I can adjust my volume on the guitar or with my playing intensity but I never adjust the volume on the amp while I am playing. Changing the volume knob also drives the amp more or less which also gives different amount of gain. I also have a pedal that gives me a clean boost for solos no matter what tone I have going. Here is an article on my pedalboard:

http://markweinguitarlessons.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=41

Here are a couple of bad demonstrations of my amp and some of the pedalboard:

Qhfz11vTYsI

EoLcYYI0vyU


What kind of gear do you own? Are you playing in a band?

[dfunk]

Hey Mark-
Yeah, that's what i thought but never got around to asking. I have an epiphone les paul and roland cube 30. I don't play in a band although I was a student of yours a few years back while you teaching in Yorba Linda. I even took the rhythm and groove class for a few weeks but couldn't continue due to my work schedule.

I was asking because I've been wanting another amp that would sound great at low volumes (I now have a wife and daughter. Don't care about the neighbors! haha!). The amp that I have sounds good to me when it's clean at low volume but when I switch to the overdrive channel, at low volume it sounds terrible. Turning it up sounds a lot better.

Anyhow, it looks like your doing well and the online lessons are great! We've been in San Bernardino for a few years but moved back to OC so I'm trying to convince the wife on taking lessons again. We'll see how it goes! I'm not sure if you remember who I am but while I was taking lessons I had a sunburst Fender strat. You said that I played like a robot when working on the funk guitar rhythm stuff! haha.

Take care and thanks for the response!
Don

[Mark Wein]

Hi Don!

I'm not sure I would remember you without actually seeing you in person...I have always sucked at names and the last few years have been a whirlwind :)

It sounds like you are doing well too...since the Yorba Linda period I got married (I was the last year or so that I worked there), opened the studio in Orange and have had a son (now 3 1/2) and a daughter (approximately 32 hours as of this posting ;D).

Check out my little review on the Orange "Tiny Terror" amp in this forum..it is switchable from 7 to 15 watts and it sounds great....

[Prages]

I gig with a 2 channel amp. When we're mixing for a show, I set my rhythm levels with the guitar volume maxxed out. I have an EQ in the FX loop and use it as a lead boost with just the mids boosted a few db. Doing it this way gives you the same amount of gain for rhythm and lead, it just makes the leads louder and punchier when you kick on the EQ pedal.

Now, I've got both the clean and dirty channel set at the right level with the guitar volume maxxed. If I'm on the dirty channel and want a cleaner tone, I can just roll the volume off a touch on the guitar. If that does happen to bring the volume down too much, I can hit the EQ and bring it back up. Then roll the volume back up at the guitar during leads.

Every setup is going to be different, and is going to depend on your tone preferrences though. There's no real right or wrong way to do it.

[dfunk]

Prages- Thanks for the tip. So I'm thinking that when gigging or playing at home for that matter, you rarely set the amp volume to 10?

Mark- Congrats on your little ones! My daughter is 7 months old now and we're talking about having another. It's been awesome to see Madison reach all those milestones that you might otherwise think are meaningless like babbling and holding things.

I checked out that orange amp on youtube and I think I need it! It kind of seems it's hard to come by though. Great sounds! Would you happen to know where I can check one out? I've also seen a few other amps out there- a Carvin vintage 16, Blackheart little giant, a 5W Crate, and there are a few Fenders. Have you heard anything particularly in the Carvin and Blackhearts? btw...great playing on the video above! It has a really nice tone.

[Mark Wein]

Thanks! I'm obviously pretty stoked about life at the moment ;D

I'm not sure where to try the Orange...I'll see that student on Wednesday and I'll ask him where he got his.

I absolutely hate Carvin amps.

I would say in this range I would look at the Orange, the Blackheart and maybe a Peavey Classic 30 like Prages has.

I'm not sure about the newer Fenders except for a Deluxe Reverb Reissue or the new Princeton Reverb Reissue (which I haven't tried).

At this point the Orange has my vote ;D

[dfunk]

Yeah...please let me know about where to try the orange amp! It actually looks perfect for me (playing at home).

[Phil513]

I dont know where you are located, but the Orange Dealer search page is here . . .


http://www.orangeamps.com/dealers.asp?Area=USA

[Prages]

Prages- Thanks for the tip. So I'm thinking that when gigging or playing at home for that matter, you rarely set the amp volume to 10?


Oh Lord, no. Cranking them all the way up would be WAY too loud to get any kind of tolerable stage mix, and I'd end up with no guitar in the PA at all, I'm sure. Plus, the sound gets too spongey when they are dimed.

I usually have the OD channel volume on about 5 1/2 and the clean channel on about 4 when I gig. That's still fairly loud, but it mixes well on stage and still allows the guitar to be pumped through the FOH. The clean channel on 4 still gives me clean tone when I play lightly, and if I dig in good and hard, I'll get a very small amount of breakup.

[telecaster911]

I set my amp on about 3 as well, gives a nice clean with touch of break if I dig in. Then pedal in dirt via a SD twin tube classic. The first channel of the TTC gives me a cranked amp overdrive and the second gives me a great JCM 800 style of 80s dirt. Then I have a Bad Monkey that I can hit any of those combinations with as a solo boost. Lots of variation available, essentially 3 channels and a solo boost. I usually run my guitar on 10 and roll back as necessary. I see a pattern here ;D

I never run my amp wide open either.

[Mark Wein]

See my second clip for why I never run my amp wide open...not an awful sound but its a little limiting...

and LOUD :o ;D

[dfunk]

Phil- Thanks! Looks like they have them not too far from my house. I'll have to give them a call to see if they have it in stock.

Thanks a bunch everyone! I always wondered who would set an amp to its max volume. I set mine to around 3 as well but I thought it was just me.